Christian Caring
Though no one cares about me, let me care about You and let others see Your care for them through me.
Frustration to Celebration
Frustration into Celebration
1 Kings 8:17-19 (English Standard Version)
Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’
My biggest challenge in being a Christian has been frustration over wanting to do something important for the LORD yet being denied the ability to do it and realizing that it’s GOD Himself preventing it, even if He uses others (and some creepy others) to do it (or prevent me from doing it). And it has taken these many, many years for the LORD to get the answer into my head (not that He has any explaining to do to me or that I understand more than a sliver of it). Hopefully what little I do understand will spare you from this same frustration.
The key is that tiny phrase in today’s passage, “you did well that it was in your heart.”
Human beings are a selfish bunch. As I read someone saying this week, “Everyone’s favorite radio station is WIFM (What’s in It for Me?). It can all be reduced to the saying “As far as ______ can tell.” Even Believers use this as their judgment of motivation, thought and behavior. Our motivations are always weighed by “As far as I can tell I’ve done nothing wrong or worse than anyone else.” And we make judgments about others and their behavior based on “As far as I can tell” he/she is a good or bad person. We also use this to set the mark on how well we need to behave. We will do only as much, or little, as necessary to score a passing grade on what is acceptable behavior as far as our co-workers can tell (or a higher standard for as far as our spouses can tell).
What we forget is that GOD judges by motivations of the heart. JESUS says that it’s the intent of a man’s heart that make his thoughts and actions pure or impure. So GOD uses our true motivations, which we may not even be able to distinguish, as the gauge of our motives and actions. The standard is no longer as far as we can tell or others can tell about us, but as far as GOD can tell; that is, absolute Truth and reality beyond perception or deception.
Believers are given a new heart. And though it is still subject to the sinfulness of earthly life it has also been sealed by the Holy Spirit. It has the mark of new birth on it that only GOD can see. And though it will always show out in some sort of fruitfulness the fruitfulness is not the point. It is the motivation of the Holy Spirit that counts even though the action is thwarted by the Holy Spirit Himself. The desire of the heart is the Spiritual DNA test that shows the true sons & daughters of GOD & their health.
Now we can see that our frustration at not being able to do more for GOD is really a celebration, not a frustration, because it shows “our heart’s in the right place” even if GOD doesn’t allow anything to come of it or GOD will continue to work with us until it’s there.
Like a child that wants to give his mother a diamond bracelet but must settle for making one of clay, “it’s the thought that counts. ” And whether that thought was to distract from the broken statue the child broke or purely out of love, GOD (and in this case mother) knows & will deal with accordingly.
So next time you’re frustrated at not being able to do the good you’d like to do, remember Moses who was told what to tell Pharaoh to do by GOD at the same time GOD told Moses He would not let Pharaoh listen or obey. And remember the reason GOD gave: to get Glory for Himself. By glorifying Himself, as the Father reassured JESUS He was doing and would do again in Christ’s ministry, GOD is doing what’s best for Believers who are completely dependent on Him for any holiness or glory He gives through Christ. GOD is glorified by His intent, His will, being in the hearts of Believers as a sign His Kingdom is on earth in Believers hearts even though they don’t understand how they are or aren’t used themselves. The rocks didn’t need to cry out on Palm Sunday. It was enough that they could have.
As we see in Acts 16, it was a sign of the Holy Spirit being in his heart that motivated Paul to preach the Gospel but it was also the Holy Spirit Who prevented him from preaching in one place and called him to preach in another. “As far as Paul could tell” he was supposed to preach in Asia, until he was told otherwise. Only GOD can tell what we can’t and only He can determine how to get Glory the best way. He uses even our frustrations for His Glory, and His Glory is always to our good. The Potter may choose to make something lesser of us “as far as we can tell”, but as He did with pointing Job out to Satan in Job 1, He still points to us as symbols of what His Love looks like.
Temptation resulted in damnation. JESUS brings salvation. The Holy Spirit brings transformation into new creation with new motivation. And even frustration in the new creation is cause for celebration, the Father’s exaltation. :0)
Exodus 14:4
I Samuel 13:14
1 Samuel 16:7
Mark 7:23
Luke 19:40
John 12:28
Romans 8:27-29
Prayer
Prayer is your soul’s chamois cloth to clean your mind and see the gift of Life GOD has given us as He leads us Home to Himself.
The Faith Blade
Many people have been hurt by Religion & Faith but a blade only hurts when it’s used the wrong way.
Lemon Eaters
Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
I am one of those people who look as though I eat a lot of lemons. In Italian we call that “puckered up” expression “fungia”, mushroom, probably because our lips look like mushrooms when we pout. Maybe it’s just the way our faces go. I often have people asking “What’s wrong?” When nothing’s wrong at all and I’m (as I usually am) singing and humming. Or maybe it’s because we’re so accustomed to worry and the bitter taste of the world that we forget to smile.
This Psalm is no “think happy thoughts” quote from Peter Pan. Rather it is a call to remember, often and with intentionality, that no matter how sour and sick the circumstances of life, GOD is fundamentally, completely and eternally Good. And all He is and does is good. It is no wonder, then, that those whose ancestors suffered slavery still chant the motto, “GOD is good all the time; all the time GOD is good.” And we, each and all of us, can join in that chant, because we are, each and all of us, slaves to sin until JESUS, Goodness in Flesh, sets us free.
Another saying “It’s all good”, however, is a lie. As Psalm 34 tells us, evil is real. It is a bitter poison that flavors every bite of life if we let it. “It” is not all good. But GOD is, and uses even evil to His own good purpose though there is no evil or evil intent in Himself.
The reason it is so important to attend gatherings with (fellow) Believers, to read and/or listen to the Bible (not just about the Bible), to pray and to sing praise songs often is to wash the bitter taste of evil out of our souls. As this psalm points out, every one of these opportunities is a time when we can taste and see the goodness of GOD underlying what otherwise might embitter us.
Don’t allow those opportunities (and they are as close as your knees, your bookshelf, your breath, bus or car) to pass you by.
The Israelites had allowed themselves to get accustomed to the distasteful food of the world for so long and so often that even the sweetness of food from Heaven wouldn’t satisfy them after a while. They didn’t even recognize GOD’s grace after a while, calling the food He provided “What is it?” (manna). They even complained it was too bland. And the same, calling good evil and evil good, can happen to us if we lose our taste for GOD.
JESUS, GOD Incarnate, calls us to feed upon Him and be filled with eternal life. He is our refuge from death, which is the consequence of the recipe of evil we’ve cooked up for ourselves. Taste and see how good He is, how good Life in Him can be, in spite of the evil in ourselves, others and the fallen world. And smile!
Hetero vs homo sexual sins
The difference between heterosexual & homosexual sins is that both stole screwdrivers but homosexuals use theirs to open paint cans
Fulfillment
Fulfillment is the realization that your life adds color to the world, even if it’s in a spectrum only GOD can see. #Quote
Going Higher with Nehemiah
Nehemiah 6:2-3
“Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.
And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
So there we were. After being dragged away from home and having our city destroyed we were given permission to come back and rebuild. And we worked hard. There were still plenty of enemies surrounding us though they didn’t dare touch us directly, knowing we had permission to be there. But they kept harrassing us.
On top of that, Governor Nehemiah was a tough task master. Sometimes it felt like being back with our forefathers, in Egypt, slaving away under his micro-management. What did he know about building? Why couldn’t he be like other leaders and let us do our jobs in peace? But he kept after us constantly, “holier than thou”, not just about work but even our personal lives.
Two wicked men, Sanballat & Geshem, kept sending messages to Nehemiah to quit building and go see them. We all knew there was trouble either way. If he went down, they could have a trap, politically or even physically, to stop or even harm him. If he didn’t stop, their political connections could have him harmed. Any lie they said would be believed.
Then one day we heard Nehemiah’s response and that changed everything. He told them, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down!”
And it occurred to the rest of us. THAT’s what we were doing, too! We weren’t just building a wall or a well. We were rebuilding Jerusalem, the City GOD Himself set up as His throne on earth! We were GOD’s people, doing GOD’s work to His Glory!
How can we keep focus on GOD’s business if we are distracted by going back down to common things?
When relationships GOD says are wrong call us, we cannot go back down to that lifestyle.
When distractions of building kingdoms of reputations for ourselves attract us, we cannot go down.
GOD has made us His own people, set apart as His family, His representatives by sacrifice He put in place. We are His by creation, by the sacrifice of Blood of the Lamb, the Messiah temple sacrifice symbolizes, and by devotion when we recognize what He has done for us.
We who have been chosen, bought at such a great price, have the joy to serve GOD. When we realize that our lives themselves, each brick of word or action, held by the mortar of our thoughts, are holy works of GOD as His city in the world, we will no longer be satisfied with any lesser life. The sweat that stings our eyes turn to tears of gratitude. We cannot go back down to a life of sin. We are too busy going higher, keeping our eyes on our Master , the Master Builder, GOD Himself, building His Kingdom through us.
Evolution vs Creation
The difference between evolution & creation is, evolution looks for signs of communication but the Creator gave life through conversation.
Creature Comfort
Everything I miss
In the company of others
Is a reflection of You
Who never leaves nor forsakes/
Every good thing found
in Christian sisters and brothers
is the gift of what You choose
to reveal of Yourself that day