LOOKING AT WORRY WITH THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE

 

 

Worry gives way to anxiety or unease, allowing one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles. Although that is true, I've learned another way to define it. Worrying is taking over another person's problem or responsibility without being asked. It means the issue in question is beyond my ability to solve and has not been assigned to me. Insisting on solving the problem is an indication that I am impersonating the One whose responsibility that problem is; I am attempting to take over God's job. The last time I checked the want ads, only vacant positions were posted, and God's work was not on the list. Nevertheless, even if advertised, nobody on this planet is qualified.  

All posted jobs have listed requirements, training, experience, etc. Likewise, if God's position were published, the applicants would have to meet specific criteria. So, here are the qualifications. To apply for the job, the applicant must answer 'Yes' to all of the following:

Have you ever spoken anything into existence? "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (Genesis 1:3 NIV).

Have you ever created any living thing? "The Lord God formed the man…and breathed into his nostrils …, and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7 NIV).                                                                                                 

Have you ever raised the dead? And he did! "Jesus called in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out" (John 11:43 NIV).

Have you ever gone a month or more straight without slumber or sleep? "He who watches over you will not slumber, indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:3-4 NIV).

Can you see what is happening worldwide, simultaneously, every second of the day? "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good" (Proverbs 15:3 NIV).

Can you tell what someone is thinking, going to say, or doing before they do? "O LORD, you have searched me, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar…before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord" (Psalm 139:1-4 NIV).

Did you or anybody you know die and then come back to life without seeing decay? Here's the psalmist's prophecy about Jesus: "My body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay" (Psalm 16:9-10 NIV).

Do you love unconditionally 100% of the time? "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39 NIV).

Do you forgive and also forget 100% of the time? "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:34 NIV).

Can and will you take on the punishment others deserve? "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-8 NIV).    

How many questions were you able to answer "Yes" to? You are disqualified from taking over God's job if you answered 'No' to any of the questions.

The next time you have something to worry about, ask yourself, "Am I God?" if you can honestly say 'No' to that question (and you can!), then it's time to pray and turn over the problem to the One who can solve it with ease--God. He knows where all the puzzle pieces fit and what the finished puzzle will look like. He invites all His children: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV). 

GOOD WORKS IS THE BREATH OF FAITH

The book of James gives us a perfect analogy for vibrant Christian living. It says, "Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works" (James 2:26 NLT). We all know what happens when people stop breathing—they die. At the end of Jesus' crucifixion, for example, He announced: "It is finished!" then He bowed His head and released the Spirit (see John 19:30). Without breath, Jesus was pronounced dead!

Our faith must be alive and active if we claim to be Christians. If not, it will be categorized as dead. How can we claim that the Spirit that gives us life lives in us while we don't exhibit the signs of life? We need to take a serious look at our claims and ensure they are not false. If faith without good works is dead, then good works are what we need to keep faith alive.

What do good works look like? Good works are actions that make a person right with God, like trust and obedience. For example, Moses fled to Midian to escape the Pharaoh of Egypt, who wanted to kill him for a murder he had committed. Although he had run for his life, he obeyed God and returned to Egypt to go and free the Israelites. He obeyed God because he trusted Him to keep him safe. What good is our faith if we can't trust and obey God?

  Obedience should then direct us to meet the needs of others, show kindness, love them (see James 2:15-16), and forgive offenses. In short, we should love others as ourselves. James uses the example of a brother or sister with a need you could meet but don't, and instead wish him or her well (see James 2:15-16).

Many claim they believe in God but don't have a personal relationship with Him. We can't expect such people to do good deeds because they don't have the Holy Spirit working in them. Those of us who are the temple of the Holy Spirit (Christians) should be able to demonstrate faith in tangible ways. James expresses it like this, "I will show you my faith by my good deeds" (James 2:18 NLT).  

God has shown my family His amazing love through the obedience of His children and unbelievers alike. My family has been the recipient of the good works of many godly people who didn't know us from Adam but took us in, in the name of love and treated us like family. The needs they met included housing, transportation, encouragement, and friendship. I pray that the Lord will be gracious to the descendants of these dear saints of God. And may He make me a blessing to others as He sees fit.

Dear brother, dear sister, is your faith dead or alive? Your works should tell you! To keep faith alive, we must demonstrate trust and obedience towards God and love and serve others in Jesus' name.

DON’T BE TOO QUICK TO JUDGE

 

We all judge situations and other people’s actions verbally or non-verbally. In fact, we feel so strongly about what we think that, often, our response is to single-handedly judge, convict, and condemn them. You might be thinking to yourself, “Not me. I don’t do that!” Yes, you do; no one is exempt from this behavior.

Even King David of Israel faced that challenge. Through Nathan, the prophet, God told him a story in which a wealthy man took advantage of a poor man. David offered his opinion about the situation without being asked; he immediately blurted out his frustration, judged the case, and pronounced a guilty verdict with the death penalty. “As surely as the Lord lives, any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and having no pity” (2 Samuel 12: 5-6).

Before the conversation with Nathan, David, who had multiple wives and concubines, had coveted a poor man’s only wife, Bathsheba, committed adultery with her and got her pregnant. He tried unsuccessfully to cover up his sin. He had the poor man killed, thereby saving face. With the husband out of the way, he married Bathsheba. He had the nerve to pronounce death on the offender. Unfortunately, we all do that; we pronounce judgment before we hear the whole story! Why did his own situation not come to mind as he listened to the story about the rich man and poor man?

On the other hand, when we do wrong, we make excuses for ourselves or cover up our actions. Why are we so forgiving of our own sins and so critical of others? We condemn them without mercy. The Scriptures tell us, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged” (Matthew 7:1-2).

Until David was confronted about his sins, he was very judgmental of another person whose offense was minor in comparison. Again, the Scriptures tell us, “If you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? … You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it” (Romans 2:21-23). 

Before we judge others, let us put ourselves in the offender’s place and ask ourselves how we would like to be treated. If we decide we don’t deserve forgiveness, grace, mercy, or a second chance, only then should we cast our stones. Jesus said to the crowd who brought the woman caught in adultery, “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (John 8:7).

This does not encourage condoning wrongdoing; we must speak out but not necessarily judge and condemn.

Once king David was confronted, he admitted his wrongdoing: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13), and was instantly granted forgiveness: “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin” (2 Samuel 12:14b).

In Psalm fifty-one, David poured out his heart, and demonstrated remorse for his sin, “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stains of my sins. … You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. … Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. … Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness” (Psalm 51:1-14).

Let’s be careful how we judge others because we could be judging and condemning ourselves! Look deep into your heart. Have you ever thought and blamed someone for wrong things in your life, or do you sin in any way? Only God has the right, knowledge, and power to judge because He is holy. 

PROVE YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!

As we all know, carrying a particular family name implies you’re their child; you don’t have to prove anything. Not so with God; if you claim to be God’s child, you must prove it. You have to pass a test.

Our way of life as children of God is the testing ground. The Holy Spirit lives in all Christians, bearing fruit in our lives and thus proving we are God’s: “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). If we claim to be Christians, these qualities should be evident in our lives.   

In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches about loving one’s enemies, contrary to what the traditional law (not the Law) says, and explains that it is proof that one is a child of God: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. … If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:44-48).

When Saul successfully led the armies of Israel against the Ammonites, some people wanted those who opposed Saul’s kingship to be killed. Saul could have agreed to that to get even with his enemies, but instead, he responded: “No one will be executed today, for the Lord has rescued Israel” (1 Samuel 11:13).    

Similarly, when it became evident that David, not Jonathan, was going to be the next king, Saul tried to kill David to ensure that it didn’t happen, and David knew it. However, on more than one occasion, David had the opportunity to kill Saul if he wanted to. Still, he didn’t and stated: “I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one” (1 Samuel 24:10). For all that David endured at Saul’s hand, nobody would have blamed him if he had taken revenge.

In addition, don’t we expect God to forgive us when we are in the wrong? Of course, we do! If we’d like God to forgive us, we must forgive others. “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).

So, let’s love others as we love ourselves to prove to the world that we are God’s children, and the love of the Father abides in us!

DON’T FRET AT THE RED SEA

 

While on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, the Israelites encountered many challenges. One such challenge was their experience at the Red Sea. They found themselves sandwiched between the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them. The dilemma was obvious; the Red Sea had stopped their progress forward, and the army behind them would attack if they couldn’t quickly get out of their reach. They were nervous!

Moses, their leader, did what came to him naturally: he called on God! When we are in the will of God, as Moses was, it is easy to know what to do when things go wrong in the process:  pray. God answered Moses’ prayer! He instructed Moses: “Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground” (Exodus 14:15). Moses did exactly as God commanded; he asked no questions. When we ask God for directions, we need to be ready to act on His direction whether or not we understand or agree with it. When God directs, He does not ask for our input or suggestions. He expects us to obey Him. Period!

To the Israelites’ surprise, the sea parted when Moses raised his staff over the sea; they were able to walk on dry ground to the other side. I wonder, did they hesitate to take the first step? Were they afraid the waters might come rolling back on them? Maybe they didn’t have enough time to worry about that. 

Are you at your own Red Sea: at a loss, not knowing how to get out of a difficult situation? You are not alone; I’ve been there, and so have many others. Try Moses’ approach: pray in faith, wait for God’s timing, and follow His direction without question or reservation.  It works! God bless you as you call on Him, and obey His leading! 

GOD HAS DIFFERENT WAYS OF SOLVING A PROBLEM, EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO SALVATION

God created the world mainly by the Word of His mouth, saying, “Let there be.” He has since then done numerous other things in different ways with the same results. Below are a few of those times:

●      In Egypt, He turned water into blood, but in Cana, He turned water into wine (Exodus 7:20; John 6:6-10).

●      Once, Jesus healed two blind men by touching their eyes because they confessed that they believed He could heal them. He also told them it would happen because of their faith. But on another occasion, Jesus spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, spread the dirt on a blind man’s eyes, and instructed him to wash in the Siloam pool (Matthew 9:28-29; John 9:6). Although methods were different, the result was the same: sight was restored.

●      The city of Jericho was conquered without weapons: the Israelites marched quietly (except for the priests blowing their horns) around the city once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day. On the last round, they shouted, and the walls collapsed. The strategy that gave them victory in the city of Ai was quite different from the strategy at Jericho. God instructed the Israelites to lay an ambush behind the city and attack it from the front so that when the Ai troops engaged them and chased them out of the city, those in ambush would attack the city from the rear and conquer it. In both cases, the Israelites were victorious, but the strategies were different. (Joshua 6:1-20; 8:3-19).  

 

Salvation, however, is a one-way process; nothing else will do!     

Salvation is the process by which sinners are brought into a personal relationship with God because Jesus took mankind’s sin on Himself when He died on the cross and rose again on the third day. Salvation is called by many names, including being born again, becoming a child of God, and being adopted into God’s family.

Why do we need to be saved, and from what? Having inherited the sinful nature of our fore-parents, Adam and Eve, we are alienated from God just like they were; the Bible says we are His enemies. We need our sins forgiven for the relationship to change from enemies to friends. If we don’t get forgiven before we depart this world, our destination after this life will be hell; it will be too late to do differently.

So, how does this process work? The Bible tells us: “This is how God loved the world {people}: he gave his one and only Son {Jesus} so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). So out of God’s love for mankind, He had Jesus die in payment for man’s sins. And the only way this would apply to anybody is for each person to individually pray to God, admitting that they are a sinner, and accept Jesus’ sacrifice in their place. And Jesus Himself said clearly to His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

God forgives each person who asks for forgiveness and indwells that person with His Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells the person as evidence that the individual who prayed has become a child of God; his sins have been washed away, never to be remembered. As the Scripture says, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). 

Individuals who think they can get to heaven through any other than Jesus are frighteningly mistaken. God does not go back on his Word; it will always be as He says or not at all. Dear reader, don’t count on your good deeds or some other religion; none of those will save you. This is the time to decide to be a child of God or His enemy; God will honor your choice either way, and you have to live with your choice forever, with no possibility to change your mind in eternity. Please give this serious thought and choose wisely; time is running out!

A SONG IN THE NIGHT

 

What do you think of nighttime? Some synonyms for the word include hours of darkness, night, dark, and darkness. Sometimes, we refer to life’s difficulties as nighttime, and we look forward to daytime when things will be different. What do we do while we wait for the clarity of the day? The easiest option is to worry; some even get depressed, short-tempered, and withdrawn, even though we know and tell ourselves we should be praying. 

Paul and Silas took a different path. They had been jailed by the authorities. Although they could have lain awake worrying, they sang praises to God. They could have wondered what their fate would be in the morning, how they could get out of their situation, and on and on. Instead, they praised God, knowing He knew all about their situation, that He’d rescue them, and could bring good out of that situation. 

How did they get to be in jail anyway? They hadn’t committed any crime; they were doing what they believed was right. They had cast out a demon from a slave girl who was making money for her owners by fortune-telling. Needless to say, the owners were unhappy when they lost their source of income. Consequently, Paul and Silas were brought before the magistrate, who had them imprisoned (see Acts 16:16-24).

Are you struggling with a situation (darkness) in your life that was not the result of anything you’ve done wrong? What are you doing about it? Are you trying to justify yourself, thinking about how unfair life has been to you, or are you going to pray and sing amid your trouble? From experience, the apostle Paul knew the benefits of giving thanks in all circumstances, including dark ones (see Romans 8:28).

How did their jail experience end? You might ask. God responded; He intervened! He sent an earthquake, violent enough to shake the prison's foundations, fling the prison doors open, and loosen every prisoner’s chains. Before the earthquake, Paul and Silas did not know how, when, or if God would intervene, but they trusted Him to work it all out. And He did!

 result

Like the three Jewish boys in Babylon (see Daniel 3:1-30), God’s deliverance or intervention was not the basis of their decisions to praise or obey God; it was their determination to obey God, no matter the outcome. Can you and I just trust God with our problems in an attitude of praise? If we postpone praise until the night is past, we might not be praising any time soon because with God, one day is like a thousand and a thousand like a day.

Through that experience, the jailer and all his family became Christians. So, all things did work out for good. People were saved; Paul and Silas experienced God’s faithfulness repeatedly. The Bible doesn’t name the song they were singing, and I don’t think that makes any difference. Most importantly, they were praying and singing hymns to God. Their night didn’t stop them from singing. Does yours?