Does perspective matter?

Perspective is more than just how you view the circumstances of your life, it is also acts like an inner compass that guides you as you make the choices that determine your life. The Apostle Paul ends his great epistle to the Galatians with the declaration that it is all about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! Paul's perspective, his guiding principle was that Christ died for him and therefore he died to the world.  That was Paul's boast! 

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14 

What should our "boast" be? The same as Paul's. There will be all kinds of spiritual fads. There will be a plethora of teachers teaching things that people either want to hear or just like to hear, not necessarily what they need to hear. I recently joined Facebook. Because of the type of people I have friended I get a lot of little "inspirational" posting. It is not that I think these things are of the devil, I just do not see them as mature. "Liking" a post is not a spiritual act.

My question is whether I am dying to the world in a way that my wife and children can notice or be positively affected by or not. 

May you perspective be centered on the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for you so you may live by faith in Him.

Father, may your Holy Spirit infuse us with the knowledge of the cross of Christ. Praise be to you in us today!

Do you believe you reap what you sow?

I used to take the Blue Line to work and walk about four blocks to the school I was teaching at. There was one "gentleman" who I passed every morning. He was out sweeping his walk way. As soon  as he saw me he would just start cussing me out and continue until I was out of earshot. I would just say, "Good morning!" One day I caught him just before he started cussing at me and said, "Good morning!" first. He said, "Good morning, sir." from that day on. It's funny because I could of said something mean back to him about his family, father, and mother (as he had said to me), but, God granted me grace and I just said, "Good morning!" After that I reaped a very pleasant, "Good morning, sir." every day. 

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who saves to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good. For at the proper time we will reap a harvest of we do not give up." Galatians 6:7-9 

Isn't it amazing that Paul expresses this as an axiomatic truth and he only leaves two possible routes and outcomes? "God cannot be mocked." I have met a lot of people who think they are not bound by this principle. I worked under a Principal once who fired their whole counseling team (in truth because they refused to be bullied by her). The principal smugly felt she won. What she sowed was a beginning of a year without anyone to program the students. It was a serious mess. 

Paul tells us the reality, the truth, of how we reap what we sow. There is either destruction or eternal life as fruit to be harvested. If we sow to our sinful nature, even if we call ourselves Christians, we will reap death. Death to relationships, death to hope. Or, if we sow to the Spirit and do not become weary of doing good, we will reap eternal life. Eternal life breathed into our relationships and into our hope.

I encourage you to sow to the Spirit. What is one good thing you can do today? What can you do for your spouse? Your children? Your work partners? Sow today, the harvest will come. 

Father, forgive us for when we have sown to the sinful nature. Help us to sow to the Spirit and to not grow weary in doing good. Big or small, help us to do good to others today. Praise be to you in us today!

No Need to Jolt, Be Gentle

When I first became a Christian I was pretty zealous. I did not want to see anyone suffer the snares of sin. So, I often tried to "warn" people. I was nicknamed "the rebuke squad." Although I was sincere in my desire to keep people from sin I was not always gentle. At that time there was a pastor named Romaine who was known for being blunt and not pulling any punches. I had the pleasure of talking with him one time. One on one he was one of the most gentle people I have ever met. Not wishy-washy, just gentle. I learned through those experiences that although the truth can sometimes be a cold splash of truth in the face, I don't have to throw it in peoples faces. The Holy Spirit can speak to anyone He wishes. Paul told the Galatians,

"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But, watch yourself, or you may be tempted." Galatians 6:1

What this means to us is that when we deal with each other, we are to be gentle and seek each others restoration. We are all going to sin. That is not an excuse, just a realization. The truth, no matter how gently delivered, can be quite a jolt. So, we need to be there ready to steady our brothers or sisters and help them to get their footing again. 

The other side of this is that when dealing with sin, it is like dealing with a sick person. You want to take care of them without catching what they had. Not everyone is as tempted in the same way. But, if you are dealing with someone who is struggling with a sin you struggle with, watch yourself. 

Father, forgive us our sins. Help us to encourage each other and to help each other to overcome sin and this world. Praise be to you in us today!

Come, Live by the Spirit!

I have been in education for a good while now and I noticed there are two basic groups in the lunch room. One group is positive and tries to find the good in there students and to be positive in their approach. This group is always sharing their successes and thinking of ways to improve. The other group is a bit jaded and complains a lot. The topic is always about how bad this class is, and how unhelpful the administration is and the useless attempts at dealing with some parents who defend their little devil even in the face of undeniable evidence. The funny thing is, I rarely see the complainers having much success, while I have always found the positive group to be much more proficient in helping their students learn. The fruit of their belief about their students produces much better results. In Christianity the Apostle Paul says this,

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live in the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-25

We will either have the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of the sinful nature, often referred to as "the flesh." Which direction am I looking? To live in the Spirit I need to passionately seek and desire to be loving, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled, not, controlled by my passions and desires.  If I may go back to my experience as an educator. The point of view that I had was a choice, to find the good happening in my classes and build upon that, or, to fixate on the negative and let that drag me down. The same goes as a Christian, I must choose to crucify the sinful nature by choosing to seek that which follows the way of love. 

Father, helps us to choose to live by faith in Christ Jesus. Give us strength to seek love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Praise be to you in us today!

Who Do You Trust?

"Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
     he answers from his holy heaven 
     with the saving power of his right hand.
 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
     but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
 They are brought to their knees and fall,
     but we rise up and stand firm.
 O LORD, save the king!
     Answer us when we call!" Psalm 20: 6-9

Whatever battle you find yourself in, how ever long the siege is lasting, no matter how bad it looks, trust in the LORD! 

Father, we call upon you to fight our battles and bring us the victory. Some of us have been entrenched for quite a long time and we have begun to despair. Answer our call for help! Praise be to you in us today!

A Prayer for You...

"May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; 

     may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

 May he send you help from the sanctuary 

     and grant you support from Zion.

 May he remember all your sacrifices

     and accept your burnt offerings.

 May he give you the desire of your heart 

     and make all your plans succeed.

 We will shout for joy when you are victorious

     and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. 

 May the LORD grant all your requests."

     Psalm 20:1-5

Legalism vs. Love

I am blessed in that one of the schools I attended was a great little Bible College in the South. It is know for training missionaries. They also had something called "Total Life Training." Everything from waking up each day at 6:15 AM for devotions to regulations on clothing was part of the "training." Levies were not allowed for classes and young ladies were not to wear tight fitting or revealing clothing. 

One Saturday I went to the local mall to pick up a few things and I noticed two groups of guys. One from the local University and the other from my school. A few attractive girls walked by wearing tight fitting pants. The group from the University hardly noticed while the group from my school all nearly got whip lash from turning their heads so fast. 

Legalism, the law, does not teach you how to handle your sinful desires, or any desires at all. You can make all kinds of rules and do all types of "spiritual" activities and yet have no clue how to handle you desires. Especially since we live in a world that simply says the desire to procreate is an animal instinct so base that any attempt to deal with it is futile. The Bible declares,

"So, I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." Galatians 5:16-18

Do you know that there is a real "conflict" for your very soul? We each have two natures, one of the flesh and the other of the Spirit. It's funny when cartoons, TV shows and movies picture an angel and a little devil on someones shoulders battling it out for control of someones mind and decisions. The world wants to make light of it because they want to deny that God has given us each a conscience and that we CAN choose. But, the truth is that when we live by the Spirit we can choose to do the right thing, to love others as we love ourselves. God will provide the strength when you need it and the way when you struggle to find it. 

Father, help me to live by the Spirit and not gratify those sinful desires. Help me to gratify the Spirit by serving others. Praise be to you in us today!