Why are you so out of sorts? (1 Kings 21:5 MSG)
The other day I was out of sorts. I found myself in a dark mood and kind of sulky. I didn’t feel special, things were not going my way, I seemed to be at the mercy of others, and all my plans had fallen in a heap of rubble around my feet. I was wanting to pout and be snarky. (I am not exactly sure if snarky is a real word or exactly what it means, but it sure seems to fit).
This happened to King Ahab once. (Like I bet it only happened once!) He wanted Naboth’s vineyard, and Naboth would not sell it to him nor trade it. King Ahab went home in a dark mood, sulky, and out of sorts. He would not eat and went to bed. In my own defense, I did eat, and though I wanted to go back to bed, I didn’t. (I had to go to work).
One thing I discovered as I went through that day is that being in a dark mood and sulky distracts you from what is important, causes you to miss details, and totally focuses you on yourself and everything that you think is against you.
Of course our feelings are effected by our thoughts and our actions are effected by our feelings. Following are some thoughts about thinking, feelings and actions, none of which probably originated with me.
What we think determines how we feel and how we feel determines how we act.
Consistent wrong thinking produces wrong thought patterns resulting in negative emotions followed by wrong reactions and behavior.
Lower nature thinking will produce feelings associated with the old nature, resulting in actions consistent with the deeds of the flesh.
Higher nature thinking will produce feeling associated with the new nature and actions consistent with the fruit of the Spirit.
I did get over myself before the day was over ..... everyone else got over me a long time ago.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
SUCCESSFUL LIVING
He stores up success for honest people. (Prov 2:7 NIrV)
We were having devotions with our children the other evening and my wife was reading Proverbs 2 aloud from my daughter’s Bible. I was taken by the first part of verse 7 and what it stirred in me.
Now, we know that Proverbs is about wisdom, and not just wisdom, but godly wisdom. What stirred in me was that it is wise to be honest, to be a person of integrity. The fruit of that honesty will be success which God has a whole supply of stored up and ready to be released by the drawing of that honesty.
We must be honest with ourselves, honest with God, and honest with others. The degree of our honesty will determine the richness of our success. But let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that honesty here is just admitting what is true. The honesty we are talking about here is the living out of the Truth, the integrity of righteous living, the lived out passion for justice blended with the compassion of mercy - and all of these defined by God.
Yes, this will bring success in life. It is the secret to successful living, the wisdom whose fruit is success.
We were having devotions with our children the other evening and my wife was reading Proverbs 2 aloud from my daughter’s Bible. I was taken by the first part of verse 7 and what it stirred in me.
Now, we know that Proverbs is about wisdom, and not just wisdom, but godly wisdom. What stirred in me was that it is wise to be honest, to be a person of integrity. The fruit of that honesty will be success which God has a whole supply of stored up and ready to be released by the drawing of that honesty.
We must be honest with ourselves, honest with God, and honest with others. The degree of our honesty will determine the richness of our success. But let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that honesty here is just admitting what is true. The honesty we are talking about here is the living out of the Truth, the integrity of righteous living, the lived out passion for justice blended with the compassion of mercy - and all of these defined by God.
Yes, this will bring success in life. It is the secret to successful living, the wisdom whose fruit is success.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The Real Questions
For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. 1 Pe 1:18 NLT
Do not ask whether something is enjoyable. Ask if it is worthy of love. Ask is you should depend upon it.
How will you find an answer? Is there an infallible argument or a verse of scripture that will enlighten you? Can you think of any example or axiom or sacrament that will prepare you to discover these things?
You can tell if something is made of gold. But how can you know if it is worth your love, or if you can depend upon it? Being gold is one thing, but being worthy of love is something else.
Desiring exquisite food and clothing is like painting firewood. These things are consumables. Clothes keep you warm regardless of the color. Common foods will satisfy your hunger. Desire what is right for you. -Guigo 1: Meditations
Do not ask whether something is enjoyable. Ask if it is worthy of love. Ask is you should depend upon it.
How will you find an answer? Is there an infallible argument or a verse of scripture that will enlighten you? Can you think of any example or axiom or sacrament that will prepare you to discover these things?
You can tell if something is made of gold. But how can you know if it is worth your love, or if you can depend upon it? Being gold is one thing, but being worthy of love is something else.
Desiring exquisite food and clothing is like painting firewood. These things are consumables. Clothes keep you warm regardless of the color. Common foods will satisfy your hunger. Desire what is right for you. -Guigo 1: Meditations
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Gift
I heard today
Of a decrepit native woman
Who walked mile after mile
Under the blistering sun
To bring a small gift of embroidery
To the missionary she deeply loved.
Hour after hour she trudged
Over rough, rugged roads
Clutching tightly her small gift.
Her weary body sagged
Her vision blurred
Her bare feet bled from the jagged rocks
Grateful but overwhelmed,
The missionary wept.
The trembling old woman spoke softly:
"Please understand.
The walk is part of the gift."
My Lord
My commitment to You is for life.
I give myself to You unreservedly
To do with me as You please.
But may I not forget
That the tears, the fears
The strain and the painThe sunless days
The starless nights
Are all part of the whole.
In my total commitment
I give full consent:
The walk is part of the gift.
~Ruth Harms Calkin
HT: http://www.windscraps.blogspot.com/
Of a decrepit native woman
Who walked mile after mile
Under the blistering sun
To bring a small gift of embroidery
To the missionary she deeply loved.
Hour after hour she trudged
Over rough, rugged roads
Clutching tightly her small gift.
Her weary body sagged
Her vision blurred
Her bare feet bled from the jagged rocks
Grateful but overwhelmed,
The missionary wept.
The trembling old woman spoke softly:
"Please understand.
The walk is part of the gift."
My Lord
My commitment to You is for life.
I give myself to You unreservedly
To do with me as You please.
But may I not forget
That the tears, the fears
The strain and the painThe sunless days
The starless nights
Are all part of the whole.
In my total commitment
I give full consent:
The walk is part of the gift.
~Ruth Harms Calkin
HT: http://www.windscraps.blogspot.com/
Saturday, April 26, 2008
A Heart Full of Fear
Do not fear, for I am with you;Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' (Is 41:10 NASB)
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
(Ez 36:26 NASB)
I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret." (Col 2:2-4 MSG)
"You can't think straight with a heart full of fear, for fear seeks safety, not truth. If your heart's a stone, you can't have decent thoughts—either about personal relations or about international ones. A heart full of love, on the other hand, has a limbering effect on the mind." —William Sloane Coffin
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
(Ez 36:26 NASB)
I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret." (Col 2:2-4 MSG)
"You can't think straight with a heart full of fear, for fear seeks safety, not truth. If your heart's a stone, you can't have decent thoughts—either about personal relations or about international ones. A heart full of love, on the other hand, has a limbering effect on the mind." —William Sloane Coffin
Burning Bushes
The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." (Ex 3:1-3)"Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes - The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries."
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Set A Straight Course
My son, if you aspire to be a servant of the Lord, prepare yourself for testing. Set a straight course, keep to it, and do not be dismayed in the face of adversity. (Ecclesiasticus 2:1-2)
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