Lamentations 2:14 7/30/2019*

“The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin.”

Are the sermons at your church always “I’m OK, you’re OK”?  Are you constantly told that it’s not your fault and there is always someone else to blame?

That may feel nice, but it’s not true….

Some of your problems are completely your fault and require action from you.

On your own merit, you are not OK, and neither am I. We both struggle with sin at times, and if you don’t believe that I can name one of your sins right now.

You need to be part of a community that not only encourages you but lovingly challenges you.  One that will expose sin before it destroys you. You must not only be open to being challenged, but willing to gently challenge others as well.

You say "I don’t want to make my friend uncomfortable"…but If I claim to love you and refuse to point out something that can annihilate you …then my love is questionable.

God says a prophet that doesn’t point out sin is “false and worthless”.

Unfortunately, there are churches all over the world that fall into this category.  They have morphed into self-help organizations that hold pep rallies once a week to build up the congregation’s self-image. But they routinely ignore sin and God calls that false and worthless.

Should we leave church with a bloody nose every Sunday? .... of course not.  But if you have never been irritated by something the pastor says only to go to the bible and discover it is the Truth…then you are listening to a cheerleader not a prophet.

When you choose a church, the music matters, the activities matter, the children’s program is important…but if the pastor doesn’t point out your sin, and no one is watching your walk… then you are being lulled into a comfortable lie.

Find a group of believers that loves you enough to risk hurting your feelings.

Remorse and repentance are part of growth…make sure your pastor accurately handles the word and you have people willing to lovingly pull you back onto the path when you wander off.

“When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.”
― David Brin

Matthew 6:3-4 7/23/2019*

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

This may be one of the most overlooked scriptures in the bible.

Jesus is not only saying don’t publicize your gifts…He is saying hide them. 

You can’t be more secretive than not letting one hand know what the other is doing so I think His meaning is clear.  But why would Christ tell us to be mysterious when we bless others?

Of course, part of it is to avoid the self-centeredness that can result from accepting accolades and appreciation... but there is more to it than that.

There is an intimacy I share with God when only He and I know of my gift. There is a pureness in the offering when it is anonymous and completely without self-elevation.

We crave recognition.  We desire awards and words of appreciation from people or organizations we have helped, but Jesus says by accepting them we are giving up something better.  We are forfeiting the amazing joy that results from giving a pure unsoiled gift to our Creator. We give up the quiet smile from God as He approves our unselfish sacrifice.

The best way to understand the “reward” Jesus is referring to is to experience it. Let me challenge you to secretly bless someone today.  

Give something extravagant to someone who needs it.  Assist a family with a financial gift that God has placed on your heart  …. now here is the fun part…Not only don’t publicize your gift…but don’t even let the people you helped know it came from you.

It will take some planning to ensure your target receives the gift without knowing who sent it. You will need to develop strategies to be a silent donor.  But it will be worth the effort.

Whether it's paying for a stranger’s lunch, or buy a car for a family in need, the amount of the gift is not the point…God loves a cheerful giver. You will experience an amazing nearness to Him as He approves your offering purely motivated by love.

Try it …. You can’t out give God…I can guarantee you that if you secretly bless someone today the blessings will splash out all over you.

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” - Anne Frank

Psalms 14:1 7/16/2019*

“The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

What does this verse mean? … Is God mocking atheism?

Of course not, God does not believe that atheist exist. God has declared that His existence has been made evident to everyone. 

Romans says, “His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world”.  Psalms says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.”

God knows that you know.  He has put the awareness of His presence in every soul. We are made in His image and we recognize the family resemblance in our innate sense of fairness and desire for justice.

If I take food from one of my atheist friends and eat it because I am bigger than they are, they would say that’s wrong …. but there is no “wrong” without God.

Evolution would require that if I am stronger, I eliminate the weak.  Yet even unbelievers see that as unfair. You will not find this idea of "justice” in any creature other than man, and it comes from being created in God's image.

So why this verse? .... This verse is a warning, not a taunt. It is the equivalent of saying “a fool sleeps on railroad tracks” …. God is not being contemptuous … He’s being cautionary.

God is alerting you to the fact that feeling His existence and seeing His handiwork - and yet declaring that He does not exist, is irrational. 

In fact, your actions argue against your words…. your judgement and condemnation of others is not living as though “there is no God” - it is living as though “you are God” .... and you’re not.

God exists….and He is not calling you names. He is trying to wake you up.  Not only does He exist…He cherishes you and wants to adopt you as His own.  So, denying His existence becomes even more senseless.

You have a choice to make… continue being angry at a god you say does not exist? Or decide to accept the reality of the Creator and seek to know this God who is a "rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6) ...Anything less would be foolish.

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." - C.S. Lewis

Proverbs 30:33 7/9/2019*

“For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife."

This verse could not be more clear. Anger causes problems…period.

If you google human anger in the bible you will not find a single verse that puts a positive spin on it. Yet we flirt with this emotion daily. 

Our society condones it. We dress it up with words like “passionate” and “fervent”, but it is just run of the mill anger and it causes trouble.

Most of us have never done anything in anger that we are proud of…and yet we cannot count the times it has caused us to do things for which we are ashamed.

Simply put anger makes fools of us and causes conflict.

How many times have you heard a woman angrily snap at her child in the grocery store and thought “what a great mom?” …or overheard a man being rude to his wife in a restaurant and thought “what a good leader”?

Never, right? …Yet when we are angry, we think we are righteous messengers delivering truth to those who need correction. That’s a lie…

We look as stupid as everyone else does when we are controlled by rage…and the results are often devastating.

So why tolerate it?  If there is a snake in my house, I destroy it…yet I allow this poisonous emotion into my home daily… it doesn’t make sense.

So, lets change that… view anger for what it is…a deadly emotion that can ruin your life just as quickly as drugs, alcohol or any other addiction.  The first step in ending these compulsions is to admit you have a problem and do something about it.

Realize that rage deceives you. It is a seductive flaw that disguises selfishness as righteousness and takes control of your mind. Recognize it and reject it.

Begin your “anger sobriety” program today and take it one day at a time. You will be tempted but refrain.  Pray specifically and continually. The longer you resist anger, the less power it will have over you and eventually you can be free of its control.

Change takes action so let’s get started …” My name is ________ and I have a problem with anger.”

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. - Mark Twain

Jeremiah 31:33 7/2/2019*

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

You know the point in a movie when you suddenly realize the hero’s plan to save the prisoners? …that is this verse.

The old testament is full of man’s failure to keep the law of God.  The standard operating procedure for Israel was to get in trouble, be delivered by God, make grand commitments to follow Him, and then fail again and begin serving other gods.

The enemy must have been elated that there was “not one who was righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10), and probably felt as though his strategy was working beautifully.

But this verse is the moment when the devil realizes he has walked into a trap. 

The law was never intended to save us…it was to show us that we needed saving.

Law written on stone can only show me problems, not fix them…but law written on my heart and put in my mind transforms everything.

The game changer is that it is not an outside standard that I continually fail, but an internal change that empowers me to succeed.

This is what salvation is …. not some intellectual ascension to an idea, but a radical procedure where I am given a new heart and a new mind…. Both of which have the law of God tattooed permanently on them.

That is why I am free…not because I improved…but because God made me new.

The Holy Spirit engraving the law of God on your heart is the only way that God can be your God, and you can be His people.

If you are still trying to earn your way, you missed the best part of the movie. You can’t be good enough to earn salvation. The grand plot twist is that your transformation is a gift. Go to your Father, repent, and accept His grace and rest in the work He has already done.

“The old covenant says, “Keep the law and live.” The new covenant is, “You shall live, and I will lead you to keep my law, for I will write it on your heart.”
- Charles Spurgeon