Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Sunday, December 16, 2007
A thing for everything and everything in it's place...
My house is a mess! I have been moving things around to accomidate new furniture and for the life of me I can't find anything. While I am raking through my cabinets and drawers for a tape measure and muttering to myself that I have several tape measures (all of which are lost....sigh) the saying "A place for everything and everything in it's place" floating up in my conciousness. Hmmmmm.... sounds like something a stern grandmother would cite to you .... but..... it's a valid rule for living.
How much time have I wasted seeking resources that I have but cannot find. Then I may waste more money replacing things I have......
As a Christian God makes me a steward of time, money, resources and opportunitys. Am I a good steward? Will the Lord come back and find I have multiplied my talents? Or wasted them?
Read Matthew 25:14-30 Are you wasting what the Lord has given you?
And no I still have not found my tape measure....
TJ
How much time have I wasted seeking resources that I have but cannot find. Then I may waste more money replacing things I have......
As a Christian God makes me a steward of time, money, resources and opportunitys. Am I a good steward? Will the Lord come back and find I have multiplied my talents? Or wasted them?
Read Matthew 25:14-30 Are you wasting what the Lord has given you?
And no I still have not found my tape measure....
TJ
Words and thoughts really count...
I make a living talking to people so I can say that I have a little practice in interacting with others. This morning the scripture "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to thee oh God" kept running through my thoughts. I ran it through Google and found the reference Psalm 19:14.
The quote exactly is "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."(NIV)
Now this is a pivotal prayer for any Christian since the Psalmist clearly wants to please God as we all should.
Let's consider for a moment the real significance of this passage. As I mentioned earlier, I make a living talking. I have a business conversation with at least 30+ people a day. This can me a very emotional gut wrenching experience for me. You see I started talking when I was 18 months old according to my mother. As a matter of fact I spoke before I walked. Over the years I have been a very talkative child. My teachers used to say on my report card "Timmy talks to much!" Since I was never a n agressive person I would fight with words over fists. So naturally I gravitated towards the ministry. What better work for a talker!
Because of my orientation that got sidetracked but I still ended up in the talking business. So I now have 48 years of talking behind me. I have realized a few things over those years....
Although people say that words do not mean much, they do!
Everything starts with a thought and a word, you may not manifest those thoughts and words immediately but eventually you will.
Jesus told us is Matthew 12:34-37
34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The 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. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
So what do we know so far:
Our words mirror what is truly in our heart....
We will be held accountable for every word we have spoken by God...
Thoughts, Words and Deeds are all connected... you could say that they are a cycle. I think something that will eventually come out of my mouth and with enough reinforcement will manifest in my actions. Wash, rinse and repeat....with enough reinforcement of this cycle we develop habits which eventually develop into character.
With enough negative character our hearts become hardened to God and if your not saved it is quick way to hell. If your saved this cycle can make you of no use to God.
Just those facts alone bring to bear the reason why the Psalmist wanted his thoughts and words to be acceptable to God.
Words can hurt and damage us and those around us or they can be healing and refreshing. When we blurt out hate, and fear it is a devasting wound both to the victim and the attacker. The old adage "Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!" is a lie. Words hurt!
On the flip side, words can be more healing than the most effective medicine. A word of encouragement for a sad and despondent person can make all the difference. Words of love for our family and soulmates are so precious. Words can motivate us, make us happy, or even drive us to sadness and destruction.
I say all this because my brothers and sisters I have sinned.... I am a sinner. When Paul said all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God I definitely qualify. Me and my big mouth! I would like to think that I am some holy spiritual guy, but sometimes the words that escape my lips suprise even me!
I have wound people I love, I have spoken in anger, pride and sometimes deciet. Don't act so shocked so have you! The problem is we may be redemed by the blood of Jesus and on our way to heaven but we still need to conform our minds to God's way of thinking, speaking and acting. I don't want to just mouth the right things, I want to mean it.
James portrays our delima so well in James 3:9-10
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water
With James I echo the statement "This should not be!" But verses 11 and 12 further explain our problem. It has to do with our nature. The sin nature. This is why Paul tells us to renew our mind in Romans 12:1-2
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Now notice in this passage 3 things:
1. Offer your bodies a living sacrifice(indicates our actions)
2. Do this by renewing your mind.
3. Then you will please God.
You have to think the things that God thinks, (Study to show yourself approved 2 Timothy 2:15), Say the things that God says and do the things that God does. Thoughts, Words and Actions.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart(thoughts) and lean not to your own understanding(thoughts) in all your ways acknowledge him(Words and Actions) and he will direct your path.
In a nutshell, you can change. You have to yeild yourself and all of it's sinfulness to God, fill your mind with his thoughts(Faith Love Hope) let those thoughts transform the sinful habits you have and manifest his words and actions in your live.
Take hope.... Galatians 2:20 says
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Trade your sinful thoughts, words and actions for Christ's life in you. Your living sacrifice is to be crucified with Christ. Think about that, what did Jesus do on the cross? He became sin for us....
II Corinthians 5:21
21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Think of this like a transplant.... You remove the diseased heart and replace it with a healthy heart. Jesus satisfied our debt for sin and gave us his righteousness. This is why we must be crucified with Christ, not a literal execution of the body, but our sinful selves were crucified and Jesus sinless self was substituted. Does this mean I am no longer a sinner? Nope! So long as we inhabit this phyiscal body we will still struggle with sin. But our sprit has been renewed and we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to conform us to Jesus. In God's eyes I am complete, I must merely confirm my mind and body to the reality of my right standing with God.
II Corinthians 5 17-19 echoes this -----
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.
We are new!
II Corinthians 5:14-15 Says it all --- We all died with Christ on the cross,
this is why we present our bodies a living sacrifice. Mind, Will and Emotions.... Our carnal flesh and words and actions... Everything. We are to be a mirror of Jesus....
14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And 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.
Now, how do we do this? Faith(trusting and obeying God) and faith performed in love(God's love.)
Am I a perfect? By no means, not even close! But like the songs says...
"I'm just an old lump of coal, but I am going to be a diamond someday!"
I keep presenting my body, mind, will, emotions to God and take on his mind, will and emotions in return. I manifest the mind of Christ through my thoughts, words and actions. Like Matthew 12:35a says "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him" As I take on the nature of Jesus I am storing up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:20)
So do words and thoughts really count? Absolutely, they are a barometer of heart and predict our actions.
Grace and Peace my brothers!
The Lord is with us.....
The quote exactly is "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."(NIV)
Now this is a pivotal prayer for any Christian since the Psalmist clearly wants to please God as we all should.
Let's consider for a moment the real significance of this passage. As I mentioned earlier, I make a living talking. I have a business conversation with at least 30+ people a day. This can me a very emotional gut wrenching experience for me. You see I started talking when I was 18 months old according to my mother. As a matter of fact I spoke before I walked. Over the years I have been a very talkative child. My teachers used to say on my report card "Timmy talks to much!" Since I was never a n agressive person I would fight with words over fists. So naturally I gravitated towards the ministry. What better work for a talker!
Because of my orientation that got sidetracked but I still ended up in the talking business. So I now have 48 years of talking behind me. I have realized a few things over those years....
Although people say that words do not mean much, they do!
Everything starts with a thought and a word, you may not manifest those thoughts and words immediately but eventually you will.
Jesus told us is Matthew 12:34-37
34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The 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. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
So what do we know so far:
Our words mirror what is truly in our heart....
We will be held accountable for every word we have spoken by God...
Thoughts, Words and Deeds are all connected... you could say that they are a cycle. I think something that will eventually come out of my mouth and with enough reinforcement will manifest in my actions. Wash, rinse and repeat....with enough reinforcement of this cycle we develop habits which eventually develop into character.
With enough negative character our hearts become hardened to God and if your not saved it is quick way to hell. If your saved this cycle can make you of no use to God.
Just those facts alone bring to bear the reason why the Psalmist wanted his thoughts and words to be acceptable to God.
Words can hurt and damage us and those around us or they can be healing and refreshing. When we blurt out hate, and fear it is a devasting wound both to the victim and the attacker. The old adage "Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!" is a lie. Words hurt!
On the flip side, words can be more healing than the most effective medicine. A word of encouragement for a sad and despondent person can make all the difference. Words of love for our family and soulmates are so precious. Words can motivate us, make us happy, or even drive us to sadness and destruction.
I say all this because my brothers and sisters I have sinned.... I am a sinner. When Paul said all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God I definitely qualify. Me and my big mouth! I would like to think that I am some holy spiritual guy, but sometimes the words that escape my lips suprise even me!
I have wound people I love, I have spoken in anger, pride and sometimes deciet. Don't act so shocked so have you! The problem is we may be redemed by the blood of Jesus and on our way to heaven but we still need to conform our minds to God's way of thinking, speaking and acting. I don't want to just mouth the right things, I want to mean it.
James portrays our delima so well in James 3:9-10
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water
With James I echo the statement "This should not be!" But verses 11 and 12 further explain our problem. It has to do with our nature. The sin nature. This is why Paul tells us to renew our mind in Romans 12:1-2
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Now notice in this passage 3 things:
1. Offer your bodies a living sacrifice(indicates our actions)
2. Do this by renewing your mind.
3. Then you will please God.
You have to think the things that God thinks, (Study to show yourself approved 2 Timothy 2:15), Say the things that God says and do the things that God does. Thoughts, Words and Actions.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart(thoughts) and lean not to your own understanding(thoughts) in all your ways acknowledge him(Words and Actions) and he will direct your path.
In a nutshell, you can change. You have to yeild yourself and all of it's sinfulness to God, fill your mind with his thoughts(Faith Love Hope) let those thoughts transform the sinful habits you have and manifest his words and actions in your live.
Take hope.... Galatians 2:20 says
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Trade your sinful thoughts, words and actions for Christ's life in you. Your living sacrifice is to be crucified with Christ. Think about that, what did Jesus do on the cross? He became sin for us....
II Corinthians 5:21
21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Think of this like a transplant.... You remove the diseased heart and replace it with a healthy heart. Jesus satisfied our debt for sin and gave us his righteousness. This is why we must be crucified with Christ, not a literal execution of the body, but our sinful selves were crucified and Jesus sinless self was substituted. Does this mean I am no longer a sinner? Nope! So long as we inhabit this phyiscal body we will still struggle with sin. But our sprit has been renewed and we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to conform us to Jesus. In God's eyes I am complete, I must merely confirm my mind and body to the reality of my right standing with God.
II Corinthians 5 17-19 echoes this -----
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.
We are new!
II Corinthians 5:14-15 Says it all --- We all died with Christ on the cross,
this is why we present our bodies a living sacrifice. Mind, Will and Emotions.... Our carnal flesh and words and actions... Everything. We are to be a mirror of Jesus....
14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And 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.
Now, how do we do this? Faith(trusting and obeying God) and faith performed in love(God's love.)
Am I a perfect? By no means, not even close! But like the songs says...
"I'm just an old lump of coal, but I am going to be a diamond someday!"
I keep presenting my body, mind, will, emotions to God and take on his mind, will and emotions in return. I manifest the mind of Christ through my thoughts, words and actions. Like Matthew 12:35a says "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him" As I take on the nature of Jesus I am storing up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:20)
So do words and thoughts really count? Absolutely, they are a barometer of heart and predict our actions.
Grace and Peace my brothers!
The Lord is with us.....
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Me and my big mouth....
I work as a customer service rep, so talking is my livelyhood. A large sticky note on my monitor has the following scripture passage: "be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" James 1:19.
I must admit I am a big mouth. Since before I could walk I am told I have been talking. Today I started to think about that passage and why we are advised to behave this way. As I meditated on this passage I realized that most mature people I know(particularly Christians) listen a lot and choose thier words vary carefully. If I ponder my words before I speak them and even just pause before I say something it really diffuses a lot of problems.
The Bible goes on to describe how much evil and damage the tounge(our speech causes)
James 3:2-18
2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Proverbs 18:20-21 further states:
"20 From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."
So you can see that what you say is very important in God's eyes. You could compare your tounge to a loaded gun. Any sane reasonable person would not dream of causualy pointing and firing a gun in multiple directions with no regard for the safety of others. Yet we do just that with our tounges.
James gave sage advise when he told us to be slow to speak.....
More to come....TJBear
I must admit I am a big mouth. Since before I could walk I am told I have been talking. Today I started to think about that passage and why we are advised to behave this way. As I meditated on this passage I realized that most mature people I know(particularly Christians) listen a lot and choose thier words vary carefully. If I ponder my words before I speak them and even just pause before I say something it really diffuses a lot of problems.
The Bible goes on to describe how much evil and damage the tounge(our speech causes)
James 3:2-18
2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Proverbs 18:20-21 further states:
"20 From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."
So you can see that what you say is very important in God's eyes. You could compare your tounge to a loaded gun. Any sane reasonable person would not dream of causualy pointing and firing a gun in multiple directions with no regard for the safety of others. Yet we do just that with our tounges.
James gave sage advise when he told us to be slow to speak.....
More to come....TJBear
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
This is God's will....
1 Thessalonians 5:18 was rolling around in my head tonite, it says....
"give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I looked this scripture up and realized that while this is how so many Chrisitans quote this passage there is actually more to it.
In context you need to include verses 16-18:
16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
When you read this in context it says a lot more about the God's intent for this passage. God tells us to do 3 things:
1) Be joyful always
2) Pray continually
3) Give thanks in all circumstances
These threes action are stated as God's will for us. When you join this scripture with Proverbs 3:5-6:
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
You can see a pattern:
Trust in the Lord totally, dont try to figure things out, your every action should acknowledge his leadership and he will indeed guide you.
Be Joyful, pray continually and give thanks --- this is Gods will for everyone.
The actions of Proverbs lead to the actions of I Thessalonians.
When we have problems it is human nature(sin nature more like it...) to hold out and finally go to God when we are just cant work it out. God tells us to Trust him totally. Just like the child learning to swim, your instructor has you lay back in the water and totally trust he will hold you up. Gradually he releases you to float, but you had to totally trust him first. God tells to totally surrender ourselves to his care, stop trying to run our own lives. In everything we do reaffirm that trust.
The way we acknowledge God is to always be joyful. Joy is a choice. There are many people who are hurting and struggling and yet you still can see that they have an inner joy. That is because it is not their circumstances that rule there lives, they choose to lean on another source to get happiness. We can always be joyful because God is always there.
Hebrews 13:5b-6 tells us: 5bGod says "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Sounds like a good reason to have joy to me!
We also acknowledge God by praying always. Praying always is keeping a constant line of communication open to God. Consult God about everything! No care is too small or large for God. I Peter 5:7 tells us "7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus knows what we are going through. He has been there, only difference is he found the solution, he was victorious.
Finally we acknowledge God by giving thanks. In the end if it were not for Gods mercy most of us would have been dead a long time ago. If it were not for God's love Jesus would never have gone to the cross for even the most evil person. If it were not for God's faithfulness I would have given up a long time ago.
In a nutshell that is God's will.... Be Joyful, Pray always, and Give thanks!
Trust God completely, stop trying to do things yourself. Let your whole life acknowledge him as Lord and he will guide you.
Micah 6:8
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
God with God brothers and sisters in Christ....
Grace and Peace
"give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I looked this scripture up and realized that while this is how so many Chrisitans quote this passage there is actually more to it.
In context you need to include verses 16-18:
16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
When you read this in context it says a lot more about the God's intent for this passage. God tells us to do 3 things:
1) Be joyful always
2) Pray continually
3) Give thanks in all circumstances
These threes action are stated as God's will for us. When you join this scripture with Proverbs 3:5-6:
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
You can see a pattern:
Trust in the Lord totally, dont try to figure things out, your every action should acknowledge his leadership and he will indeed guide you.
Be Joyful, pray continually and give thanks --- this is Gods will for everyone.
The actions of Proverbs lead to the actions of I Thessalonians.
When we have problems it is human nature(sin nature more like it...) to hold out and finally go to God when we are just cant work it out. God tells us to Trust him totally. Just like the child learning to swim, your instructor has you lay back in the water and totally trust he will hold you up. Gradually he releases you to float, but you had to totally trust him first. God tells to totally surrender ourselves to his care, stop trying to run our own lives. In everything we do reaffirm that trust.
The way we acknowledge God is to always be joyful. Joy is a choice. There are many people who are hurting and struggling and yet you still can see that they have an inner joy. That is because it is not their circumstances that rule there lives, they choose to lean on another source to get happiness. We can always be joyful because God is always there.
Hebrews 13:5b-6 tells us: 5bGod says "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Sounds like a good reason to have joy to me!
We also acknowledge God by praying always. Praying always is keeping a constant line of communication open to God. Consult God about everything! No care is too small or large for God. I Peter 5:7 tells us "7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus knows what we are going through. He has been there, only difference is he found the solution, he was victorious.
Finally we acknowledge God by giving thanks. In the end if it were not for Gods mercy most of us would have been dead a long time ago. If it were not for God's love Jesus would never have gone to the cross for even the most evil person. If it were not for God's faithfulness I would have given up a long time ago.
In a nutshell that is God's will.... Be Joyful, Pray always, and Give thanks!
Trust God completely, stop trying to do things yourself. Let your whole life acknowledge him as Lord and he will guide you.
Micah 6:8
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
God with God brothers and sisters in Christ....
Grace and Peace
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