There is an enormous volume of discussion in our society about the divisions that exist. The divisions are racial, political, economic, age, location… the list could go on for paragraphs. Everybody is talking about division, but unfortunately division is always seen as someone else’s fault.
Abraham Lincoln famously spoke about the division among Americans during the Civil War.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.” Abraham Lincoln
America, the country that God decided to be our home, (Acts 17:26) is in greater damage from inner forces than from foreign forces.
The natural response of many is “That’s right … they …” The problem of division never starts with “they.” The trouble of division starts with the division in every heart.
President Lincoln’s memorable speech gets its foundation on the words of Jesus. “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Jesus - Mark 3:25 ESV
Jesus’ and President Lincoln’s words describe the human heart. The divided heart of any person will ultimately end in chaos. The divided relationship of any couple will collapse. Division between parents and children will destroy a family. “A house divided against itself cannot stand” is true in every area of life.
Any time I contribute to the division, in any area of life, I become a tool of the primary “divider,” the destroyer of man’s souls, the Devil. We cannot put on the uniform of the kingdom of darkness.
“Jesus, deal with my heart so I appear not seed or feed division in any area of living. Teach me to love those who think differently than I do. Amen,”
Friday, May 29, 2020
Monday, May 25, 2020
Loving Our Neighbors
I have been thinking about how you and I can love our neighbors during the crisis moment. It is important to love your neighbor not primarily because they need to be loved but because Jesus said the second commandment is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus taught that the second commandment to “Love your neighbor” is equal to the commandment to “Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.”
If I’m mostly “staying home and staying safe,” HOW do I love my neighbor? (Your neighbor might be people who live around you, but your neighbor is also the cashier at the store, the barista at the coffee stand, the person you pass on the street or trail when you are walking, the cleaner that used to visit your house, the landscapers who care for your yard, the UPS delivery person, etc.)
Pray. What if you are the only one who is praying for your neighbor?
Be kind. Everyone you encounter is experiencing stress in unprecedented ways.
Greet and Talk. When you pass someone on the road or trail, greet them and talk to them – DO IT.
I regularly run similar routes. I regularly encounter an elderly widow woman I’ve known for years on my runs and I stop and take time to talk with her and often pray with and for her. Two years ago, she commented on my bright yellow running jacket, so I bought her a jacket and took it to her home. The jacket was the wrong size, so I returned it and got her a larger size. I often bump into her wearing the jacket. This woman is not a church person, but I’m determined to love on her and hopefully to love her to faith.
Ask Jesus to guide you and show you opportunities to love your neighbor. Then listen and, when prompted by the Spirit, act on that prompt.
You’ll be surprised how Jesus wants to use you to love people.
If I’m mostly “staying home and staying safe,” HOW do I love my neighbor? (Your neighbor might be people who live around you, but your neighbor is also the cashier at the store, the barista at the coffee stand, the person you pass on the street or trail when you are walking, the cleaner that used to visit your house, the landscapers who care for your yard, the UPS delivery person, etc.)
Pray. What if you are the only one who is praying for your neighbor?
Be kind. Everyone you encounter is experiencing stress in unprecedented ways.
Greet and Talk. When you pass someone on the road or trail, greet them and talk to them – DO IT.
I regularly run similar routes. I regularly encounter an elderly widow woman I’ve known for years on my runs and I stop and take time to talk with her and often pray with and for her. Two years ago, she commented on my bright yellow running jacket, so I bought her a jacket and took it to her home. The jacket was the wrong size, so I returned it and got her a larger size. I often bump into her wearing the jacket. This woman is not a church person, but I’m determined to love on her and hopefully to love her to faith.
Ask Jesus to guide you and show you opportunities to love your neighbor. Then listen and, when prompted by the Spirit, act on that prompt.
You’ll be surprised how Jesus wants to use you to love people.
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Trust and Obey
What is God up to? That is the question that has been bouncing around in my heart. There is no mystery to some what God is doing; He’s always working to reconcile people to Himself! God wants to be your friend. He is not out to harm you. He is working on hard hearts, closed minds, and broken spirits. He is working in the lives of those who are mad at Him and others who deny His existence. He wants people to understand that He loves them.
The Apostle Paul wrote: “Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so you will change your hearts and lives.” (Romans 5:4 NCV)
What else is God up to? What is he up to with nations? What is He up to in world economies? What is He up to with the church?
There are plenty of prophesies and conspiracy theories floating around in social media these days! But do they help you understand what God is up to, or what He wants from you?
Let me tell you how God expects you to respond to the current world situation. I’ll use the lines from an old Gospel hymn, as true today as when John Sammis wrote them in 1887. Let the lyrics encourage, instruct, and challenge you.
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way,
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
I know for certain that God is trying to teach you and me to “trust and obey!”
The Apostle Paul wrote: “Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so you will change your hearts and lives.” (Romans 5:4 NCV)
What else is God up to? What is he up to with nations? What is He up to in world economies? What is He up to with the church?
There are plenty of prophesies and conspiracy theories floating around in social media these days! But do they help you understand what God is up to, or what He wants from you?
Let me tell you how God expects you to respond to the current world situation. I’ll use the lines from an old Gospel hymn, as true today as when John Sammis wrote them in 1887. Let the lyrics encourage, instruct, and challenge you.
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way,
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
I know for certain that God is trying to teach you and me to “trust and obey!”
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Walk Away from the Comparison Game
Someone has said: “Everything in life is easier when you don’t concern yourself with what everybody else is doing.”
I have experienced and observed the truth of this statement. When a person compares themselves or their life against others usually one of two detrimental results happen. (There are probably other outcomes but there are two biggies.)
One result is to respond, “WOW is me! Wow, look at how much bigger, better, faster, richer, sleeker and newer I am.” When people compare themselves to others and assume that they are better than others, pride sends out roots that begin to grow deep in the soil. Social Media is laced with “WOW is me.”
The other result, on the other end of the spectrum is “WOE is me! Woe, look how rotten my life is!” WOE is me can be heard in statements like: “I don’t have what they have, I’m not as good as them, I’ll never have what they have, I’ll never be what they are.” WOE is not pride; WOE is self-pity.
Many of life’s emotional, mental, and spiritual pitfalls are a result of comparing. Eve could have eaten any tree from the Garden. She saw the fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, compared it to the other fruit and had to have it. Cain compared his gift to God to his brother Abel’s gift and ultimately killed his brother.
Consider Apostle Paul’s wise words to the believers in Rome and Philippi, who were playing the “comparison game.”
“Do not think you are better than you are.” Romans 12:3 (NCV); “Let nothing be done out of … conceit, but in humility let each esteem the other better than himself.” Philippians 2:3 (MEV)
It takes tremendous intentionality to walk away from the “comparison game” but it is one of healthiest and freeing endeavors you will ever take on. I encourage you to end the compare game.
I have experienced and observed the truth of this statement. When a person compares themselves or their life against others usually one of two detrimental results happen. (There are probably other outcomes but there are two biggies.)
One result is to respond, “WOW is me! Wow, look at how much bigger, better, faster, richer, sleeker and newer I am.” When people compare themselves to others and assume that they are better than others, pride sends out roots that begin to grow deep in the soil. Social Media is laced with “WOW is me.”
The other result, on the other end of the spectrum is “WOE is me! Woe, look how rotten my life is!” WOE is me can be heard in statements like: “I don’t have what they have, I’m not as good as them, I’ll never have what they have, I’ll never be what they are.” WOE is not pride; WOE is self-pity.
Many of life’s emotional, mental, and spiritual pitfalls are a result of comparing. Eve could have eaten any tree from the Garden. She saw the fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, compared it to the other fruit and had to have it. Cain compared his gift to God to his brother Abel’s gift and ultimately killed his brother.
Consider Apostle Paul’s wise words to the believers in Rome and Philippi, who were playing the “comparison game.”
“Do not think you are better than you are.” Romans 12:3 (NCV); “Let nothing be done out of … conceit, but in humility let each esteem the other better than himself.” Philippians 2:3 (MEV)
It takes tremendous intentionality to walk away from the “comparison game” but it is one of healthiest and freeing endeavors you will ever take on. I encourage you to end the compare game.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
God is up to something BIG
One of my core beliefs in life is that God is sovereign over all that occurs. That means only what He determines or allows takes place. With that as the foundation of my thinking, I’ve been pondering what God is up to. Why has He established certain things? Why has He allowed other things? Is God superintending circumstances and world affairs to direct history corresponding to His design?
I’m absolutely persuaded that God is up to something BIG. The pandemic has now affected practically the entire earth and the economic impact will be felt by every individual. He must be superintending something BIG.
Is He seeking to humble humanity? Is He trying to reconstruct political, social, economic and power structures across the globe? What is He seeking to say to humanity? Is He trying to get us to listen? Is He seeking to remodel the 2,000 year old church?
On a personal level I am learning traits about myself that I might not have seen without these new factors. I am being pressed to think outside the box I’ve produced over the last 30 years. I’m being stretched to think about a future that He might prefer look different than what I’m used to.
" He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since He is the Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man-made temples, and human hands can't serve his needs--for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything. ...From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps find him--though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist." Acts 17:24-28 (NLT)
Let your faith grow as you relax in the God who is “Lord of heaven and earth.”
I’m absolutely persuaded that God is up to something BIG. The pandemic has now affected practically the entire earth and the economic impact will be felt by every individual. He must be superintending something BIG.
Is He seeking to humble humanity? Is He trying to reconstruct political, social, economic and power structures across the globe? What is He seeking to say to humanity? Is He trying to get us to listen? Is He seeking to remodel the 2,000 year old church?
On a personal level I am learning traits about myself that I might not have seen without these new factors. I am being pressed to think outside the box I’ve produced over the last 30 years. I’m being stretched to think about a future that He might prefer look different than what I’m used to.
" He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since He is the Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man-made temples, and human hands can't serve his needs--for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything. ...From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps find him--though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist." Acts 17:24-28 (NLT)
Let your faith grow as you relax in the God who is “Lord of heaven and earth.”
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