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.

I Thought He was a Stranger!

"We have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."  2 Peter 1:16.  A while back I was speaking with a Hindu neighbor of mine.  I asked her about the significance of the statue of a human body with an elephant head on top of it, for I knew that she worshipped it.  She then explained to me that it was a "cute story."  She said that there once was a man who left his home when his son was very young.  The man was gone for many, many years.  Finally, he came back home.  And when he came back home, he found a stranger in the home, so he cut his head off.  No sooner had he cut the stranger's head off and his wife arrived home.  "What have you done?" asked the wife.  "I found this stranger in our house, so I cut his head off."  "That wasn't a stranger," the wife replied, "that was our son!"  Realizing his mistake, the man quickly ran outside and found the first living thing that he saw--an elephant--and cut its head off.  He then ran back inside the house and placed the elephant's head on the boy and he came back to life.

After my neighbor finished her story, I couldn't help but think of the above-referenced scripture, and be thankful that my faith in Jesus Christ is not based upon a cunningly devised fable.  Is your faith built on rock solid truth?  Or is it built on a cunningly devised fable?