Paul was perplexed!

I was reading in Galatians this morning and read that Paul was perplexed (Galatians 4:20).  Just why was Paul perplexed?  The Galatians were wanting to follow the Law so that they could be saved instead of trusting in the promise of God through Jesus.  They were trying to be justified by their works.  They had everything backwards.  Read Galatians 5:4.  "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace."  It seems much easier to follow rules and have a list to mark off as our duty each day so that we can measure whether we are saved that day or not.  But what if we don't accomplish the "to do" list for the day?  We then berate ourselves for not being good enough.  Paul is trying to help us understand in the letter to the Galatians that we have freedom in Christ.  This freedom should release us to behave in such a way that we follow the "rules" out of love not out of duty.  There is a difference.  Our behavior might not be any different but the burden will be.  We will be free.  Let's live a free life today.  Read the letter to the Galatians.  Would the apostle Paul be perplexed about you?

An Undivided Heart

In Psalm 86 David prays to God to give him an undivided heart.  Verse 11 reads "Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." (NIV)  David wants to be completely focused on God's truth.  When we are divided we want to spend time with God but there are menus to plan, houses to clean, children demanding our attention and more than enough bills to pay.  How can we have an undivided heart in today's world?  Why can't we have the simple life that existed in David's time?  David was a king.  He did not have anything to do - just sit in his castle and run a country.  He could focus on God anytime he wanted to - or could he?  He writes about his enemies.  They were often fighting battles.  He pleads with God to protect him.  But David was a man after God's own heart.  An undivided heart came naturally to him.  But did it?  He committed adultery with Bathsheba and then committed murder to cover it up.  Was this the heart of a man completely focused on God?  David prays for an undivided heart so that he could fear God's name.  He was not perfect.  Still, he asked God to teach him.  Are we teachable?  Do we yearn for an undivided heart?  Yes, it is difficult when the pressures of this world seem to be calling louder than God is but we must keep asking God to teach us.  He is faithful and will help us draw closer to him if we will only ask.  Let us pray daily with David for an undivided heart.

Joy

I have been thinking about joy a lot lately.  So many things rob me of joy.  All of them are internal because no person can rob me of joy.  Songs like "Joy, joy, my heart is full of joy" keep running through my head.  Many scriptures speak of joy.  Joy is a characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  We are told not to quench the spirit in I Thessalonians 5:19.  So, what are those things that rob me of joy and quench the joy within?   As I was writing this I looked in the back of my Bible and found a list I had written long ago.  It is titled "things that steal our joy."  I have no idea when I wrote the list or why but it is so appropriate here.  There are seven items in the list.

1. Resentment
2. Bitterness
3. Anger
4. Not able to forgive.  Having an unforgiving heart.
5. Fear - lack of trust
6. Too easily offended - Psalm 119:165
7. Disobedience - Guilt

How do we regain our joy?  First of all we should pray and ask God for forgiveness for the items listed above.  Next we must take the steps to remove the joy "robbers" from our life.  Third, we should ask God to fill us with the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) so that there is no room for the joy "robbers" (ref. Luke 11:24-26).  We need all of the characteristics of this fruit for joy to be complete.  Finally, we can read Philippians 4:4-8.  "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!  Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men.  The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." (NASB)  When we follow the words written here joy will follow.  Let us focus on these words and the nine characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit so that joy will be ours each and every day.  "Joy, joy my heart is full of joy....."

Love within God's family

One of my favorite passages is found in Colossians 3:12-14.  It reads "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtures put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."  (NIV)  A few years ago there was a movie and a book about fireproofing your marriage.  The concept was that you could restore a broken marriage in 40 days by doing something special each day.  There was a list to follow.  There are many Christians who have left the church and no longer associate with other Christians because they have been hurt or become disenchanted.  Could the concepts listed in the book about fireproofing a marriage be carried over to God's family?  What are some things we can do to encourage and let our brothers and sisters in Christ know we love them?  Let's start with the list from Colossians and clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Make sure we have a forgiving nature and do not hold grudges or anger in our heart.  Pray for a loving heart toward all you come in contact with.  There are many passages that teach us how to treat each other and how to restore our family.  We will explore more of these passages with time.  For today, pray for wisdom and eyes to see those who are hurting and who need to see our love.  When you pray for open eyes you may be surprised who God will show to you.

Running

The other day I was running with my 5 year old daughter.  We were running on our gravel road just having fun.  My foot caught her foot and down I went.  I was running fast enough that I went down and slid for a bit.  You can imagine that sliding on a gravel road can tear up the skin a bit.  My hands and knees really hurt.  Thankfully she did not fall too.  As I have reflected on the fall and the pain that has followed and the healing that is occurring I am reminded of a passage of scripture.  In Philippians 3:14 we read that the apostle Paul presses on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called him.  How many runners reaching for a goal have fallen?  It hurts but they get up and continue on to reach the finish line.  When you are taking action and working toward a goal falls are inevitable.  As we work out our love for God we will fall on occasion.  This life is not perfect and sin produces times that we must get up, dust ourselves off, refocus and set our sights back on our Lord and keep on pressing toward the prize which God has promised in Christ.  Do you feel like you have fallen lately?  Does it hurt to get up and keep going?  Just as a physical scrape or accident takes time to heal and it hurts for a while as the healing process continues then when we fall spiritually whether is be a "little" sin or a "big" one the pain and knowledge of our sin will hurt.  We must understand that God provides healing and will help us and lead us on toward the prize.  Some falls require the assistance of crutches or casts or just bandages to aid in the healing.  God is there for us if we will only accept his healing power.  Let us do as the apostle said in Philippians 3:13 by forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.  Our Lord promised to prepare a home for us and to be with us.  Come back to center with me and focus on our Lord today.

Streams of Water

In Psalm 1:1-3 we read about a man that is blessed.  His delight is in the law of the Lord.  He meditates on God's law day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water.  His leaf does not wither.  Do you have days that you have no energy and struggle with feeling a sense of purpose?  Have you ever gone and just sat by a stream or a source of flowing water?  Don't you come away feeling refreshed?  There is something about the sound of water that is calming.  You can even buy music that is just the sound of flowing water so that you can relax and sleep.  Cool water is refreshing when you are hot and dry.  Warm water is soothing when we are cold or tense.  Water is needed for the cleansing of our internal body.  It washes away impurities and helps us stay healthy and hydrated.  God's Word is compared to water.  Look again at Psalm 1.  The blessed man is like a tree planted by streams of water.  If we soak in God's word as a tree soaks in the abundance of water from a stream than the Psalmist says we will yield our fruit in season.  We will not wither.  We will prosper.  Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that he could give her living water (John 4:4-26).  His word will continue to cleanse us and keep us spiritually healthy when we drink from it often.  Jesus promised that the water he gives us will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.  Spend time with your Lord today drinking in the water that nourishes forever.  Study his Word for it will refresh your spirit and provide you with the energy that can only come from God.

Faith and Prayer

Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to.  The comment made here was in response to a belief in Santa Claus.  If you have ever watched Miracle on 34th Street made in 1947 you will recognize the quote.  The Bible speaks to this same concept.  In Hebrews 11:1 we read "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  How many times have you prayed for something yet felt that it was somewhat hopeless because it was not based on common sense?  How many children have prayed for a pet even thought Mom and Dad kept saying "no?"  I did when I was a little girl.  To this day I believe God answered my prayer when two little kittens showed up on our porch one morning complete with litter boxes and food.  Is this common sense or faith?  When I was a child it was a child's faith.  The writer of Hebrews tells us that we can be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  True our prayers are not always answered as we want them to be but when we hold to our faith in God we believe that he will take care of us even when common sense tells us to doubt.  Let's thank God today for his love for us when we trust him in faith.