Too Much to Pay

 

 

From before the beginning of time, God sent His only begotten Son to pay for the sin debt of every single person on this planet (Romans 8:29; Isaiah 44:2), because He was the only perfect human being every conceived. 

 

Paying our own sin-debt was impossible for us to compensate; so, Jesus willing accepted the position. Now, anyone humble enough to surrender our body, soul and spirit to God’s complete control is afforded the privilege of being adopted into the family of God. 

 

What God is looking for from us is total submission to His way of thinking and His timing for all of His fulfilling plans for our life (Matthew 7:21-23; Jeremiah 29:11). A simple conviction of our sins is not enough, because to feel remorse for something we do wrong is a common emotion in our human psyche. 

 

Once we truly and completely give up our will and ways, and invite God’s Spirit to control our life, we enter into a personal relationship with God through conversion in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18). Conversion starts with restoration of our spirit. 

 

Once dead in sin, our spirit is instantly redeemed though the blood that Jesus shed on Calvary’s cross. Then, the Holy Spirit begins His sanctifying process of our soul – our thoughts, emotions and choices. The third step, glorification, happens instantly when we stand before God’s throne in Heaven.

 

Every human being longs for the assurance that comes from having a purpose in this life. We endeavor to use human reasoning to find our place where we can give and receive in harmony with everyone else. This may last for a while, but it usually ends in our dissatisfaction both with the status quo and with our ultimate unfulfillment.

 

We also often feel a need to atone for our own failures and to make amends for them. Of course, we can do this in many areas, but only the blood of Jesus totally cleanses us from everything, while He also shares with us all the things that are His (1 John 1:7; Romans 8:16-18).

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You so much for sending Jesus to give us a perfect example of how to live and to die on this earth. His words of Truth are so motivating, educational, and comforting. He showed authentic love to the vilest of sinners, as well as to the little children and His disciples. Through every act of kindness in His lifetime, as well as His atonement on Calvary’s cross for our sins, we indeed find His example to reach peace, joy and inspiration.  

 

Thank You that Jesus, as God in human form, reconciled to Himself the whole world; yet, only a few find Your narrow road, and agree to forsake the wide road that surprisingly leads to ultimate and eternal destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). We are effectively reconciled to You through Jesus’ personal sacrifice, and for this we are perpetually grateful. We praise Your holy name.

 

Thought for the Day:

Jesus demonstrated the possibility of our freedom from the entanglement of sin, as well as our reconciliation to God - that we are unable to achieve for our self - regardless of our good works; Jesus relinquished His reputation, and sinless perfection and took upon Himself the sins of the entire world of humanity – past, present and future – and for this we owe Him our allegiance and adoration.

- Ephesians 2:8-9

Somebody Loves Me

 

 

Some people love storms. There are storm chasers who video them, take meteorology information from them, and report them on the news. Some people even take their lawn chairs and sit on their covered porch to watch them pass over their home. 

 

Other people hide under the covers in a storm, or wear earplugs to avoid hearing the thunder, and draw their shades to keep from seeing the lightning. Regardless of our attitude about storms, we all face them – even at the most unexpected times in life.

 

When we turn control of our life over to God, He uses stormy trials to build our faith in His faithfulness, to purge us of negative fears and attitudes, to allow patience to have her perfecting work in our spiritual maturity (James 1:4-8), and to remind us to trust Him with our whole heart, not just part of it.

 

God’s sovereignty is a mighty stronghold for us if we establish the daily habit of walking in His Spirit and entering into His rest (Psalm 46:1, 94:22). No crisis in life has the power to defeat us – it is our attitude about the crisis that causes us problems. As we persevere in faith, we find hope in every predicament.

 

God’s Word is full of accounts of people who successfully navigated through a calamity by clinging to God’s reliability, love and care for us (1 Peter 5:7; Hebrews 11:39-40). They placed their hope in God, not in people, places or things. 

 

God does not always rescue us from negative circumstances, but He always walks in us and with us through them all (Hebrews 12:1, 13:5). As we keep an eternal focus on the issues that we face, His wisdom and strength enable us to finish the race that is before us. 

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for enabling us to maintain an eternal focus on the trials we experience in this life. We are either in a trial, just coming out of a trial, or about to enter a trial. Sometimes, one thing happens after another, giving us no respite in between. We experience trials that involve relationships, as well as some that include unhealthy mental, financial, emotional, and physical components. Yet, You allow us to overcome each one as victors rather than as victims.

 

We are constantly amazed that You have time, concern, and expend your energy and resources to think about humanity at all. We are like ants or worms – pesky pests always clamoring for You to intervene for us (Psalm 144:3; Luke 12:1, 6-7). We are even more amazed when we read that You rejoice over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17), consider us as Your friend (John 15:12-15), and You look forward to our death so that we can spend eternity in Your physical presence (Psalm 116:15).

 

Thought for the Day:

We often wonder if we will ever experience love on this side of heaven; however, regardless of the attitude other people have about us, we do matter now, we have value and significance, and we are cherished and unconditionally loved by the God of this universe (Psalm 147:4); He made us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), He knows how many strands of hair are on our head each moment of every day (Luke 12:7), and He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:2-4).

 

Who is the Judge?

 

 

God’s Word reminds us not to judge others, because He is their only judge and they stand or fall according to His dictates, not ours (Isaiah 33:22; Romans 14:4). We may be looking at them through our own insecurities, prejudices and goals, rather than God’s wisdom and truth. 

 

The problem may be in our attitude or focus, not in their words or actions. Flaws that we notice in them, may be a reflection of what is inside of us. God advises us to remove the log from our own eyes, rather than to attempt to remove the tiny splinter from someone else’s life (Matthew 7:3-5). 

 

The meaner that people act, the more they need our prayers. A secret trial may be affecting their behavior, and they need our patience and concern, not our judgment. We can never assume that we know the truth about them, because we may be sorely mistaken. 

 

It has been said that we should never judge another by the moment of their performance. We do not want others judging us if we give in to frustration, or the pain of some hidden illness, and act like an inappropriate child of God. We want to receive grace and understanding from them. So, it is only right that we extend the same mercy to others as well.

 

Even if a person acts unsuitably all the time, we can show them the love of God, which may help to solve the issues that are causing them to operate in unbecoming ways. If we appropriately discipline our reactions to life, we can even provide them with an example of alternative ways of acting.

 

They may need more than tolerance from us, because they can often read our facial expressions and body language toward them. We can ask God to give us His agape love for them, pray for them, and inquire from our Lord to discover how we can help them to feel better about themselves and to teach them how they can react more Biblically to life.

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for loving us in spite of our unlovable qualities. Remind us that You love the whole world with Your self-sacrificing love (John 3:16-17). Therefore, we can learn from Your Spirit to love a few little lost souls in the midst of our life experience. We all need unconditional love in our life, even if it only comes from one other person.

 

Help us to pay attention to others with an open heart and listening ears, as well as body language that is focused on the other person and not on our own concerns or our next event. Remind us that if the light of Christ within us shines brightly, He will use it to draw people to Himself (John 12:32). 

 

Thought for the Day:

To help people know that we care about them, we move beyond merely tolerating their quirky behavior and attitude, and we accept them just the way they are; if we truly want the best for them, they will instinctively know it, but if we only half-heartedly pay attention to them, they will know that too.

 

Positive Ways to Diffuse Anger

 

Learning how to constructively express our anger and disappointment can be a life-long challenge. The Bible gives us accounts of times that both God and Christ exhibited furious wrath. Anger is a very useful, God-given emotion for us. 

 

However, we are admonished not to allow sin to spawn from that powerful emotion. We can consult the Lord on alternative ways of expressing that anger more constructively. I eventually resorted to ironing, or to taking a walk to reduce the tension of angry feelings in my heart. 

 

Journaling my feelings, allowed me to vent the stress, and helped me to reread my thoughts to find out what actually triggered that strong, negative emotion. Journaling also helps us to plan alternative behaviors that will stop this response in the future, and to pray about the situation and the people involved.

 

Going to our “happy place” will counterbalance the flare of temper with positive feelings in our soul. Listening to uplifting praise music can help us to change our focus about the situation. Taking time for some deep-breathing exercises will help us to relax.

 

Keeping a list of Biblical advice about anger to reread at these peak emotional times helps us to cool down quickly. Shooting hoops in the driveway, doing tai-chi or yoga or other exercises, kickboxing with a punching bag, jumping rope, etc. all help us to expend that negative energy in positive ways.

 

Then, we can sit down with those who triggered our anger and calmly explain to them why we had such a negative reaction to the situation, and to request that in the future they also alter their behavior that causes us to enlist anger for our defense mechanism. 

 

There is always a primary emotion of fear, or disappointment, or hurt feelings, etc. that hide behind anger. Discovering this catalyst enables us to be slow to anger, and to enlist others to help us to face our underlying emotions and to express them instead of hiding behind anger.

 

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that negative emotions are usually red flags that warn us of some area of our life that we are neglecting. We codependently ignore our needs; or fail to obey Your Spirit, and we allow others to take advantage of us. We teach others to treat us abusively by not talking with them about the issues between us that make us feel overlooked, taken for granted, abandoned, overworked, stressed, etc.

 

Teach us to balance our life with more times of relaxation and pleasant activities in order to reduce stress and frustration and resentment. Help us to establish a more active prayer and Bible study component in our life to feed our spirit, strengthen our soul, and prevent our body from succumbing to stress-induced illnesses. Help us to walk in Your Spirit, so we are not controlled by our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25). 

 

Thought for the Day:

Surrendering our negative thoughts and feelings to the Lord will allow Him to teach us more productive behavior in order to express them and remove their intensity from controlling our life; meeting our own needs and walking in the Spirit, rather than in our flesh, will also help us to function in a meek and quiet attitude that is easy to entreat. 

- 1 Peter 3:4; Ephesians 4:26 

 

In God We Trust

 

 

“In God we trust” are words that face us every day on our currency; yet, how many people can say that this is true in their own life? Comedians irreverently use Biblical accounts to ridicule God, His judgments, His wisdom, His power and His reasoning. Unfortunately, many foolish people blindly fall for their heretical rhetoric, and believe it as fact. 

 

The true fact is that God never, ever sends judgment on a nation or a group of people unless He first send ample warning. Let’s look at Noah for instance. This faithful man of God preached salvation for 120 years at the same time that He built a huge boat that was capable of holding everyone in the known world at that time, as well as two animals of every kind on the face of the earth.

 

In fact, GOD sent the animals to Noah two by two. Imagine living in that day, seeing that huge ship take shape, watching all those animals obediently marching onto that boat – directed by some unseen force, and yet these same people still refused to take heed to God’s warning through Noah to get aboard the Ark. 

 

They ridiculed Noah’s words too, just like people today turn God’s Truth into the brunt of their jokes. Unfortunately, Noah’s neighbors did not get on board before GOD closed the door of the Ark (Genesis 7:16). When the rain fell - an uncommon phenomenon in that day, then reality hit some of the people and they attempted to get aboard.

 

However, when God shuts a door, it cannot be opened. God sent judgment, just as Noah said He would. Where was the laughter then? Noah’s family must have grieved the loss of their neighbors, friends and relatives; and the desperate screams of people attempting to get aboard the Ark must have pierced their soul in their helplessness to save the drowning all around them. 

 

Prayer:

Father God, although we are currently experiencing the birth pains (Matthew 24:8), of the last days before Your final judgment of the earth (Revelation), we look forward to Jesus’ return for His Bride. Just as in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37-39), we will be lifted up to our wedding feast before the Great Tribulation comes flooding over the land (Matthew 22:1-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10).

 

Yet, we too grieve for family, friends, associates, acquaintances, and neighbors who will not humble themselves and give their life and love to You for all of eternity. Thank You for arranging circumstances in their life to cause them to call out to You for their salvation even now. Help them to see and to hear Your warning of judgment, and to escape the eternal damnation, which their current refusal to believe in salvation through Jesus, will bring on them (John 3:18). 

 

Thought for the Day:

During these times of warning of impending fiery judgment ahead for the whole earth, it is our privilege, our calling, and our responsibility to take every divine appointment that God gives us to share the gospel now with anyone who asks us about the hope that we have within us.

- Revelation; 1 Peter 3:15

 

A Good Marriage - Noticing the Little Things

 

Have you ever looked for shapes in the clouds, eaten slowly in order to savor every bite, sat on the porch swing to watch the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees, cuddle with your favorite blanket at night, sat totally still and stroked the soft fur of your pet, or one of a multitude of other things that we experience, yet fail to notice or to enjoy every day.

 

Usually, the stress of our schedule, and the busyness of our responsibilities rob us of the time to appreciate the little things that God and our spouse do for us all day long. Yet, when we take the time to savor the blessings, and to remember God’s benefits (Psalm 103:1-5), we sigh a deep breath and our whole body relaxes.

 

Many of us make lists of things to do each day, bucket lists to accomplish in our lifetime, notes to remind us of responsibilities requiring our attention, or groceries we need to purchase on our next run to the store. Lists keep us organized, but often their tyranny robs us of living and enjoying the moment.

 

Maybe the importance of our purpose in life is out of alignment, or the stress of life is ruining our health, or we forget that our citizenship is in heaven and not on this earth (Philippians 3:20-21). Yet, when we emphasize God’s plans for us, our true objective comes back into focus.

 

His benefits never cease to amaze us (Psalm 34:8), and we spend our day praising His presence in our life – maybe not out loud due to our surroundings, but quietly in the fullness of our heart and mind. Nothing is ever too small or too big for us to bring to God’s awareness in prayer.

 

God encourages us to approach His throne with confidence to receive His grace to remain victorious over every trial that we ever experience (Hebrews 4:16). Regardless of what we are going through, we can place all of our cares into His capable hands, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for answering us every single time that we call on You for help (Psalm 120:1). You are our Creator God and You gave us life for a reason (Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 121:2). You call us to rejoice in every circumstance, to pray without ceasing, and to appreciate all that You and our spouse do for us, because this is Your recipe for our success (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

 

At the moment of our salvation, You move into our spirit by Your Spirit because You want to commune with us each moment of the day. You desire for our intimacy with our spouse and with You to increase, as our dependence on this world decreases. You want us to follow Your narrow path to keep us safe and to make us useful in Your Kingdom work. We worship You, Almighty God, because there is no one like You.

 

Thought for the Day:

James, the brother of Jesus, gives us an example of how to live our life for God (James 5:13-16):

1.  Confess our sins to God and one another so they can be forgiven.

2.  Pray continually about any distress in our life.

3.  Sing joyful songs to the Lord, especially when we are happy.

4.  Ask the elders for prayer when we are sick, so we can be well.

5.  Realize that powerful and effective prayers come from those who walk in the righteousness of Christ in us.

 

Growing in Grace and Knowledge

 

 

How do we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord? It sounds very complex; yet, nothing in the spiritual realm is hard, because Christ abides within us with all wisdom and power. Grace is favor with God that we cannot earn and do not deserve.

 

Knowledge is our personal growth, spiritual maturity, and discipleship in the ways of the Lord. Personal Bible study, church attendance, and prayer increases our knowledge. God gives us everything that we need to live a Godly life, because He calls us by His own glory and excellence (2 Peter 3:17-18; Ephesians 4:15; 2 Peter 1:3). 

 

By His grace, He readily forgives our sins as we repent of them, and He helps us to grow deeper and firmer in our faith in His faithfulness. We also grow in our individual relationship with Jesus’ presence within us (1 Peter 1:8). This keeps us from sinning, and it helps us to continue to increase in our knowledge of who the Trinity is (2 Peter 1:8). 

 

God rescues us from every evil action and brings us safely into His heavenly Kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18). As we learn who God is, and what He wants to do for us, His grace and peace are multiplied in our life (2 Peter 1:2).

 

We also grow in our individual relationship with Jesus (1 Peter 1:8). Christ rises within us with healing in His wings for our body and soul (Malachi 4:2), and by His divine power, He gives us what we need for a fulfilled life of holiness, calling us to walk in His glory and virtue (2 Peter 1:3,8). 

 

As we come to know Him more, we escape the pollution of this world’s humanistic thinking and practices, and we enter into eternal life (John 17:3). Through the presence of Christ in us, we live a life that honors the Trinity of God within us (John 5:23).

 

We may suffer in this world of tribulation and distress, but by the grace of God, who calls us into His eternal glory through Christ in us, we are made perfect, established in His presence, strengthened in our faith, and settled in peace, even during unsettling times (1 Peter 5:10-11).

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for leading us away from temptation and delivering us from evil. We look forward to eternally abiding in Your Kingdom, and to walking in Your power and glory forever (Matthew 6:13). We could not thrive in this world without Your presence in our life both now and even until the end of the world (Matthew 28:20).

 

Help us to continue to grow in Your grace and to increase in our knowledge of who You are, what You want to do for us and in us, and what You mean to us. Teach us to rely on Your peace in our spirit in planning each moment of our day. We walk in Your joy, which defies human description, because it is so much more than the happiness which this world can provide for us (Philippians 4:7).

 

Thought for the Day:

The knowledge of who Christ is enables us to escape the corruption of this world, and it keeps us from getting tangled up and overcome by it again (2 Peter 2:20); authentic Born Again Believers flourish like a palm tree, and we grow straight, strong, and tall like a cedar of Lebanon (Psalm 92:12).

 

Paying Attention to Each Other

 

There are several cues that we can offer, as we listen to someone who is talking to us, that will communicate to them that we are paying attention to them. For instance, we can nod our head, smile, look into their eyes, show emotion in our face - such as surprise, concern, empathy, etc. or we can mirror the emotion that they are confessing to us.

 

If the person is repeating words or bringing up the same perspective of the same problems, they may feel that we are not listening, or that we do not understand what they are attempting to convey to us. We can interject a short “I see,” or “I hear what you’re saying” to let them know that we hear and understand them.

 

If we are previously scheduled to be someplace else, or if we are experiencing some distraction in our own attention, or if we do not have time to fully listen, we can make an appointment to meet with that person at a mutually agreeable future place and time.

 

They may feel frustrated or overwhelmed, but this will give them time to work out their own issue, or to find someone else that can give them undivided attention, unless they would prefer to wait and to share their issue only with us. 

 

This will be better than if we attempt to half-heartedly focus on their need or leave in the middle of their attempt to share with us. Interrupting the person talking in order to switch our attention to someone else who needs our attention is very offensive to the speaker. 

 

We can touch the person’s arm to continue contact with them, while we take a second to tell the new person that we will be with them in a few minutes. Then we turn right back to listening to the original person. This will let them know that we value their feelings and that we really care about their issues. 

 

We may take the interrupting person by surprise, but they will appreciate knowing that we will give them the same undivided attention later. If we turn to fully face the person speaking to us, we will communicate to others that we are fully engrossed in our current conversation. 

 

Prayer:

Father God, help us to remember that our focused attention is vitally important to the burdened soul who came to us for comfort. Remind us that we can also take the person aside to sit in an unoccupied area of the room to let others know we are dedicated to listening to that one person. A listening ear will help to diffuse the intensity of the troubled person’s emotions and relieve the immediacy of their issues.

 

Teach us too that we never need to offer answers or give advice to the one sharing their concerns with us. Showing that we care helps them to figure out their own solutions, since they are the one embroiled in the problem at that moment. We want to lift You up so that their focus is on You, instead of on us. We can end any listening session by praying with the person once they finish sharing their burdens with us.

 

Thought for the Day:

Partial attention is insulting to the speaker and prevents us from fully understanding the speaker’s needs, while full attention communicates that we are sympathetic to their concerns and that we want to share in their experience and to help them to carry their burdens.

- Galatians 6:2

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Confession: I am a Real, Live Alien

 

 

With all of the movies, TV shows and books about aliens on our earth, Men in Black was the most graphic and entertaining to me. The speculation about the reality of  aliens dwelling among us has pulsed the scientific and psy-fi world for generations. 

 

So, I have decided, in my old age, to “come clean” and to confess that I am an alien. I do not belong to this human world, and I have never felt comfortable living here. I have been here on assignment from my true home for over 50 years, going from one mission to the next. Spying on and abducting unsuspecting victims since day one. 

 

Contrary to what the media wants you to think, aliens are not all here to hurt the human race. Many of us are very altruistic and have your best interest at heart. We want to improve your lifestyle and to ensure that you have an eternal home in which to reside when your life on earth is finished.

 

Our Commander-in-Chief has specific goals for each one of us and for you as well. He actually spent time on earth in order to pay the debt that you and I and every other being on the planet throughout generations of time accumulated over the years of our life here. He was the only one righteous enough to accomplish this exploit. 

 

Feeling like strangers, we take every opportunity to gather together in each other’s company, including the new recruits. We congregate around meals, the study of our handbook, and we help one another on our mission here on terra firma. 

 

We are amazed at the beauty of our surroundings here, but we look forward to returning to our land that is unadulterated by human greed and abuse. Life has been hard here at times, since we know without any doubt about the glory that awaits us in our eternal home. 

 

However, we gladly gave each moment of service here, in hopes of recruiting as many human beings as possible into the service of our amazing Lord and King. I am sharing this confession in faith, believing that my revelation here will draw everyone who reads this into our fold, and you will become an alien as well (1 Peter 2:11; 1 Chronicles 29:15-17).

 

Prayer:

Almighty One, thank You so much for choosing me and adopting me into Your family of aliens. I trust that my service to You here on this earth has not been in vain, but that I was able to influence people, even those that I never even met, to consider Your invitation for them to join us in our alien status on this earth.

 

We look forward to spending eternity with You and to continuing to serve You. Your plans and direction for our individual life jointly fits together with Your plans for all of the other aliens on the planet. We find so much peace and joy when we take the time to seek Your will for our individual life, and we see so much success from our united endeavors.

 

Thought for the Day:

Proof of Alien habitation of the earth:

·      A Spirit Being that inhabits eternity - Isaiah 57:15

·      The future apportioned to all nations – Deuteronomy 4:19

·      Our future as aliens – Ephesians 2:19

·      Our intergalactic struggles – Ephesians 6:12

·      Our set of rules and regulations – Exodus 12:49

·      Helping each other – Exodus 22:21, 23:9

·      Hoping for a future – Hebrews 11:13

·      Strange inhabitants – Hebrews 13:2

·      Some aliens are destructive - Isaiah 13:5

·      Remaining true to our self – 1 Peter 2:11

·      Caring for aliens – Leviticus 19:33-34

·      Apocalyptic beings – Revelation 9:7-11; Ezekiel 1:1-28

·      Same laws apply to aliens and natural born citizens – Leviticus 24:22

·      Our Almighty One is the most powerful – Colossians 1:16; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 97:6