Tag: #Attitude

Taste and See

“I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak His praises. I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the LORD’s Greatness; let us exalt His Name together. I prayed to the LORD, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with Joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; He saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the LORD is a guard; He surrounds and defends all who fear him. Taste and see that the LORD is Good. Oh, the Joys of those who take refuge in Him! Fear the LORD, you His godly people, for those who fear Him will have all they need.” – Psalms 34:1‭-‬9 NLT

JESUS CHRIST, my Living LORD! LORD of ALL; CHRIST Alone, Cornerstone.

“This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my Refuge, my Place of Safety; He is my GOD, and I trust Him.” – Psalms 91:2 NLT

I BELIEVE, LORD, help my unbelief! Just like the man in Mark 9:24, I do believe, yet I struggle to believe that the LORD GOD of the Universe has time to deal with my situation. A true oxymoron! I believe, yet I doubt. “Oh, the Joys of those who take refuge in Him!” Why do we doubt that the Almighty, the One Who created us, the Universe, from nothing (not space dust, not primeval sludge…. out of nothing but His Words as He spoke the Universe into being!) – how do we doubt that He, the LORD GOD Who knows how many hairs are on my head, can take care of my petty (in the bigger picture) issues? It’s just so hard to let go!! (No control issues here …. as the people who know me are rolling on the floor laughing!!)

It is hard to trust, especially when a life has been full of broken promises, heartaches, and fractured dreams. GOD knows this. Isn’t HIS life full of them, too? First, His most beautiful creation, the angel He called Lucifer, rebelled against Him: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” – Isaiah 14:12 KJV. Then, man, Adam, whom the LORD created to be His companion, who was created in GOD’s Own Image : “So GOD created man in His Own Image, in the Image of GOD created He him; male and female created He them.” – Genesis 1:27 KJV – this man and woman, who were given the world, literally given the world, decided they could do better than the LORD in making their decisions. Over and over, man has disappointed, rebelled against, and cursed GOD. What heartaches we have caused our Creator! We break our promises, we bargain with Him – LORD, I promise I’ll go to church every Sunday / start praying / quit drinking (you get the picture!) if You’ll just do this thing for me…. and I’m as guilty as anyone to try to bargain with Him!

We thiink that He doesn’t answer our prayers when we don’t immediately get the answer we’re looking for, but that’s not true. He always answers every prayer that is prayed, it just isn’t always the answer we want. He might say ‘yes’, He might give an audible ‘no’, or He might say ‘wait’. That’s the answer I seem to get a lot, and I know there is a purpose …. but it doesn’t make the wait any easier! What do we do when He says ‘wait’? Get frustrated, irritable, angry? Truthfully, I’ve been all those things. No, it’s much better to do as the psalmist wrote: “Wait on the LORD, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” – Psalms 27:14 KJV

And so I set myself to wait, to pray and to speak His Name; to boast on the LORD, and to taste and see that He is GOOD. Amen!

Courageous

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” – Proverbs 17:22 NIV

And just what, exactly, does courage have to do with a cheerful heart? I am asking myself that same question…. All I can do is follow the prompting in my heart and explore what it is that GOD is trying to say to me (I’m notorious for tuning HIM out so that I can hear ME better….)

The definition of courageous is “not detered by danger or pain; brave.” I am emphatically NOT courageous by definition! What I have found in my own life is that when I listen to my GOD, and follow through with what He is telling me, it requires some courage on my part. When I accomplish the objective, and even if it’s not accomplished but I know I gave my best effort, my heart is cheerful. If I don’t even try, my spirit is crushed and my attitude spirals. Danger is often subjective. Obviously I don’t mean physical dangers you can see: a chasm in the roadway, snakes …. and other wild animals lke bears – and skunks! …. someone breaking into your home. Less obvious dangers can be the person you can’t see on the other end of your computer (stalkers, people wanting to make you a victim), a gas leak, having a blowout. There are individual dangers, too, that no one else can perceive. Fears of the dark, heights, meeting new people, driving, having to ask for help, even the danger of physical pain can prevent us from stepping out courageously, to do GOD’s work.

“No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is Right, to love Mercy, and to walk Humbly with your GOD.” – Micah 6:8 NLT

There’s this thing that happens inside of us when we take that first, courageous, step past our fears and our perceived dangers. Our hearts open up and we become susceptible to GOD’s Mercy and His Blessings in our own lives. When we don’t take that step, our spirit begins to die, figuratively. It becomes crushed. A friend told me once that if I refused her help, I was stealing a blessing away from her – did I really want to do that? A crushed, dried up life doesn’t know courage or recognize blessings, and it misses out on GOD’s Mercies. Being courageous doesn’t mean bragging and boasting of our accomplishments. It means walking humbly in the shadow of the LORD, doing, to the best of our abilities, whatever He should ask of us. Remember what JESUS said:

“…. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” – Luke 12:48b NLT

Listen to Casting Crowns sing this scripture in their song “Courageous”!

Photo by Horsley Lab – Harvard

Oh, SNAP

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” – Proverbs 18:21 NIV

Read that again! Several times the scriptures talk about the tongue, and how it is the most powerful weapon we own. From the Psalms to the book of James, there are multiple verses that tell us how dangerous and damaging – even damning – the tongue can be if we don’t control it. I can testify to that! It can be a little comment, like “oh, you look so much cuter that way,” or “wow, you look really nice today.” Was the recipient not cute before? Does that person usually look bad? I know those are the kinds of thoughts that have gone through my mind when I get what I call ‘backhanded compliments’. Other times, we can be quite deliberate in our put-downs. “You really need to lose that extra weight. That’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen! Why do you stay with that loser? Your place looks so much better without all your pictures and clutter/junk around.” Really? My body, my ‘stuff’, my home. If our choice of partners are such losers, and we, as friends see it but don’t say anything before the relationship gets too involved, what gives us the right to be ugly about it later? Who are we to critique anyone else?

“Follow GOD’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of Love, just as CHRIST Loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to GOD. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for GOD’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” – Ephesians 5:1‭-‬4 NIV

What a Friend we have in JESUS… Forever and ever! He will never give a ‘backhanded compliment’, only Truth in His unchangeable, unfailing, incredible Love. My prayer is that GOD will open my ears so that I really hear how my comments sound, before they leave my mouth! Guard my heart and my tongue, O LORD. AMEN.

American, My Home

“If at any time I [the LORD] announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.” – Jeremiah 18:7‭-‬10 NIV

From history, we know the country we now call the United States of America was founded by early settlers who crossed the ocean, fleeing religious persecution, bigotry, and poverty. Yes, I am aware that there were already native people here, and yes, I will stipulate that the new settlers brought their own forms of bigotry with them, but that I don’t want that to be the focus here. Founded as a Christian nation, with Christian values written into the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, we have strayed far from the Founder’s vision of a united, free nation. It seems as though anything and everything is acceptable today – that is, anything except following JESUS CHRIST and proclaiming that He is LORD. I’m afraid that GOD was speaking directly to the U.S. in verses 9-10, and in these next verses, too:

“….. ‘This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’ ” – Jeremiah 18:11‭-‬12 NIV

Why do we do that? Telling GOD, our Creator, no??? Here He is, telling us plainly what is going to happen to us, to our nation, if we don’t make some major changes, now. I can’t change the world, or the state I live in, by myself. Individually we aren’t very powerful, but together, especially when we allow GOD to work with us and within us, we can do anything. That’s what he tells us in 2 Chronicles, giving us hope of salvation for our nation, and even for our world.

“…. if My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV

Fix My Eyes

Have you ever come across a verse in the Bible that makes your eyes pop open, because it is so relevant to you in that instant that it’s as though GOD Himself just spoke it out loud to you? I love it when it happens to me!

“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my Light.” – Micah 7:8 NIV

BOOM. Take THAT, Satan! So much of the time, we are so overwhelmed by the circumstances we are in that we become totally focused on putting one foot in front of the other. As we are trying desperately to see the next step, and hoping it is solid enough to hold us, we forget to lift our eyes enough to see the hand stretched out to assist us. We act like we’re blind, feeling our way through the flood or fire or rain of our situation, tap tap tapping the path, hoping for a clear way. Why are we so determined that we have to do it on our own – like a 2 year old, “I do it!”; that we have to assert our independence, when the LORD of the Universe is waiting right beside us, ready to help??? Is it such a bad thing to accept help?

Miss Independence. If I were in a pageant, that would be me. I can do it. I grew up trying hard to be accepted by my big brother, and I knew I had to be strong and not a “girly-girl” to be one of the guys. When I went into the workforce, I found a job in a builder’s supply, the heart of ‘man-world’. If I couldn’t prove my independence, my ‘I can do it’ attitude, I wouldn’t survive in that atmosphere….. so that’s what I did. The men learned that if I was told I couldn’t do something (implied was ‘because you’re a girl‘), then I would do everything in my power to do that thing. Whether it was determining the difference between a framing hammer and a finish hammer, or stocking 50# boxes of nails and screws; learning to drive a forklift and unloading (and loading) trucks, I did it. Presented with a challenge, my attitude became “I will do it …. on my own, and I don’t want your help.” Those years, and all of those jobs would have been so much easier, so much more pleasant, with someone at my side helping. After years of the struggle, I met and married a man who was truly a partner to me. He didn’t challenge me; he worked alongside me and we learned from each other.

That’s the relationship we can have with JESUS! He doesn’t dominate the relationship, He doesn’t ‘boss’ us, He is there, beside us, to carry our burdens so that we aren’t staggering under them. We may still stumble and fall, and the enemy will still come at us with his arrows and throw obstacles in our path, but with JESUS at our side, we have the help we need to go on. Keeping our eyes fixed on JESUS, we aren’t focused on the ugliness of the enemy….. and trust me, he is UUUUG-LY. Worry, anxiety, frustrations, hurts and hatefulness, bullying, gossip – these are ways the enemy gets us to gradually look away from JESUS, until we are immersed in them and we’ve completely lost sight of the LORD. That’s his goal! Don’t let him win.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with GOD’s people and also members of His household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with CHRIST JESUS Himself as the Chief Cornerstone. In HIM the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the LORD. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which GOD lives by His SPIRIT.” – Ephesians 2:19‭-‬22 NIV

I pray today that my eyes will stay fixed on my LORD, and off of the frustrating circumstances. I’ve read the back of the Book, devil, and you LOSE, dude.

Listen to Fix My Eyes by King and Country ☝️

I’m Asking …. I’m ASKING, LORD and I’m Listening

“Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your FATHER in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them – this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 7:7‭-‬12 HCSB

“Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for – believe that you have received them, and you will have them.” – Mark 11:24 HCSB

What are you asking for? Is it to be recognized in your field, or to make lots of money; that you get a bigger, more impressive house or car/truck? Is your prayer, your ‘ask’, that you succeed as an entrepreneur or business person? Is your ‘ask’ that your sports team or favorite athletes win? Is it wrong to pray for these things? I don’t have an answer to that question. Like others, I have prayed for and worked towards all those things, and my LORD has provided me with countless blessings throughout my life.

Now, my prayer is just to have enough. I don’t want, or need, a big house or a fancy automobile. Right now I’m caught, stuck, in the web of my own making, a big one. I can’t see a way out, but my GOD sees the bigger picture, and because He loves me, He hears my prayer. Like the father of the boy who was possessed cried out to JESUS, I also cry out to my LORD, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.” – Mark 9:24 HCSB

Just enough, LORD, just enough. I do believe, and I’m listening!

Apathy, Oh, Apathy

I am emphatically NOT a morning person. This is a fact which is rather ironic considering that I’ve spent the majority of my working life starting work by 6-6:30 am, including over 4 years of operating a Bed & Breakfast, getting up by 5:30 to start preparing. It’s a dichotomy, because I love the early morning as the world around me wakes up, especially when I’m holding a steaming hot cup of coffee. If I could somehow manage it, my ideal sleeping arrangement would consist of my bed on a screened porch, open to the sounds and smells of nature (i.e. the ocean and surf) with a coffeepot right next to the bed, ready to flip the switch. Could it be any better? Snuggled under the blankets with the indoor critters, and all with that beauty around you?

Eventually, I know, I have to get up and stop dreaming….. but I don’t want to! I want nothing more than to lie there, boneless and driftting, letting apathy carry me along. Why get up when it feels so nice to stay where I am? Reality creeps in, steps in, screams in, or sometimes stomps in, shattering the peace. I can jump up in anger and frustration, or I can take a deep breath and focus on this selection from the Psalms:

“I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” – Psalms 121:1‭-‬2 HCSB

My personal peace is rather fragile right now. I’m really struggling financially and haven’t found a job since I left my last job (involuntarily) over 2 years ago. I’m in a rather deep hole of debt, and there are things that need to happen quickly for me. I’d be lying if I said I’m not concerned, and I tend towards worry at times, but my GOD is so good at reminding me that HE is in complete control of the situation. The situation looks hopeless to me, so I have to look for my Hope in Him and remember, again, David’s words: “My help, my HOPE, comes from the LORD….”

Where do you find your hope? In your spouse? That’s dangerous. They can change their minds and leave in a heartbeat. In your children? They have to make their own way in the world, and even though they can stay close, they cannot be your everything. What about your job? It’s so easy to get wrapped up in our jobs and careers and feel like we are on top of the world, only to have someone higher up decide you are no longer relevant. Is the hope in financial security? Financial security in this day is an oxymoron. Perhaps your hope comes through religious rituals and the rote repetition of prayers and petitions to a priest or some vague ‘higher power’. All of that is man-made and doomed to failure because of man’s fallibility.

The only Hope we can depend on, no matter where or what or when, is the Hope we find in the SAVIOUR, our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Not in man, who will always fail us and disappoint us.

“My help – my HOPE – comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

JESUS, Friend of Sinners

Are you like the little girl, who, when asked if she would like Jesus in her heart, said No! I don’t want Him in my heart!” When we are young, we take words literally, and she thought it would be like in Alien, having something living in her and preparing to burst out of her chest. As adults, we know that isn’t what it means to have JESUS inside us, but have you considered how we tend to phrase things? We talk about inviting JESUS into our hearts and having the HOLY SPIRIT residing inside of us; giving our life to GOD, letting GOD have control of our lives, being broken, letting His Light shine in us…. We talk about things like our hearts breaking for JESUS, and then add Satan and demons to the mix.

Sounds a little scary to a 7 year old, don’t you think?

Casting Crowns sings JESUS, Friend of Sinners,

Let our hearts be led with Mercy, …. make our hearts break for what breaks Yours….
And I was the lost ’cause and I was the outcast
Yeah
You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet…

(Lyrics by Mark Hall and Matthew West)

Let our hearts break for the children who don’t understand the gospel as couched in adult terms. Pray for all of the teachers who work with our children, both in the school classroom and at church, and offer assistance whenever you see the need. Even those of us who have been the lost cause, the outcast, the societal ‘leper’ have a tremendous responsibility to share our stories – age appropriately, of course. Don’t refuse anyone based on their past; instead, listen to their story and see them where they are today. Whether the ‘child’ you are teaching is young in years or young in learning about the LORD, remember those words from tne song and let your heart break for the unsaved, no matter what age they are.

My prayer is that this all makes sense, and may be the catalyst for someone to open their eyes to the LORD and His call…..

Photo credit: Heaven Ministries

Bitter, Wrath, Anger, Chaos, Slander

Sounds a bit like today’s society to me! Seems like every time I turn around, someone is spewing these at someone or something. How did the 1975 song by the group War go?

Why can’t we be friends, why can’t we be friends

The color of your skin don’t matter to me
As long as we can live in harmony
I kinda like to be the president
And I could show you how your money’s spent
Why can’t we be friends
Sometimes I don’t speak right
But did I know what I was talking about
I know you’re working for the CIA
They wouldn’t have you in the mafia
Why can’t we be friends

I thought they raised a really good question then, and it’s still a good question. Why can’t we be friends, and look past our differences to find our similarities? Skin color is probably the most divisive thing on the planet, whichmakes no sense whatsoever to me. We all bleed the same red blood, and although there are physical characteristics associated with certain societies and ethnic groups, they’ve come about to help us adapt to different climates and surroundings….. NOT because we are different races! Remember learning about the human race? How about that? And country pride….. for years we were simply American. Now, leaders are dividing us by insisting we call ourselves by country-origin, even if it was distant ancestors who came from that country. I could insist people refer to me as an Anglo-Saxon-American, or an Irish-American, or a German-American, or a Heinz 57-American. Why do we have to be hyphenated Americans? How many African-Americans or Chinese-Americans, Mexican-Americans or Vietnamese-Americans do you know who weren’t born in the U.S.? Doesn’t that make them just plain American? If I move to Bolivia, do I become an American-Bolivian? I don’t think so!!

As a nation, can’t you just imagine how much nicer, how much more peaceful it would be if we actually practiced the following verse in our lives?

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:31 ESV

Maybe you could try not reacting with any malice once today. See if it makes a difference ….. in your attitude. “Don’t worry; be happy!” How many times have you seen that on a bumper sticker, or said those words to someone? Mindless, really…. And it’s straight out of scripture!

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” – Matthew 6:26 ESV

The less we worry, the more peace we have. Since True Peace is from CHRIST, the more we worship and praise Him, the more peace we have! Getting rid of the bitterness and wrath and anger and slander and malice….. the more peace we have!

Sounds kinda like a no-brainer, right?

Artwork by my friend John Lawton, of Edmond, OK.