Tag: Righteousness

Only reacting

You know that aged old question, “what came first, the chicken
or the egg?” I wonder instead what came first, the thought or the manifestation?

So often I hear people say things like, “ I said that
because they said this” or “ if they didn’t do that to me I wouldn’t have done
this to them. ‘ We are only reacting to
whatever life seems to throw at us.

I wonder though… if we found out that our reality is not
defined by what gets thrown at us, instead it’s defined by our reaction, would
we change the way we react?

I have often contemplated, the commandments of Father God, maybe
are less command and more protective defense.

Also the Fruit of His Spirit we are to grow within us and
share with the world, what if He is
giving us tools for success not just do as I say, because I said so,… rules to
follow.

Take for instance self-control, if we mastered self-control,
it may stand to reason that we would become a lot less reactive, and way more purposeful in our responses to all life’s situations. Its very likely,
that most, if not all, drama and stress in our lives would disappear.

It also amazes me how easily deceived we are when it’s
pertaining to our own personal character.

We are more than willing to help in the assessment of other
people’s character, sometimes jumping in with our two cents before being
invited into the conversation.

Yet when it’s our own character being assessed, that we may accidentally overhear, rarely do
we listen self- controlled, ready to make adjustments to our own character
based on what we overheard. No… more likely we react defensively pouring out every component surrounding our
personal circumstances that may be unrealized by our assessors thereby making their
assessment of our character unmerited. Meanwhile our emotions having been
stirred are making it difficult if not impossible to remain self-controlled.

Knowing the rather high probability that this is truly the
way we would respond, still never seems to detour our two cents jumping into
either invited or uninvited conversations about others. Somehow we think only
our circumstances deserve to remain un-assessed by those without full disclosure.
It never crosses our minds that we don’t truly know enough to give any value to
our two cents in the first place so maybe we should change our thoughts instead
of devaluing our two cents by putting it out there having no backing.

No matter what life throws at us, it’s our decision and the
implementation of said decision that truly becomes our reality. Whether we are self-controlled or instead react
emotionally determines who is truly in the control seat bringing forth our
reality.

Reacting permits an open door for the enemy to take over the
control of our reality. Our reacting means an almost immediate emotional
response that’s lacking in self-control.

Not only can the enemy at that point take control of our
reality but he tends to keep it by triggering those same emotions over and over
and over again.

1 Peter 5:8 NIV — Be alert and of sober mind. Your
enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour.

Galatians 6:7-8 KJV — Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that
soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to
the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Father God is no respecter of person and He will not be
mocked. No He doesn’t play favorites no matter who does or doesn’t go to
church, who prays more, who’s intuitive enough to be right more often than not,
even based upon who is actually right and who’s wrong in accordance with His
Word.

Our job has never been to sit and contemplate who is or is
not acting according to His Word anyway. That is between them and God. The Holy
Spirit has never been fired and is still in charge of conviction.

Because we are weaker alone and isolated, the enemy causes
division among us and with the using of the mandate to be discerning, we are deceived into believing we aren’t
really judging people.

Ephesians 4:29-32 KJV — Let no corrupt communication
proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that
it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and
wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with
all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

No matter what situation we find ourselves in, and no matter
who we believe needs a small nudge or a big shove, back onto the straight and
narrow, two things remain true and worth our consideration,

1. To react, is
giving the enemy a very high probability of winning control, however temporary,
over our reality, keeping us in bondage.

2. We don’t get to
pick and choose what parts of God are trust worthy enough to have faith in. We
either have complete faith in Him, or we don’t.

Until next time may God-bless you and keep you as you seek
Him with your whole heart.

Hobbies and habits

What if I were to make my husband my hobby? I could love and pay attention to him when the hustle and bustle of life allowed me the time. Whenever I could find a hour or two I could squeeze him in to receive my undivided attention. As life’s pace picked up I’d put him on the back burner until things slow down a bit again. Oh but throughout my days I am sure I’ll be dreaming of a perfect life where my giving him my undivided attention, love and time, would pay the bills and put food on the table.

How long I wonder would I be married? How long would it take for my husband to feel like I would always be too busy for him? Even if he loved me with all his heart could he really stick around to be my favorite hobby?
What about my kids? How would they fare if I made them my hobby? Whenever time allowed I could give them my time and attention. Of course they would have to sit on that back burner when life got busy, but, just until it slowed down a bit then I could give them two or three hours a week. How long until child protective services would come to investigate?

Chances are if I were to make my husband and kids mere hobbies it wouldn’t be long before I find myself alone. Relationships that we really want to have in life, take time, effort, patience and sacrifice. They need nurtured and cared for.

There is comfort in a hobby. Some even call hobbies they’re coping mechanisms. A place we leave the outside world; outside, and we go to enjoy something we like to do. A time some find rest, relaxation, even happiness and joy. Then, when time is up, we then set it down and return to reality, to the outside world.


We may think about this hobby often. We may sneak in time for it, an hour or two when we shuffle around our busy schedule. We may even long for the time to enjoy this hobby more. Life, however, seems to become more and more busy and because our hobby, doesn’t seem to pay the bills or put food on the table, it is the thing that takes the back burner position.

We may sometimes find time for it, but for the most part, we just hold on to our dream of a life where our hobby would, in fact, pay the bills and put food on the table, so we could then really love and enjoy our lives.

Although God loves every minute we devote to Him in our lives, He doesn’t want to be our much loved hobby any more than our spouses and kids do. We shouldn’t forget, to imagine ourselves in that hobby role also, as we would not like being somebody’s favorite hobby either.

Matthew 22:37-38 NLT — Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.

God won’t just be our hobby. He seeks intimacy a real tangible relationship with us. Whatever we wouldn’t do to our spouse or our kids we shouldn’t do to Him and whatever we would do for our kids and our spouse we should do for Him.

Relationship with Father God isn’t a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. Just like when we first get married, we learn to live as a couple, and again when we have our first baby, we have to learn how to operate with each new edition into our lives. So it is when we accept Jesus as our Lord and personal Savior. We must learn how to operate in relationship with Him. Jesus isn’t a ghost who haunts the church we attend Sunday mornings. He is not left at church until our next Sunday or midweek visit.

Just like the comfort we seem to find from our hobbies, we can find comfort also in a habit. A feeling of safety, kind of like a routine, we know what to expect, no surprises, basically always the same. We really don’t have to put much effort into thinking, as our body kind of learns to go with the motion, on a subconscious like level. It’s almost memorized to the point if we try to change it we will feel; off, physically, mentally and emotionally.


As long as we keep the habit, we stay calm and un-stressed as it takes no brain work. Some habits we don’t even notice we are doing until someone points them out.

God won’t live in a habitual Box. Habitual behavior requires little to no faith as there isn’t any risk. Emotions die off to almost no feeling left at all, and there is no real change or chance of personal growth. Even if one gets the Blue Ribbon or gold medal, for being the best at maintaining good habits, spiritually there is stagnation.

When God becomes a habit we start unconsciously going through the motions, emotionlessly doing what we know we should. There is no real enthusiasm or feeling behind what we’re doing.

Has God become our beloved, favorite, hobby that we can’t wait to get back to whenever life’s not busy? Has God become our habit that we can almost do blindfolded and without really thinking?

God is not a hobby or a habit or a routine, God is a lifestyle.

Matthew 6:33 NLT — Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Father God spoke This perspective to my spirit,
He said “ Those things you think your husband should do for you, those things you believe prove or disprove his true feelings of love for you, are the very same things I crave from you.”

He told me, “those things like he should know your likes and dislikes, he should be able to tell when someone lies about your character and stand up for you, he should be able to finish you sentences, he should want to know your interest, what’s on your mind and in your heart. He should remember things you both talked about and make an effort to know when you need help.’
‘Oh, daughter, cant you see, who your describing, who your looking for, is…. Me. This is how I,… love.… you.”

Psalm 139:1-4 NLT — O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.

Psalm 56:8 NLT — You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

He then pointed out to me, that all the times I have cried and been upset, when I feel neglected by my husband, that He understands completely. He said He can empathize with how I feel when I’m feeling neglected by my husband, because of how it makes Him feel when His children are not spending time with Him.

He is asking for the kind of relationship and intimacy with us, that we give to those we care about here, in this life, He only asks, that we seek Him so we will find Him. Then we will find that He is not a distant far away God. He is right here, everyday, ready to communicate with, and love, every one of His children.

Hebrews 13:8 NLT — Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. He walks with us and talks with us just as we read He did in His Word. We need only give Him His proper place in our lives and focus on hearing His voice. We should be so determined to hear from Him that we, like Jacob, will wrestle with Him all night for Him to acknowledge us.

If we aren’t anxiously watching, waiting for Jesus return, chances are, we still don’t understand who we are in Christ and where we’re heading. Lies of the enemy cloud all around us but, truth will set us free, truth only found when in an intimate relationship with our Creator God! This friend’s, is what we were created for!

Until next time, may God bless you and keep you, as you seek Him with your whole heart.

Cancel culture

I’ve heard it called cancel culture. This idea we shouldn’t have to put up with other people. We can either leave when someone hurts us, annoys us, disagrees with us or doesn’t like us, or make them leave. Today’s society has made it exceptionally easy and justified to just walk away from people. 
Kids walk away from parents, parents walk away from kids, husbands walk away from wives, wives walk away from husbands, friends walk away from friends, sisters from sisters, brothers from brothers, etc. Every kind of relationship in life has been affected it seems by this cancel culture. If we don’t get what we want from someone, if they are no longer a value to us, they no longer make us feel good, we just cancel them from our lives. Easy as that. 
In today’s society we cancel anyone who doesn’t feel good and  hold onto those who do. We are always talking of what’s fair, what we do and don’t deserve, whether or not it’s worth our time, etc. Etc.
We are in charge of our lives and our own happiness, we are kings and queens of our own domains. It’s our “God given right to be happy and emotionally sound and we will make sure we exercise our rights. 
You know what the problem is with this? 
We never learn and we never grow. When we get to be kings and queens or else, we never learn what true selflessness is. We never learn to share even when it hurts, we never learn the value of those who don’t think like us, act like us, smell like us, eat like us, work like us, cry like us, laugh like us. Because we get to decide and we have the option to leave, because there’s always a back door.
We learn to migrate toward like-minded people and quite comfortably go through only surface changes. We never allow ourselves to be refined by the fire because the first sign of sweat we run to the air conditioner. 
All of life is for the most part,  to our standards.  What we think, every single situation is judged by our standard beliefs. Right wrong, clean dirty, good bad, all set according to us. If we don’t like, we leave if they won’t, then they can get out. 
We never have to go through the uncomfortable, embarrassing, unjust, lessons meant to break down our self-righteous, worldly attitudes that in no way resemble Jesus no matter what disguise we present them with. We may struggle all types of hurt, heart ache, pain, but not fire. 
We’re not teachable because we are the teacher, we already mastered how we like things to go in our life, now all that’s left is making sure others fall in line. If they choose to go at things different, than they are choosing to go at them alone.
There is nothing for us to learn really, as we are already us. When given spiritual lessons through reading His word or hearing it preached, our mind swiftly recalls those in our life who would benefit from hearing this message. We get so busy helping others who we know need the teaching we never have time to reflect on ourselves and where we might be in need of the lesson. 
When we give, its with a price tag because if anyone we are giving to steps out of line according to our standard of measure, then they get cut off, left out, excused from receiving from us until they decide to conform or until they can convince us of their reasoning or worthiness. 
We don’t always notice that we are actually taking part in this worldly “cancel culture.”
Luke 6:32-36 NLT — “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return. “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.
Jesus didn’t mandate for us to love the lovely, He didn’t say to love those we get along with, those we call family and friends, no He said to love those who are unlovable. We are to love those who are ugly to us. Those who put us in prison, that talk bad about us, tell lies about us, who steal from us, curse us, etc etc. Jesus said love not cancel. Not stay away from, ignore, leave, reject, gossip about, abandon etc. 
The word tells us
Matthew 18:15-17 NLT — “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.
Notice hear what it actually tells us,
1. Try privately to go and work it out. Why is this do you suppose? Could it be we might be wrong also? Maybe to save us the embarrassment of finding out our perception was wrong and therefore because we sought out an end to the division privately, we now can still hold our head up. We are not found to be wrong in front of others.
2. We are told bring two or three with us to seek an end to the problem. What for? Well it continues and says so we have witnesses to back up what our intentions were and theirs. So if both sides think that they’re correct, we bring witnesses in to hear both sides and they can help us determine if either side is correct and help both sides see where we might be wrong or right.
3. Now if none of that works to bring reconciliation between the two of us, as we are both pieces of the body of Christ, then that’s when you take it to the church.  Our witnesses then are also question by the church, those ones that try to help us reconcile already. Then the church decides, and what the church decides is final.  If either of us don’t like the decision, we have the option of leaving. But see at this point if we leave, we are leaving wrong.  We are leaving prideful, self-righteous, arrogant, unapproachable.  So we leave of our own free will because we will not listen to any reasoning at all. Because we would not see reason, because we would not put aside our pride, our anger, and hurt to stay apart of the whole, we lose the whole thing, the entire church. 
See in all three steps one thing it does not say is that we have a right to excommunicate anybody without going through these three steps first. Here in today’s society we cancel people left and right.  So much hurt around the world from abandonment.   Abandoned by Christians.  Nice twist of the devil don’t you think. 
The Body of Christ has many parts, each unique in it’s own purpose and place. Each part needs all the other parts in order to function ultimately. When we want things our own way, when we act self-righteous, in self-pity, in charge, in judgment, we are trying to change someone from what God made to our ideal of who they should be.  We often use scripture to justify our actions yet scripture tells us (love)
1 Corinthians 13:1-8 NLT — If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
To forgive but don’t forget, is keeping record of wrongs. You know what that bitterness toward the one we won’t forget their wrongs causes? Deep wounds! Deep deep wounds in us and the one we kept record against. It also causes stagnation in spiritual growth, slow changes, lack of faith, makes people question their value, their worth. Any changes God may be making in the person we have kept record on, won’t be noticed or believed. Because we won’t let go of the past, we miss the blessing our prayers may be producing. We may be productive in our praying for them but not in watering the sprout God started from the seeds due to our prayers. Our bitterness can stunt their growth as well as our own.
Jesus never said love if they don’t make you mad, if they are respectful, if they are a brown-noser, if they never steal from you, if they follow your rules, if you have compatible personalities, if they can give you what you want, if they call you and make you feel wanted, if they act according to what society tells us isn’t crazy, no…. He leaves no room for argument on this very subject as He foreknew what was coming and all the excuses we might come up with to justify our actions against His love mandate. Excuses for our wrong, hidden beneath the, they did to me so I couldn’t help it. 
Wake up humans!!! We do not fight against flesh and blood …
Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT — A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Make sure who’s side your on! The end is inevitable and coming quick. God is about love in the midst of the worst storms, the enemy is about hurt feelings and bitterness from unforgiving hearts causing division and isolation. This is not a no big deal, not my problem kind of war. No, it sure is your problem because if you don’t pick a side and give it all you got, the enemy will take you over and use you as his weapon against God’s true people.
We need to get far far away from this cancel culture and look inside ourselves, at what needs to change within us, to bring about unity not division.
The people that are hard for us to get along with, are not meant to cancel out of our lives. They are there to help mold and shape us into our true selves. They give our faith a workout, to strengthen us for battles yet to come. We do ourselves a huge disservice when we decide to cancel them, abandon them, ignore them, etc. We are telling God, He made a mistake so we have to protect ourselves. God knows exactly what He is doing and the answer to our prayers may be in the person we chose to reject and in so doing decided against having faith in God’s ability to work in our lives. 
Don’t cancel anyone friends, it’s a trick of the enemy and isn’t a good trap to get stuck in. When you forgive, yes forget, unless you would rather that Father God remember your sins against Him. Choose Love always, no matter what’s done to you, for your sacrifice is where true courage and strength are found, and what All of Heaven is cheering for. 
Until next time may God bless you and keep you as you seek Him with your whole heart.