Walk the Talk

Philippians 2:8-11: He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

James 3:2: Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

In my reading today I was struck a couple of times by simple phrases. Not only did they come alive on the page but pinched me with conviction!

James teaches us that if we can bridle our tongue and not offend in word, then we are perfect in the sight of God. Even as small as the tongue is, it is still hard to tame. The reason being it vents what is hidden in our hearts. So we must begin with the heart if we want our tongues to remain silent. Have you considered how the heart is also revealed in our thoughts, our self-talk (I can be brutal to myself in my head), and our running mental commentaries on others as well? Just because no one else might hear those comments doesn’t mean they do not reveal the pollution of our hearts.

The verses in our text for today teach us that Jesus was more than just obedient; He humbled Himself through submission. Many people will obey spiritual authority as long as they agree with it, but the moment they don’t agree with authority, they rebel. This is why Christians can’t tame the tongue. We sometimes refuse to obey when the suffering of our flesh man is involved. Yet Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to the death of the cross. The Word declared that He “became” obedient. It was a process that He was willing to undergo that prepared Him for the suffering. It is that process of being “willing to be made willing” to suffer that we all must submit to if we want to be perfect before the Lord.

1 John 2:5-6: But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

The Lord doesn’t require us to walk the streets of Jerusalem to be like Christ, but He does require us to walk “the way” that Jesus walked, and Jesus walked humbly before the Father. He did not please the religious rulers, nor was He humble to them. All the Father asks of us as His children is that we place our faith in Christ and walk in humility before Him while we live in a fallen world.

Lord, help us to become “willing to be made willing” to submit to Your authority, to have our hearts cleansed from all pollution, bitterness, and rebellion so we might walk the way of Christ, in obedience and humility. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Things We do to Ourselves

Luke 9:57-58 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

This scripture was lovingly and mercifully brought to my mind this morning. After a weekend of unwise…okay, really stupid thinking on my part, the Lord reminded me of His words. It was a ‘spiritual light bulb moment’ if you will.

After writing the blog last week on whining, I spent far too much time wringing my hands and whining my way through the weekend. Good grief! That’s appropriate, ‘grief’ was decidedly what I brought on myself with all the worry and whining.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

God’s peace was not my companion this past weekend and it was all my fault. I know better but I still fell into the trap of worry. What do I do? Do I stay or do I go? Do I down size or punt? Will I find a good job so I can stay or will I have to leave to find a job? Which end is up? What do I do? Do I stay or do I go? Do I down size or punt? A merry-go-round of crazed thinking rolling over and over in my head. Needless to say, no answer did I find in my loony-tunes thinking!

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

I was wallowing in confusion and kept repeating that verse above. I knew I was neither thinking nor acting according to the Word. Yet, there I was swimming in a pool of doubt and, yes I have to say it, self-pity. Poor me, what was I to do? Oh, please! It may sound harsh to say but I was the author of my confusion and worry. I listened to my flesh, sowed into fear and reaped a harvest of stress and worry with strength that could take down a bull elephant! I did it. I can’t blame the enemy for it, though I am sure he was entertained by it.

Then, as if to say ‘I love you anyway’, God gave me the scripture Luke 9:57-58 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

As long as I am following the Lord and serving Him, what does it matter where I live? The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I am calm this morning and my heart is happy. I lost sight of all that is important to me for a couple of days and paid the price. Oh, I prayed over the weekend but it was with self-centered motives. I was seeking my will, not His. Silly girl. The consequences of that turned my weekend into a long nightmare and I suffered physically because of the stress.

I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 …in spite of yourself. Italics added by me.

No Whining Allowed

Lamentations 2:11 My eyes are worn out from weeping, everything in me is churning: I am empty of emotion because of the wounds of my people, because children and infants are fainting away in the streets of the city.

I don’t like whining. As a parent, I was adamant about not allowing my children to become whiners. They were free to express their negative feelings about something they felt to be unfair, but endless griping and grousing was unacceptable. It is especially difficult to be around an adult whiner.

We may find it difficult to genuinely grieve as adults because we don’t want to be whiners. We don’t want people to avoid us because we’re always talking negatively. We all know someone like that; no matter how much you try to encourage they refuse to be swayed and almost prefer their miserable whining over possible solutions. We certainly do not want to thought of in that manner. We don’t want to be thought of as big babies. So we put on a happy face and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, get a grip, buck up and do whatever it takes to avoid the label of “whiner.” This can be especially true in the workplace, where negative emotions are often deemed to be inappropriate. Yet we can carry this professional limitation home with us, or to church, or even to our communication with God.

The Bible describes instances of whining. In Numbers 11, for example, the people of Israel are unhappy with their life outside of Egypt, so they start whining, much to God’s displeasure (11:10).

Notice, though, that whining is not the same as grieving. Whining is petty complaining. It’s going on and on about something that really isn’t all that important in the big picture of life. Whining is not lamentation, which is deep grieving over acute devastation and suffering. What we read in Lamentations 2:11, for example, is not whining, but profound mourning: My eyes are worn out from weeping, everything in me is churning: I am empty of emotion because of the wounds of my people, because children and infants are fainting away in the streets of the city.

Scripture teaches us to avoid self-centered, trivial, petulant whining. But it also gives us ample permission to express our genuine grief with freedom. Indeed, as we read in Ecclesiastes 3:4, there is “a time for crying and a time for laughing, a time for mourning and a time for dancing.”

What Do You Need Today?

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Yesterday I visited my favorite grocery store. I say visited because I took my time to sight-see and appreciate the experience rather than bolting through list in hand in hopes of getting out as quickly as possible. I’m a practical person and once I’ve made my grocery list from menu plans, I pretty much stick to it. I don’t buy junk food or sugary things. I read labels and put back more items than I leave with usually. Having health issues has made a big difference in how I choose what I let into my body but making healthy choices is more than food, it’s a mindset.

Maybe it has come with age and/or wisdom, I don’t know, but I have come to a time in my life where I am eager to eliminate the things I do not need. Before you can do that, you have to determine what your priorities are, they outline the needs. Needs and wants are two different things. It is important to know the difference.

This is my list of what I NEED:

My relationship with Jesus is #1. I need my Bible and dedicated time with Him.

#2 Family and close friend relationships are vital. I’m not talking about a wide circle of people, though that is nice, but my need is that small intimate circle of people I know I can trust with my most private, personal self. Sadly, not all family or friends falls into that category but that’s okay, you love them anyway.

#3 Home (for me) has always been elusive. I won’t bore you with that long story but I’ve come to realize that maybe, in part, it is because my eternal home is the only one that really counts. I am just a traveler in this world passing through. That being said, my earthly home is where I can feel peaceful. It’s not about the size of the house or the cost of the furnishings; it is more emotion than location. I need a place of peace.

#4 I need pretty. By that I mean I need the work of my hands to use the colors of life God created to make my surroundings pretty. Gardening, bringing color inside, delights not only my eyes but soothes me mentally and emotionally as well. Goes with that sense of peace I need.

#5 Wisdom. I need wisdom. I pray for wisdom all the time.

Now, you notice my list of Needs is not a long one. Were I to write up a list of wants, it would be longer, no doubt. But even then, it would be far shorter now than at other stages of my life. You might notice what I didn’t list…a job, health, food, security….for these I refer you to Need #1. Everything on my list, in fact, leads right back to #1. When you get to the basics of what you actually need, it all comes from #1.

If I had to walk away from my home today, never to look back or return, I would take my Bible and my pups. That’s it. My #1 goes with me everywhere I go and provides #’s 2-5. That’s all I need. See? Healthy choices are easy when you know what you need.

Storm Warnings

Matthew 8:23-27 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

I grew up in the bay area of the Gulf Coast. It wasn’t exactly a pretty place with pristine beaches but you just can’t knock living in such close proximity to fresh seafood! I could quite happily eat fish every day even at my present ripe old age. Watching a storm roll in across the water can be fascinating, beautiful and a little scary if you’re caught unaware ten miles out from shore.

I now live in the edge of the hill country on top of a hill. I still watch the storms move in here. The power can be intense, the lightning magnificent and the wind will not be ignored. To look out my window at this moment it is hard to tell how sever the weather was last night. The birds are singing, the breeze is blowing and the sun is gracing me with a clear picture of my beloved vista of distant hills painted in a rich hue of blue.

When we experience ‘storms’ in our lives it’s more like the ones that sneak in at night. They aren’t really sneaking, they’ve had time to build and grow in intensity. They are shrouded in darkness and we are occupied in the activities of day-to-day life inside the perceived safety of our homes, so they catch us off guard. These storms can bring catastrophic loss and suffering. The only forecast of this kind of storm and survival therein is found in God’s Word.

Regardless of the storms we face, either in the natural or storms brought on through sin, Jesus is always there. Notice in the verses above, He did not prevent the storm from happening in the first place. He knew the storm was on the way, He could have uttered a few words and it would never have been an issue, but He didn’t. Storms are going to come, count on it! Jesus used this opportunity to grow the disciples’ faith. This was not a painless lesson. They experienced fear and anxiety. Here they were with Jesus Himself and yet still quaked with fear and doubt. We are not exempt from getting soaking wet in the midst of a storm. Where we have advantage over the disciples is in knowing the ‘rest of the story’, to quote Paul Harvey. We KNOW we have a savior in Christ. We KNOW we have the only life raft we need when we are in the boat with Jesus. This comfort comes from knowing and believing and trusting our lives completely in the hands of Jesus.  

In the midst of my storm, Lord, my trust is in You!