During the American Civil War, rival armies camped out on opposite banks of the Potomac River. A musical contest erupted. Whenever the Federal band played one of its national tunes, the Confederate musicians would quickly strike up a Southern melody. On one occasion one of the bands started to play “Home, Sweet Home” and immediately the contest stopped, and soon voices from both sides of the river could be heard singing, “There’s no place like home.” Whatever differences each side had assumed, those differences were diminished by a common understanding—both sides would rather be at home nurturing their families.
It has been said that assumption is the lowest form of communication. If so, then at the time of the conquest of Canaan, Israel was at an all time low! When the 2½ tribes who built their homes east of the Jordan River after fighting and settling the land they built an altar as a monument to God’s faithfulness. But that’s not how the other 9½ tribes saw it. They viewed this altar as “competition” to the central sanctuary where all of Israel was supposed to worship. What was intended to be a symbol of unity was mistaken for a symbol of apostasy. This assumption led to hearsay and the hearsay almost led to civil war: “The whole assembly gathered at Shiloh and prepared to go to war against their brother tribes” (Joshua 22:12). Finally, a committee investigated it and the accused were cleared—all in the nick of time.
How many times are we willing to assume the worst? How often do we hear one side of a story and then form a conclusion based on that? We can become jury and judge, all based on sinful assumption. Rather than personally investigating or confronting, we go to others first, many of whom have the same inadequate information. “What a shame, what folly, to give advice before listening to the facts!” (Proverbs 18:13). Before fighting with a fellow believer, think of your future home—you’ll be spending eternity with your offending brother or sister. Ask God to help you get things straightened out here first.
Skip Heitzig
Sin
Floundering?
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1 Peter 1:3-5
God knows that we cannot live without hope and does not conduct a business of granting our wishes. Instead, He gives us “a living hope” that comes from our faith in Him. It is like a sweet kiss of his unending mercy when we are born into His family. Our hope is based on God’s unfailing love and knowing that it is a sure thing because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and nothing can break that seal.
When trials and suffering find their way into our lives, it is easy to lose hope but we have to be reminded that our hope is based on God’s faithfulness and not anything that we are able to do on our own. Christ is our anchor during those storms and trials and our hope in God’s grace and love is our link to strength and courage to weather the storm. Some may choose not to put there hope in Christ and find themselves floundering in a deep sea of pain and there is no hope for a rescue in sight leaving them feeling hopeless.
When we find our faith falling flat, we have to choose to believe that God will turn our trouble into a door of hope. God takes our pain and suffering and turns it into an entryway for hope and a new doorway to Him. We need to take refuge in Christ and walk towards Him, focusing on His great love and mercy instead of the storm around us. His love and faithfulness will never fail or disappoint us and will always be our guide into the safe harbor of His loving arms.
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;”
Lamentations 3:22-23, 25
Unclean
“But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean’.”
Matthew 15:18
The Pharisees did all the right things. They attended every service, gave ten percent of all they had and prayed several times a day. People looked at them and thought they were truly committed to God but they were not. Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs” who appeared to be neat and clean on the outside but inwardly they were dead and rotten. All their words and actions were meaningless due to the sinfulness of their hearts.
It is just like a sponge. Squeeze it and whatever comes out is what is inside. When the circumstances in our lives challenge us, our hearts and lives are tested and whatever comes out of our mouths, is a clear indication as to the condition of our heart.
“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
Matthew 12:34b-35
Whatever flows from our hearts, will be revealed to the world through our words. Do we speak words of encouragement to those who are down? Do we keep our mouths closed when we could say something to hurt someone the way that they have hurt us? Do we praise and thank God for His faithfulness and strength? Do we choose to walk away from a conversation that is tearing down someone’s character? Do our words reflect a passion for God?
There is evidence in our lives when our hearts are full of self but oftentimes we do not even recognize it as evil because we have become so numb it. Doing the right thing just isn’t enough. We need hearts that are pure.
“But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ “
Matthew 15:18-20
We cannot make our hearts pure. Only God can do that because a pure heart is a work of God. The Holy Spirit identifies the evil within us but we must claim and confess it in order to become clean. We can be encouraged by David. He not only sinned terribly by committing adultery with Bathsheba but he also committed murder to try to cover it up. When he finally came face to face with his sins, he threw himself on God’s amazing grace and repented. He experienced true forgiveness and was washed clean. He did not just want to be forgiven of his sins but wanted God to change his heart and make it pure.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Psalm 51:10
We see the wretchedness of our own hearts and attempt to change but oftentimes fall back into our own ways. We have to seek God for stability to pursue a pure heart and our stability can only come from a daily walk with Him. Each day we must recognize that we can only depend on Him in order for our hearts to be purged and purified. We all could use a heart change and one day we will all have to give account for the careless words we speak.
“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:36-37
His Redeeming Love
“Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.”
Mark 5:19
When Jesus changes your life, it is hard not to want to stay in His presence forever. The longing to be at His feet always seems like the only place to be when He has shown you mercy and redeemed you from whatever struggle or sin you have experienced in your life and this too was the thinking of the demon-possessed man that Jesus healed. He wanted to stay with Jesus and in fact, begged to go with Him but Jesus said no. Instead, He told the man to go and share with the world all that the Lord had done for the man. This too is what Jesus is asking from each of us.
We all have experienced some sort of struggle, temptation or sin that has brought us to the very edge in which we thought that there was no turning back and it can be very a dark and lonely place. If we deny that statement, then we are in sin at this very moment. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8 Sin comes from our own sinful nature and it draws us away from God. God is one of faithfulness and He will provide a way out when we fall into temptation or sin; we have to choose whether we will walk away or fall deeper into sin.
I found myself there a couple of years ago and the Lord changed my life. I have been saved since I was nine but had never been taught the intimacy of a relationship with Christ. I did not know what that looked like and I definitely did not understand it as part of my walk with the Lord. Two years ago, I was in the word daily. My quiet time would last for one to two hours a day and I knew a lot about the Word. I thought I was invincible toward the cunning attacks of Satan. That attitude and a lack of intimacy with Christ landed me in a place that I thought I would never find myself. You see, Satan is like a thief in the night that comes to steal, kill and destroy and will sneak right in to your life and steal your most prized possessions before you can even blink your eyes. This is just what happened to me. You see, I was reading the Word, but the Word was not in me. I knew who Jesus was but had not given Him full control of my life allowing the Holy Spirit complete reign over me and when the temptation came, I was weak and gave in to sin.
Here is the amazing part to me; I began praying daily asking for deliverance from the place in which I found myself. I knew it was wrong and every day as I read more into His word my heart was overwhelmed with conviction wanting to do right without hurting others. It was overwhelming for me but once I finally got the strength, to turn every piece of it over to Him, He brought it to fruition and it became the most incredible day and the most horrific day all wrapped up in one. I suddenly knew the feeling of being free from the bondage of sin and felt the power of the blood of Christ rushing over me. I sought forgiveness, repented, and found myself seeing Him in a different way. I finally understood what His redeeming love looked like and it began to consume me.
For months to come, the consequences of my sin followed me; the hurt it had caused to others, the ministry opportunities I missed being a part of, the false accusations of friends, the gossip and on and on. It was an unpleasant time but it was a time of growing. During that time, I fell into the arms of Jesus and allowed Him to wrap me in His love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and peace and He ALONE became my best friend and provider. I learned totally to rely on Him to meet my needs and not that of my husband or my friends. In all of that, I developed an intimacy, a love relationship with Jesus and it has forever changed my life from the inside out. I will never be the same again and though I long to sit at His feet and worship Him for all He has done in my life and carried me through, He has said, go and share all that the Lord has done for you. That is now my purpose and that alone, is why this blog was created and why it will continue. Through my sin and His redemptive grace, this blog has been to places in the world that I will probably never see and people are hearing the gospel. This is how amazing our God is. He can take our biggest mistakes and turn them into ministering masterpieces that can shine as a light in this dark world bringing Him alone honor and glory.
Change My Heart
“He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.”
Colossians 1:22
Often times new Christians find themselves struggling with the slowness of change in their life. There is a misconception that a magical transformation takes place and suddenly we no longer desire the sins of our past or we wake up every morning wanting to pick up our Bible first thing.
Although it does not always come so easily, we are taught to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. When we accept Christ into our lives, God creates in us a new and pure heart. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalms 51:10 NIV)
Once we allow Christ into our lives, the blood of Jesus begins to scrub away the filth of our sins and imperfections that have blackened our heart and the Holy Spirit flows through bringing it new life. He takes our broken, unclean and stained heart and makes it pure and purposeful for His kingdom.
On our own, we cannot transform or even cleanse our own hearts but we do a have a part to play. We must be willing to submit to God and humble ourselves before Him. Once we fully surrender our hearts to Christ, acknowledge our need for a Savior and confess our sins and weaknesses, He is then able to make those changes within us. Our hearts are no longer broken and stained but instead made whole and clean. Suddenly we develop a new attitude, a life of joy and not one of distrust and damage.
Releasing the hold we have on our own lives and turning it over to God is when we will finally begin to see the transformation in our life take place. Once we let go of the control we have of our life and release the sin we hold on to, we will then begin to desire His Word for the direction that we seek after in life.
The change of our attitude is not always instantaneous but God gives us the new heart immediately. It is up to us as to whether we will submit to Him or continue to cling to our old ways. Once we do, our new heart allows us the opportunity of a fresh start and the ability to increase our faith in God. Our heart will be focused on Him and align with Him in which we are able to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength.
Secret Sin
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
Psalm 90:8 NIV
You spread out our sins before you—
our secret sins—and you see them all.
Psalm 90:8 NLT
How many of us have what we think is “secret sin” in our lives? We walk around living a pseudo life. We lead people to believe that we have it all together, quick to point out the flaws of our fellow believer in order to hide our own sin thinking that no one will ever find out.
There is no hiding from God no matter how hard we may try and no way of “getting away” with our sin. Sometimes we think that there is the possibility that we can keep it a secret from the rest of the world but no matter how dark we are able to go into hiding with our sin, God’s light will always pierce the deepest and darkest place in our life making that sin known.
You see, no sin is ever hidden from God. There is the possibility of convincing the world that you are “pure and blameless”, but God knows the truth, He knows your heart and He will call you out on your disobedience. There is no way to keep it covered up forever because in the end, it will be revealed and there will be discipline.
We should be so thankful that God does not punish us according to our sin. If He did, it would surely bring death upon us all because none of us could survive His perfect justice. Praise God that He sent His only Son who gave His life in order for us to stand “blameless” in front of our merciful Heavenly Father. We have no need to fear if we are sincere and repent of the sins we cling to and try to hide in our life.
What sin(s) do you struggle with within your own life? Envy, lust, gambling, profanity, pornography, the abuse of alcohol and drugs, sex outside of marriage, stealing, anger, lack of forgiveness, and the list goes on. We all struggle with areas of sin because not one of us is perfect and blameless without Christ in our life and we all need forgiveness and the strength to stand up against it. Sin can consume us and take us to very dark places that if we are not careful, can take over our lives for years if we choose to hold on to it instead of letting go.
A merciful and loving God is waiting for you to call out to Him. He will forgive us if we seek His forgiveness and He will give us a new life in Him. All we have to do is acknowledge the sin that we have in our life, recognize the need for a savior (Jesus) and call upon His name. Once we take these steps, He will come into our life and change us from the inside out making us into a new creation.
“Father, I thank You for Your forgiveness of the sins in my life and for sending Your Son to take on the punishment of my sin. Make my heart soft, able to recognize the sin that I may still be holding on too so that I may be free from the chains of those dark places in my life.”
For more on living a life in Christ see:
Letting go
“Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom
and broke away their chains.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men.”
Psalm 107:13-15
How can the lack of forgiveness and hurt affect our walk with the Lord? So many of us walk around bound in the chains of the past and become stuck in a place of unhappiness. Everyone at one time or another experiences the pain of betrayal by someone we love and care deeply for whether it be a spouse, a friend, a child or a parent and we all also carry the experiences of our own sins and hurts that we have caused to others. It can literally destroy our lives if we let it and severely hinder our walk with the Lord if we do not let it go because we can become bound up and miss the opportunity of fully living in the present.
Once we have made Jesus Christ Lord of our life, we hand over the reins, giving Him the control of our lives able to lead us in the direction that He wants us to go. It means that we are no longer our own and have been brought back to God by the shedding of His Son’s blood for us. When we allow Him to lead, we have to let go of the things in our past that are controlling us and hindering us from being able to walk in God’s perfect plan for us. Jesus said that not anyone who is trying to move forward in his walk for God the Father – but keeps looking back – is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62) When we are walking with the Lord, we are to let go of the past and press forward because if we do not, we become stuck right where we are unable fully to accomplish all that God had planned for our lives. We cannot walk with Him if we are carrying loads of baggage because we are choosing the bondage of our past instead of the future He has for us. This then mean either we choose to throw ourselves pity parties, blaming everyone else for our misery or we can choose to rise up and be a brand new creation in Christ, choosing fully to surrender our lives to Him. Once we do that, He cleans out those closets and begins to heal our hearts making us usable for the plan that He had laid out for us even before we were born.
Now it is important that we learn from our past and realize where God has brought us but it cannot consume us to the point of becoming our focus. God is our healer and He is able to break away those chains and heal our hearts IF we fully believe that He can do it. For me, this came with the forgiveness of someone who betrayed my trust and hurt me deeply. I lived with anger towards this person for quite some time and every time I saw them, it would rage within me. Here is what I have learned. When someone hurts you, that person moves on with his or her life. If they have sinned and repented of this sin, for them it is over, God has forgiven them. They have moved on and God has redeemed them, giving them a new song to sing and a new life to live for Him. For those of us left in the wake of their sin, we must deal with the pain and hurt of the turbulence they caused in our lives. We are the ones who must deal with the resentment, bitterness and anger while they go about feeling freed of their past. Does not seem quite fair? Well here is what I have learned. It is totally fair because we too have sinned against someone in our own lives just like they have and we too have had to seek forgiveness from God for the hurt we’ve caused someone else and we too have moved on. So, why then do we dwell in self-pity and allow resentment to rage within our hearts? This is called human nature and happens when we are not willing to let go of the baggage we cling to so tightly instead of grabbing a hold of and clinging to God. You see, you cannot hold on to both things together because you cannot worship and follow God when you are clinging to the past, which has become your idol. He has to be your focus and He should be your focus because He is worth it all!
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:12-14
We have to put into practice not focusing on what is behind us but instead pressing ahead toward the goal, the life God has planned. We must reach ahead and surrender every part of our lives to Him so that He can accomplish all that His plans entail for us. If not, we are allowing the past to steal our joy and happiness and distort our thinking. We must offer true forgiveness that can only come from the Holy Spirit living within us and turn it over to the hands of God and His justice. He is the One who will right every wrong ever done to us and because of this; we are able to relinquish even our worst enemy over to Him. It all comes down to us reaching out and grabbing His hand and allowing the Holy Spirit to clean up the wounds in our life so that we can live out the life that God has for us. It is our choice as to whether we will continue to allow it to strangle and paralyze our lives or say enough is enough and give God that control and move forward.
Appetite
Chocolate. Not so much hot chocolate or even milk chocolate, but dark chocolate. Pure solid dark chocolate. I have an appetite for it. The more I consume it, the more I crave it. Instant potatoes, dried milk, canned ravioli. No, I’d rather the real lumpy potatoes, the fresh milk and the homemade meatballs. The real stuff. When you’re consistently exposed to the “real thing” you develop an appetite for it and want less of substitutes or fillers.
We were created with natural appetites. An appetite for food is perhaps the most obvious appetite we have, but we were also gifted with the natural appetite for knowledge (the Word, literature, etc.). Besides food and knowledge we have appetites for entertainment, the arts, exercise, and relationships to name a few.
Speaking of appetites and training them, Sally Clark referring to Philippians 4:8,9 says, we ought to train our children (and ourselves) “not only to be discerning but to desire: whatever is true, rather than counterfeit; whatever is noble, rather than common; whatever is right, rather than just acceptable; whatever is pure, rather than corrupted; whatever is lovely (and beautiful), rather than base and ugly:; whatever is admirable, rather than just different or clever.” We should “prefer excellence over mediocrity and praiseworthiness over market-worthiness”
Do we have an appetite for what’s true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable? Or do we have the same appetites that the world has? How do our appetites measure up when it comes to our thoughts, conversations and entertainment? Are we used to feeding ourselves the same way the world feeds itself? Are we satisfied with what satisfies everyone else? Is our appetite for comfort and approval or for what pleases the Lord? Do we truly long for more than what the world has to offer? Is our appetite reflective of Christ in us?
Sometimes we satiate our appetites with nutrition-less junk food that only feeds our immaturity rather than our developing maturity.
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for his is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Hebrews 5:12-14
Let us not fall into the trap of settling for less, and accepting substitutes that don’t measure up. Let us not be satisfied with milk, but instead long for the solids. Let us intentionally attempt to get out of the habit of being spoon fed and instead learn to search for nourishing growth inducing food. Let us also be aware of what we’re feeding our minds and spirits. I heard in a sermon once “junk in, junk out.” How true! We must be diligent what we feed/let into our hearts (conversations, media, literature, Internet, etc.).
“Lord, I pray that you stir a burning need in us to want more than what the world has to offer, and not only that but to want more than milk. Create in us an appetite for Your word that’s even greater than the appetites we have for food (Job 23:12). I pray that our hearts and the hearts of those we encourage will strive for spiritual maturity and not settle for being spiritual babes. Help us to guard our hearts and to only allow truth into them. Have us wanting more than a packed delivered sermon. Give an insatiable desire to discover the life giving truth of your Word. And in our filling, give us discernment to know the difference between feeling full (with busyness or spiritual check lists) and being satisfied (spiritual maturing). I pray that through this posting and the others on this blog that those reading it are encouraged and challenged to dig more into your word and to know you more.”
Hebrews 5:12-14
Let us not fall into the trap of settling for less, and accepting substitutes that don’t measure up. Let us not be satisfied with milk, but instead long for the solids. Let us intentionally attempt to get out of the habit of being spoon fed and instead learn to search for nourishing growth inducing food. Let us also be aware of what we’re feeding our minds and spirits. I heard in a sermon once “junk in, junk out.” How true! We must be diligent what we feed/let into our hearts (conversations, media, literature, Internet, etc.).
“Lord, I pray that you stir a burning need in us to want more than what the world has to offer, and not only that but to want more than milk. Create in us an appetite for Your word that’s even greater than the appetites we have for food (Job 23:12). I pray that our hearts and the hearts of those we encourage will strive for spiritual maturity and not settle for being spiritual babes. Help us to guard our hearts and to only allow truth into them. Have us wanting more than a packed delivered sermon. Give an insatiable desire to discover the life giving truth of your Word. And in our filling, give us discernment to know the difference between feeling full (with busyness or spiritual check lists) and being satisfied (spiritual maturing). I pray that through this posting and the others on this blog that those reading it are encouraged and challenged to dig more into your word and to know you more.”
Written by Stephanie
My fear
“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in Him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like Him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
We all have been hurt by someone we love, trust and care for deeply. We all know the pain and struggle in dealing with forgiveness and grace towards someone. We know it takes time to heal and trust again. For me, this is an area in my life that God has had to do the most work. I was probably one of the least trusting people in this world when it came to friends and family. Funny thing is I could totally trust that stranger I met on the street. I have no issue with giving the man money on the street corner holding up a sign. He’s done nothing to hurt me and so he is easy to trust. As for the people in my life, that is a different story.
1 John 4:16-21
We all have been hurt by someone we love, trust and care for deeply. We all know the pain and struggle in dealing with forgiveness and grace towards someone. We know it takes time to heal and trust again. For me, this is an area in my life that God has had to do the most work. I was probably one of the least trusting people in this world when it came to friends and family. Funny thing is I could totally trust that stranger I met on the street. I have no issue with giving the man money on the street corner holding up a sign. He’s done nothing to hurt me and so he is easy to trust. As for the people in my life, that is a different story.
Today, I’m going to get a bit more personal and make myself vulnerable to those who read this blog. Vulnerability was one of my biggest fears and those reading this that know me, know how much I have struggled with this in my past. I have had a hard time in the past trusting women due to past hurts and I am very quick to avoid relationships with other women because of the fear of rejection and trust or lack thereof and the other issues associated with that of women relationships like gossip. The question for me is do I feel like this a sin? The answer to my question is yes.
God has commanded us to love everyone and with love comes trust. No matter who they are, what they have done or how they have hurt us, in order to walk with Him and obey Him, we have to make ourselves vulnerable. Being a believer means a life full of rejection by the people of this world. It means ridicule and hurt. I’ve come to realize that all of these things are totally worth the emotional pain when my focus is on Him and His love for me. Jesus Christ walked this earth and was ridiculed, slandered, beaten, rejected and crucified all because of His love for me. His love for me is perfect and complete and unfailing. He does not judge me and He loves me just as I am. He will never reject me or hurt me and I can totally trust Him with every part of my life. I’ve come to realize that when people reject me or what I’m doing, they are really rejecting Christ. When I give out my love and trust to others and they betray or reject it, they are not betraying or rejecting me, they are rejecting Christ in me. When we are walking with Him, and He is our reflection, we love the world through Him and not ourselves. His love is perfect and it should drive away all of fears.
As we learn to trust, we begin to fear less because God’s perfect love for us drives away that fear and we are able to find rest in His truth. We gain a confidence and boldness because we begin to recognize that God works all things out for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) If we walk around in fear, again we are trying to control our own life but when we trust God and His love, we are giving Him the control and putting our trust in the One who loves us so perfectly.
Now that I have accepted this as truth and understand God’s love, it has opened doors for me and I find myself able to trust and I am no longer crippled by the fear of rejection. Because of this, I have made myself vulnerable and opened myself up to relationships with wonderful people who love me just as I am, flaws and all, and who are a great encouragement to me. He so blesses us and life becomes a blessing when we give God that control and allow His love to flow through us.
Written by Nicole
I'm not complaining but…
Grumbling and complaining have become a past time in this country. It takes place in our homes, at work and even in the foyers of our churches. It has become so tolerated that sometimes we don’t even recognize it in ourselves or in others but it is a sin. In fact, I think if we had to make a list of sins, it probably wouldn’t even make our top 10 list. Because it is a sin, it breaks the heart of God.
The people of Israel had complaining mastered. As they wandered through the desert, they grumbled and complained and God disciplined them for it. Some were even struck down by a destroying angel. (1 Corinthians 10:10) God takes complaining very seriously because when we complain, it becomes a reflection of our heart. If we’re too busy complaining then how can we find time to rejoice in Him. If we’re complaining about money, relationships, our churches, jobs, whatever else is out there then we are definitely not praising Him for the very breath He gave us this morning or the roof over our head or the food that fills are bellies or the people He’s placed in our lives. Suddenly our reflection becomes blurred and what we see starring back at us is ugly.
Proverbs 27:19 say this…
“As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.”
Whatever is in our heart is very visible to other people every time we open our mouths because the words that come from our mouth speak loudly to the condition of our hearts.
“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”
Luke 6:45
What do your words say about you? Are they Christ-like? Are they words of love and praise for a God that has blessed you with life, the love of family and friends, shelter and food and most of all salvation?
Life isn’t always what we think it’s supposed to be but we have a God who is in control of it all. He allows our lives to unfold the way He had planned in order for us to draw close to Him and mature and grow in our faith. Instead of complaining about all that is wrong in our lives or the world, praise Him for what He’s doing and how He’s going to use it for His glory!
Lord in all of our living let us be grateful and content in what You have for us. Convict us when we grumble and complain. Thank You for your goodness and your faithfulness to grow us through Your discipline. Thank You for not sparing us the striving and growing it takes to draw nearer to You. Let our words and actions be ones of praise and thanksgiving instead of those of discontent and grumbling.
Written by Nicole
Faith Renewed 