Tag: God's Promises

One Reality of the Gospel Life: How to Be Selfless: An In-Depth Guide for us Selfish People. Galatians 3:6-8 Msg.

“You reap what you sow!”

May­be, you have heard this saying before. Parents, teachers, and others use it a lot. It comes from this passage written by the apostle Paul: “A man reaps what he sows”—and Paul himself drew it from other ancient wisdom (see Proverbs 22:8; Hosea 10:12-13). Life’s circumstances too often prove the warning true.

Sow vast fields of Selfishness – Reap even greater harvests of Selfishness.

Matthew 9:35-38 Message:

35-38 Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”

Jesus sowed seeds of selflessness in his enormously compassionate response to the complex multitudinous needs of the people he had encountered throughout his circuit in the marketplaces and meeting places in these towns and villages.

He automatically gave to the people everything he had – he held nothing back from them in teaching them, reporting kingdom news to them, healing them of “their diseased bodies, healing them of their broken, bruised and hurt lives. So utterly confused and aimless they were, like sheep without their Shepherd.”

Next, Jesus sets up His disciples to gauge their responses to what they have just witnessed as Jesus, without even thinking twice about it, gave them everything.

“What a huge harvest!” He said to His disciples (and anyone else within hearing distance of Jesus’ words) “How few workers!” “On your knees! Pray for more harvest hands!” Can you just guess right here that Jesus was testing the reality of the quality of each disciple’s (and ours today) hearts and souls for service?

Can you see the Word of God sowing the seeds of a conflict here within these men? The of conflict within their hearts, souls and spirits of choosing between choosing between living almost exclusively for themselves with occasional circuits, and forays into the towns, villages, neighborhoods where help was desperately needed? Sowing the seeds of the Gospel wherever the ground was.

Jesus gave quite literally everything he had. The Disciples could only give of their limited selves, reluctantly of their meager and limited resources of what they believed they possessed – limited time, and time limited commitments.

Our great hope, Paul writes in Colossians, is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Remember, Jesus was called Immanuel (“God with us”—see Isaiah 7:14; and Matthew 1:23). And eventually the Holy Spirit came to live in the hearts of all believers (Acts 2). This means God is ­sewing, recreating his image within us.

This calls for our cooperation. As the farmer must sow seeds, pull weeds, and fertilize and water his plantings to reap a harvest, so we must cooperate with the Spirit to grow the good fruit of Christlike living. Sowing to please the Spirit means our work is done out of love for God and our neighbors (Mark 12:30-31), love for one another (John 13:34-35), and even love for our enemies (Luke 6:35).

The Holy Spirit’s guarding, guiding, inspiring, sowing, sewing and weaving and working within us bears fruit that ­pleases God. We just need to learn how to sow and tend his crops. Spiritual self discipline practiced every day will grow a great harvest of good in us that will please our Lord. Are you ready to sow with God?

Galatians 6:7-8The Message

7-8 Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God! —harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Apostle Paul writes to the Galatians: Our Selfishness destroys relationships!

It is the number one cause of conflict, arguments, divorce, and even war.

James 4:1 -3 Message says,

Get Serious

4 1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.

2-3 You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way.

Every trouble starts because …..

“we are spoiled children of our self-centeredness.”

“We want what we want, when we want it, we want it all exactly right now!”

How very easy is it for our selfishness to subtly creep into our relationships?

How easy is it for our selfishness to suddenly thrust itself into relationships?

When you start a relationship, you work really hard at being unselfish.

But as time goes on, selfishness begins to creep in. We put more energy into building relationships than maintaining them.

If selfishness destroys relationships, then it is selflessness that makes them grow. What does selflessness mean? It means less of “me” and more of “you.”

It means thinking of others before you think of yourself and putting the other person’s needs before your own (Philippians 2:4).

Philippians 2:1-4 The Message

He Took on the Status of a Slave

2 1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Selfishness brings out the worst in us.

Selflessness brings out the best in others.

It edifies, it builds faith and hope, trust and love in relationships.

In fact, if you start acting selfless in a relationship, it forces the other person to change, because you are no longer the same person anymore, and they have to learn how to adapt themselves to it and learn to relate to you in different way.

I worked many years serving the multitudinous needs of homeless veterans.

I’ve actually witnessed it many times — some of the most unlovable of people nobody in their “right and selfish minds” wants to be around, are transformed when someone exhibits both subtle and sudden and genuine kind and selfless behaviors toward them and gives them what they need, not what they deserve.

How to Be Selfless: An In-Depth Guide for Selfish People

When I think of selflessness, I can’t help but think of my parents’ example.

My father worked hard to support my family financially and never missed a day of work. My mom was a Registered Nurse for well over 40 years, she was always there for the hospitalized patients under her care. She was available to talk and support my sisters and I through our most insecure and awkward years of life.

Together, she and my dad strived to love us and be there in every high and low.

As you read this, I hope and fervently pray you too can likewise remember those in your life who have shown you this kind of selfless love, whether it be a family member, a friend, a mentor, or some stranger who simply decided to take a few moments to care for you. These moments, and these relationships, are ones that get etched in our memories; they are powerful and impactful in our lives. 

While we know this to be true, and may desire to be selfless ourselves, it can be easy likewise to draw a line in the sand that we are unwilling or afraid to cross. 

Luckily God knows this about us and has given us great examples in the Bible to teach us how to be selfless.

We will look briefly, specifically at the example of Jesus as he provides a guide for us on how to be less selfish. In this, Jesus will provide for us a total of 9 tips for how we can selflessly follow, model the example of Jesus in our own lives.

Be inviting

Being inviting means acknowledging the sacred worth of all, welcoming, validating, and including others in our life, heart, and friendship.

It is not always convenient, but it is a powerful display of selflessness that can have a profound impact on those around us.

Jesus shows us this through his example below.

“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means ‘son of Timaeus’), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’ ‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”

Mark 10:46-52 NIV

Jesus was not afraid to stop what he was doing (potentially inconveniencing himself) to selflessly invite others into a connection and relationship with him.

Nor was he afraid at all to be different from the crowd.

Jesus had an unconditionally compassionate and loving heart to be inviting.

While others around Bartimaeus just wanted him to go back to his customary roadside stand and stand down and be quiet, Jesus had reacted very differently.

He did not tell Bartimaeus to be quiet.

He did not tell him to return to where he came from and stop shouting.

He did not communicate that Bartimaeus was not good enough or that he was behaving wrong.

Jesus was inviting. He was interested. He was giving. He saw past Bartimaeus’s behavior into his heart. He asked Bartimaeus: “What can I do for you?”

Be admitting

‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:3-5 NIV

In this narrative passage, Jesus teaches us that we should focus on, own, and weigh the wrongs in our heart before pointing out the “specks” in others.

This is a critical and an essential element of selflessness: to care more about how we are impacting another person than how they are impacting us.

Admitting our own mistakes, sins, and weaknesses is actually a very important part of loving other people.

When we confess ourselves to God, admit the truth about ourselves, we not only protect ourselves from being self-righteous and critical of other people, but we also can more adequately heal those around us of the “specks” in their heart.

Instead of, rather than be motivated by self-protection, self-righteousness, or self-interest, or survival of the strongest and the fittest and the richest, we can serve, help others because of the care we have for those God has put in our lives.

Be forgiving

Once we confess ourselves unto God and admit to those places where we need His mercy, we are way far better able to forgive others for their shortcomings.

Being forgiving is a form of giving charity to others; it is a way of our selflessly clearing a debt in a relationship. Forgiveness is not something that can be faked but must be arrived at genuinely and honestly. (Isaiah 1:16-20 The Message)

There are times in marriage and relationships where I am convinced others have wronged me. I feel that I won’t be satisfied until the injustice is pointed out and thoroughly and rigorously and vigorously and selfishly dealt with.

This mindset only drags things out, heightens the emotions between me and my friends, and certainly doesn’t help us to resolve our arguments or feel close.

God teaches me, and I fervently pray He teaches you, that when we can admit our own faults, we will be more able to forgive, show mercy, and feel blessed.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Matthew 5:7 NIV

Matthew 5:7 Amplified: 7 “Blessed [content, sheltered by God’s promises] are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

God values and appreciates when we show mercy to those around us.

Mercy is something near and dear to God.

He decided to display his love to us through showing us mercy (Romans 5:8). 

Since this is the way God loves us, we can model this love. We can love others in the same way, through showing them mercy and forgiveness the way Jesus did. 

Be available

A critically important part of modelling selflessness like Jesus, is our decision to acknowledge, value another enough to be available and to be interested in them.

Modelling Christ-like availability communicates that we value another greater than ourselves. It is our act of self-sacrifice and selflessness that places oneself aside to like Christ, to listen to, consider, feel for, and understand someone else.

Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’

John 5:2-3,5-6 NIV

Jesus often displayed his availability to others around him in a way that was shocking and ground-breaking. He unhesitatingly noticed people that others went out their way and ignored. He would touch people who were cast out.

In this passage, he interacted with and listened to the needs of a man who was paralyzed (and had no other friends – John 5:7). Jesus didn’t just speak to him but also took an interest in and helped him. Jesus was selfless in his availability to without hesitation, acknowledge to feel, talk, work with those around him. 

Be serving

Being serving is a great way to give selflessly in humility.

It is a critically essential way to prioritize those around us, acknowledging, dedicating our thoughts and emotions to the needs and desires of others.

And as Jesus shows us, if we have any power or authority in a relationship, we should use this position to serve.

Jesus told them, ‘In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called “friends of the people.” But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.’

Luke 22:25-27 NLT

Here, Jesus teaches us to not concern ourselves with our position, status, or performance. What matters is deciding to concern ourselves with serving the needs and desires of others. This is what it truly means to be a real friend. 

Selfless friendship is the best kind of friendship because it is not predicated on getting our needs met but acting independently of how the other person treats us. When we love and give to others, our fulfillment comes from modelling and experiencing, knowing that serving is pleasing in God’s eyes. (Proverbs 27:17)

Here are some ideas of ways and means we can choose to be serving today:

  • Ask someone around you if there is anything you can do for them.
  • Prioritize the needs of others as if you feel the need for it yourself.
  • Do chores around the house without someone asking you (my wife likes this one for me – especially when I do the dishes without her telling me twice).
  • Pick up groceries for a friend or neighbor.
  • Drop off a friend’s favorite meal.
  • Volunteer in your community.

Be admiring

Admiring, praising, and encouraging those around us is a way to be selfless.

When we do this, we are able to subtly shift the focus from ourselves (our envy, our malignant competitiveness, or insecurities) and instead focus on admiring and encouraging and inspiring someone else.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names

Philippians 2:3-9 NLT

In this scripture, Jesus’ example teaches me that my value and fulfillment do not come from my status, my success, or how I am seen by others.

Without moans, groans and complaints, Jesus gave up divine privileges, did not try to cling to status of any kind. Instead, he humbled himself, served others. 

When we follow and model Jesus’ example, we won’t focus on the admiration and praise we can earn for ourselves or receive for our own behalf, but we will subtly start looking for ways to share encouragement with others around us.

Jesus lowered himself, so that he could elevate others.

He set an example for us to follow.

In the end God made sure that Jesus knew his value and was himself fulfilled.

To model and practice being “admiring,” think of people you otherwise envy, compete with, or have difficulty loving.

  • Choose to think of ways you admire them (example: what are their strengths or how can you learn from them?)
  • Text them words of encouragement.
  • Think of ways you can make them greater.
  • What do you learn about Jesus’ humility towards God and how did that translate to how he lived while on Earth?
  • Like Jesus did, how can you empty yourself and live to serve and love others?
  • Who is your mentor? That someone you know who is innately selflessly humble that you can admire and learn and model Christ from?

Be empathetic

Empathy is our ability to sense, understand, and imagine what another person is thinking or feeling. It is the ability to put ourselves in the spot of another to prayerfully perceive and understand what they may think, feel, need, or desire.

God and Jesus demonstrate this in the scripture below from Hebrews chapter 4.

When we see and are grateful for the empathy Jesus displays for us, we are able to do the same for others.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

– Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV

God and Jesus see our thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires. They are able to understand and act in empathy and unconditional love toward us. This empathy produces in us confidence and Shalom as we rely on the graciousness of God. 

In the same way, we can foster peace and confidence in others around us by practicing empathy ourselves.

When we model Christ in this way, we respond with gratitude for the empathy God always has for us, we are free, secure, confident to empathize with others.

This is the ripple effect of empathy. 

  • Pray about God’s love for you and how God and Jesus have empathized with you
  • Pray about a few other people in your life and what they are going through. Ask God to help them with some of the things you think they might need. Praying for others not only helps us empathize with them, it’s also a way to spiritually serve by asking God to enter into their neighborhood and to meet their needs. 

Be initiating

Jesus was a model leader, not just in his words or ability to move a crowd.

What really made Jesus a leader, and even attracted the crowds to him in the first place?

He would be the first to initiate giving to others who could not give back to him. 

He repeatedly asked the beneficiaries of his love to say nothing to anyone else.

Other times he would leave before the person could even find out who he was.

In this way Jesus initiated by giving without expecting any return.

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV

Jesus died for us, knowing that many of us would not care and would rather choose to still live self-absorbed lives. But he did it anyway so that we could have the very real choice and very real chance to be free and live a new life.

When we see and believe this personally, it changes us. We become not only willing to live selflessly ourselves, but we desire to. We initiate giving unto others, not in any selfish expectation of any return, but really to thank God.

Try surprising your family, friends or a stranger with a gift, for no reason.

Be persevering

One way to examine the purity of our selflessness is to see whether or not we persevere in love even when it is difficult.

Oftentimes in my marriage, I am amazed and stunned by how it is that my wife continues to extend mercy to me and patiently encourages me along in change, even when I am being ridiculously stubborn, self-consumed, and unchanging.

I know her persevering love is rooted in her appreciation for God’s own persevering love, mercy, and patience in her life.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:8 NIV

No matter how often we feel it is not true, the Bible calls us to live as though we are always in debt to those around us in our love.

God loves us enough to pay the price for our sins, if we choose to accept it. We can never adequately repay this debt, but we can continually remember to love one another because of how much we have been loved. (John 3:16-17)

God urges us to not treat his love with contempt, but to respond in gratitude (Romans 2:4), modelling, living our lives as if we still have a debt remaining in our relationships with those family, friends and neighbors who are around us.

This is what it means to persevere in selflessness, even when impossibly hard.

  • Pray about someone you get tired of loving.
  • In the moments that it is difficult to love and reflect on how God loved you.
  • Decide to love those around you out of a love for God, not just based on your feelings toward the person.

We Reap what we Sow ….

We sow selfishness – we reap selfishness

We sow selflessness – we reap God in Christ Jesus in our neighborhoods.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Almighty and Charitable God,

we praise and thank you for making us children of God,

not through our own power and piety

but through our baptism into crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.

We turn daily to you,

and in that turning we find peace, courage and purpose.

Make your whole church a witness

to the great good news of Christ’s resurrection.

God, our Savior, hear our prayer.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Servanthood in God’s Neighborhood Selfless Service inside a Selfie World.

How many selfies do you think you take a day?

“Selfie” was a word of 2013.

Oxford Dictionaries named “Selfie” the word of 2013.

It was defined as “a photo of yourself that you take, typically with a smartphone or webcam, and usually put on social media.”

Since then, we also got the word “Selfitis,” meaning “an obsessive-compulsive desire to take photos of oneself and post them on social media.”

June 21 is the national selfie day.

In 2022, the national selfie day happened on Tuesday. In 2023, the national selfie day will occur on Wednesday.

How many selfies do you think are taken in any given day?

How many selfies are taken a day?

According to Photutorial’s data, 92 million selfies will be taken daily across all devices in 2022. This number coincides with the fact that 2.3 billion photos are taken every day, 4% of which are selfies.

4% of all photos taken are selfies.

People take 2.3 billion photos daily, equating to 1.72 trillion annually in 2022.

In 2021, the number of photos taken was significantly lower due to pandemic restrictions–1.2 trillion.

Connect yourself to this link and the “selfie” numbers are just staggering.

https://photutorial.com/selfie-statistics/#:~:text=92%20million%20selfies%20are%20taken,adults%20have%20taken%20a%20selfie.

The Guiness Book of World Records currently recognizes the most self-portrait photographs (selfies) taken in three minutes as being 168 and was achieved by James Smith (USA) aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship on 22 January 2018.

Our children are growing up in what has been dubbed “the selfie generation.”

Most photos kids take these days are of themselves.

The accessibility of digital cameras, the ease of taking self-portraits, and the rise of social media have all led to the popularity of “selfies,” the modern-day term for digital self-portraits.

Personally, I take my idea of “plenty” of selfies with the intention of sharing my life with my wife and our social media friends who are also people of faith.

When we take a selfie and post it, we let the world know what we are up to.

However, as many sociologists have noticed, the word selfie has taken on a meaning that goes far beyond the object of the camera lens. It’s not just in photos that children are often the focus — it can extend into their lives.

The selfie culture turns people’s focus onto themselves

— how they look, how many “likes” and “loves” and “hugs” they get on social media, what kind of clothing they wear, how much fun they all have, and so on.

However, what started out as a harmless, fun activity has now been linked to growing rates of depression — and certainly an increase in narcissism.

The great irony, of course, is focusing on ourselves doesn’t always equate to the idea “selfies make us happier; rather they can also serve to robs us of our joy.

Our worldview can become biased and divided, deeply prejudiced and skewed.

The challenge for parents today is teaching our children to take the focus off themselves and turn the camera around so they can see the diversity of others.

We need to teach ourselves and our children how to see the people around them.

First and foremost, this includes their friends, their siblings, their parents, and their teachers, those in the neighborhood with authority over them – the police.

But it extends beyond to the people they encounter in daily life: the bus driver, the janitor, the widow, the orphan, the homeless person on the street corner, people of all races and ethnicities, our world cultures and diverse nationalities.

Only when our children begin to see in others’ their God-Given intrinsic value and human ‘suffering’ can they begin to understand how they can help others.

When we take a selfie and post it, we let the world know what ‘joy’ we’re up to.

Whether we’ve just tried the new coffee shop on the corner, or decided to dye our hair red, the selfie shows who we are, what we are doing to the online world.

Selfies gives us a great view into the intensity of our “joyful” virtual existence.

However, “joyful virtual existences” are not the whole of God’s story in God’s neighborhood. His neighborhood is a good deal more “diverse,” and “ugly.”

The intensity of that “Virtual Reality of that “Selfie?”

The intensity of that diverse ugliness as put on full display …. indescribable!

The intensity of that diverse ugliness as put on full display … beyond impactful!

The intensity of that diverse ugliness as put on full display … highly dangerous!

Those are the “Selfies” we seldom see on social media – they are censored or come with the poignant warning – “may not be suitable for young audiences.”

I always had the thought “Selfies” are a lot like the Bible should be in our lives.

The Bible should be showing us who we are, what we ourselves are to be doing.

Consider taking this “Selfie” and spreading it all over social media ……

Matthew 5:13-16Amplified Bible

Disciples and the World

13 “You are the [a]salt of the earth; but if the salt has [b]lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery].

14 “You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

OK, how many of us get really excited when we see that media ad with a person holding up a bag of potato chips or a box of crackers, saying “reduced sodium”?

Well, probably not too many of us – potato chips are considered “junk food.”

Because salt is delicious.

Salt is needed for many essential functions within our bodies – being our hearts and their need to keep beating and us alive plus our muscles and our kidneys.

It’s why chips and crackers, French fries and pizza and many other things taste good. Salt exists to make food better. That is one of its God-given purposes.

In this passage Jesus says

we are “the salt of the earth” . . . and “the light and also “the critically essential internal balances which keeps our bodies working in God’s much necessary and healthy harmony and our hearts beating so we can remain alive” of the world.”

He doesn’t say we “can be” or “should be” these things.

He says we already are, by way of our new identity in him. Jesus expects us to bless people, to build them up, and to do what we can to help meet their needs.

He expects us to use our words and our actions to stick out in this unhealthy, unbalanced, biased, divided dark world, pointing people to the kingdom of God.

This isn’t limited to formal ministry in the church.

The ways we treat our spouses, talk to our coworkers, and use our resources or engage with social media are all examples of how we are called to be salt and light. Every single sphere of life presents us with salt and light opportunities.

If we walk in step with Christ, putting his desires ahead of our own, we are like a welcome seasoning, a source of critically needed, critically essential balance to enhance the taste of food, or like a beacon of light shining in this dark world.

WHAT SELFIES TEACH US ABOUT OURSELVES, OUR ENGAGING GOD’S WORD

The Bible shows us who we really are. If we need a self-esteem boost, the Bible shows us our great worth to God. (1 Cor 6:20)

If we are afraid, the Bible shows us that we are bold. (Proverbs 28:1)

If we feel we can’t make it, the Bible shows us we can. (Phil 4:13)

Just like a selfie, the Bible shows us who we are.

We are Selfless Servants of God – Selflessly Sent into God’s Neighborhood.

Mark 10:35-45 Amplified

35 James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He replied to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit [with You], one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory [Your majesty and splendor in Your kingdom].” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?” 39 And they replied to Him, “We are able.” Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit on My right or left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared [by My Father].”

41 Hearing this, the [other] ten became indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their powerful men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them]. 43 But this is not how it is among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a [a]ransom for many.”

We might not do a very good job, or take that “quality selfie,” “separating our selfish selves, from our selfless selves” or by our “selfie we’re worth much, are bold, or we can make it, but our feelings don’t matter. What matters is what is true, and the truth is found in God’s word. God’s word shows us who we are.

Our best “selfie” both with and against God’s greatest “selfie” taken together with our engagement of God’s Word in His Neighborhood also shows us what we truly look like to ourselves against who we are serving, what we are doing and how well we are projecting ourselves, projecting our ‘selfies” plus God.

Reading the Bible can open your eyes to habits that you and I need to get rid of, or things in my life and your life that need to change. We should be constantly striving for “selfies” to be more like “selfies of God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit.”

So, when we take a “selfie” of an attitude or moral or an ethic in our life that doesn’t line up with the Bible, we truly need to address that habit or attitude.

A Selfless Call

The more we think of ourselves, the less we think of others, and the more self-centered we become.

Jesus tells us the GREATEST commandment is “Love the Lord our God, with all of thy heart, and with all of thy soul and all of thy mind.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

Jesus tells us that the second greatest commandment is to “love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39).

Which means we “Love ourselves better, best, greatest – 100% LAST!”

Again, our default affection is for ourselves.

We love ourselves and care for our bodies by eating and sleeping. We rarely ignore our own needs. Jesus says to think of our neighbors with the same affection. We must care for them, give to them, and seek to meet their needs.

Paul, through the authority given to him by God, explains Jesus’ command further. Not only do we need to love our neighbors as ourselves, but we also need to value them more than ourselves. He says this in Philippians 2:3-4:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to their own interests, but also to the interests of others.

A Selfless Savior

How do we get past such self-centered thinking and lifestyles as we see (or post) selfie after selfie on our screens each day?

The ongoing self-glorification on social media may not have directly caused you to stumble into the sin of selfishness today.

But the social acceptability of this self-worship feeds our tendency to make light of such sin in our world today.

When we feed our minds constantly with thoughts of ourselves, we easily disregard others, justify our own sin.

Paul continues in Philippians 2 with this:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (v.5-8)

To love our neighbors, think of them above ourselves as the Lord commands us to in Philippians 2:3-4, we must have the mind of Christ—a humble mind.

The way to fight the sin of selfishness is to ask God to renew our minds so that they become like Christ’s.

With “perfect joy,” in perfect selflessness, he regarded the greatest need of every human—forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God—and the will of his Father as infinitely more important than his own glory, even to the point of laying down his life for us at the cross (Hebrews 12:2).

Turn Your Camera Around

Hebrews 12:3 Amplified Bible

3 Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We must turn the selfie lens away from our faces—away from our needs and wants—onto others, and onto Christ. We must not grow weary and lose heart, pray that he will humble us enough to care for our neighbors above ourselves.

When turn our cameras around, our “selfies” point of fixation changes, we will start using our resources differently by uniting, inviting others into our homes, giving more than we receive, helping others succeed, admiring others’ beauty, and doing more GOD activities for the sake of lost souls, not just lost “likes”.

Humility will never be our default attitude on our own, but it is Christ’s.

Hebrews 4:14-16Amplified Bible

14 Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. 16 Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].

Let us discipline ourselves to study and ponder the Word of God muchly, keep running boldly to his throne of grace in our time of need and ask for help. We need help from the only one who is perfectly selfless, and he promises to give it.

So, the next time you raise a “selfie stick or two or three” snap a selfie or pick up your Bible let it be a reminder of how important the word of God is. God’s Word is living, powerful, can change our thoughts, actions if we let it. Challenge yourself today to go deeper into God’s word and let His words transform you.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord, as Your Children, we humbly pray that you would renew our selfhood as the People of God – we are not to be the remains of a goal-less club rather, the Body of Christ, the Church- the Bride of Christ, the King who is over all things.

Father God, through your power and through your people,

Let your kingdom come.

Help us to show the world the true “selfie” of your Church: by faithfulness to the Master; by love for him and his creations; by participating in his work of global mission and servant ministry giving flavor to the world, in his humility.  

Father God, through your power and through your people,

Let your kingdom come.

We ask you to give us the privilege, through your grace, of regaining our role as renewers of our world, as the people who serve our neighbors, our community, heal our society, who improve our surroundings, who improve circumstances.  

Father God, through your power and through your people,
Let your kingdom come.

Give us the discipline to read and study and ponder your Word. Give us the power to obey your will for our lives, for each other, for others, in acceptance, that understanding comes by a spirit of obedience to you, and that the source of life is your salt and your light, your heartbeat, your blood which gives to us life.  

Father God, through your power and through your people,
Let your kingdom come.

Let us learn to make neighbors and how to love them. Let us expect great and miraculous things from you. Let us always learn; let us persevere through the process of extending and inheriting God’s kingdom; let us be called ‘repairers of the breach’ and ‘restorers of streets of our towns and cities to be lived in.’  

Father God, through your power and through your people,
Let your kingdom come.

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Servanthood in God’s Neighborhood: Heavenly Economics. Proverbs 11:24-28.

“The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
    the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.”

“The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
    those who help others are helped.”

There’s a profound lie in our society today that tells us that if we get more, we will be happier. If we had more friends, we would be happier. If we had a better car, we would be happier. If we got those new shoes everyone else seems to have besides us, we’d be happier. We see it all around us. So many people are wearing themselves out pursuing “things” in a vain effort to make themselves happier.

About those two quotes above, (Actually from Proverbs 11:24-25 Message) God gives us a different perspective here in those verses. Basically, He’s saying that if we are primarily focused on serving only ourselves and keeping us happy and getting more “things” for ourselves that our world will be indescribably small.

When your focus is on yourself, your world will be small. And the reality is, the more you focus on yourself the unhappier you will be. God wants to use you. He wants to do big things through you and use you to bless the people around you.

However, in a worldly economic sense, if your main focus is on yourself, your world will be indescribably, impossibly, intolerably small.

Instead, in a heavenly economic sense, if you choose to invest your time in the people around you, in your “economic sphere of influence,” focusing on others, meeting the needs of those around you, you’ll not only be happier, but you’ll be more fulfilled, more heavenly rich and more earthly and worldly poor. You will know you are blessed being used by God to help those around you in a big way.

Proverbs 11:24-28 Amplified Bible

24 
There is the one who [generously] scatters [abroad], and yet increases all the more;
And there is the one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want and poverty.
25 
The generous man [is a source of blessing and] shall be prosperous and enriched,
And he who waters will himself be watered [reaping the generosity he has sown].
26 
The people curse him who holds back grain [when the public needs it],
But a blessing [from God and man] is upon the head of him who sells it.
27 
He who diligently seeks good seeks favor and grace,
But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him.
28 
He who leans on and trusts in and is confident in his riches will fall,
But the righteous [who trust in God’s provision] will flourish like a green leaf.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

In the mindset of this world, our economics is often about quickly making the greatest profit at the expense of others. It is based mainly on selfish greed and an unwholesome “me first, you last” attitude. Though it is sometimes called “the pursuit of happiness,” it will never satisfy our deepest needs and longings.

However, are we also aware that there is also something we might choose to call “heavenly economics.” It gives free rein to investing in generosity, in love, and in goodwill. It turns the selfish, vicious cycle of greed upon its head, and flashes of heavenly sunshine beam through, showers upon showers of blessings on us.

We can hear clear echoes of contrast between worldly economics and heavenly economics from deep within our ancient text from Proverbs 11:24-28 today.

In a Heavenly economic system, Generous people forgive debts, as they have been forgiven, ripples of love and service spread outward. That’s an example of God’s amazing grace amid worldly economics, building up treasure in heaven.

Maybe you have seen the old movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

It’s a story about George Bailey, whose savings and loan business lends out money at low interest so that low-income people can buy a home. But then something goes wrong: one day George’s uncle loses track of a bundle of money on the way to the bank, and that puts George in danger of going bankrupt.

In the end, George is rescued by the townspeople, who give him all the cash he needs because he always served from the heart and treated them with goodwill.

God’s Gospel in a nutshell:

Jesus’ Selfless Servanthood in God’s Neighborhood!

Matthew 27:38-44Amplified Bible

38 At the same time two robbers were crucified with Jesus, one on the right and one on the left. 39 Those who passed by were hurling abuse at Him and jeering at Him, wagging their heads [in scorn and ridicule], 40 and they said [tauntingly], “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself [from death]! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying, 42 “He saved others [from death]; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him and acknowledge Him. 43 He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 The robbers who had been crucified with Him also began to insult Him in the same way.

They gathered by the hundreds, if not the thousands, watched Jesus dying on the cross. They could see Him suffering but could not understand His actions.

They expected that He would want to do anything to escape the pain and agony.

These observers assumed that Jesus was exactly like other people.

Like themselves.

Only interested in His own personal pleasures and well-being.

That, if He could, if he wanted what everybody else would want – long life, He would have freed himself, escaped the cross, saved Himself from certain death.

To them, the fact that He hung on a cross proved that He was an utter fraud and failure, precisely because, from their perspective, He would not save Himself.

How wrong they were!

He could have saved Himself. Before going to the cross, He had asked the Father to “remove this cup from Me” (knowing that all things were possible for Him). But, in the end, He knew that the cross was the Father’s will (Mark 14:35-36).

So, hanging there, totally vulnerable, in indescribable agony, dying, Jesus was demonstrating why He came to earth. He was showing us that He was totally selfless, willing to obey the Father, regardless of the consequences or cost.

He was not the least bit motivated by self-interest, pride, or self-preservation. He came to give UP His life, not to save it. To serve, not to be served. To die.

He achieved victory and success because for the JOY which was before Him, He freely died for each of us that we might be forgiven of our sins. He represented something totally new, totally heavenly:

Total absolute selflessness, total absolute sacrifice and total absolute service.

Completely, utterly seeking first, the Kingdom of God, quite literally, quite graphically, even to the point of death – only to be raised, to be resurrected!

His accusers represented the opposite:

Pure self-interest.

By their “economic” standards, He could only be successful by saving Himself.

In that exact moment, their “utter selfishness” was all they could understand.

In the world today, many are like those accusers.

Living for self.

Surviving for self.

Self – Preservation

Survival of the “strongest and the fittest, the quickest and the richest.”

Focusing nearly exclusively on their personal economic interests and pleasures.

But God calls us to be like Jesus.

Heavenly Economics – To surrender our lives to Him.

Selfless Servanthood – To die to self and serve Him in His neighborhood.

The Gospel in a Nutshell – Selfless Servanthood in God’s Neighborhood!

Totally committed to entering into our communities and our neighborhoods.

Heavenly Economics: Let our selfless servanthood follow God’s leading and live with His generosity and goodwill.

Our Worldly Economic view: our greed and selfishness can only lead to our ruin.

God is a giving and generous God.

He longs for his children to be like him in this grace.

Our place on earth is not to fill our barns and our silos with our grain, be hoarders or collectors of blessing, forgiveness, wealth, and opportunity.

No, following the lead of our Eternal Father, we are to be conduits of blessing, forgiveness, wealth, and opportunity.

As we are generous like our Heavenly Father God, we trust that he will in turn make sure we are heavenly blessed and refreshed in the ways that will draw us more and more into HIS character and more able to help others in the future.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Holy God, I thank you for all the great examples of heavenly generosity which have blessed and graced my life. Whether rich or poor, these conduits of your grace have taught me that I, too, can be .01% more like you in this way. Bless my heart with trust and faith as I seek to be more generous with others in my grace, forgiveness, finances, encouragement, and time. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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Servanthood in God’s Neighborhood: I Serve for the JOY of Accomplishing the Goal which God has Placed before me.

It’s been said that “there’s no faster track for your soul to find satisfaction than on the path of servanthood.”

In truth, Jesus himself said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26).

Followers of Jesus should have a servant spirit that always looks “not to the best interest of themselves but to the greatest interests of others.”

Sometimes servanthood is poorly understood.

While everyone is equal in Christ, not everyone’s roles are equal. A servant-minded mother still has authority over her child. A servant-minded CEO never abandons the responsibility to lead. Ultimately, the attitude and actions of the Christian are characterized by servanthood, not the position that person holds.

A believer in Christ desires to imitate the servant spirit of Christ.

Since Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened” (Matthew 11:28), God’s Goal for us: reach out to people who need rest, comfort, and help.

Their Goal? They serve as a channel of his grace to people who are lost in the cycle of poverty, or alcohol, drug addiction, violence, victims of violence, or devalued because of their skin color. If the quest for hope is universal, doesn’t it make great sense to share the joy and satisfaction we have received from Jesus?

Jesus served for the joy set before him. Christians too delight that other people will be privileged to taste heaven’s enduring grace through their service to God in God’s own backyard! Service to all of God’s Children in God’s neighborhood.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Amplified Bible

Jesus, the Example

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of [a]witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, 2 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, [b]disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

When a person initiates a new, huge endeavor, his passion to succeed in that endeavor strengthens him to keep his eye on the goal in front of him.

For example, as an athlete starts a race, their desire and their goal to win that race helps them keep both of their eyes and feet fixed on the finish line.

While constructing a building, workers who keep their eyes on the architect’s finalized rendering are encouraged to sustain the momentum of the building process.

While we are reading and studying this book called the Bible, which we hold in our hands and our hearts, I have a daily goal of encouraging myself by keeping my sight fixed on God, my Creator and Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith!

With every new daily devotional entry I complete, I move closer and closer to that goal, and it gives me courage to keep writing every morning. As a result of my writing, staying on track, you are prayerfully reading this devotional today.

But what do you think Jesus focused on when He was hanging on the Cross and enduring the agony and shame?

You can imagine that He must have had moments when He thought, I don’t have to do this! I could call on legions of angels to deliver me! I could come down from this Cross! What do you think motivated Him to remain there until the job was done?

Hebrews 12:2 is clear what was motivating Jesus – Joy!

The Joy of Accomplishing the Goal set before Him by His Father.

The Goal: Revealing the Deity of His Father, His Authority, the Completion of the Work which God sent His Son into the World (John 3:16-17) to achieve.

2 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, [b]disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].

This verse says Jesus focused on “the joy” that was set before Him as He endured the Cross.

Just like a runner focuses on the finish line, like a builder forges ahead to view the completed building project, and an author anticipates the last written page of a book, Jesus was looking forward to “the joy” of finishing God’s work

I’m sure that somewhere in all of that indescribable agony, as Jesus hung on the Cross, He looked out across eons of time and saw the faces of people who would be saved because of what He was doing. He saw you! He saw me — but what else did He see that motivated Him to stay faithful to the end?

The word “joy” in Greek has a definite article, which means this wasn’t just joy in general, but it was a specific joy.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/heb/12/2/t_conc_1145002

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What was it?

The verse goes on to describe that joyous “finish line” that Jesus set His face like flint toward: “…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus had His eyes of faith fixed on the empty throne at the right hand of the Father that was reserved for Him once His victory was complete.

Upon that throne, all enemies would be His footstool, and He would commence the next part of His high priestly ministry to intercede for everyone who would ever come to Him in time of need (see Hebrews 4:16).

Jesus had His eyes, His heart, His mind — His whole being — fixed on that highly exalted place.

That was the joy set before Him.

When sin and hell were defeated and Jesus was resurrected, that was the seat of authority He ascended into Heaven to occupy.

Ever since that time, from that highly exalted position, Jesus has been serving as Lord of the Church and as the High Priest and Intercessor for every believer.

What is the goal in front of you that keeps you motivated to move ahead even when things are difficult?

If you have no goal, it’s likely you’ll give up.

That’s why it is so important to know exactly where you are headed, what will happen when you get there, and what kind of victory you’ll experience when you attain that long-awaited position.

Just as Jesus had a joyous outcome set before Him, I guarantee that you and I have a joyous outcome placed before us too.

STRENGTH TO RUN THE RACE, FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE WHICH PERSEVERE

The Joy of the Lord is our Strength and our Stronghold: Nehemiah 8:9-10

Psalm 18:1-2: “I love You [fervently and devotedly], O Lord, my strength.”
2 
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me;
My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge;
My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold.

BY OUR LOVE AND THROUGH OUR OBEDIENCE: THE ABUNDANT LIFE

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Amplified 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore, you shall choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding closely to Him; for He is your life [your good life, your abundant life, your fulfillment] and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord promised (swore) to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

How does all of this speak to our 2022 hearts. our souls and our servanthood?

Hebrews 12:2 Amplified Bible

2 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, [a]disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].

Looking away from all that will distract us and focusing our eyes on Jesus who is the Author and Perfector of faith ….

What are those distractions from which we need to avert our 2022 eyes?

What are those divisions we need to set aside, from which we need to Unite?

How do we come together in the Gospel, to grapple with, to debate, to discuss, challenge comprehend, understand, teach, preach – God’s Joy in our Koinonia?

God’s Goal which is Koinonia – “for the Joy of the Lord which is before us …”?

We are the Body of Christ – We are the Church in the World,

For the “JOY OF THE LORD” which is ever BEFORE US ….

  • What are you and I building with our lives?
  • What keeps you and I motivated to stay on “God’s track?”
  • What will it look like when you and I finish it?
  • What are you and I “writing” with our faith, our hope and our “love”?
  • What will the final chapter of our lives look like because you and I have come together, eyes focused on Jesus alone, done what Jesus has asked us to do?
  • What is the specific joy that is set before you and me?
  • Is there any genuine strength in our Koinonia goal of “Joy of the Lord?”

Sometimes when you are working hard to do what God has asked you to do, it can seem overwhelming, but progress is gained one step at a time.

The increments of forward movement might seem tiny, but no matter how big or small the steps, you can know that you are inevitably progressing toward the goal that God has set for our lives.

When I was a young man of 41, God showed me the purpose of my life, and that purpose has been in front of me ever since.

In times of hardship, I’ve kept my eyes focused on that goal which God set before me, because fulfilling that divine purpose is what my life is all about.

Sometimes it seemed like all I could do was take baby steps — yet each step has been a step in the right direction. That’s the way I have lived these last twenty years focused, moving in the direction of the purpose God has revealed to me.

If you get your eyes off the goal, start focusing on how small your steps are along the way, it is probable you’ll get discouraged, give up before you arrive.

So today I want to encourage you to lift your eyes and look beyond to the joy, the victory, and the utter fulfillment of what God has planned for your life.

Even Jesus possessed a goal to help Him stay focused as He underwent intense suffering and hung on that Cross.

So today I exhort everyone who koinonias, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, to make a fresh consecration before the Lord to submit to His will for your lives.

Then exercise your authority in Jesus’ name and resist the devil (see James 4:7)!

And as you and I move forward in obedience to the Lord’s voice, keep our eyes of faith, hope and love fixed on the prize Jesus has set before both you and me.

That is what will sustain our determination to stay in God’s place and stay on God’s track until we can finally shout, we have reached our God-ordained goal!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

At the starting line of this day,
we call on your name, God of grace.
As we run the race you have set before us,
help us to keep our eyes on your goals, not our own.
When we falter, give us fresh strength and courage.
When we are fleet-footed, let us give you the glory.
Keep us from wanting to win at other’s expense
or to count ourselves better than those at our side.
All runners are your children.
In the race You imagine,
each one is a winner. Alleluia! Amen.

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The Gospel in a Nutshell: And so, Jesus Asked, He is still Asking, “What Do You Want Me to Do for You?” Mark 10:49-51

As we look into this story again today, let’s now focus on the one question Jesus asks Bartimaeus, the man who is blind: “What do you want me to do for you?”

Since Bartimaeus has been customarily begging by the roadside, we would expect him to ask for handout—some bread or ­money, perhaps.

But in response to Jesus’ sudden question, the marginalized man is bold enough to ask for much more than what he might have originally asked for. He asks to be able to see—and that means he is asking to have his life completely changed.

If this, were you, in that exact moment Jesus spoke to you, asked you that one question you never expected to hear come from anyone’s mouth, how would you now respond to Jesus’ question “What do you want me to do for you?”

You have just been given a blank check with Jesus’ signature with full authority to ask for whatever you want in that exact moment, what is your first answer?

We all could use a little help, or a little healing, or some additional resources to get us through another hour or day, right? And surely, we would be thankful for whatever small amount of help the man Rabbi Jesus would give to balance life.

But let’s not forget who is asking. Just as Bartimaeus could see that Jesus was the Son of David, the promised deliverer who could make all things right, we need to see that Jesus is the Lord and Savior who ­offers us full, new life forever.

Jesus invites us, right here and right exactly NOW to be 10000% GENUINE and honest about our single greatest need: the mercy of God for sinners. So, we need to ask him for our miracle, and a new life, that we may serve with him forever.

Mark 10:46-52Amplified Bible

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46 Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom]. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, [a]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” 48 Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So, they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

This word has been on my heart for quite some time.

Today, for whatever reason, for whatever purpose, to whatever end God has set aside by His own sovereign Authority, I felt specifically moved by the Lord God, who literally woke me up from a sound sleep, release it into your soul today.

The specifics in this word won’t be for everybody, although the principles in this word are truly for everybody. But if the specifics of this word are for you, you’ll recognize yourself described below.

The message the Lord gave me for those of you to whom Holy Spirit bears witness today is:

You and I have a blank check with God.

Inserting ourselves into the Gospel Conversation between Bartimaeus and Jesus. We are saved, and we are healed. We share with Bartimaeus, a holy and miraculous life transforming experience, which at first, neither could believe.

We both know it has happened and it was Jesus alone who came, summoned us. Two Thousands of years apart, Jesus still lives and miraculously, blessedly, we are His witnesses, both ancient and contemporary. How much more real can it possibly get for us? Far more real for Bartimaeus because he stood face to face.

I find myself wanting to know from Bartimaeus himself – Face to Face! Face to Face with Rabbi Jesus – 100% Physically, not spiritually as is the case with me.

I find myself contemplating actually, genuinely, having that conversation in my living room – sharing my food and sharing my drink and sharing OUR Jesus!

So, this is how I have contemplated having, sharing that conversation with him.

“You AND I have sought God with all your heart for many years. We have loved Him; we still continue to do forever. Along the way, we have done everything possible to bring every aspect of our life into full maximum obedience to Jesus.

We have been healed, and the Lord has refined you in His fire. We have been through hell and back three times. (I heard the Lord say that very specifically: “three times.”) This triple refining has removed the dross from your life and mine in greater ways than you or I could ever know or think to ever imagine.

Listening! What measure and degree of absolute JOY fills my heart right now!

Now the Lord says: “I am pleased with you.”

Then eye to eye, The Lord looks at you. The Lord says to you, “I am pleased with you. I love the way you love Me. I love the way you faithfully serve Me. I TRUST YOU. I trust you to obey My Word, follow My instructions, to pull back if you get ahead, to keep pace with Me, and to venture out where and when I send you.”

So now Jesus says to you, “I want you to know that you have a blank check with Me.”

My Word is true, and I told you over and over in My Word that you have a blank check with Me when you are obedient. I have refined you as silver; yes, I have refined you as gold. I have searched you and found nothing amiss. You have been weighed in the balances and found NOT WANTING.

Now, beloved, I want to know what burdens you.

The aspirations in your heart are there because I placed them there; but I desire not to work alone, but to co-labor with you. I am moved by what moves you. I will be burdened for what burdens you, for you are My hands, feet on the earth.

So, I want you to please tell Me: Bartimaeus, (insert your name) what do you want to do?

What would you like to accomplish next for the building and strengthening and taking of My Kingdom? Where would you like to go? What would you like to do?

Surely, (insert your name) “I know your heart already, but I desire for you to tell Me anyway. I want to converse with you; to talk with you; to plan and dream with you. We are friends, you and I; and I just love to see what matters to you.”

You have a blank check with Me.

I say it again: ‘You have a blank check with Me.’ If you get ahead of Me, I will tell you; I will make it plain. If you are in step with Me, and I with you, you will know that too. There are no secrets between you and Me; I am keeping nothing from you. You are My friend, and there is open communication between us. 

Matthew 9:35-38Amplified Bible

35 Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages [in Galilee], teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (gospel) of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness [His words and His works reflecting His Messiahship].

36 When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is [indeed] plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

We have no idea what this man Bartimaeus did with his Miracle of Healing. We are only told that after he regained his sight, he followed Jesus “on the road.”

How Bartimaeus engaged with the ancient Roman world we do not know. How he came to fulfill his ministry, mission part in the Great Commission, Acts 1:8, is not known nor can it really be stated with any certainty how he Shared Jesus.

However, we can definitely say he played a significant role for John Mark in his writing of this Gospel Narrative which carries his name and Christ’s life to us.

Thanks be to God that those two came together somewhere, somehow. John Mark and Bartimaeus were introduced to each other by someone. Brought together to share a common miraculous experience, Salvation in Jesus alone!

Does this word resonate with you today?

Does Holy Spirit bear witness in your spirit that this word is for you?

So, now, I pray that God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have revealed themselves to you, and you are now ready to have that talk with them – to do that face to face, eye to eye, voice to voice thing, hear them say:

So, (insert your name) let’s move. Let’s go forth together. Let’s co-labor on the earth.

“What do you want to do? You have a blank check with Me. Ask, and you shall receive. There will be a process of discovery as I move with you; you will learn as you go; I will teach you what to say. We will labor, and we will work together.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 146Amplified Bible

The Lord an Abundant Helper.

146 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 
While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3 
Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation (help).
4 
When his spirit leaves him, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts and plans perish.
5 
How blessed and graciously favored is he whose help is the God of Jacob (Israel),
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them,
Who keeps truth and is faithful forever,
7 
Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets free the prisoners.

8 
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the [a]righteous [the upright in heart].
9 
The Lord protects the strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow;
But He makes crooked the way of the wicked.
10 
The Lord shall reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

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The Gospel of Jesus Christ in a Nutshell: Is the Good News for everyone? Is there always someone around to abundantly help or hinder all others? Mark 10:47-49

Every single day, we all need the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We all need to hear the Good News of Salvation only through Jesus Christ!

And perhaps the best news is that we are all children of the loving God, who calls us to trust and obey him so that we can live life abundantly. God wants to save us so that we can live life forever with him. God wants this for all of us.

In these devotions I try to write, we try to explore what this means to each of us, but especially for those people who experience poverty and hunger, also often oppressed, displaced, and vulnerable, those who somehow are on the fringes.

But living life on the fringes? Customarily living life sitting with a cup in your hand, on the roadside? That is not the way life is supposed to be. Instead, there should be “a customary – extraordinary” abundance and flourishing for all.

From the beginning, back in the Garden of Eden, that is the great vision of peace and flourishing God originally had for all of his creatures and all of his creation.

The Bible reminds us again and again God has great compassion for all who are poor and oppressed, marginalized, “forced” to the fringe and he acts on their behalf. God also wants his followers to love and serve these people in his name.

God places these people directly, decisively in our line of sight and of influence.

“Line of Sight,” meant to stir within us a sense of deep thought for them as we’re always decisively made aware by the Gospel of Jesus’ great compassion.

So, while we are wrangling with our abundance, let’s pray about how we can serve God by caring for people in tangible ways, from feeding, helping people to rebuild “their roadside lives, cities” to helping with long-term development.

As we do this, we’ll also be praying and thinking about God and his heart for those customarily on “the roadside,” revealed in Jesus Christ. And this will lead us into deeper discipleship, doing justice and loving mercy in Jesus’ name.

Mark 10:46-52Amplified Bible

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46 Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom]. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, [a]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” 48 Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So, they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Today, I am drawn to these particular verses from Mark’s Gospel Narrative:

47 When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, [a]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” 48 Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So, they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.”

Then almost immediately, I am reminded of these words from Apostle Paul:

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 Amplified

11 For you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you just as a father does [in dealing with] his own children, [guiding you] 12 to live lives [of honor, moral courage, and personal integrity] worthy of the God who [saves you and] calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

There’s those familiar words live and walk that Scripture often uses to describe our journey in life with God.

Genesis chapters 1, 2 and 3, from the beginning, before their “apple rebellion,” God enjoyed creating access to Him, walking in the garden with Adam and Eve.

And guess what, Brothers and Sisters IN CHRIST?

Even today, He still greatly enjoys creating access, long walks, with us today.

A walk is simply how we live our lives every day, through practical daily actions.

An authentic believer lives the life of a servant, and lives at peace with other servants. Cowboy philosopher Will Rogers said it this way, “Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your talking parrot to the town gossip.”

These verses tell us that God calls us “into His own kingdom and glory.”

We are reminded throughout Scripture that

God calls us both from something and to something.

We are called from labor to rest in Matthew 11:28.

We are called away from death to life in 1 John 3:14.

We are called away from bondage to liberty in Galatians 5:13

and away from darkness to light in 1 Peter 2:9.

We are called away from “HINDERING” to “HELPING!” in Mark 10:48-49

Called away from “CROWD CONTROL” to “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus!” in these exact same two verses from the Gospel Narrative of Mark 10:48-49.

When did Authentic Christianity become all about “CROWD CONTROL?”

When did Authentic Discipleship become all about “BLOCKING ACCESS?”

I am sure Jesus’ Disciples heard the same words we still hear declared today:

Matthew 11:28-30Amplified Bible

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”

When did our Authentic Christianity become all about “CROWD CONTROL?”

When did our Authentic Discipleship become all about “BLOCKING ACCESS?”

Isaiah 61:1-4Amplified Bible

Exaltation of the Afflicted

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me
To bring good news to the humble and afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives
And freedom to prisoners,
2 
To proclaim [a]the favorable year of the Lord,
[b]And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God,
To comfort all who mourn,
3 
To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following:
To give them a [c]turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning],
The oil of joy instead of mourning,
The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God],
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

4 
Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up and restore the former desolations;
And they will renew the ruined cities,
The desolations (deserted settlements) of many generations.

So, I ask again,

When did our “customs and traditions” become all about Crowd Control?

When did “our customs and traditions” become all about Blocking Access?

Unbiased, Unadulterated, Unfettered, Unhindered Access to our Sanctuaries?

Unbiased, Unhindered Access to Authentic Worship of our Authentic God?

When did our Authentic Christianity become all about “CROWD CONTROL?”

When did our Authentic Discipleship become all about “BLOCKING ACCESS?”

When did “Turning our, other’s Eyes Upon Jesus'” become all about “CROWD CONTROL,” “BLOCKING ACCESS” by “Turning our Eyes Upon our Disputes?”

By turning our eyes, and everyone else’s eyes upon our disputes and divisions?

by turning our attentions, and our Authentic Callings away from “Bartimaeus?”

Forcefully communicating, yelling, our ‘Bartimaeus’ – “Stop Bothering Jesus!”

When did that “creep” into the Gospel of Good News to all of the Poor sitting on the roadside, become our over-riding, over-arching call to Authentic Ministry?

I remember Jesus himself fervently praying in the Garden on all our behalf’s:

John 17:13-21Amplified Bible

The Disciples in the World

13 But now I am coming to You; and I say these things [while I am still] in the world so that they may experience My joy made full and complete and perfect within them [filling their hearts with My delight]. 14 I have given to them Your word [the message You gave Me]; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world and do not belong to the world, just as I am not of the world and do not belong to it. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but that You keep them and protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth. 18 Just as You commissioned and sent Me into the world, I also have commissioned and sent them (believers) into the world. 19 For their sake [a]I sanctify Myself [to do Your will], so that they also may be sanctified [set apart, dedicated, made holy] in [Your] truth.

20 “I do not pray for these alone [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for [all] those who [will ever] believe and trust in Me through their message, 21 that they all may be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe [without any doubt] that You sent Me.

Our God is constantly calling us to new, higher ground because our walk is never to become static but constantly dynamic and changing for the good.

How else will our legions of ‘Bartimaeus’ know we are Authentic Christians?

How else will our legions of ‘Bartimaeus’ know we are Authentic Disciples?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 146 Amplified Bible

The Lord an Abundant Helper.

146 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 
While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3 
Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation (help).
4 
When his spirit leaves him, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts and plans perish.
5 
How blessed and graciously favored is he whose help is the God of Jacob (Israel),
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them,
Who keeps truth and is faithful forever,
7 
Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets free the prisoners.

8 
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the [a]righteous [the upright in heart].
9 
The Lord protects the strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow;
But He makes crooked the way of the wicked.
10 
The Lord shall reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

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The Gospel in a Nutshell – Courage! Leaving it all Behind. Mark 10:46-52

Our hearts stir with the many stories of bold and courageous people in the Bible.

We admire and are greatly inspired by the Patriarch Noah, heard the command of God, who stood alone built the Ark in the face of enormous unrighteousness.

We admire Abram for leaving his homeland to follow the Lord.

We applaud Moses for marching in before Pharaoh with God’s demand “Let my people go!” We love to hear of young David going out to meet mighty Goliath.

Well, we look at God’s approach to Joshua, who is about to take over in Moses’ place. God’s first words to Joshua are about courage. Three times in his address to Joshua, God repeats the challenge for all to hear “Be strong and courageous.”

Courage is needed when the task is big–and this task of communicating the Gospel is immense! God says, in effect, “Call Israel together; cross the Jordan; conquer the cities; overcome the enemies; resist their gods. Yes, the enemies of the Gospel will be many and will be fearsome, but you, I, must be courageous!”

Courage has always been a necessary quality among the people of God. Standing up in the face of opposition for the sake of God’s righteousness in a society that freely accommodates itself to evil takes courage.

Communicating and spreading the true gospel of Jesus Christ in a culture that wants to say any religion will do, takes courage. Allegiance to Jesus Christ in a world that is often against the Gospel truth of Jesus Christ takes great courage.

David’s confidence, immense courage in the Lord in the face of his enemies –

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”

“Thou preparest a table before me in the face of mine enemies.”

“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!”

“Thou anointest my head in oil, my cup runneth over.”

Paul’s charge to his friends in Corinth applies to us all. “Be alert. Continue strong in the faith. Have courage, and be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13, NCV).

Mark 10:46-52Amplified Bible

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46 Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom]. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, [a]Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” 48 Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So, they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Throwing his cloak aside, [the blind man] jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

—  Mark 10:50

The expression “in a nutshell” describes an important point that can be shared in just a few words.

Did you happen to notice that in the VERSE about the ‘BLIND’ Bartimaeus “THROWING HIS CLOAK ASIDE, HE JUMPED UP and HE CAME TO JESUS.”

this series of actions includes a critically important detail!

Bartimaeus’s cloak was probably his only possession, and he needed it for his meager life sitting around on the side of the road, on the fringes of society.

DAY IN AND DAY OUT! EVERYDAY WITHOUT CHANGE!

AS WAS HIS CUSTOM …

HOW MUCH COURAGE DOES IT TAKE FOR US, THE CHURCH, TO SIT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, DAY IN AND DAY OUT, EVERY DAY, AS IS OUR CUSTOM?

Bartimaeus was blind and could not see what people might toss to him as they passed by, so he would have to spread some of his cloak on the ground to catch the small bits of food or gather the small number of coins that he might receive.

Then he would have to search, to feel around the cloak, find the offerings on the cloak. In ­other words, he needed his whole cloak in order to gather his income.

At night he would wrap the cloak around his body for warmth. It was his bed.

His courage was essentially what he searched for every day on his spread cloak.

So, to THROW HIS CLOAK ASIDE without thinking about it …. represented what?

What did that moment of ‘throwing the source of his courage aside’ represent to the Blind Bartimaeus?

Throwing his cloak aside … the cloak which served critical purposes for him …

Covering his nakedness? Collecting his source of income? His food for the day?

Throwing it aside … to who knows where, … to who knows who …

Exposing himself before those who he could not see, every last vulnerability?

“For the absolute shame, which was ever before him, which he could not see?

“For the absolute shame, which was ever before him, WHOM he could not see?

The absolute courage to stand there at the risk of ultimate public humiliation?

The absolute courage to stand there and either be arrested for indecency or to see, to be healed and made whole by his faith in Jesus whom he could not, see?

By the way, wow old was Bartimaeus? What season, stage of life, was he living?

Every age, every season of our lives carries with them different vulnerabilities!

How long had Blind Bartimaeus been Blind? From birth or from what age?

Physically Blind or Spiritually Blind?

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mar/10/46/t_conc_967046

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If “spiritually” blind – for how long, to what effect, affect, on his faith in God?

How long had Bartimaeus been customarily sitting by that customary roadside?

How long had Bartimaeus been customarily waiting to finally “jump up?”

How old are we now? How long have we been, like Bartimaeus, “customarily” waiting by our “customary” roadside, to shed our own “customary customs?”

What would it take for the Peanuts character Linus Van Pelt to stop sucking his thumb, carrying his security blanket over his shoulder – as was his “custom?”

Does Linus Van Pelt ever give up on his custom of philosophically sucking his thumb?

Does he ever give up on his customary “I always carry my blanket” philosophy?

When Jesus called the first disciples, they left everything behind to follow him (Mark 1:16-20; 10:28).

Similarly, blind Bartimaeus stands up, leaves his “security” cloak behind as he jumps to his feet to come to Jesus, to have his life changed, and to follow Jesus.

This is the gospel in a nutshell. Bartimaeus leaves his security blanket behind as he jumps up, comes to Jesus, gains his sight, follows his Savior into his new life.

What “customs” do we still “customarily ” still carry around with us – on the side of the street, we customarily sit at every day – waiting for Jesus to come?

Are we really ready to do as Blind Bartimaeus did – shed all of our “customs?”

Are we genuinely ready to expose all of our “nakedness/vulnerabilities” before a world we cannot see to communicate a Gospel, so few ever wants any part of?

Job 1:20-21Amplified Bible

20 Then Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head [in mourning for the children], and he fell to the ground and worshiped [God]. 21 He said,

“Naked (without possessions) I came [into this world] from my mother’s womb,
And naked I will return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Cheer up! Jesus is calling you too!

Cheer up!

But not just “cheer up”

BUT …

JUMP UP!

The Gospel promise of God is this: Jesus is absolutely coming back!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

O Lord, my Salvation, I am blind to the world around me. I know there are issues to face, temptations to withstand, and enemies to meet. You gave us the Gospel! Give me a courageous heart, that I may be firm in my obedience. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Dear Jesus, in your mercy and with your grace, restore my “sight,” please give me new life. Help me to see that following your call is the way to live each day. Amen.

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Okay, Let’s talk about our Self-Control. “God, become My Guide and Guardian right EXACTLY NOW!” Proverbs 25:28

We are bound to get into an argument every once in a while, — whether it’s with your business partner, a family member, a friend, or a complete stranger.

We all possess strong thoughts, aspirations, and opinions that sometimes transform everyday conversations into long debates and hostile disputes.

But while our tendency to disagree may be shared, did you know that everyone has a different approach to handling strong thoughts and emotions, a “fighting style” if you will, that provides us with a glimpse into their mental health, too?

How you and I respond to an argument and the tactics and strategies we use to confront a verbal altercation says a lot about your emotional and mental state.

Since few of us are strangers to the realm of combative discussions, we may be asking ourselves, “Okay, what does my fighting strategy reveal about my inner thoughts and mental health?”

Below, are outlined a list of the typical fighting styles used by individuals when they get into a heated discussion or argument — and what these tactics show about our personality, our emotional state and our self-control.

1. Personal Attacks

Research studies show that individuals with low self-esteem were much more likely to show hostility and aggression toward others when compared to their confident and more secure counterparts.

And nothing is more aggressive or unproductive during an argument than ad hominem attacks on the other person’s character, rather than sticking to the topic at hand.

If we tend to break down our opponent by using the information you know about their character as a leverage point, we may want to stop and evaluate how we would feel if you were in their shoes – if our character was under attack.

When people struggle with self-esteem, they can be their own worst enemy and may pick apart their own character traits and flaws.

That’s why it’s not uncommon for these same individuals to resort to “below the belt” tactics in an argument, too.

2. Accepting Defeat or Faking Indifference

In many ways, those who accept defeat or feign indifference during a fight are the same. In both instances, the individual doesn’t open up their inner thoughts — regardless of their reasoning.

Whether we fear that our argument is invalid, or irrelevant, or we cannot find the strength within us to craft an argument or fight, merely accepting defeat or pretending we do not or will not care may indicate that we think and we believe others may find it difficult to or incapable of understanding our thoughts.

This is a common symptom of depression, as individuals who grapple with this mental illness often seek love — rather than arguments or debates or disputes, simply because they don’t believe they have the emotional energy to surrender.

Whenever it appears that their opinions do not align with those of the opposing party, they may act indifferent or accept defeat in an attempt to feel more loved, acknowledged, included, validated and accepted.

3. The Silent Treatment

Maybe we are the type of person who applies the silent treatment tactic every time an argument or heated discussion appears to suddenly arise before us.

If we have found ourselves on the receiving end of the proclamation of “Why aren’t you saying anything to me?” then we may also be subtly wondering what this says about our mental state and our self-esteem and sense of self-control.

While you may have been called out on your quiet tendencies in the past, it may actually be a good thing we become active listeners whenever a dispute erupts.

There are many benefits to being quiet during an argument, especially when your rival is emotional or loud.

If your natural tendency is to take the silent approach during a fight, it may serve as an indication of sound mental health and that one acknowledges that proactive discussions, resolutions often arise when one speaker remains calm.

Just be sure to evaluate whether we’re choosing to give the silent treatment, as making this calculated choice could likewise indicate we are acting emotionally distant, insensitive and invalidating toward, unto, our “assertive challenger.”

4. Openness and Honesty

Perhaps one of the healthiest fighting styles that indicates a positive mental state is adopting a style which promotes both openness and honesty — offering an open welcoming platform for every party involved in the discussion to speak.

Those who do not communicate openly and honestly may do well to try to learn how to be open, inclusive and welcoming and then intentionally practice them.

An inclusive and welcoming, and open and honest fighting style generally sees the most successful results for both parties at the end of an argument or debate.

Find Your Balance

When we labor and work to establish a sense of respect that lets our and our “opponent” work through the argument with ease, we’ll experience an easier, less stressful time overcoming whatever difficulties or opposing views arise.

Since psychology has long revealed that getting into healthy arguments can be beneficial to our relationships, it’s very crucial for us, as Christians, to develop a constructive fighting style that not only helps us to enjoy deep and proactive communication channels, but likewise enhances a healthy state of self-control.

But why does all of this or any of this matter to edifying the Kingdom of God?

Proverbs 25:28 King James Version

28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

WHY I MUST LET GOD GUIDE MY SPIRIT AND BECOME MY SELF-CONTROL

Self-control helps us to resist temptation and avoid conforming to the things of this world.

It guides our decisions, and it correlates with how we connect and relate to each other and reveals the “things of God” and shows the other fruits in our lives.

For example, forbearance, or patience, requires self-control.

Proverbs 14:29 says, “Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.”

Our sinful nature leads us to give into our temper, but we are called to rise above this and show patience.

Self-control can be applied to all of the fruits of the Spirit in the same way it is applied to forbearance.

Displaying self-control is often a matter of responding rather than reacting.

When we react to a situation, we all too easily let our emotions take control.

We are more likely to become defensive and say hurtful things.

Responding, consistent with the Word of God, however, involves developing a more thoughtful Godly response that is guided by reason more than emotions.

As Christians, our responses to situations are to be guided by the fruits of the Spirit – this devotional covering the Spiritual fruit of Self-Control.

Jesus Christ gives us the perfect example of self-control, because He lived a sinless life and possessed every fruit of the Spirit.

Jesus demonstrated self-control because He was sent to earth to carry out the Father’s will. He was to live a perfect life in order to set an example for us, and in the end, He, in obedience, died for our sins so that we may have eternal life.

In Matthew 26:53-54, Jesus says, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”

Jesus knew what He was sent to Earth to do, and despite his own fears, He demonstrated self-control in submitting to the Father’s perfect plan. Without the self-control of Jesus, we would face death as the punishment of our sin.

2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

With the Holy Spirit inside of us, we are able to possess self-control and demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit.

As a result, we can live in a way which are both controlled by and honorable to God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

So, next time you are in a tough situation, remember God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the perfect example he gave us of how to live.

While it may seem challenging to demonstrate self-control,

the rewards will definitely and decidedly will be great –

Psalm 103:1-5 Amplified Bible

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

103 Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is [deep] within me, bless His holy name.
2 
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits;
3 
Who forgives all your sins,
Who heals all your diseases;
4 
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you [lavishly] with lovingkindness and tender mercy;
5 
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the [soaring] eagle.

How are we to take David’s three-thousand-year-old Song and make it ours?

Four vital reasons why WE need to learn to let God become our Self Control.

1. BECAUSE OUR FEELINGS OF SELF-CONTROL ARE OFTEN UNRELIABLE.

Our feelings are often far too easily and dangerously unreliable.

They can lead you and me in the wrong direction.

How many times have you and I thought …?

“I just know this is the right thing to do. I just feel it in my gut.”

And you do it and it doesn’t work out. Every one of us have done that.

We have given people motives for doing things, that were not true.

We have had a feeling this person would be a great friend.

We have had a feeling this time we were going to win.

Our feelings are often wrong.

Our intuition does not always work.

Your emotions often lead you down a blind alley with no exit point.

You and I cannot depend on everything you feel.

We do not have to believe everything we feel or think.

I’m telling you the reader; you do not have to accept everything you feel.

Because not everything you feel is right. Not everything you feel is reality.

Some of the things you feel about yourself are flat out dead wrong.

Some of the things you feel about other people are dead wrong.

You say, I’m sure this is the right direction, but it’s not.

So, you and I need to let God do a better job managing our emotions.

Proverbs 14:12 says this “There is a way that SEEMS right to a person, but in the end, it leads to death.”

So, our emotions are not infallible.

Just because you and I feel it so strongly does not always make it 100% true.

Our feelings are often wrong, and they often guide us in the wrong direction.

The second reason I need to let God control my emotions is.

2. BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO BE MANIPULATED.

If you and I don’t let God control our emotions, they will control us, and we will be manipulated by your moods.

If you and I are always 100% guided by OUR feelings, You and I will all too quickly reject the truth of the Word of God, because you and I feel as though something else is infinitely, temporarily more noble, more just or more loving.

If you and I are always guided by feelings other people are going to quickly take advantage of us.

In fact, politicians, salesmen and advertisers are trained in how to stir up your emotions because they know if they can get you hooked emotionally, you are going to buy the message or the product they want to move off their shelves.

So, the emotional bent of the message, the color scheme of the packaging and the music in the commercial and the things that they say in the presentation are all deliberately and intentionally designed to quickly, if not immediately, to get us emotionally involved to the point of saying, “I genuinely need one of those.”

And if you make snap decisions like what you buy based on emotion it’s called impulse buying, you are going to buy stuff that you do not really need or want.

Has anybody ever done this?

Could I see your hands?

We all have!

You go home and you go,

why in the world did I believe that?

why in the world did I buy that?

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:28 – I love this in the New American Bible, “Like an open city with no defenses is the person with no check on his feelings.”

Remember in the days Proverbs was written, you built walls around the city to keep the enemy out.

Otherwise, the enemy just rushes into the city and take whatever they wanted.

Let me show you this verse in another translation.

The New Living Translation says this “A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken down walls.”

Not only are you defenseless against the manipulation of other people but you are defenseless to the manipulation of other people by your own old nature.

Our own old nature will maliciously use our feelings to turn us inside out.

It will convince you, “you deserve whatever you feel like having.”

The sinful nature in me, can use my best feelings against me and against the truth of the Word of God for His Children.

We have people feeling as though Jesus was not “unconditionally” loving “all of the people” when he said marriage was exclusively between man and a woman.

So now people feel as though they are being more loving and compassionate than Jesus, by letting Jesus know he was wrong, it doesn’t have to be a man and a woman. How can you and I be more loving or compassionate than Jesus was?

The woman caught in adultery felt like what she was doing was right.

Jesus had absolute 100% compassion on her by telling her to go, sin no more.

Worst of all Satan’s favorite tool in your life is negative emotions.

He will never hesitate to use fear to keep you in bondage.

He will never hesitate to use resentment and jealousy and envy to get you off track from the will of God.

He will never hesitate to use bitterness, worry, anxiety and shame to keep us from growing in Christ.

He will never hesitate to use despair, desperation and discouragement to keep us from confidently, fervently, going to God in prayer. (James 5:13-18)

If you don’t know how to manage your emotions, you are 100% helpless against Satan. Because he so quickly wreaks so much havoc in our lives emotionally.

1 Peter 5:8 says this “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

If you and I don’t have self-control, he will very quickly “eat you and I up.”

The third reason I need to control my emotions because:

3. BECAUSE I WANT TO PLEASE GOD.

God cannot be God in my life if my emotions are “my god in my life.”

God cannot rule my life if my emotions rule my life.

Jesus can’t be Lord of my life if my emotions are the lord of my life.

If I make all my decisions simply based on how I feel, then I have tragically made my feelings my god.

And then my GOD cannot be MY GOD!

The Bible says in Romans 8:6-8 “To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace. . . Those who obey their human nature cannot please God.”

So, you and I cannot please God if our emotions dominate our life

and they are running our life and our decisions are made based on;

“How do I feel rather than what does the Word of God say?”

The fourth reason I must let God manage my emotions is…

4. BECAUSE I WANT TO SUCCEED IN LIFE.

This is probably one of the number one predictor of success or failure in life.

Do you and I know how to manage our moods?

Do you and I know how to deal with how you and I feel?

Do you and I know how to control our emotions?

The answer to these questions is unequivocal – “ABSOLUTELY NOT!”

But if you and I don’t learn how to do this you and I will never be the success in life that God wants you and I to be and that, for God’s sake you and I want to be.

Study after study after study have shown our EQ is more important than our IQ.

That for success in business Emotional Quotient is far more important than your Intelligence Quotient.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is a skill that refers to one’s ability to understand, and process, and express one’s feelings, as well as recognise and be able to engage with the feelings of others.

Emotional intelligence is a skill that can be improved. But more than learning about it, it requires a deliberate, intentional effort to be trained by practicing.

Why is emotional intelligence important?

  • This skill is essential for building relationships with other people.
  • It’s also an essential key to understand yourself and your needs.
  • Emotional intelligence can help you handle difficult moments in your life.
  • Developing emotional intelligence can help your career because it makes you a more stable and cooperative team member.

That is why, by God’s Grace, we have the Word of God for the Children of God.

A better relationship, also with yourself …

But emotional intelligence not only improves our relationships with others.

By developing a better understanding and connection with our feelings and our needs, we will be able to develop a more balanced life and a good mental health.

Even if it becomes “impossibly” hard to stop our “inner chatter”, through emotional intelligence we can learn from God how to develop within ourselves an inner chatter that is more compassionate and edifying also with ourselves.

A lot of people who do not have a high IQ are very successful in life.

They have got good smarts in dealing with their emotions.

As a result, they are people-people. They know how to get along with others.

I consider emotional intelligence to be a very necessary “Christian” life skill.

Not only does emotional intelligence make life easier, but it also makes it better too.

By intentionally, deliberately, consciously, setting our whole selves in a known difficult environment where you have to rely on other people, we see the Lord and His labors, His Spirit, becoming increasingly engaged in His community.

We’ve all known people who live by their emotions and waste their life. They don’t feel like doing anything relational, so they don’t do anything relating.

How many people do you know, who you have tried to witness to who have ruined their reputation because of their lack of effort towards self-control?

How many people have been kicked out of school, have been sent to jail, have families who want nothing to do with them all because of a lack of self-control?

When you give your heart to Jesus that includes your emotions.

So, when you say, “I gave my heart to Jesus,” you gave your emotions to him to be managed by him.

Because the heart is the seat of your emotions.

Jesus wants to be Lord of how you feel not just what you think and what you do.

He wants to be Lord of your emotions.

In fact, the Bible says this to believers 

1 Peter 4:2 “From now on you must live the rest of your earthly lives [the rest of your earthy lives] controlled by God’s will and not by human desires.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

My God, You shaped my whole being, authored my entire life from within my mother’s womb. Yet, the sum total of my life is more “why me?” instead of “the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” I pray that the fruit of self-control will grow in me like a tree of strength. I pray that I will control what I say and do and make them subject to Your spirit. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Alleluia! Amen.

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God, our Creator and Our Emotional Health. Connecting our whole selves with the Word of God. Mark 12:28-34

There is an African – American Spiritual which declares to each of us today,

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul

Sometimes I feel discouraged
And deep I feel the pain
In prayers the holy spirit
Revives my soul again

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Let’s take a feeling test this morning.

Let Me Ask each of us these questions:

What are you and I feeling now?

What all did you and I feel yesterday?

What do you and I hope and pray you and I will feel tomorrow?

Who felt loving, happy, sad, hateful, angry, joyful, thankful, disappointed, depressed, jealous, ambitious, surprised, convicted, hopeful and who felt as though God’s love wanted to use them to make a difference in someone’s life?

Today we are going to take a brief biblical look at emotional health.

That is how to deal with how you feel.

Yesterday we talked about the heartbeat of love and hate.

“I Hate to Love!” and “I Love to Hate!”

Today we are going to begin looking at how to manage your emotions.

Moving into a “GOD” direction of “I Love to Love!” and “I Hate to Hate!”

I am pretty sure we all know the answer to this question …

When has anyone of us here ever had a change, good or bad, take place in their life because they did not keep your range of Love and Hate emotions in check?

We are going to look at what the Bible says about our emotional health and how to perhaps, even hopefully and prayerfully, successfully manage your emotions.

In the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, how to deal with how you and I feel.

Mark 12:28-34 Amplified Bible

28 Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is first and most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first and most important one is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’ 31 This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] [a]love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to Him, “Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that He is One, and there is no other but Him; 33 and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to [unselfishly] love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered thoughtfully and intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Mark 12:34 … Young’s Literal Translation

34 And Jesus, having seen him that he answered with understanding, said to him, `Thou art not far from the reign of God;’ and no one any more durst question him.

Today we will begin to explore how emotional health and trust are linked.

Truth is, thanks be to God, we are all emotional beings and how we are doing emotionally (positively and negatively) affects all of us on a regular basis.

God our Creator, the Author of our entire Life has something to say about yours and mine emotional health, and it is my fervent hope you, the readership, are and become greatly encouraged and feel the touch of just one of the tears Jesus cried for you and receive a fresh anointing from the Holy Spirit, come to know how deeply you and I are loved by the Lord as we focus in on this truth today.

Do you know that God cares deeply about your emotions?

Gospel Truth is this: Your heavenly Father longs for your life to be marked by emotional joy, fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace. He longs for your emotions to be rooted and grounded in his steadfast love and goodness.

Our Savior is an emotional Savior. He is not void of feelings.

We feel because he feels.

We have emotions because we are made in his image.

For much of my Christian life I thought my emotions had to be based on my circumstances.

I felt happy or sad based on others’ opinions, the pressures of life, and opportunities I had or didn’t have.

As a result, I was on a constant emotional roller coaster following the ups and downs of this shaky world. I found myself controlled by the things of the world rather than the foundation of love laid before me by the sacrificial love of Jesus.

Scripture continually describes a link between emotional health and trust.

Isaiah 26:3-4 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” 

Psalm 56:3-4 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” 

And Psalm 33:21 says, “For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.”

We are robbed of having our emotions rooted in God whenever we take on more pressure than we are meant to carry.

Our emotional health is directly linked to our level of trust.

We feel pressure at work when we look to our job and co-workers for our provision, identity, purpose, and fulfillment.

We feel pressure in our relationships when our worth isn’t based on God’s perspective but the opinions of others.

We are robbed of peace when we try and plan our own steps rather than following our Good Shepherd into the green pastures and still waters.

In John 14:27 Jesus says, 

“Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” 

God’s heart is to fill you with peace.

He longs for you to have all the fruit of the Spirit dwelling within you.

He has consistent, constant peace available to you.

But you must trust him in every area of your life.

You must hand over the reins of your relationships, job, identity, and plans to your Good Shepherd.

You must love and trust that he will guide you perfectly into an abundant life.

Mark 12:29-30 Jesus says this

“The most important commandment is this, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength.”

Do you understand the emotion involved in this passage?

If this verse had said, you must love your favorite football team, or favorite singer, or favorite actor with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength,

what imagery comes to your mind?

How are you going to act at the game, at the concert, or at the movie?

Would people think you were a little radical, a little nuts?

God is saying, I want to have an emotional relationship with you, where you throw everything, you have into it.

God even complains when we don’t do it.

He says, these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

Have you ever seen somebody do something, and though they did it right, you could tell their heart just wasn’t in it.

God wants us to be emotionally involved in our relationship to him.

Look to your heavenly Father for peace.

Find rest in his abundant love.

Find your self-worth in the fact that God so desired relationship with you that he laid down his own life to have it.

UNDERSTAND MY EMOTIONS

Let me give you some truths about your emotions before we get into this.

1. First, Our Savior has emotions.

Jesus was God in the flesh.

Can you imagine the whole range of emotions he went through riding on the back of the foal as he entered the city gates of Jerusalem?

“Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!” “Save us we Pray! Save us we Pray!” the crowd of people joyously shouted at the top of their lungs as Jesus recalled his destiny

He was happy to see the people turn out in large numbers.

He was thankful for the praises of the people.

He was disappointed that the Pharisees could not see what was taking place.

He was angry that religious leaders wanted him to silence the crowd.

He was so angry when He entered the Temple grounds, he turned over tables and yelled above the raucous din and activity of the “marketplace” inside.

He was sad that the people didn’t understand their true need.

He cried because he knew the destruction the Roman army would inflict on some of the people there.

He felt rejection because he knew the cross was still less than a week away.

Our Savior Jesus has emotions.

The only reason you have emotions is because you’re made in God’s image.

If our Savior was not an emotional Savior, we wouldn’t have any emotions.

We would not read: “Jesus Wept!”

2. My ability to feel is a gift from God.

Your emotions are a gift from God.

They may not always seem that way.

But even the negative ones have a role in your life.

God can use them to show you your need for him.

Emotions are a great asset.

They’re the one thing that make you and me human.

If you and I didn’t have emotions, you and I would just be a robot.

How many of you would want to be married to a robot?

It is our emotional ability that allows us to love and create and to be faithful and loyal and kind and generous and all the range of the emotions that are attached to both the good and bad and catastrophic things in life.

One of the most astounding verses in the Bible is 

Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image.”

In OUR Image.

As I said the only reason you have emotions is because God gave them to you.

And you were made in his image.

3. There are two extremes to avoid.

There are two extremes you need to avoid in dealing with emotions.

One is called emotionalism and the other is called stoicism

Emotionalism means all that matters is how I feel.

Emotionalism is the extreme of saying the only thing that matters in life is how I feel.

It does not matter what I think, it doesn’t matter what’s right or wrong, it doesn’t matter what’s popular or unpopular, good or bad.

What matters is doing and responding to what you feel.

If it feels good, do it.

If I am full of Emotionalism, my emotions, they control my life, they dominate my life, they run my life and I am a very emotionally centered person.

Stoicism – feelings aren’t important at all. Stoicism is the exact opposite. It basically says feelings aren’t important at all. The only thing that matters is the measure of your intellect and your will – your volition and your intelligence.

So, the stoics say emotions are not part of life; feelings do not really matter.

We lean one way or the other and have a tendency to marry someone on the other end. One of us wants to tell the whole story with all the drama, and the other one just wants to hear the basic facts.

Like Joe Friday, from Dragnet, we say “the facts mam, just the facts.”

Actually, both of these are extreme positions.

And the happy medium is where you really want to be.

It’s not emotionalism or stoicism.

You want to know how to worship God with your emotions as shown by the facts of the truth of the Word of God.

God gave us our emotions for a reason.

God wants us to worship him emotionally.

God wants us to feel it.

In fact, God complains in the Scripture many times you’re just worshiping with your lips but not with your emotions, not with your heart.

You don’t really feel it.

By the way the word “emotion” isn’t used that often in the Bible because the Bible uses the word “passions” or “affections” or the number one term for emotions is “heart.”

We still use that today.

When you fall in love, what part of your body do you symbolically give to the person to show it.

You say, “I give you, my whole heart.”

Heart is the symbol of love and emotions.

Even today we say, “I love you with all my heart.”

In the bible, the word of God, the mind represents the intellect and the heart represents emotions. Both of them are involved in the worship of our God.

We come to church to learn about God and to feel the presence of God. That’s why our praise and our worship is as important as hearing the preached word.

We now know that those are actually two different circuit systems in your brain.

Your emotions have an amazing system as well as your thoughts do.

Some things you just react emotionally without even thinking about it.

4. GOD GAVE US THE PSALMS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND OUR EMOTIONS.

If you have a hard time with some emotions in your life you need to spend a lot of time in the book of Psalms.

Psalms has every emotion known to man in it – the good ones and the bad ones.

The positive and the negative.

You read some of those psalms and you think,

“Why is this chapter in the Bible?”

It’s there to teach you about even those negative emotions.

Because not all psalms are about praise and thanksgiving.

There are psalms of anger and there are psalms of complaining and psalms of lament and sorrow.

There are psalms of arguing with God.

Every emotion known to man is in the Psalms and God is saying all of these are legitimate.

I give these Words to you.

Psalm 127:1 Amplified Bible

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

A Song of [a]Ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.

Psalm 100 Amplified Bible

All Men Exhorted to Praise God.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 
Serve the Lord with gladness and delight;
Come before His presence with joyful singing.
3 
Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, [a]not we ourselves [and we are His].
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 
Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.
5 
For the Lord is good;
His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting,
His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.

Psalm 70 Amplified Bible

Prayer for Help against Persecutors.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.

70 O God, come quickly to save me;
O Lord, come quickly to help me!
2 
Let those be ashamed and humiliated
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and humiliated
Who delight in my hurt.
3 
Let them be turned back because of their shame and disgrace
Who say, “Aha, aha!”

4 
May all those who seek You [as life’s first priority] rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
5 
But I am afflicted and needy;
Come quickly to me, O God!
You are my help and my rescuer;
O Lord, do not delay.

In Psalm 70 we read today, in just those first five verses, we found desperation, frustration, anger, encouragement, confidence, humility and hope AND GOD!

So, we’re going to take some quality time at how to deal with how WE feel.

It is important for us to learn how to deal with managing our emotions and how to deal with an unwanted devotion.

Your Father counts you worthy of the death of his only Son.

Trust him today.

Place your entire life in his capable hands.

And experience God’s abundant life in the area of your emotions, rooting and grounding yourself in his unconditional, available love.

May your life be marked by increasing emotional health as you grow in trust.

Tomorrow, we’re going to try and examine why we must take quality time with God in our shared efforts to learn how to in Jesus’ name, manage our emotions.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Prayer

1. Meditate on the link between trust and emotional health. Allow Scripture to stir up your desire and willingness to trust God with every area of your life.

“For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:21

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” Psalm 56:3-4

2. Where are you not experiencing abundant life in your emotions? Where are you feeling void of peace, joy, passion, and purpose?

3. Ask God to help you discern what part of your life you are not trusting to him. Hand over that area to him and find peace and rest in his trustworthiness.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4

“Do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

“Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

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Heartbeat of Love and Hate. “I Love to Hate!” “I Hate to Love!” 1 John 3:11-18.

Human nature we say has multiple intense emotions attached to it, a couple of those intense feelings condensed into 4 letter words are love and hate.

If it is justified that we can just happen to instinctively or naturally love a person or an activity, can the same logic be used to justify hatred?

To understand if that is the case or not, we need to begin by defining hatred.

Both Merriam Webster, as well as Oxford dictionary, define hate as ‘extreme disgust’ and ‘intense dislike’ respectively.

Of course, both the adjectives mentioned here are pretty vague because it is difficult to decide what level of extremity or what measure of intensity can be termed as extreme or intense, the constant question comes, what parameters qualify this threshold?

Love and hate are two parallel emotions that are always used together. One needs to experience the extremes of hate/love to know entirely about them. 

Hate is defined as a powerful feeling of not liking somebody/something at all. It’s a negative emotion that affects our rationales and way of thinking, and it comes out of anger, hostility and resentment. Hate harms the hater as well as the hated person, and it makes life more miserable.

In simple words where a feeling of mild disgust or of mild dislike makes us uncomfortable till that extent which we end up having a subconscious wanting to harm or cancel or just eliminate the target, that’s where the mild feeling gets converted into hatred. 

Think about this. Our mental defense mechanisms are self-protective in nature, we subconsciously end up equipping the tool of greatest personal reassurance.

Hence, if we have already devalued the image a person or a group in our mind on the basis of what we have ‘heard’, we confirm the bias against something that we already have heard to reinforce and reassure our beliefs we feed ourselves with even more information to back it.

Aristotle states that ‘whereas anger is customarily felt toward individuals, hatred is often felt towards groups…. hate is based on the generalized attribution of action to the basic traits and features of a person’.

Hence if one day we experience or get to know that an individual having a specific trait, be it color or religion or anything similar we rather than disliking that specific instance end up reinforcing our stereotype that we have made and label the group showing that trait to be potential causes of the same actions. 

Rather than hate, one should always spread love and bring positivity in their and others’ lives. One should not let hatred consume them as it will only have both serious and severe adverse effects on their physical and mental health.

Hence, I have brought these love – hate quotes to yours and mine attention to “put an elbow into our ribcages” and remind us to spread happiness and love!

“Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in this world but has not solved one yet.” Maya Angelou

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Source: A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

“I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Source: A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

“Somewhere between love and hate lies confusion, misunderstanding and desperate hope.” Shannon L. Alder

“When we don’t know who to hate, we hate ourselves.” Chuck Palahniuk
Source: Invisible Monsters

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” James Baldwin
Source: The Fire Next Time

“I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.” Booker T. Washington

“Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.” Muhammad Ali

“Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.” Will Smith

It is our love for one another that lets our light shine unto the world and boldly states we are Christians!

In 1 John 3:11-18 John states if one is indifferent or hates a brother or sister then either one is not saved or is out of fellowship with God.

1 John 3:11-18Amplified Bible

11 For this is the message which you [believers] have heard from the beginning [of your relationship with Christ], that we should [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another; 12 and not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? Because Cain’s deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

13 Do not be surprised, believers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into Life, because we love the brothers and sisters. He who does not love remains in [spiritual] death. 15 Everyone who hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer [by God’s standards]; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know [and have come to understand the depth and essence of His precious] love: that He [willingly] laid down His life for us [because He loved us]. And we ought to lay down our lives for the believers. 17 But whoever has the [a]world’s goods (adequate resources), and sees his brother in need, but has no compassion for him, how does the love of God live in him? 18 Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words].

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

A new command Christ has given to us born of the water and the Spirit.

That is to “love one another” so that the world will “know that you are My disciplines” (John 13:34)!

As Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) we are called to not curse human beings made in God’s image (James 3:9) but instead labor to do good unto them (Luke 6:27) so that the comfort and love we have received (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) from the Father might be apparent and a witness of His grace and mercy.

If by Jesus’ own words, (Matthew 5:43-44) If God commands us to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us. then how much more ought we love, seek unity and peace with our spiritual brothers within the same body of Christ?

While the command to love one another is clearly to be a priority for God’s own it is difficult to put into practice because it invites intense persecution!

Rabbi Jesus warns us that while obeying His command to love results in our light shining amongst the lost it at the same time invites hatred amongst those who don’t want to approach the light because their evil deeds will be exposed (John 3:20, 15:18).

While it is painful to be persecuted by non-Christians who have not passed from death to life (1 John 3:14), how much more so when indifference or “active antagonism” comes from within the body of believers?

This was the situation that Apostle John wrote about in 1 John 3:11-18.

The Johanne community were “experiencing a pattern of prejudicial treatment and resentment” from two God-fearing bodies.

First, the Jews were putting them out of the synagogue and killing them (John 16:2, 9:34) due to their belief in the Messiah dying once and for all, and

second, they faced intense persecution from a group of heretics, followers of Cerinthus, that were spreading false teaching.

The incredibly sad part is that these secessionists used to belong to their church!

Today’s devotion is going review the reasons John gave as to why it is not ok to be indifferent or outright hate those created in God’s image, especially when they belong to the same body of Christ because such negative emotions often demonstrate your bond is with Satan and you in fact are not born again!

The Message from the Beginning

John begins by stating that he is “not giving the church a message they have never heard” but instead one that was given from the beginning!

The command to love was Christ’s command given to His disciples “likely dependent of the Last Supper discourse.”

Jesus said, “a new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another. By this everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

This is not meant to be some “academic, theological, doctrinal statement,” but one of the litmus tests one can use to determine if one has indeed “passed from death to life” (1 John 3:14)!

“As the knowledge of God is tested by conduct—whether one walks in the light (1:5–2:11)—so being “born of God” (2:29) is tested by righteous action and love of the brethren.”

While the definition of “love” by the world is incredibly broad and often self-gratifying, the kind of love John is referring to,

agape love, is the “responsibility to demonstrate selfless concern for our brothers and sisters in Christ as our response to the grace God has given us!”

Agape love is crucial for “living for Jesus and for advancing God’s kingdom.”

Because it is by considering others better than ourselves and looking out for their best interests (Philippians 2:3) that one demonstrates one has indeed received and is now able to pass the comfort one has received from the Father onto His children!

It is not by our carrying Bibles, singing worship songs, theological astuteness, or even the size of our church or our congregations that others see God’s light but instead by our visible and invisible expression of sacrificial love for them!

While we are called to love all humans because they are created in God’s image,

John stresses how important it is to show those who have a bond with the Devil and are filled with jealousy, hatred and strife that when you chose a bond with God through belief in the atoning sacrifice of His Son (John 3:16-17) you receive the opposite: expressions of unity, peace and love for both God and one another.

It is covenanted within this testimony of love that a believer can point the lost sheep to the Good Shepherd to be found, loved, and redeemed by His blood!

Hatred as a Sign of Death

Before John tells his audience more about the love believers are to emulate, he begins by using Cain as an example of the opposite of love, hated!

We are told in Genesis chapter four that “in the course of time” (4:3) both Cain and Abel brought offerings unto the Lord.

While “Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil” Abel brought “fat portions from some of the firstborn of the flock” (4:3-4).

We are told that the Lord looked favorably on Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s (4:4-5). “Cain became very angry; his face was downcast” (4:5) so the Lord said to Cain, “if you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (4:7).

In a fit of jealousy and anger we are told that Cain invited his brother Abel to go out into the field where he proceeded to butcher him like one would an animal!

I believe the greater issue here is not that Cain brought an inferior sacrifice, a grain instead of animal sacrifice as some commentaries suggest, but that Cain lacked love, trust and faith (Hebrews 11:4) to give God his very best and was filled with murderous hatred in the sight of his brother’s righteousness!

Despite both brothers being raised in the same environment and by the same parents, unlike Abel, Cain chose to reject God as the Master of his destiny and tried to control his own future.

Cain did not “become a child of the Devil (1 John 3:12) by murdering his brother.

Rather, he murders his brother because he is already a child of the Devil!”

The “evil character of Cain is universally assumed in both biblical, extrabiblical sources” and the murder of Abel constantly reminds us that every single person has to make a choice between “hatred and love, life and death, murder and self-sacrifice” that comes from either having love, trust and faith in self or in God!

With the story of Cain in mind John boldly warns the successionists, the Jewish people and his own flock that what one possesses within one’s heart, either good or evil, is a sign of whether one has passed from death to life (1 John 3:14)!

From Cain’s murder of Abel, we learn an absence of love means living in an atmosphere of death!

Our choosing between being “right in our own eyes, being right in the eyes of God will draw hatred from others who cannot tolerate the light, morality, and selfless, sacrificial righteousness of those who rely on God’s grace and mercy.

Since “genuine love cannot be fabricated or imitated, it is either present within our hearts from Christ or not.”

Love and fellowship with God are an amazing barometer to determine if one is saved or not!

In Mark 7:21-23 Rabbi Jesus said that true murder is that which is conceived in the heart. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed malice, deceit, lewdness, and envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.

All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean!

An absence of evil within one’s heart or having love for others “will not cause spiritual life to occur but will give evidence of it. Conversely, to be unable to love means that a person is without life from the Father and remains in death.”

For John when a believer is either indifferent or outright hates other believers this is the “spiritual equivalent of murder” (Matthew 5:21-22), as a lustful eye is the spiritual equivalent of adultery (Matthew 5:28).

John is not saying that any person who hates is unsaved or have committed an unpardonable sin but merely that since “hate and death go together” as evil from the Devil, these are signs one either has not passed from death to life or at the very least are not abiding in the new life in Christ, therefore stand outside of the fellowship of God!

To these first century secessionists who rejected both faith in Jesus (2:22–23; 4:2–3) and love for one’s brothers and sisters (2:9–11; 3:11–15), John point blank states you are not saved but to those inside his flock he is saying that since by your fruit you will be known make every effort to not hate but love those within the family of God!

Love as a Sign of Life

When it comes to knowing exactly what love is, John says we are to emulate Jesus who laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16)!

While Cain is a universally acknowledged example of ultimate hate,

He who emptied Himself and became the suffering servant for even His enemies is an ultimately holy and ultimately perfect example of agape love!

The kind of love we are to have for our brothers and sisters in Christ is one that goes beyond self to focus on the well-being of all others.

When John speaks of Christ laying down His life this makes us think of the passage where Jesus talks about being the Good Shepherd who voluntarily lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11, 15-18).

Agape “love is denial of self for another’s gain.”

It is doing what Jesus Himself already did and continues to do.

It is becoming like Apostle Paul who said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

“The effacement, (the quality of not claiming attention for oneself) of another’s rights and perhaps existence for one’s own sake is the essence of hatred; the effacement of oneself for another’s sake is the essence of agape love!”

Being angry, envious, and holding extreme grudges against those born again and created in the image of God drives a wedge between us and Him for God above all is pure love!

While loving all people, especially those with different dreams, goals, hobbies, and yes even different theology is impossible for our sinful natures to accept, those born of the water and Spirit (John 3:5) can do so for they have been given a new heart to replace their one of stone (Ezekiel 36:26)!

While we “are unlikely to have opportunities to literally die for others” we are to walk in Christ’s footsteps and voluntarily (John 10:18) “sacrifice our own self-interests” so that the vertical relationship of love between us and the Father might horizontally be known amongst our fellow believers!

It is through this kind of sacrificial other focused love that the world and we too see ourselves as true children of God!

To keep these first century Secessionists, Jews, and members of his own church from enthusiastically speaking with the tongue the kind of love that is not in their hearts; above all,

John says agape love “must be practical, visible, and active” (1 John 3:17-18)!

How easy and self-assuring it is to say I love all of humanity while at the very same time being indifferent or hatful towards those who are “uninteresting, exasperating, depraved, or otherwise radically different and unattractive!”

To follow in Jesus’ footsteps, one must be willing to seek and acknowledge the needs of others by practically meeting them when possible.

What would have happened to us if Christ had not emptied Himself of the glory, He had with the Father but instead chose not to lift a finger to help us “sinful, ungodly, unrighteous folks?” What if Paul never wrote Romans chapter 5,6?

Without His grace and mercy would we not remain lost sheep looking for our Master?

“Actions speak louder than words”

for it is precisely in our putting other’s interests above our own that we demonstrate we have learned much from the Lord who is our Shepherd!

Since “love that fails to take form of action on behalf of others is nothing more than religious rhetoric,” with unspeakable joy in the presence of He who voluntarily atoned for our sins may we emulate His love for all by offering those around us whatever we can to reduce their burdens.

Since we have more material possessions than even the children of Israel when they entered the Promised Land, let’s give sacrificially, not with the expectation of reciprocity but with thankful hearts that what God has entrusted to us we get to share with His own!

Let us not give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25), become indifferent to some and infatuated by others, but instead let us share with one another, unified as one body in Christ who share the same Spirit and glorious hope of one day going home to be with Jesus!

Let this be one more Affirmation of faith, hope and love for today,

“Lord Jesus the love and comfort You have given me help me to share it with my brothers and sisters for Your honor and glory, Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen!”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, my Guide, illuminate my mind so I can understand how you want me to live. Your word tells me that people of integrity who follow your instructions are joyful. You have said that those who obey your laws and search for you with all their hearts are blessed and happy. I want that joy! Holy Spirit, please guard me against allowing evil to influence what I believe and do. Help me walk only in your paths. May my actions consistently reflect what you have said is right and good. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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