"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!"
Philippians 2:5-9
Is there someone in your life who just knows how to get "under your skin"? I have someone like that in my life. My mom had six kids. Child number 2 is a master at pushing buttons. I don't know why I let her get to me, but I do. Usually she says just the right thing (perfectly calculated to boil my blood) and there she blows.... Steam pours from every orifice of my face. My brain turns to mush. My heart races... and my mouth spews forth things which really should not be spewed... it happens every time. The bible talks about doing what we don't want to do... prime example. Given the choice, I would prefer to keep calm and say nothing. Show no sign of irritation and let her wonder why it didn't work.... but alas I am human, and I have not the power to do that on my own...
On my own. That seems to be the key. I have no power to do it on my own. In fact I dont even like the person whom I become when I get like that. The bible says that we can do all things through Him who saves us.... The scripture above tells us that we should have an attitude like Jesus did. That we should be humble. Even when we don't want to be. Even when it hurts. I know that I have become much better at leaving my problems at God's feet. But this morning I realize that I have been picking and choosing what I leave there. So tonight, in the quiet of my apartment. I will lie prone in front of God and ask forgiveness. Ask for guidance. And sit and listen....
Dear Lord, please help me to leave it all at your feet. Help me to not hold on to problems and people who are problems. Please help me to remain calm in the face of someone trying to "push my buttons" by reminding me that You have it handled and I don't need to worry. Once again, I ask that You help me to keep my eyes on You and to take them off of everything else. Please help me to better follow in your footsteps and to keep my mind as Yours was. And please take away the pride that keeps me wanting to defend myself against my sibling. Because in the end it just doesn't matter. Thanks for being there.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Was God Tired Or What?
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work." Genesis 2:2
Did you ever wonder why God took a break after creating the Heavens and the Earth? I did. Gotta tell you, it really made me wonder.... God is more powerful than we could even imagine, right? And creating the Heavens and the Earth would probably have been no big deal to Him right? So then why did it take seven days to do it? and why did He need a rest afterwards? Did it tire Him out? Did He really need a break? I've got to tell you I really pondered those issues and here is what I think...
God was pretty straightforward with Adam and Eve in the garden. He told them if you do this then that will surely happen. They didn't get it.... God gave very specific and I'm thinking easy to follow directions to Adam and Eve.... but they messed up big time.... And the bible is chock full of stories of other people who couldn't follow simple directions... We could look at our own lives and say the very same thing.... I know I sure screw up a lot. I'm pretty sure you do too.... Don't worry I'm not gonna tell anyone, I'm only saying...
Anyway we were so messed up that God had to send His own Son down here to show us how to live. Jesus was a living example to us.... Kind of like the little guy who used to pop up on your computer screen when it thought you were confused. The paperclip guy who asked if you needed some help....
I'm figuring that God didn't really need to take seven days to create Heaven and Earth. I'm thinking that He used seven days to do it; to teach us to pace ourselves. It was like the original example of time management. And resting on the seventh day... well same thing. I think God was setting an example for us. Like a guide. To show us just how important it is to stop and take a break.
We like to think of Sundays as the day to go to God's house for a visit. Well sure, that is what it is... We take a break from our normal day to day activities and devote a big part of our day to God. I know that many of us devote at least a part of our daily activity to God. And if we were really good, and we could do what the bible says "pray constantly and in everything give thanks" we would be devoting more than just a small part of our day to God. But we are in fact, human. And we do tend to get caught up in whatever we are working on at the moment. So we need to have a set day and time when we can be sure to put God first.
So if we take another look at the beginning of Genesis. God creates everything. He takes His time. He slowly pieces it together. He sits back and looks at it. He likes what He is seeing.... ( of course He likes it... after all He created it). And then when it's all done, He sits back, takes a load off, and just kind of sits back and watches it.... enjoying what He sees... until....... Adam and Eve got a little bit too cozy with that evil old snake and made the big blooper. Remember when they began to feel guilty and tried to hide from God. I know He asked where they were, but He KNEW. He knows everything. He knows it even before we know it.
So think about this.... God knows everything about everybody in the world. Billions of people. And He is with each of us all the time. And he is actively working in our lives... all of our lives. Everyone's lives. If He is able to do this every single day, do you think He tires easily? No way! I think that should be proof enough that if this doesn't tire Him out, then a lil old job like creating the world probably didn't tire Him out either... but it's got to make you wonder...
Dear Lord, thanks for being there for my friends and me. Thanks for not taking a break from our lives even when we don't see, feel or hear You. And thanks for always being the example in everything that You do. And thanks for being patient when we just don't do it as good as You do. Please help us to remember to give You all of our day and not just a little bit... And on a personal note, thanks for letting me be off work on Sundays so I CAN go to church.
Did you ever wonder why God took a break after creating the Heavens and the Earth? I did. Gotta tell you, it really made me wonder.... God is more powerful than we could even imagine, right? And creating the Heavens and the Earth would probably have been no big deal to Him right? So then why did it take seven days to do it? and why did He need a rest afterwards? Did it tire Him out? Did He really need a break? I've got to tell you I really pondered those issues and here is what I think...
God was pretty straightforward with Adam and Eve in the garden. He told them if you do this then that will surely happen. They didn't get it.... God gave very specific and I'm thinking easy to follow directions to Adam and Eve.... but they messed up big time.... And the bible is chock full of stories of other people who couldn't follow simple directions... We could look at our own lives and say the very same thing.... I know I sure screw up a lot. I'm pretty sure you do too.... Don't worry I'm not gonna tell anyone, I'm only saying...
Anyway we were so messed up that God had to send His own Son down here to show us how to live. Jesus was a living example to us.... Kind of like the little guy who used to pop up on your computer screen when it thought you were confused. The paperclip guy who asked if you needed some help....
I'm figuring that God didn't really need to take seven days to create Heaven and Earth. I'm thinking that He used seven days to do it; to teach us to pace ourselves. It was like the original example of time management. And resting on the seventh day... well same thing. I think God was setting an example for us. Like a guide. To show us just how important it is to stop and take a break.
We like to think of Sundays as the day to go to God's house for a visit. Well sure, that is what it is... We take a break from our normal day to day activities and devote a big part of our day to God. I know that many of us devote at least a part of our daily activity to God. And if we were really good, and we could do what the bible says "pray constantly and in everything give thanks" we would be devoting more than just a small part of our day to God. But we are in fact, human. And we do tend to get caught up in whatever we are working on at the moment. So we need to have a set day and time when we can be sure to put God first.
So if we take another look at the beginning of Genesis. God creates everything. He takes His time. He slowly pieces it together. He sits back and looks at it. He likes what He is seeing.... ( of course He likes it... after all He created it). And then when it's all done, He sits back, takes a load off, and just kind of sits back and watches it.... enjoying what He sees... until....... Adam and Eve got a little bit too cozy with that evil old snake and made the big blooper. Remember when they began to feel guilty and tried to hide from God. I know He asked where they were, but He KNEW. He knows everything. He knows it even before we know it.
So think about this.... God knows everything about everybody in the world. Billions of people. And He is with each of us all the time. And he is actively working in our lives... all of our lives. Everyone's lives. If He is able to do this every single day, do you think He tires easily? No way! I think that should be proof enough that if this doesn't tire Him out, then a lil old job like creating the world probably didn't tire Him out either... but it's got to make you wonder...
Dear Lord, thanks for being there for my friends and me. Thanks for not taking a break from our lives even when we don't see, feel or hear You. And thanks for always being the example in everything that You do. And thanks for being patient when we just don't do it as good as You do. Please help us to remember to give You all of our day and not just a little bit... And on a personal note, thanks for letting me be off work on Sundays so I CAN go to church.
Friday, May 14, 2010
A Higher Standard?
"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:2-5
Do you ever find that you are much harder on yourself than you are on others? I would have to say that I am often very hard on myself. It's like I hold myself to a higher standard than that which I hold others too. You know what I mean, don't you? I will give you a hypothetical example...
It's like when your friend is trying to do something for you and they screw it up really really badly and you tell them "that's ok, at least you tried..." or you say "it's not really that bad..." but if it was you who had screwed it up you can be sure that you wouldn't tell yourself "that's ok, it's not so bad..." you would be saying "what's wrong with me?" or "How could I screw it up that bad?"
I know that whatever I am doing; I want to do it perfectly (or "near" perfectly). Nothing less will do... or it feels like failure. But you know what happens don't you? Most of the time I end up doing it far from perfect.... and believe me, I'm not happy with the job that I did. But if you were doing it for me, I wouldn't expect you to do it perfect. I would just be happy for the help and not worry that it might be anything less than I would have done.
This just doesn't seem right. It feels like a double standard. It looks like I am holding myself to a higher standard than I am holding you too (which I hope I am not), and it could be argued that I felt you were incapable of doing it as good as I can (which I hope I don't).... but in reality I can't do it any better than you can... But then would it be better to hold you to the higher standard that even I can't maintain; or do I hold myself to the lower standard that I was holding you to. But then would I feel as if I wasn't doing enough?
Or do we compromise... lower my standard for me a bit, and raise my standard for you a bit so that both are about the same...
So this little hypothetical situation should clearly show us why it is best for us to just not judge the job that others do. But it should also show us that we should not be so hard on ourselves either. Let's leave the judging to God. He knows we're not perfect. He loves us anyway.... it's got to make you wonder....
Dear Lord, please help my friends and I not to judge each other. To accept all that we are, and all that we are capable of. Help us to remember that even if we can't do it perfect, at least we tried.... and help us to always do the very best we can and to not be discouraged if we can't do as well as we would have liked. And help us to accept help from our friends with grace and humility and without judgement. And help us to hold each other accountable to the same set of standards. Each according to his ability. None is greater than the other. Each has a purpose....
Do you ever find that you are much harder on yourself than you are on others? I would have to say that I am often very hard on myself. It's like I hold myself to a higher standard than that which I hold others too. You know what I mean, don't you? I will give you a hypothetical example...
It's like when your friend is trying to do something for you and they screw it up really really badly and you tell them "that's ok, at least you tried..." or you say "it's not really that bad..." but if it was you who had screwed it up you can be sure that you wouldn't tell yourself "that's ok, it's not so bad..." you would be saying "what's wrong with me?" or "How could I screw it up that bad?"
I know that whatever I am doing; I want to do it perfectly (or "near" perfectly). Nothing less will do... or it feels like failure. But you know what happens don't you? Most of the time I end up doing it far from perfect.... and believe me, I'm not happy with the job that I did. But if you were doing it for me, I wouldn't expect you to do it perfect. I would just be happy for the help and not worry that it might be anything less than I would have done.
This just doesn't seem right. It feels like a double standard. It looks like I am holding myself to a higher standard than I am holding you too (which I hope I am not), and it could be argued that I felt you were incapable of doing it as good as I can (which I hope I don't).... but in reality I can't do it any better than you can... But then would it be better to hold you to the higher standard that even I can't maintain; or do I hold myself to the lower standard that I was holding you to. But then would I feel as if I wasn't doing enough?
Or do we compromise... lower my standard for me a bit, and raise my standard for you a bit so that both are about the same...
So this little hypothetical situation should clearly show us why it is best for us to just not judge the job that others do. But it should also show us that we should not be so hard on ourselves either. Let's leave the judging to God. He knows we're not perfect. He loves us anyway.... it's got to make you wonder....
Dear Lord, please help my friends and I not to judge each other. To accept all that we are, and all that we are capable of. Help us to remember that even if we can't do it perfect, at least we tried.... and help us to always do the very best we can and to not be discouraged if we can't do as well as we would have liked. And help us to accept help from our friends with grace and humility and without judgement. And help us to hold each other accountable to the same set of standards. Each according to his ability. None is greater than the other. Each has a purpose....
Friday, May 7, 2010
Quite An Education
"Train up a child in The Way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from It." Proverbs 22:6
Thirty Three years ago I entered College. Today I will finally graduate. At the time when I originally dropped out of school about thirty years ago, I thought I would never go back. God has taken me on a very wild life's journey and brought me back to the place where He wanted me to be. I tried to do it my way, but He was there opening and closing doors; and making unheard of opportunities available to me.
About 3 years ago I felt that God was telling me it was time to go back to school and finish that degree I had begun in 1977. I started to take a class here and there at the local community college but funds were a problem. My work schedule was also a problem. I was working as a Paramedic and did shifts. No steady days off, and no steady shift. Everything varied. I couldn't even count on getting off of a day shift in time to make an evening class because of late calls and paperwork. So I finally stopped trying to take a class here and there. And then an odd thing happened. I got a desk job. Steady days. Steady daylight hours. And I know that God put me in the job. I had been feeling that God had a new job for me and had been fasting and praying and waiting for an answer. I felt that God was telling me that I would have a job by Easter of that year. I got a job offer. I thought that was the one. I verified that they really wanted me. And then the day after I turned in my notice at my job, the new job offer was pulled. They decided they would rather have someone else. Was I worried. No. I was sure that God had it covered. I now had 2 weeks to go at my current job and then would be jobless if He didn't come through. I continued to fast and pray. The very last week before Easter I was offered the job in which I currently work. God had come through. And it was as He said it would be. Anyway about this very same time, God had provided a means of financing school. So I went. One Class a week for a year and a half, and then some online courses to finish up. Finally I am here. Finishing my degree, and in a Christian School. Learning how to keep Christ in the workplace. Learning the ways of the Lord. As Phillipians 4;13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
I guess there is not much point to this story, except that I hope that it would be an encouragement to anyone whom is not so sure that God really gets involved in our day to day lives. He does. He cares. He wants what He wants for us. He opens doors to open up opportunities to us that He wants for us to pursue. He closes doors to help keep us on path. We just need to ask Him to guide us and then be willing to follow His guidance. It's got to make you wonder...
Dear Lord, thanks for taking care of me as I went on this journey with You. Thanks for always being there with me in the classroom and in life. Thanks for making things possible that I never dreamed could happen. And thank You that someone might see what You have done, and reach for their dreams. If it's what You want I know You will be there for them too.
Thirty Three years ago I entered College. Today I will finally graduate. At the time when I originally dropped out of school about thirty years ago, I thought I would never go back. God has taken me on a very wild life's journey and brought me back to the place where He wanted me to be. I tried to do it my way, but He was there opening and closing doors; and making unheard of opportunities available to me.
About 3 years ago I felt that God was telling me it was time to go back to school and finish that degree I had begun in 1977. I started to take a class here and there at the local community college but funds were a problem. My work schedule was also a problem. I was working as a Paramedic and did shifts. No steady days off, and no steady shift. Everything varied. I couldn't even count on getting off of a day shift in time to make an evening class because of late calls and paperwork. So I finally stopped trying to take a class here and there. And then an odd thing happened. I got a desk job. Steady days. Steady daylight hours. And I know that God put me in the job. I had been feeling that God had a new job for me and had been fasting and praying and waiting for an answer. I felt that God was telling me that I would have a job by Easter of that year. I got a job offer. I thought that was the one. I verified that they really wanted me. And then the day after I turned in my notice at my job, the new job offer was pulled. They decided they would rather have someone else. Was I worried. No. I was sure that God had it covered. I now had 2 weeks to go at my current job and then would be jobless if He didn't come through. I continued to fast and pray. The very last week before Easter I was offered the job in which I currently work. God had come through. And it was as He said it would be. Anyway about this very same time, God had provided a means of financing school. So I went. One Class a week for a year and a half, and then some online courses to finish up. Finally I am here. Finishing my degree, and in a Christian School. Learning how to keep Christ in the workplace. Learning the ways of the Lord. As Phillipians 4;13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
I guess there is not much point to this story, except that I hope that it would be an encouragement to anyone whom is not so sure that God really gets involved in our day to day lives. He does. He cares. He wants what He wants for us. He opens doors to open up opportunities to us that He wants for us to pursue. He closes doors to help keep us on path. We just need to ask Him to guide us and then be willing to follow His guidance. It's got to make you wonder...
Dear Lord, thanks for taking care of me as I went on this journey with You. Thanks for always being there with me in the classroom and in life. Thanks for making things possible that I never dreamed could happen. And thank You that someone might see what You have done, and reach for their dreams. If it's what You want I know You will be there for them too.
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