A Strong Foundation

What do you do when trouble comes? How do you react when things go badly? What is your reaction when what you hoped for didn’t happen? What goes through your mind when it seems all your dreams go down the tubes? Do you trust God?

We all go through tough times. We all have troubles come our way. Sometimes they are of our own making. Sometimes they are not. We live in a broken world, full of broken people. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

We have a decision to make before those bad things happen. We need to decide whether we will trust God or not. Why is it important to make the decision before bad things happen? If we are not firm in our beliefs, we will fall away when our beliefs are tested. It’s one thing if our beliefs are only tested by something small, such as whether we get a new pair of shoes or not. It is something different when they are tested by the loss of our job.

If our beliefs are not built on a strong foundation, they will crumble under pressure. A strong foundation is needed for a house to stand the test of time. Houses with a strong foundation can last for centuries. Those strong foundations are made of stone, solid stone.

A key ingredient for a strong foundation is it must be solid, yet flexible. It needs to be strong enough to withstand the weight of the house yet be able to move or shift if an earthquake hits without falling apart. It needs to be made of top-grade material.

Our foundation needs to be much the same. That is why God is an awesome foundation for us. He provides us with the strongest foundation. Yet, He also covers us in His grace, which provides us forgiveness when we fall short of being perfect like He is.

God’s love for us is without end. That means there is no beginning and no end. He loves us regardless of what we do. That doesn’t mean He likes it, but He won’t stop loving us. That’s a foundation we can count on.

As our Scripture passage for today states, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. We need to trust Him and His love for us. We need to build our trust in Him while times are good, so we don’t crumble when trouble comes.

I pray we all make God our foundation. I pray we trust in the love Christ has for us. I pray each one of us builds our trust in God each day. Make God your strong foundation. Put your trust in Christ. Build your relationship with Him. Know you are standing on solid ground before troubles come.

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Seeking Truth

How well are you getting along? Are you seeking answers to life’s big questions? Are you stumbling through life from one day to the next? Do you seek greater knowledge, truth, and a way forward? Are you willing to listen to the Truth?

There are many stumbling blocks in this world, not the least of these is our own minds. Satan continually puts stumbling blocks in front us: half-truths, complete falsities, shiny objects to chase, and any number of other things we can think of. How can we recognize these stumbling blocks?

We are told explicitly that Jesus is the Truth and the Life. When we earnestly seek Him, seeking to know who He is and what He has taught, we come to know the truth. We gain insights that we will miss without Him. We acquire knowledge, wisdom, and truth.

Jesus will reveal to us the stumbling blocks Satan puts before us. He will grant us discernment in making appropriate decisions. As we surrender our feeble understanding to the teaching of Jesus, we gain peace, joy, and calm.

As we seek Jesus, asking Him reveal to us His view of the world, our eyes are opened, and we see as Jesus sees. We see with clarity. The scales are removed from our eyes. The rose-colored glasses are removed. The clouds roll away. The fog lifts. We see with the Light of God.

If we are truly seeking answers in this world, we need only to turn to Jesus. If we seek to live a life of abundance, we need only to turn to Jesus. If we seek to have pure joy, we need only to turn to Jesus. If we seek to do what is right, we need only to turn to Jesus.

Jesus is the answer each one of us needs today and tomorrow and for the rest of our lives. Jesus is the Truth and will reveal Himself to us. Jesus is the Life we seek, granting us eternal life with Him and the Father.

Our world desperately needs Jesus. We desperately need Jesus. Will we see that we need Jesus? Will we earnestly seek Him with our whole hearts? Jesus is waiting for us to make the decision. He is waiting to grant us the most wonderful blessing we could ever ask for.

I pray we will seek Jesus. I pray we all turn to Him for the truth. I pray each one of us makes a decision to earnestly, with our whole hearts turn to Jesus today. Seek Jesus. Reject Satan. Seek the truth. See through Jesus’ eyes. Reflect Jesus’ light in this world.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Choose God’s Wisdom

How smart are you? How smart do you think you are? Do you consider being smart the same as being wise? What do you consider as wisdom? Do you consider yourself as wise? Do you want to be wise?

There is a significant difference between being smart and being wise. It is one thing to accumulate knowledge and something completely different to be wise. Sure, wisdom relies to some degree on knowledge, but it does not require a degree.

What is wisdom? It is the combination of knowledge and discernment. It is taking what you know and reasoning the best choice. It is the ability to make a decision for the better good after taking into account what you know, looking at the options, and spending the required time thinking through them.

How does God’s wisdom make our human wisdom look foolish? God knows what is best for each one of us. He knows how our decisions will play out in the future. He knows our decision for today will impact our tomorrow and how. God not only knows this for us, but for each person in the world for all time.

How do we tap into this Godly wisdom? As stated in today’s passage, we must become “fools” to become wise. This means that we must lean on God to make our decisions. We must spend time in prayer, accepting that we don’t know everything, and listening for the Holy Spirit to speak to us.

If we are willing to listen to God when He speaks to us, we will end up making decisions others will call foolish. Some of our decisions will be counterintuitive and countercultural. They won’t make sense to most of the people we interact with at the moment, but they will make sense later on.

Once we begin doing this and become more accustomed to relying on God’s wisdom, it will get easier. The first few decisions will be challenging. Our human wisdom will tell us to go one way, while God’s Spirit is telling us to do something different. Unfortunately, we will more often go with our head rather than God’s Spirit. When we do, there is often a price to be paid later. Yet, we can learn from those mistakes and decide to listen to the Holy Spirit for future decisions.

I pray we all decide to listen to the Holy Spirit. I pray we determine to listen for God’s wisdom when making decisions. I pray each of us will seek God and come to rely on His wisdom rather than our own. Seek God. Listen for the Holy Spirit. Reject human wisdom. Choose God’s wisdom. Trust God in every decision.

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

Countercultural

Are you free? How do you use your freedom? Do you humble yourself before others? Are you willing to serve others in your freedom? Or, is your pride overriding your freedom and keeping you prisoner? Do you know pride can make you a captive?

In our culture, we see a lot of pride. Pride in ourselves. Pride in our jobs. Pride in our children. Pride in our standing in society. Pride in what we’ve done. Pride in how much we own. Pride in how pretty we look. Pride in how much money we have. Pride, pride, pride.

Our pride makes us a prisoner. Think not? Take a look at the short list above of things we may be proud about and ask yourself this question, “How much time and effort does it take to maintain our status so we can maintain our pride?”

If we are to follow our calling to be followers of Christ, we must release our pride. We are to be humble. We are to serve others. We are to put others ahead of ourselves. In being humble, we are free. Free to obey God in all He wants us to be and do.

Notice what happens when we don’t. We devour each other. Does that not describe what we see going on in the world? We see arguing, fighting, injustices, discrimination, and all manner of human destruction. This is not the loving and serving of others we are called to by God.

It seems counterintuitive to us that we are set free by humbly serving others. We don’t see the logic in it. Yet God told us in Isaiah 55:8 that our ways are not His ways. Jesus came, God in human form, to turn the world upside down. If we are to be His followers, we also must turn our logic upside down.

When we decide to be followers of Jesus, we are clothed in His image. We are not perfect, but we are to do as He did and follow His teaching. That means often doing the opposite of what we’ve learned in this world. It means being countercultural. Are we up to the task?

I pray we decide to be countercultural. I pray we all decide to be counterintuitive. I pray each on us will humble ourselves and serve others in love. Be a follower of Christ. Love your neighbor. Humble yourself. Serve others. Be free. Trust God.

Galatians 5:13-15 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Quiet Time

Do you spend time alone? Do you take time to think through your situation? Are you one who doesn’t like to be alone, preferring to always be with someone else, always socializing? Will you take time to be alone with God?

Our hustle and bustle society has us all on the move. Even during a time when many of us are spending most of our time at home or with family, we still keep ourselves busy. We are constantly doing something or talking about something or watching something. It has become second nature for us.

Approximately seventy-five percent of us are considered to be extroverts or lean more that way than toward being an introvert. When we couple that with our culture, we just never sit down to be quiet. Even those who are introverts have gotten in the habit of always being on the go. It is expected by our family and friends.

Yet, this isn’t healthy for us. We need to spend quiet time with God. Though extroverts likely can’t spend much time at one sitting without becoming restless, they can still spend a few minutes sitting quietly reading Scripture, praying, or simply waiting to hear God’s voice.

For those who are introverts, they can spend hours sitting quietly, and should at times. For introverts, the constant going causes anxiety and wears them out. They need to have quiet time to recharge themselves.

All of us need to spend some time with God, whether we are extroverts or introverts. It is only when we do, that we see our anxiety, fear, and worry levels decrease. It is in those quiet times that we get to know who God is. It is in those quiet times that we will hear God’s small voice, His whisper that tells us who He is and what He wants us to do. We discover that God really is in control. We can use that time to pour our hearts out to God. We relieve ourselves of our worries, turning them over to God.

We see that even Jesus needed to spend quiet time in prayer with His Father. We could argue that He was the strongest person, mentally, to walk this earth. Yet He needed the quiet time. So much so that He spent an entire night in prayer on a mountain.

I pray each one of us will find time in our busyness to spend quiet time with God. I pray we will purposely set aside time periodically to be alone with God. I pray we all listen for God to speak to us through His Spirit. Set aside time to spend with God. Be quiet with God. Pray to God, releasing your worries. Be quiet and listen for God to speak. Trust God, He is always there.

Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

Love Like God

What do you know about love? Do you know there are different types of love? What kind of love do you think God expects of you? Are you willing to set aside your selfishness to love as God wants you to? Will you love others as God loves you?

The love God expects of us is not an emotional love. It is not a fleeting love. It is a love that endures. There are several characteristics of the love God wants us to have. We can see examples of this type of love through the Bible and, especially, in Jesus’ life.

Being patient with others is one of the characteristics of love. We are to resist being exasperated with others, give them the benefit of the doubt. There are times we will need to correct them, but we are to do that with love.

Treating others with kindness is another characteristic. Kindness does not mean we always agree with the other person. It does mean that we are kind to them with the heart of Jesus. We demonstrate His attitude as we interact with others.

We are not to envy what others have. In other words, we are not to try to keep up with the Joneses. When we love as God expects, we don’t desire the next shiny object. We realize that God has provided us with what we need.

We don’t brag about our wonderful accomplishments. We realize the accomplishments are a result of God blessing us. We know that it is only through God’s grace that He gave us the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the task.

We are humble, not allowing pride to creep into our attitudes. Much like boasting, we set aside pride, knowing it is through God’s blessings that we are who we are and accomplish what we accomplish.

When we love like God loves, we give up our selfishness and anger. We don’t put others down nor keep track of all they’ve done to us. We seek the truth and reject the evil in this world. This is all done in a love that has the characteristics of God.

I pray we all strive to love as God loves. I pray we seek God, asking Him to fill us with His love. I pray each one of us will grow in love, reflecting God’s love to everyone we interact with. Seek God. Know His love. Ask God to fill you with His love. Make every attempt to emulate God’s love. Show Jesus to others.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Living in Thanks

What are you thankful for? Do you appreciate your job? Do you let your family know that you are glad you have them? Are you appreciative for having good friends? Do you give thanks for healing? Do you let God know you are thankful for His blessings?

We are often thankful for many things, yet don’t really voice it. We understand, somewhere inside of us, that most of us don’t really make anything or grow anything and we are thankful that someone does. We are thankful that we can get what we need at a store.

It is good that most of us are thankful, even if it is hidden somewhere inside. Having a thankful spirit lifts us up and gives us a better outlook on life. We see things a little different than those who are not thankful.

Most of us recognize that God is at work, even if we don’t see Him. We acknowledge from time-to-time that God has done something wonderful in our lives. Again, it is good that we do so. It helps us keep a level head and recognize we are a child of God.

Notice in today’s passage that it was the foreigner who came back to Jesus to fall at His feet. We are the foreigner or outsider when we fall at His feet and give thanks for what He has done for us. We are the exception rather than the rule.

Our society needs to see us being thankful. It needs us to lead the way with thankfulness and demonstrate what it means to be a person of God. As we run to Jesus and thank Him for saving us, for providing for us, for always being with us, we show the world around us a better way of living.

I pray each of us gives thanks for our blessings today. I pray we recognize that everything we have is a blessing. I pray we all recognize that we are a child of God. Be thankful. Set the example for others. Fall at Jesus’ feet and give thanks. Know that you are a child of God. 

Luke 17:17-19 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Praying People

How do you look at authority? What thoughts come to your mind when you hear that word? Do you think of government leaders? Do you respect government leaders? Do you respect those put in authority over you? Do you pray for them?

Our political environment is one explosion after another. One side throws a punch and the other throws one right back. People on both sides of the political divide antagonize one another. It seems there is no agreement on anything with almost no progress being made.

We, as Christians, are not to be caught up in the fray. We are to pray for our leaders, whether we like them or not. It may be that we didn’t vote for who won or don’t like the way that person talks or the attitude they portray when shown in public. It doesn’t matter. We are to pray for them.

That may be difficult for some of us to do. If it is, we need to look inside ourselves. You see, if we can’t pray for them, we are hurting ourselves and our fellow citizens. When we aren’t praying for our leaders, we are not asking God to work in our leaders. We are leaving them up to their own devices.

I know, sometimes we think they won’t listen anyway—even to God. If we think that, we don’t have a very high opinion or trust in God. Praying for our leaders is important for them, for us, for our city, county, state, and national governments. It is important for this world. If we want to make a difference, we must pray for them.

Now, that doesn’t mean we are to pray for them to do exactly what we want. We should pray that God work in their lives, guide them to make decisions that are pleasing to Him, that follow His will for us. We should pray that they listen for God’s guidance and adhere to it.

Praying for our leaders, our loved ones, our friends, our co-workers, and fellow Christians being persecuted around the world is important. We need to be praying every day, multiple times per day. We need to be a praying people.

I pray that we all spend time every day praying. I pray we pray for our government leaders. I pray each one of us set aside our own desires and pray that God’s will be done. Pray each day. Pray for government leaders. Pray for family. Pray for friends. Pray for co-workers. Pray for persecuted Christians. Pray that God’s will be done.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Sincere Love

How well do you love? Do you love sincerely? Are you devoted to loving others? Do you honor others with love? Do you share the same love that God has for you?

We see a lot of hate in our world. It may be two countries who have been warring with one another for decades that we see continuing to squabble. It may be two groups of people who despise one another. It may simply be a couple of people arguing two opposing points.

Not all arguments are a result of hate. Many of them are a result of passionate beliefs that happen to oppose one another. Often the passion gets in the way of learning the opposing viewpoint. Though this may not be hate, it is also not love.

Hate is a very strong word. Yet, so is love. Love is the only thing that can overcome evil. Love will overcome disagreement. Love will overcome obstinance. Love will overcome discord. Love will overcome jealousy. Love will overcome hate.

We are to be passionate people. We are to be passionate about loving others. We are to be committed to loving others. Being passionate and committed to loving others puts us in God’s will for our lives. It helps us to see others the way God sees them. We see their struggles. We see their faults and love them anyway.

As we pursue and grow in the same kind of love God has for us, we see the entire world differently. Our lives change for the better. We have more joy. We have hope. Our patience is improved. We become more faithful. We are more willing to forgive.

Our love increases when we realize that God loves us. We often acknowledge God loves us intellectually, but we don’t fully comprehend it in our hearts. When we finally do, our whole outlook on life will change. We will have passion for the things that God has a passion for.

If we don’t yet fully comprehend how much God loves us, we should pray. We should pray every day that God show us how much He loves us. We should spend more time with other Christians, especially those that we see are mature and love like God does. We should ask questions and study God’s Word. God will reveal His love to us.

I pray each of us come to realize God’s love for us. I pray we all devote ourselves to love others. I pray we develop a sincere love for God and for others. Seek to understand God’s love for you. Pray that He reveals His love for you. Decide to love others as God loves you.

Romans 12:9-13 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Be Merciful

Are you merciful? Do you show mercy to others? Do you know what mercy means? Have you looked to see what God means by mercy?

Mercy seems to be a rare commodity today. We just don’t see much of it going on. We especially don’t see it in our daily news. We see anything but mercy. Although, occasionally, we see a small bit of mercy.

If we are going to show mercy to others and look for mercy in our world, we need to know what mercy is. We particularly need to know what God means when He tells us to show mercy. In our passage today, we see Jesus say we are to be merciful just as God is merciful.

If we were to just look at this passage alone, we would apply our human definition to mercy. However, if we look at the previous few verses, we find how Jesus describes mercy. His description is a little different than we might expect.

Jesus includes loving those who don’t love us and loving our enemies. He includes doing good for our enemies. He includes lending to our enemies without expecting being paid back. His definition is certainly not what we normally think of when we think of mercy.

How can we be merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful? We certainly can’t do it on our own. We need the help of God to be able to show mercy as He does. We need His Spirit working in our lives to even think about showing mercy like that.

Perhaps you don’t think God shows mercy that way. If not, I want you to think about what God does for you. I want you to think about being an enemy of God’s. That may sound odd, but we are enemies of God’s in one respect. We don’t obey Him. We don’t listen to Him. We don’t live our lives in accordance with His will. What would we call that? At a minimum, it’s being a disobedient child.

Yet, God continues to bless us. He continues to love us. He continues to give to us knowing we can never repay Him. He continues provide us with a way to be saved and spend eternity with Him. If we are going to be merciful as He is, we must ask Him to work in our lives so we can treat others as He treats us.

I pray each of us will decide to ask God into our lives and fill us with His Spirit. I pray we desire to be merciful as God is. I pray we all stop, think, and realize our opposition to God’s ways and ask Him to change our lives. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. Realize you act as an enemy of God. Seek to change your ways. Learn to be merciful as God is merciful. You can trust God.

Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.