Have You Changed Only Your MInd?

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:9.  Isn’t it interesting that God is not willing that we merely come to a belief in Him.  Instead, He wants us to come to repentance.  In other words, He wants the gospel to change our conduct, not merely our minds.

Everything Is Against Me!

Oh, what a limited view we have of what God is doing in our lives.  "All these things are against me," cried Jacob in Genesis 42:36.  "What was against him?" you might ask.  Well, Jacob had been living under the belief that his second youngest son--his pride and joy, Joseph, had been killed by some vicious animal.  Now, he and his family were in the middle of a famine, and they were having trouble putting food on the table.  So he sent his sons to a foreign country to see if they could buy some food.  But when they got there, one of Jacob's sons, Simeon, was arrested and put into jail on charges of being a spy.  And the only way that Simeon was going to be released from jail was if his family could prove that he was not lying about having a younger brother.  As such, when Jacob's sons got home and told him about all that had happened and that they would not allow Jacob's family to buy food anymore until they proved that Simeon had a younger brother, Jacob was distraught and cried out: "All these things are against me."  But were they really?  In reality, God was about to bless Jacob's socks off.  For Jacob's son (the one he thought had been killed by an animal) actually had been elevated by God to second in charge in that entire country.  He wasn't dead; rather, he was alive, well, powerful, and prospering.  And now God was going to uncover Jacob's eyes and reveal what He had been doing for the past few years.  So learn the lesson that I am sure Jacob would have told you himself: stop whining like a baby when looking at your apparent circumstances.  Yes, it may look like everything is going against you, but God is at work, and He will reveal, in His time, what He has been doing in your life.  Put simply, you know that He is good, so start living like it and quit the whining.

Judah? Not My Choice!

Quick: whose idea was it to sell his brother, Joseph, as a slave?  Okay, okay, so the title gave it away: Judah.  Okay, pop quiz number two: whose two oldest sons were killed by God?  You're on a roll, now.  Yes, it was Judah, again.  Let's see if you can make it three out of three: which man got his daughter-in-law pregnant because he mistook her for a prostitute?  Did you guess Judah?  I hope so, at least if you want to get an "A" on this test.  Now if you were God, and you knew all of the above about Judah (and probably a lot more), who would you pick of the 12 patriarchs to be in the line of the Messiah?  Probably the most likely choice would be Joseph, for he seemingly never did anything wrong, and, despite all his misfortunes, he ended up the second in command in Egypt and was used dramatically by God.  But God chose to place Judah, and not Joseph, in the Messianic line.  And it wasn't through his third son, Shelah, that the seed passed, but, rather, it was through his little get together with his daughter-in-law that the seed passed.  "Wait a minute," some might say, "I know that Mary's husband's line is listed in the Book of Matthew, so, technically, his seed didn't pass to Jesus."  Okay, you got me.  You're right.  Judah's seed did pass to Mary's husband, Joseph.  But when you flip your Bible a few more pages to the right, you will see that the seed of Judah (and his son by Tamar, Perez) was in the direct line of Mary, too.  What does this speak of?  A little thing known as grace.  Imagine that--God took Judah's most embarrassing act of his life and wrapped it in his grace.  But do you know what is truly interesting?  During his lifetime, Judah had no clue of what God was doing.  Which begs the question: do you think we are in for a few surprises when we die?  I think so.  And I think that the surprises will be laden with grace.

Goodbye, Jesus.

Love is meant to be exclusive.  If you don't believe me, then fall in love with someone, and then watch your response if that person becomes intimate with someone else--it isn't pretty.  Yet God is a jealous God.  He is jealous for a relationship with you.  Yes, you, even with all your flaws and shortcomings.  Do you realize that the Scriptures tell us that He thinks more thoughts about you in one night than there are grains of sand on the whole planet?  You talk about being enraptured by somebody!  In short, He absolutely loves and adores you and wants the best for your life.  "But what about my sins?" you might ask.  He loved you so much that He died to pay the price for them, so that He could have a relationship with you.  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  1 John 1:9.  However, so many of us profess to know and love Jesus, but we also want to love "the world."  In other words, we engage in spiritual adultery.  That doesn't sound too nice, does it?  But it is true, and it needs to stop, for the best of the relationship.  For loving Jesus and loving the world is inconsistent and just doesn't work.  And, tragically, one day, at the judgment seat, such "believers" will have to part ways with Jesus, for Jesus simply won't be one of many.  So think about it: for all that you know about Jesus' love, grace, forgiveness, and all that He has done for you, can you imagine having to eternally say "goodbye, Jesus"?  Wake up before it is too late and foster your relationship with Jesus Christ.  You'll never regret it.

A Way to Live

In response to Satan's first temptation (turn stones into bread--Jesus was literally starving to death) to Jesus, He said, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."  Matthew 4:4.  Put simply, there is a way to live.  Have you been living the right way?  Did you even know that there was a right way to live?  Jesus said that we are to live "by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."  In short, in order for you to live by "every word," then you have got to become familiar with God's word to know what He says.  Next, you have got to apply God's word to your life.  What does that look like?  Well, let's look at what Jesus did when Satan's second temptation (throw yourself off the temple because God's word says the angels will protect You) came His way: "Jesus said to him again, 'It is written again, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."'"  Matthew 4:7.  In other words, Jesus responded to the temptation by saying, "God's word tells me not to do that, so I'm not going to do that."  Jesus again demonstrated what it looks like to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God when He was faced with Satan's third temptation (worship me and I'll give you everything you are after in life): "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Matthew 4:10.  In closing, if you want to live the right way, then let me encourage you to become familiar with God's word, and then apply it to your life.  It's really that simple.  It doesn't mean that life will be easy for you, but you will be living it the right way.

His Wife is an Idiot!

Not too long ago, I was driving with a friend to meet a couple that I had never met before.  As we were driving, my friend said to me, "You're going to love this guy; he's great.  But his wife is an idiot!"  He then proceeded to tell me great stories about the guy, but he just couldn't stop belittling the woman.  "She thinks she is so hot . . ."  To be frank, it was sickening.  Finally, when we got to the couple's house, he introduced me to both of them.  From what I could tell, the wife didn't seem all too different from any other person.  At first, my friend pretended like he was enjoying the woman's presence, but as time went by, he absolutely ignored her and treated her rudely, even when she was trying to offer him something to drink.  But he was so friendly to the guy.  He laughed at all his jokes, etc.  But aren't we guilty of the same thing?  Oh, we chum up to Jesus, but we treat his bride like trash.  "That is different," some will protest.  But is it really?  For don't the scriptures tell us that Jesus' bride is the Church?  Put simply, maybe we should think twice before we start belittling that person at church whom we dislike.

Tact

"Tact," said Sir Isaac Newton, "is the art of making a point without making an enemy."  When you finish "discussing" an issue with someone, and you feel as though you have made your point, do you ever feel as though you have made an enemy in the process?  If so, then ask yourself if you could have made your point differently.  Were you rude?  (Love is kind.)  Were you impatient with your opponent?  (Love is patient.)  Were you short with your opponent?  (Love is longsuffering.)  Sometimes, in spite of the "good news" or the point that we seek to share with others, we offend them with our attitude and/or our actions, but other times, our point is offensive, regardless of how lovingly we share it.  For, clearly, you cannot always make a point without making an enemy, but surely you can make many points without making enemies.  As such, let me encourage you with the words of the Apostle Paul, "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men."  Romans 12:18.