A Higher Standard

Are you walking through life completely blinded? Do you just go with the flow, go with whatever is popular at the moment? Are you allowing yourself to be pulled in a negative direction? Are you aware that Satan is behind those harmful ways?

Our world has spiraled downward for so long that people who are considered good by others still pursue multiple negative behaviors. Those negative behaviors include shirking our responsibilities, skipping out on our jobs, ignoring family, becoming a drunkard, carousing around, and disobedience of laws to name just a few.

As Christians we are called to a higher standard (Ephesians 5:1-20). Take a look at what Paul lists as the standard for us. Unfortunately, we have set aside the instructions of God for the popularity of the moment or our own fleshly desires. We have been enticed by Satan to disobedience.

Oh, we won’t think of it that way and that’s a large part of the problem. We fail to take a hard look at ourselves in the mirror. We go on believing we are right. We don’t want anyone else telling us how to live, how to behave. Sadly, it will lead to our downfall and eternal destruction.

There is no doubt that even the best of us will sin. Jesus will cover those sins for us. We can trust that. Yet we are called to stop our willful sinning and follow Him. He knows we can’t be perfect, that’s why He had to come into this world to be the perfect sacrifice.

Satan is laughing at many of us who call ourselves Christians. He knows he has his hooks in us and isn’t going to release them. If he hasn’t gotten them fully set in us yet, he continues to work to trick us into being hooked. He’s got the bait dangling out there and waiting for us to bite, then he’ll set the hook.

There is only one way to resist the bait. There is only One who can protect us. There is only one thing we can do to guard ourselves from the trappings of Satan. Jesus Christ is our Savior. We must trust Him and delve into God’s Word. We are called to a higher standard.

I pray each of us will trust Jesus. I pray we all dig into God’s Word. I pray we are on guard against Satan’s trappings. I pray each one of us will resist the bait he throws out in front of us. Trust Jesus. Read God’s Word. Be on your guard. Resist Satan. God is trustworthy. Jesus will be with you always.

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Striving in Faith

Are you continuing to move forward today? Are you struggling to understand why? Is your desire to continue flagging? Have you wondered where God is? Have you asked Him to intercede on your behalf? Will you reach out to Him and people of faith to help?

Sometimes our perseverance can wear thin. We may begin to wonder why we continue to strive toward a goal. Our desire to continue putting forth the effort weakens. Perhaps we are holding on by a thread. We may wonder if it is all really worth it.

In the story of Job, after all his sons and daughters had been killed, his wife asked why he should continue. She told him to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Job would do no such thing. We may lose much of what we have worked for and come to a similar point—ready to quit.

Yet we see many examples of God carrying His people through various troubles, including Job and his wife. There are examples of God working miracles in battles, in great escapes, blessing childless people with children, raising people from the dead, and feeding many with little.

These are examples we can read about in the Bible and we can easily discard them as being thousands of years ago. We may believe God doesn’t work in our world today. We may think He won’t work in our lives because we are insignificant. However, we would be wrong.

God continues to work in the world today. If we doubt that, reach out to others who have a strong faith in God. Ask them how God has worked in their lives. Ask them for specific examples. You will likely be surprised at how many examples they can provide, some of which seem to be miracles and very likely are. If not miracles, they are the working of the Holy Spirit doing something totally unexpected to lift the person.

I could testify of many times this has happened to me. No, I am not thinking of the everyday act of waking or getting me to a destination safely, but significant happenings that only God could perform. Times of unexplainable intercession that no one on this earth could have known about or pulled off.

I pray each of us will continue in our faith of God and His miraculous abilities. I pray we all reach out to someone who can tell us of personal stories of faith, if we need our faith boosted. I pray we all strive to put our hope in the living God who can and will work miracles in our lives. Be strong in your faith. Reach out when needed. Stand firm on God’s promises. Know that God is always working.

1 Timothy 4:10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Loved and Saved by Grace

Are you saved? Do you know how you are saved? Do you know who saved you? Have you accepted God’s grace? Do you understand what His grace is? Will you accept His grace?

We see little grace from people we encounter, though some show more grace than others. If there is one good thing that has come from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that more people are showing grace to others. Grace is a gift. Grace is forgiving a debt. Grace is giving to someone else without expectation of being repaid.

This is what God does for us. He freely gives us salvation. There is something we must do, as with any gift, we must accept it. Ideally, we accept this free gift humbly and with thankfulness. Ideally, we will be grateful enough to work on His behalf.

Let’s look at it from a human perspective. If a friend, parent, or sibling give you a gift for no reason, would you be looking for opportunities to do something for them? I believe most of us would. We will either look to give them a gift at some point in the future or we will look to do something for them. You see, our time is a gift as well. So, doing something for someone else, giving up our time, is also a gift or grace.

Paul is telling the Ephesians in the first 10 verses of chapter 2 about this free gift of salvation. He is emphasizing our salvation is a gift from God. Not only that, but he says that God has already raised us up and seated us with Him in heaven. That’s right, we are seated with Jesus in heaven, even as we live here on this earth. How amazing is that?!

Paul is emphasizing John 3:16, which says that God loved us so much He gave His Son. God has a love for us that we cannot fully comprehend. His love gushes over us like a teenage girl gushing over a movie star and is sacrificial to the point of giving His Son as a sacrifice on the ultimate altar to remove all our sins.

God’s love is demonstrated in His grace that saves us. He sees our wrongdoings and still gives us the ultimate gift of being with Him for eternity. How can we experience such an awesome love and not be grateful? How can we not want to return some small portion of God’s love to Him? How can we not work on His behalf to show this same love to others?

I pray we all feel the love of God. I pray each one of us accept His wonderful gift of salvation. I pray we show His grace to those around us. Experience God’s love. Accept God’s wonderful grace. Know that He provides salvation for you. God is awesome!

Ephesians 2:6-7 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Slave or Free

Who or what are you a slave to? Do you recognize you are a slave? Have you opened your eyes and looked around yourself? Are you willing to take on the responsibility of freedom to remain free? Your freedom was bought at a high price.

We are slaves in one fashion or another. Unfortunately, many, many people are slaves to various objects or people of this world. We don’t really like the term slave, yet we are slaves. We are slaves to the almighty dollar. We are slaves to our possessions. We are slaves to our boyfriends or girlfriends. We are slaves to our spouses. We are slaves to … you fill in the blank.

We don’t have to be slaves to any of these things or people. Jesus came to set us free. Sure, we still need to work to provide shelter, food, and clothing for ourselves and our families. Yet that doesn’t have to mean we are slaves to our jobs and our possessions.

The freedom Jesus provided is a freedom of the mind, a freedom of attitude. It isn’t a freedom from responsibility. In fact, freedom requires we are responsible. If we are not responsible with our freedom, we return to slavery. It is exercising our freedom responsibly, including properly remembering the cost of our freedom, that allows us to continue in our freedom.

Many of us want to run away from our responsibility. We don’t like having responsibility put on our shoulders. Our preference is to let someone else be responsible. Think about that for just a minute. If someone else is responsible for us, are we not slaves to them, their preferences, and their decisions?

Taking on the responsibility for the freedom we’ve been given does not mean we are to be abrasive in protecting our freedom. It does mean we make the appropriate decisions based on acquiring the proper information. It means following the example of Jesus. It means being a person who is aware of what is going on around us. It means we are to think about our freedom and be judicious in our decisions.

I pray all of us recognize the freedom we have been given by Jesus. I pray we all take on the responsibility that comes with that freedom. I pray each of us decide to follow the example of Jesus. Be responsible. Enjoy your freedom. Don’t be slaves to this world. Follow Jesus.

Galatians 4:8-9 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

Self-Balance

How do you think of yourself? Do you know most of how we see ourselves is about feelings and not appearance? So, let’s rephrase the question. How to you feel about yourself? Do you feel confident? Are you feeling unfit? Do you feel insecure? Do you ever sit and take inventory of yourself?

We see a lot of commercials, and perhaps more now than ever, that tell us to buy something to make ourselves feel better about ourselves. It may be a new dress. I may be a new pair of shows. Perhaps it is new furniture. Or maybe it’s a new car. Whatever it is, the advertisement tells us we will feel wonderful about ourselves after we’ve purchased it.

Unfortunately, far too many people in this world believe it. They attempt to boost their own self-esteem by purchasing something. One more thing will make the difference. Then they find out it doesn’t. They find out that within a few days or weeks or months, that thing they bought has no positive effect on them.

Paul tells us to not think too highly of ourselves. Notice, he doesn’t say we are to think too lowly of ourselves either. He says we are to take an honest look at ourselves, truly evaluate ourselves, and view ourselves with “sober judgment.” Yet that’s not all. We are to view ourselves in accordance with our faith in God. In other words, how is our faith in God and how does that impact how we look at ourselves?

We will all agree that God is more than we can truly comprehend with our human minds. Okay, let’s put that aside for this discussion. Let’s take a look at our faith in Him. If our faith is strong, we will look at ourselves through God’s eyes and make an honest assessment. We’ll see where our strengths and weaknesses are. We’ll recognize our strengths as blessings from God. We will ask God to strengthen our weaknesses. And when He does, we’ll give Him the glory for doing so.

Do you see how this changes our entire viewpoint about ourselves? We recognize who God is and what He has done for us. We then see that we are merely a person through whom God works His plan. That keeps us from thinking too highly of ourselves. We also recognize that God loves us and blesses us, which keeps us from looking too lowly upon ourselves. We find balance.

I pray each one of us will view ourselves as God views us. I pray we all take stock in God’s love for us. I pray we don’t think too highly or too lowly of ourselves but find the balance. Recognize God loves you. See Him as far more powerful than you can imagine. View yourself through God’s eyes. Find the balance that only God can provide.

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Faithworks

How is your faith demonstrated? What are you doing each day to show your faith in God? Are you showing your faith in your works and actions? Can you rightfully be accused of being a follower of Jesus Christ? Do you really have faith, or do you just say you do?

Are we not all familiar with someone who has said they believe in something, but they are really only placating someone else? We’ve heard someone say they believe in a political candidate until they are no longer in the race, then they reverse and say they never really believed in them anyway. We’ve heard someone say they had 100% belief their favorite sports team was going to win the championship that year, yet when they lose badly, they say they were afraid that would happen. Have we made these types of statements and reversals ourselves?

Again, how is our faith? Do we really have faith in Jesus Christ? Or, are we just saying we do because our family and friends say they do? Our faith is demonstrated through our works, actions, and behaviors. It is demonstrated in our attitudes. It is demonstrated in how we react to something bad happening. Is our faith true or are we just going through the motions?

Jesus tells us there is no gray area—we are either for Him or against Him (Luke 11:23). In our politically correct culture, we have become accustomed to standing in the gray area, making every attempt to not offend anyone. Jesus says we can’t stand in the gray area or on the line between two sides. We must make a choice.

The simple truth is, we demonstrate which side we are on by our actions. It’s obvious in how we treat others, our speech, our works, and our choices. It’s as obvious as though we were wearing a uniform—not a simple badge, but a bold uniform that clearly identifies us as one or the other. Not only is God always watching, but so are all those we come in contact with.

James tells us simple belief is not enough. He goes on to say that demons believe and shudder. Why not? They know what will happen to them in the end. Do we want to end up with them? I hope not. So, when are we going to make the choice to demonstrate our faith? Our faith must be manifested in works or it is dead and of no use to us or God.

I pray we all decide to show our faith in our works. I pray each of us chooses to put on the uniform of a Jesus disciple. I pray we boldly claim to be His followers through our deeds. Choose to show your faith. Serve others. Speak godly blessings on others. Be the positive example for others to emulate. Faithworks.

James 2:18-19 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” 

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Deepest Desire

What are your deepest desires? What goes beyond a mere want, goes to your most inner desire? Do you know what that is? Are you sure you know? Or have you lived on the surface for so long you can’t see the inner desire?

Often, we hear people say, “I really want to do _____.” It may be obtaining a master’s degree. Perhaps you want to travel to a foreign country and see the ruins of ancient cities. It could be buying a new home. Sometimes it is looking for a new job, one that you believe will set you up for success. For many, they simply want this pandemic to come to an end.

All of those are nice wants, but what is your deepest desire? Once we start looking a little deeper, we will find that we all need to be loved. We all need to feel appreciated. We need to have purpose in our lives. We need a sense of belonging.

Though those are needs and we have gone a little deeper, none of those are our true, deep desire. So, what is that deep desire? Whether we realize it or not, our true deep desire is to be with God. After all, He is our Creator. We all need to be close to Him, serve Him, and follow Him. We don’t recognize that desire most of the time because we are bombarded with the superficial and occasionally think about our real needs.

When we peel back the onion of our being and get to the very core, we find our deep desire is to know God. There is only one way to satisfy that desire. We must be born again. For many, that may sound like a religious phrase and may even sound scary. Yet it is what we are told we must do. To be born again, we must be born of water and spirit (John 3:5).

Being born into the kingdom of God is an exhilarating experience. It is the beginning of a lifelong pursuit of becoming like Jesus Christ by following His teaching and example. It is the beginning of filling our deepest desire. It is the beginning of discovering God’s peace, purpose for our life, and overcoming the world.

I pray each one of us will pursue our deepest desire. I pray each one of us will recognize our desire is to know God. I pray we all follow Jesus and seek His purpose for our lives. I pray we seek God’s kingdom every day. Be born again. Follow Jesus. Seek God’s kingdom. Satisfy your deepest desire.

John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

Strength in Troubling Times

Do you often have doubts? Are you currently dealing with a difficult situation? Do you know someone in a difficult situation who is asking you for advice? How do you get through difficult situations? What or who do you lean on?

We all are going through a difficult situation right now with the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems we are either unemployed or one of the front-line workers. You may be a construction worker who is currently furloughed and having to file for unemployment. You may be a grocery clerk who has been put under additional stress to get the shelves stocked as quickly as the shipments come in. You may be medical staff having to treat patients with COVID-19 while continuing to treat other emergency patients.

Though many people may have welcomed the first week or two being off work, it quickly becomes old being forced to stay home. Even those who continue to work become tired of not just the stress, but not being able to get out to shop or eat at a restaurant. Our nerves are wearing thin and we all are looking for relief.

Where does that relief come from? It can only come from One person—God. Our faith in God will get us through. Our faith in God will provide us calm, peace, contentment, strength, and courage. It is our faith, our trust in God, that gives us the strength to continue. It causes us to go beyond what we think is possible and beyond what is possible without Him.

We are not alone in our struggles. Not only is virtually everyone else around us struggling, but Jesus’ apostles also struggled during their time with Him. He was in the boat with them when a storm blew up and started to swamp the boat. They were afraid they were going to be sunk. Yet Jesus simply chastised them for their little faith in Him—though I believe He did so gently.

During this challenging time, we not only need to lean heavily on our faith, but we need to exercise patience with one another. Of course, that patience will also come from our faith in God. We must hold on to the knowledge that God is still at work and in control—even if we don’t think so.

I pray we all hold on to our faith. I pray we all continue in strength and courage provided by God. I pray we are patient with one another. I pray each one of us come through this with a faith stronger than when all this began. Lean on God. Trust Jesus Christ. Ask God to fill you with His Spirit. Be patient. Experience God’s peace.

Matthew 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Quiet Time

Are you all alone? Do you feel isolated from family and friends? Does the idea of being alone cause you to feel uncomfortable? Are you focused on being alone or are you putting your focus somewhere else?

Our culture is normally a very busy culture. We had grown to the point of having every waking minute occupied by something. We have lists of things to do as long as our arm. Gone are the days of families spending time together discussing life and teaching children how to be successful. Is it any wonder our culture is filled with anxiety and fear?

The minds of our youth have become so accustomed to multi-tasking that they are bored if they are not doing so. Perhaps you have watched your children or done this yourself—there’s a phone in hand to play a game, read Facebook, or Snap Chat with someone while watching a TV show. Oh, don’t worry, you can follow along with the TV just fine while playing on your phone.

We don’t allow our brains to relax. We don’t stop to smell the roses. We are in a heightened state of alert, or at least a state of a highly active brain. We don’t know what silence is and if we encounter it, we are uncomfortable.

Jesus purposely went to quiet places periodically to spend time with His Father. He purposely spent hours in prayer. Jesus didn’t have all the electronics we have today, but I suspect He would have purposely put them down. He might have even left them sitting on the counter while He took a walk in the woods or mowed His yard or drove to the store.

During this period of staying at home, unless you are an essential worker or must go out to get groceries, is a perfect time to spend quiet time with your Father. It’s a perfect time to spend time reading your Bible. It’s a perfect time for family time talking about life and teaching your children how to live.

Jesus knew more about mental, emotional, and spiritual health than we know today. His example is one we should imitate. Our brains need downtime. We need to spend time with God, releasing our worries to Him and listening for His guidance. If we were to spend more time with God, we will discover peace and tranquility. We will start living a life of balance.

I pray we all spend quiet time with God each day. I pray we don’t go back to normal but continue in the abnormal practice of spending time taking care of our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. I pray each of us become closer to God during this time of social distancing. Spend quiet time with God. Spend time in prayer. Read God’s Word. Release your worries. Become a person of calm in peace.

Matthew 14:23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,

God at Work

Ever wonder if you are blessed? Have you looked at the little you have and wish it was more? Do you sometimes think God isn’t paying attention? Are you looking at everyone around you and thinking they are so much more blessed than you?

I’m sure we have heard the old saying, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It’s a rather simply saying the implies that we can’t see all that is happening with someone else or what the full situation is. Yet we continue to find someone to gaze at that we think has all that we would like to have.

There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting more for your family. God made us, especially parents, to desire providing the best we can for our families. We have a yearning to provide a better life for our children. We ask God to be with us as we work toward our goal.

There are times when it seems the bottom has fallen out from under us. During the current battle against the COVID-19 virus, many of us have lost jobs or been furloughed for a period of time. Some businesses are closing, never to open again. Some of our loved ones are infected with the virus and battling for their lives. Others are infected and have no ill effects.

We wonder at times where God is in all of this. If we didn’t question it, we wouldn’t be human. After all, only God can see the larger picture. Only He can see what we cannot. No, I don’t believe God caused the virus. I do believe He is very much at work, bringing good from the bad. It will only be much later, when we look back at this time months or years later, that we will see how He worked during this time.

Many of us don’t like the idea of waiting. We are impatient and want the answer now. We believe we need answers to continue one more day. Yet we forget that God is there with us. He does not abandon His people. He gives them the strength, courage, and encouragement they need to continue.

I pray we continue to hold on to God. I pray each of us reach out to God for the strength we need to make it through one more day. I pray we grasp the blessings He is providing and give Him thanks for them. Hang in there. Ask God to provide for your needs. Trust He is working. Know He is blessing you.

Psalm 16:5-8

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure. 

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; 

even at night my heart instructs me.  

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.