Does your heart speak? Does your heart converse with God?

“You have said, ‘Seek My face,’
My heart says to You,
‘Your face LORD, do I seek.”   Psalm 27:8

Truth is revealed in the innermost parts of a person–your heart. It is the seat of power, control and direction of your life. By it you love and you hate. From it there is great devotion or great division. Your heart is the seat of your life–the place where your spirit/soul/mind/will & strength come together.

David had heard The LORD say, “Seek My face.” That was it. He didn’t hear “work harder,” “give more,” “be more obedient,” or “try harder.” God spoke to David simply, “Seek My face.” For when you discover the face of God, you discover the Presence of God. It is a pursuit that involves all of you: mind, soul, will, strength, and heart.

His heart answered. Get it, from deep within him, his heart cry was his response to God. God speaks deep. Everything else is superficial. It is out of the depth of his love his speaks to your heart. Are you living a shallow life or a deep life in Christ?

Hear the LORD say to you, “Seek My face.”

How does your heart respond?

Does it say, “divided” or does it say, “Your face LORD, do I seek”? It is the heart of a person that reveals who that person is. Many believers simply go through the motions, living this superficial, shallow Christian life. Jesus Christ desires a deep life, a full life. Good roots go deep in good soil. Go deeper this year. Deeper in prayer, deeper in Bible study, deeper in sacrifice, deeper in the places you meet with Him. Seek Jesus with an unrelenting pursuit and a desperate devotion this year.

What says your heart?

As I contemplate the coming new year, I am reminded to review the happenings of the past year. The words of an old hymn come to mind…

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.*

Our culture grows increasingly more and more ungrateful. If we are not careful, we, too, will live always wanting more. We will live and not be thankful for what we do have.

We are discontent because we have never discovered how to be content! Don’t miss this: more means “not enough.”

Perspective

I am reminded of a homeless man that hangs out at my business (I got tired of running him off for panhandling so I “hired” him. He picks up the trash in the parking lot to “earn” his keep). I asked him what he’d like for Christmas, he replied “coal…” I know him well enough to know he wasn’t being funny. He explained, “I am stocking up to keep warm this winter.” Perspective.

I went to Sam’s Club and bought the “double bag” of charcoal. Merry Christmas, right? “How long will this last you?” I said, thinking how benevolent this must be…

“Several days,” he said smiling. He was happy and serious. “Thank you,” he went back to work picking up trash in the parking lot, the double bag of charcoal sitting in his shopping cart.

Count your blessings, name them one by one …Perspective.

No one is guaranteed a long life. No one is guaranteed a happy life. No one is guaranteed much life at all. I’d challenge you to make a list of the little things. Does your heart grow thankful? These little things are the often-ignored blessings. Health, family, a roof over your head, indoor plubming, HVAC, a car that runs, a cup of coffee, a sunrise, etc. You get the picture, it could be your child’s laughter while they are sleeping (we have a daughter who does this), a get-well soon note from your seven year old or a hug from your teenage child (who’s not into giving hugs!). So simple, yet, so often over-looked. What blessings of life are you overlooking?

How much life can we expect? the Psalmist writes…

“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty;

yet their span is but toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away” Psalm 90:10

Count your blessings, see what God has done. Did you ask for something more than coal for last year? Did you receive it? I challenge you to make a list of your blessings, before you make a list of your resolutions!

*Johnson, Oatman Jr., in Songs for Young Peo­ple, by Ed­win Ex­cell (Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois: 1897

Disclaimer: I have (to borrow an expression from the South) “acted the fool” in my own life, so I do not speak from moral high ground, just personal experience and what I glean from Words of Wisdom.

Do you have people that you will interact with at a party, gathering or social setting that are antagonistic, incendiary or stubborn as a blind mule? Is there someone this holiday season that you will be forced into interpersonal communication with? Is there someone that your spouse has warned you to be on your “best behavior” with?

Of course there is?! There is always that one person that has a personal agenda that annoys you, chaps your hide or downright gets you angry. They open their mouth and out spews every form of what sounds like “nails on the chalkboard” to you. (Remember: you probably sound the same way to them!)

You want to respond. Your blood pressure builds. The person has NOOO idea what they are talking about, yet they keep blabbering on. What they say, the way they say it, or when they say it affects you as crass, unintelligent, rude, annoying or downright offensive. You are a volcano about to errupt….

Let me help you–Don’t waste your words on them. What?! Be rude? Often in the Deep South, we equate silence to rudeness. So we’ll say “nice” things, but have venom in our heart, mind or tone. However, you can be polite without having to engage in conversation.

“Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words”

(Proverbs 23:9)

This holiday season take this proverb to heart and avoid even allowing the fool in your sphere of influence to hear the good sense or prudence of your words. Dealing with such people is a perpetual mine-field of offensive-given, offensive-taken, and attack.

A “fool” is the Hebrew word “kesil” which, literally means, the dull, stolid, stupid man who cannot be moved from his own narrow groove.

A fool is hard-hearted, often steeped in sin and self-absorption that sees no truth but their own. A fool will receive no wisdom but their own. You cannot convince a fool of anything. And when you speak that which is righteous, noble, pure and true before heaven to a fool, they will despise you for it! They will malign your name, criticize your motives, and say all wicked things about you.

Fools, in turn, actually will want to harm you. This is illogical, but a fool does not work, think or act from any area that resembles wisdom, rationality or logic. Fools seek vengeance, retribution, and retaliation. Engaging a fool is like trying to catch a rabid pit-bull by his tail (or lack there of).

• My counsel: don’t waste your breathe, thought or emotions on the fool. Commit them to prayer and love the ones they affect the most, do your best to avoid them, and certainly don’t engage them in conversation. Forgive them, truly. Smile and move on. 

We do well to remember what Jesus said, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you” (Matthew 7:6, ESV).

Remember: You nor I are perfect. Forgiveness is one of the greatest acts of love you will ever demonstrate. Forgiveness does not mean blind acceptance, but rather the removal of the penalty. Conseqences remain and relationships change. Forgive foolish people, try not to “act the fool” yourself, and live accountable for your actions and behavior!

 
Do you have any stories that this counsel could have helped you in? I love hearing from you!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Raising children is difficult and often overwhelming. Raising children to follow Christ in today’s culture seems practically impossible.

Your children are impressionable. The world will seek to impress upon them its values and standards. However, your prayers and your intentional example have the capacity for the most lasting impression. Your belief in them and your faith in front of them is both inspiring to them and aspiring for them.

Here are 8 F’s to pray for your children (and probably for yourself)

1. Free from yoke of sin and bondage
2. Faithful in all things
3. Fruitful in works of righteousness
4. Found in God’s Word Daily
5. Filled with the Holy Spirit
6. Forgiving towards others
7. Friends with Jesus and not the world
8. Follow Christ all the days of their lives

Ever been disappointed with a gift?

Of course, most of us have had the joy of anticipation fade into a lukewarm smile as we’ve unwrapped a gift to discover a pair of socks, a fruit cake, a seasonal sweater, or tacky tie!

Bad gifts aside, why are we so unthankful? It’s not enough to merely identify selfishness and discontentment as the primary reasons we are not thankful. There are deeper, more nefarious attachments that keep our hearts from landing on gratitude and, subsequently, expressing our thanksgiving.

1-Greed. Face it, we live in a greedy culture that cheats, lies, steals and Ponzi schemes it’s way to the top of the financial resource pyramid. We are more concerned with heaping up rather than dishing out. The unending desire for more and more keeps our focus not on what we have, but what we don’t have. Greed is an unquenchable thirst that materialism can never slake. Greed is a companion of jealousy. Curing greed inevitably requires generosity.

2-Expectations. When our expectations go wrong, our annoyance turns into bitterness and anger. Frustration becomes rage. And unfulfilled dreams turn to disappointment, discouragement and despair. We moan and bemoan our potential loss and find that our expectations failed us and that which we do have is unsatisfying. The experience of being let down/dissappointed by our expectations foster discontenment.

3-Indulgence. When we indulge, we plunge–total immersion. This immersion demands our thoughts and attention. We are unable to see that we currently have or the value therein. Indulgence has a way of turning us over to our senses. Conscience becomes impaired or warped and we long for things that have passed or we shouldn’t even pursue. Every thought, whim or fancy becomes our new “passion.” Beware of your passions, lest they impassion you to folly.

4-Sloth. Sloth is the old word for laziness. When you don’t work hard for something, the value of that thing is diminished. A “take-it or leave-it” attitude is quick to appear and value is little importance. When you value you something, it is often easier to be thankful for something. When you take something for granted, it is easy to de-value it and thus ingratitude follows. The cure for sloth is hard work.

The cure for ungratefulness is selflessness. When you are selfless, you have an innate capacity for greater love, joy, honor, mercy, forgiveness, and thankfulness.

Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Love given is a powerful expression that can melt hearts, halt wars, and silence outcries. Genuine love is freely given with no expectation of return and no demand of performance. Jesus Christ is genuine love.

The Marks of an Authentic Christian

“Let love be genuine”

Jesus taught His followers how to live. Jesus demonstrated in deed and action that He could live what He taught. Even when mocked and ridiculed by those in authority He stood silent spit on, beaten and accused. He was more concerned with living truth than being right.

You can be right one moment and later realize that you were totally wrong moments later. Jesus with every reason to be angry showed honor to Caiphas the High Priest despite being slapped in the mouth, mocked and spit on in the face (Mathew 26).

Our culture is more concerned with receiving honor than giving honor. In our self-obsessed generation we want as many “likes” as possible. We are a culture of celebrity-obsessed people. We demand attention and affection from others, yet genuinely give so little.

“Outdo one another in showing honor”

In fact, many people have no idea want showing honor truly means. To honor someone is to show deference and respect to that person despite how you feel or even if you don’t agree. Honor can be difficult in a proud person because humility always comes before honor. Christ’s ultimate acts of love were predicated purely out of obedience and personal humility (Philippians 3:2-8). It is a lesson that we should well remember and practice.

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Romans 12:9-10 (ESV)

Don’t read this if you find following Jesus Christ boring, inconvenient, uncomfortable or offensive. Don’t read this if you believe that He was merely a historical figure or a figment of imagination. Read on at your sensibilities being offended.

Christianity has become a cheap heritage in America. It has become a box to check on a form of our “religious preference.” It has become a loose association devoid of the depth that is achieved only by the Spirit’s leading. It has become a Sunday potluck of pop culture and personal preferences absent of the sword’s edge only found in the Bible. This Christianity places Jesus next to our idols of sex, entertainment, recreation, pleasure and ego neatly on the shelves of our hearts.

The only box the early missionaries to inland Asia packed was a pine box–their coffin. They knew they would return only to native shores by death. The only box the Carthusian monks knew was four stone walls of Newgate Prison chained standing left to starve to death. The box Bonhoeffer knew was the four walls of a nazi prison cell. Consider Polycarp in his 80’s knowing only flames of fire as he was burnt alive praying and praising God the entire time. How many Roman Christians paid for their lives at the wicked pleasures of Nero and Diocleatian in a box called the Coliseum?

These and many others of our brothers and sisters have paid the ultimate price because their refusal to deny Christ or depart from the faith as so many are in the habit of doing so. They have held fast to the hand that has taken hold of their lives. They have held loosely their lives, dreams, desires, and futures allowing the Spirit to be their guide. They did not try to control their
destiny. They did not live safe lives, because their lives did not belong to themselves. They did because they loved Jesus more than their own lives. And because, only Jesus could, through the purity of his blood as a sacrifice, satisfy the wrath of God against sinful humanity and offer the only true form of hope and redemption for their lives.

Remember this, Christ paid in blood. We want to be served comfortably, eat at every occasion, misspending and misuse the tithes and offerings on pleasure-filled escapades and label them “programs” and “activities,” and receive the recognition and homage that is only due Christ. Our inability to die to the flesh and walk in the Spirit has left us powerless, impotent an confused.

We have become addicts of a thousand forms of pleasure. We fear boredom more than we fear The Lord. Fifty years ago, A.W. Tozer wrote, “the present inordinate attachment to every form of entertainment is evidence that the inner life of modern man is in serious decline.”

Let me remind you of four teenage, Hebrew boys (Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, Azariah) who because of their refusal to accept cultural influence and rampant hedonism choose to be roasted alive and thrown as a piece a meat to hungry lions. Yet, God preserved these. So many others, He released from this world and brought them home.

“Home” a word many Christians have forgotten or never been instructed of its meaning. Home is the place of greatest attachment.

What home are you living for?

The words of Peter, killed for following Jesus,

“Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.” (1 Peter 2:11-12, The Message)