I'm so busy! I don't have the time for anything.
How many times have you heard something like that, or even said it? It's usually said as an excuse for not having responded to someone. It can even be rather prideful - "I don't have the time for little things because I'm too busy!"
I am rather busy right now. It's a season of my life. I don't have time for some of the things I really want to do, like writing my next novel. I'm about 1/3 of the way done with it but it's kind of on hold for a few days while I work on something else that's got me rather busy.
The problem with business is that some people live in a chronic state of business. They always have a few thousand emails waiting in their inbox. They're always rushing from one place to another. They always have a dozen different projects up in the air. They hardly have time to sit down for a meal without working and they rarely sleep more than a few hours a night.
Even if you're physically capable of keeping up with that kind of pressure, it isn't good for you. First off, you will age and you won't be able to keep up the pace. Second off, you don't have time for relationships.
No matter what your work is, it is not more important than your relationships.
That doesn't mean that you have to drop whatever you're doing because your daughter wants your attention, but it does mean that you should make time for your loved ones. And you shouldn't wait until they ask for time. You should initiate downtime that you can spend with family and friends.
All those things you're doing, for work, for church, even for your family, when they're done at the expense of your relationships, they become wood, hay and stubble that will be burned in the fire.
Take the time to reprioritize your schedule. Before you can do that, the first thing you need to wrap your mind around is this gem of wisdom - the fate of the free world does not rest on your shoulders!
God will get things done even if you 'drop the ball.' But you don't have to drop the ball. Start delegating, giving things to subordinates. Learn to tell your boss "No can do!"
Stop and just breathe. Don't even try to smell the flowers yet, just enjoy the breath that God has given you. Then start really looking at that incredibly blue sky. Watch a few clouds and see what drifts by. Learn the art of quietness and let it help you transform the business of your life into the fruitfulness of living.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Childish Tatrums and Childlike Wonder
My neighbor has one of the most adorable, friendliest boys I've ever met. He's just a year old and very curious about the world. That curiosity makes him quick for such a little guy. He has to be caught once he fixes on something and heads for it. He won't be turned from his goal by just hearing his name called in summons.
Unfortunately, every now and then he gets upset, like the other day when Daddy was washing the truck and he got sprayed by the hose. Then the little buggah walked right into the spray, screaming furiously.
Sometimes I'm like a toddler with God. I know I shouldn't do something but I do it anyway and I yell at God because it's his fault that I got 'all wet'!
Too bad I'm not as generally adorable as a toddler also! Too bad I get bored and indifferent with life sometimes instead of being curious. Too bad I'm too easily diverted from my God-given goals.
Why is it that we easily keep the negative aspects of babyhood and quickly lose the positive?
Jesus said we needed to become like a little child to enter the kingdom of heaven. Maybe he'd have an easier time dealing with the temper tantrums we throw if every now and then we also experienced the childlike wonder of life! When the apostle Paul said to put off the childish things as you grow, do you think that maybe he didn't intend for us to put off childlike wonder?
Here's hoping that today you find something wonderful in God's creation, something that touches the child in you and breaths new life into her!
Unfortunately, every now and then he gets upset, like the other day when Daddy was washing the truck and he got sprayed by the hose. Then the little buggah walked right into the spray, screaming furiously.
Sometimes I'm like a toddler with God. I know I shouldn't do something but I do it anyway and I yell at God because it's his fault that I got 'all wet'!
Too bad I'm not as generally adorable as a toddler also! Too bad I get bored and indifferent with life sometimes instead of being curious. Too bad I'm too easily diverted from my God-given goals.
Why is it that we easily keep the negative aspects of babyhood and quickly lose the positive?
Jesus said we needed to become like a little child to enter the kingdom of heaven. Maybe he'd have an easier time dealing with the temper tantrums we throw if every now and then we also experienced the childlike wonder of life! When the apostle Paul said to put off the childish things as you grow, do you think that maybe he didn't intend for us to put off childlike wonder?
Here's hoping that today you find something wonderful in God's creation, something that touches the child in you and breaths new life into her!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Another Beautiful Day
This morning I see gorgeous blue skies outside my windows. A few lazy fluffy clouds are drifting around in the heavens, but the sun rules supreme. Another beautiful day!
Why's a rainy day not a beautiful day?
I recently heard a few people talk at different times about how God blessed a trip by giving them perfect weather, meaning sunny skies and no rain. People pray for a change in the weather and feel their prayers are answered. That bugs me a little because it makes us as individuals much too important. It makes us the center of the world, the person around whom God determines the blessings that all others will receive - or not receive!
Did you know that there are people in the world who actually welcome rain? I'm serious! They're call farmers and ranchers and most of them have a very real need for rain to fall on their crops, to water their livestock. Sometimes the rain you're praying to stop has been a tremendous blessing to the farmers and ranchers in the area. Even in the cities we need rain occasionally. It replenishes the water table and provides water for the vegetation that helps to keep the air cleaner.
Yes, there's something about those beautiful blue skies that seems to set your heart soaring, but maybe it has more to do with the color blue than the weather itself!
It's not a beautiful or 'perfect' day because it's 95% sunny. It's a beautiful day because it's a day created by God. That makes every day, rainy, sunny or mix, a beautiful day!
Why's a rainy day not a beautiful day?
I recently heard a few people talk at different times about how God blessed a trip by giving them perfect weather, meaning sunny skies and no rain. People pray for a change in the weather and feel their prayers are answered. That bugs me a little because it makes us as individuals much too important. It makes us the center of the world, the person around whom God determines the blessings that all others will receive - or not receive!
Did you know that there are people in the world who actually welcome rain? I'm serious! They're call farmers and ranchers and most of them have a very real need for rain to fall on their crops, to water their livestock. Sometimes the rain you're praying to stop has been a tremendous blessing to the farmers and ranchers in the area. Even in the cities we need rain occasionally. It replenishes the water table and provides water for the vegetation that helps to keep the air cleaner.
Yes, there's something about those beautiful blue skies that seems to set your heart soaring, but maybe it has more to do with the color blue than the weather itself!
It's not a beautiful or 'perfect' day because it's 95% sunny. It's a beautiful day because it's a day created by God. That makes every day, rainy, sunny or mix, a beautiful day!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Freedom from guilt
Yesterday I started studying 'guilt' in the bible. I wasn't too surprised to discover that there was a whole lot more on the subject in the Old Testament than in the New. What was rather surprising was how vast a difference there is!
I'm not by any means done since there are hundreds of times that the Hebrew and Greek words for 'guilt' and related words are used in the bible. I mean that quite literally! The Hebrew word ‘āwōn which means "Sin, wickedness, iniquity, often with a focus on the guilt or liability incurred, and the punishment to follow" occurs 233 times in the bible. And that's just one word.
So far, all the Greek words that I've found for guilt don't even come close to that number.
This is just preliminary findings, but my hypothesis after a few hours of study (it takes a long time to read all the verses that talk about guilt) is that in the Old Testament, we see a lot of defining of guilt. What makes a person guilty. How can they get rid of guilt. What are the guilt offerings. In the New Testament, the emphasis is on our freedom from guilt! That transition should be expected since we have verses like Isaiah 53:10 "Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, ...."
The prophecy of the Messiah said that he would become a guilt offering. The New Testament shows us how that happened.
We no longer have to be concerned with the mechanics of guilt as the Old Testament believers were. Now we have freedom from guilt, freedom provided by the ultimate, final, perfect sacrifice.
But what kinds of guilt is covered by Jesus' sacrifice?
Every single one! There is absolutely no form of guilt that isn't covered by the blood of Jesus, except the guilt of rejecting him!
If you have accept the salvation of Jesus Christ, you no longer own any guilt!
If guilt raises it's ugly head in your life, take it only as a warning that you have either committed a sin or you're under an attack from your unhealed past or a spiritual force.
Get rid of the guilt.
It's really that simple - repent of your sin and receive your forgiveness; take your past hurts to God and give them to him; or go after that spiritual force just like a stubborn old mule - keep your face resolutely focused on the One who freed you from guilt and let loose with a wicked back kick that hits the lie right where it counts!
I'm not by any means done since there are hundreds of times that the Hebrew and Greek words for 'guilt' and related words are used in the bible. I mean that quite literally! The Hebrew word ‘āwōn which means "Sin, wickedness, iniquity, often with a focus on the guilt or liability incurred, and the punishment to follow" occurs 233 times in the bible. And that's just one word.
So far, all the Greek words that I've found for guilt don't even come close to that number.
This is just preliminary findings, but my hypothesis after a few hours of study (it takes a long time to read all the verses that talk about guilt) is that in the Old Testament, we see a lot of defining of guilt. What makes a person guilty. How can they get rid of guilt. What are the guilt offerings. In the New Testament, the emphasis is on our freedom from guilt! That transition should be expected since we have verses like Isaiah 53:10 "Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, ...."
The prophecy of the Messiah said that he would become a guilt offering. The New Testament shows us how that happened.
We no longer have to be concerned with the mechanics of guilt as the Old Testament believers were. Now we have freedom from guilt, freedom provided by the ultimate, final, perfect sacrifice.
But what kinds of guilt is covered by Jesus' sacrifice?
Every single one! There is absolutely no form of guilt that isn't covered by the blood of Jesus, except the guilt of rejecting him!
If you have accept the salvation of Jesus Christ, you no longer own any guilt!
If guilt raises it's ugly head in your life, take it only as a warning that you have either committed a sin or you're under an attack from your unhealed past or a spiritual force.
Get rid of the guilt.
It's really that simple - repent of your sin and receive your forgiveness; take your past hurts to God and give them to him; or go after that spiritual force just like a stubborn old mule - keep your face resolutely focused on the One who freed you from guilt and let loose with a wicked back kick that hits the lie right where it counts!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Seeking God's glory
I've been reading 1 Timothy this past week. Yes, it only has six chapters but when I read a book of the bible, sometimes I read it over and over again. I don't always plan to when I start the book, but that's what happens. After a few days of reading and rereading, somethings begin to rise to the surface. I study those things a little more.
Now, I've read the bible way more than once. I've ready every book of the bible multiple times. I've completed a half dozen different "through the bible" reading plans over the years. I know the bible really well.
So why is it that I so often find things I never noticed before?
One thing that stood out in 1 Timothy is 1:8-9. (No I'm not going to talk about the 'women be silent in church' passage. That would be way beyond the scope of a blog!)
"We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, ...."
That means the law is not for Christians! That's strange since Jesus said he didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. So how can the law not be for Christians? Doesn't Paul say that the law is a mirror that shows us sin?
Take a look at what Paul says after he gives a list of examples of "the unholy and irreligious." In 1:10-11 he says: "and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God ...."
I think the simple answer to the above question about the law and Christians is that the law is unnecessary for those who are truly seeking to understand and obey the sound doctrine of the gospel! I once heard someone say (I think it was Mike Warnke many years ago) that as a Christian, you don't not do the 'don't's, you choose to do the 'do's! That's why (and functionally how) the law isn't for those who are righteous. When we seek to glorify God, we won't be doing the unrighteous things the law addresses! We will want to seek purity and holiness because that's what gives God glory.
If you're having a hard time giving up the sins of the past, try focusing on God instead of trying to get rid of the past. The more you fill your life with God, the less the law will be necessary!
Now, I've read the bible way more than once. I've ready every book of the bible multiple times. I've completed a half dozen different "through the bible" reading plans over the years. I know the bible really well.
So why is it that I so often find things I never noticed before?
One thing that stood out in 1 Timothy is 1:8-9. (No I'm not going to talk about the 'women be silent in church' passage. That would be way beyond the scope of a blog!)
"We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, ...."
That means the law is not for Christians! That's strange since Jesus said he didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. So how can the law not be for Christians? Doesn't Paul say that the law is a mirror that shows us sin?
Take a look at what Paul says after he gives a list of examples of "the unholy and irreligious." In 1:10-11 he says: "and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God ...."
I think the simple answer to the above question about the law and Christians is that the law is unnecessary for those who are truly seeking to understand and obey the sound doctrine of the gospel! I once heard someone say (I think it was Mike Warnke many years ago) that as a Christian, you don't not do the 'don't's, you choose to do the 'do's! That's why (and functionally how) the law isn't for those who are righteous. When we seek to glorify God, we won't be doing the unrighteous things the law addresses! We will want to seek purity and holiness because that's what gives God glory.
If you're having a hard time giving up the sins of the past, try focusing on God instead of trying to get rid of the past. The more you fill your life with God, the less the law will be necessary!
Friday, September 2, 2011
The Military Moving Mentality
I spent a good portion of my adult life in the military or as a military spouse. I thought I had learned the art of moving, but I've discovered that's not true. Sure I moved a lot, but I never had to pay for the moves! I didn't even have to do most of the work. I just got rid of some stuff (not much) and stepped back and let the movers have their way.
Since getting out of the Army, I've discovered that when you're paying for shipping yourself you're a lot more discriminating about what to keep, what to sell and what to give away. I've also discovered that the farther away you're moving, the more you're going to finally decide that you just don't really need that ... whatever it is you think you need.
On the other hand, how much are you going to pay to replace truly useful items if you get rid of too many things? Take the kitchen for example. Just because you only bake pies two or three times a year doesn't mean you should get rid of your good pie tins. Are you really going to be able to find quality replacements at a thrift store or yard sale, or are you going to go to a 'discount' store and pay retail price to get new tins?
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Some of us need to start making some decisions about the baggage of our lives too.
For a long time I had the 'military moving mentality' about life. It wasn't costing me anything to lug around the baggage of my past so I wasn't thinking about what I kept. It was easier to just let the Accuser come in, pack everything up and ship it for me whenever I tried to make a real change. Because I started leaving some things in boxes so I didn't even see them, I thought I was doing pretty good. I thought I was learning the art of 'moving' toward being Christ-like.
I was wrong. I had to start opening up those boxes and examining the contents for value. I dragged over a dumpster and threw a whole lot of things out for the garbage man. My keeper pile was pretty small. Some of it, like my failed marriages, I had to clean up and snip here and there in an attempt to learn lessons about what I'd done wrong. Surprisingly enough, all the ugly stuff in my past, when I really looked at it, prayerfully and with God's eyes instead of just my own, I saw a gem in the center. And I mean all the ugly stuff! No exceptions!
I've still got a few boxes left to unpack. I'm unpacking them in God's time, but I am determined that I will unpack them! I won't quit until I've found every gem I can and dumped all the rubbish.
How about you? Have you been living life with a military moving mentality? Are you ready for a real change?
Since getting out of the Army, I've discovered that when you're paying for shipping yourself you're a lot more discriminating about what to keep, what to sell and what to give away. I've also discovered that the farther away you're moving, the more you're going to finally decide that you just don't really need that ... whatever it is you think you need.
On the other hand, how much are you going to pay to replace truly useful items if you get rid of too many things? Take the kitchen for example. Just because you only bake pies two or three times a year doesn't mean you should get rid of your good pie tins. Are you really going to be able to find quality replacements at a thrift store or yard sale, or are you going to go to a 'discount' store and pay retail price to get new tins?
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Some of us need to start making some decisions about the baggage of our lives too.
For a long time I had the 'military moving mentality' about life. It wasn't costing me anything to lug around the baggage of my past so I wasn't thinking about what I kept. It was easier to just let the Accuser come in, pack everything up and ship it for me whenever I tried to make a real change. Because I started leaving some things in boxes so I didn't even see them, I thought I was doing pretty good. I thought I was learning the art of 'moving' toward being Christ-like.
I was wrong. I had to start opening up those boxes and examining the contents for value. I dragged over a dumpster and threw a whole lot of things out for the garbage man. My keeper pile was pretty small. Some of it, like my failed marriages, I had to clean up and snip here and there in an attempt to learn lessons about what I'd done wrong. Surprisingly enough, all the ugly stuff in my past, when I really looked at it, prayerfully and with God's eyes instead of just my own, I saw a gem in the center. And I mean all the ugly stuff! No exceptions!
I've still got a few boxes left to unpack. I'm unpacking them in God's time, but I am determined that I will unpack them! I won't quit until I've found every gem I can and dumped all the rubbish.
How about you? Have you been living life with a military moving mentality? Are you ready for a real change?
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
A Broken Clay Pot
A friend of mine gave me a very interesting analogy for her life. She said she was like a clay pot that had been broken. All the bigger pieces can be glued back together again, but some of that pot has been shattered to dust. It can't be retrieved and glued back in with the rest.
I really like that analogy, especially if you take it one step further.
When the clay pot of your life is broken, it happens right there in front of your Creator. He picks up the bigger pieces and lovingly sets them back on his workbench then he sweeps up the dust, sifting it carefully to keep only the parts of you, not the rubbish that might have been mixed in with it. He saves that dust in a little bin, safe from the wind that would blow it away. He loving begins to piece the pot back together again.
Sometimes you're going to resist his work and fall apart before he's done, but he's not going to quit. He'll pick up the pieces again, but this time there won't be as much dust left because the glue he's using is going to shield the edges of your broken pot.
Eventually he's going to have the big pieces all put back together again. Sure enough, there are still cracks and even some gaping holes in the pot, but the Potter isn't done yet. He takes that dust of your life that he's saved, mixes it with some special clay made of love, joy, peace and goodness then adds a bit of water that pours from his own side. With the paste he creates, he carefully and expertly fills in all those cracks and holes, working until everything is filled in. He smooths it, blending it carefully so that the new clay perfectly lays over the broken pot that is now no longer broken.
But the Potter's not done yet. Now he glazes the newly made pot with the Spirit of life then thrusts it into fiery trials. When the pot comes out of the fire, it is stronger, better than it was before it was ever broken. It now also has character that it didn't have before, a unique beauty unlike any other pot in the Potter's shed.
If that pot gets broken again, or even just chipped or cracked, the Potter will again fix the pot, each time making it even more beautiful.
The only role the pot has to play is to submit to the Potter's hands. If the pot resists, it will continue to break apart and crumble. Eventually it will be gone, lost for all eternity because it rejected its Creator's love.
Will you accept the work of the Potter, or will you resist, rejecting the love that can make you new again?
I really like that analogy, especially if you take it one step further.
When the clay pot of your life is broken, it happens right there in front of your Creator. He picks up the bigger pieces and lovingly sets them back on his workbench then he sweeps up the dust, sifting it carefully to keep only the parts of you, not the rubbish that might have been mixed in with it. He saves that dust in a little bin, safe from the wind that would blow it away. He loving begins to piece the pot back together again.
Sometimes you're going to resist his work and fall apart before he's done, but he's not going to quit. He'll pick up the pieces again, but this time there won't be as much dust left because the glue he's using is going to shield the edges of your broken pot.
Eventually he's going to have the big pieces all put back together again. Sure enough, there are still cracks and even some gaping holes in the pot, but the Potter isn't done yet. He takes that dust of your life that he's saved, mixes it with some special clay made of love, joy, peace and goodness then adds a bit of water that pours from his own side. With the paste he creates, he carefully and expertly fills in all those cracks and holes, working until everything is filled in. He smooths it, blending it carefully so that the new clay perfectly lays over the broken pot that is now no longer broken.
But the Potter's not done yet. Now he glazes the newly made pot with the Spirit of life then thrusts it into fiery trials. When the pot comes out of the fire, it is stronger, better than it was before it was ever broken. It now also has character that it didn't have before, a unique beauty unlike any other pot in the Potter's shed.
If that pot gets broken again, or even just chipped or cracked, the Potter will again fix the pot, each time making it even more beautiful.
The only role the pot has to play is to submit to the Potter's hands. If the pot resists, it will continue to break apart and crumble. Eventually it will be gone, lost for all eternity because it rejected its Creator's love.
Will you accept the work of the Potter, or will you resist, rejecting the love that can make you new again?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)