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Heart Attitude

Boy – that can say a lot. When our kids were younger, we told them that we had 2 rules in the house. Obedience and respect. You can obey without respecting and you can be respectful and not be obedient. We stood for both.

This morning we are going to look at Jonah and his disobedience, disrespect and ultimate obedience without respect.

God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh and speak out against the sin and evil there. Instead Jonah decided to run from God and head in the opposite direction just as quickly as he could. He got on a ship headed for Tarshish to “flee from the presence of the Lord.” Not a good sign.

“ The Lord spoke to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Nineveh is a big city. I have heard about the many evil things the people are doing there. So go there and tell them to stop doing such evil things.” 3 But Jonah tried to run away from the Lord.” Jonah 1:1-3 ERV

Most of you know the story – storm at sea, the sailors throw Jonah overboard, he’s swallowed by a great fish, spends 3 nights in the fish’s belly, Jonah cries out to the Lord and then is spit out on the beach a 3 days walk to Nineveh.

In the belly of the fish, Jonah recognizes that it’s the Lord who has sent the fish to save him from drowning. He agrees to go and proclaim judgment over the people of Nineveh. At Jonah’s declaration of God’s displeasure with the ungodly living in Nineveh the King declares that all the people are to repent and hopefully they will be spared.

At the end of 3 days, the city has repented and God acknowledges their repentance and spares them. Jonah gets mad and tells God, “I knew you would spare them if I came here” and he went to the outskirts of the city and pouted. He was very angry with the Lord for sparing them.

Jonah had cried out to the Lord while in the fish’s belly and was saved but he became angry with the city cried out to God and they were spared. He was obedient to do what God called him to do but he didn’t respect God’s actions when it came to others.

“Jonah was not happy that God saved the city. Jonah became angry. 2 He complained to the Lord and said, “Lord, I knew this would happen! I was in my own country, and you told me to come here. At that time I knew that you would forgive the people of this evil city, so I decided to run away to Tarshish. I knew that you are a kind God. I knew that you show mercy and don’t want to punish people. I knew that you are kind, and if these people stopped sinning, you would change your plans to destroy them.” John 4:1-3 ERV

Are we like that?

We expect God to forgive us for the things we’ve done but we become angry when we don’t see others “getting what they deserve”. Sometimes we find it hard to forgive those who have hurt our feelings or mistreated us in some way.

We need to follow the example of Jesus. He prayed for those who spoke evil against Him, those who plotted His death, even those who drove the spikes through His hands and His feet.

“So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you.” James 1:21 ERV

Our obedience to God’s word shows the world that we respect His authority and honor Him with our hearts and our actions.

Let’s live like Jesus today and not like Jonah.

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Praying With A Heavy Heart

This morning, I came to my prayer time and sat silent for almost an hour. There were no words, only a heavy heart for my family and friends, for those I do not know, for our world.

There has been so much tragedy, unrest, so many anxious moments, so many disasters. Yet in all of it there is a peace that only God can give.

“Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. 29 Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest.” Matthew 11:28-29 ERV

These are the words of Jesus. John the Baptist said of Him, “He came to take away the sins of the world”. If anyone knew what it was like to carry a heavy load it was Jesus. Daily He was moved with compassion as He met the needs of those searching for a miracle.

He healed the lame, the leper, the blind, all manner of sickness and disease. He had compassion on those who were broken-hearted, imprisoned by demonic forces, and those held captive by betrayal and fear.

At night he would separate Himself and go away to pray. His heart would ache as He prayed for those who were rejecting the goodness of God and the love His Father had for the world.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. You stone to death those that God has sent to you. Many, many times I wanted to help your people. I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me.” Matthew 23:37 ERV

The Lord knows the heaviness of a broken heart and He desires to carry your load. His desire is to give you rest.

“ Jesus, our high priest, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways we are tempted, but he never sinned. 16 With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:15-16 ERV

Yes, with Jesus as our high priest we can come freely to God’s throne and find grace, mercy, and kindness to help in our time of need.

As I sat still, in the silence, the heaviness lifted and I knew my prayer time was complete. My heart was filled with hope and my mind was filled with song.

“My life is in You, Lord
My strength is in You, Lord
My hope is in You, Lord
In You, it’s in You

I will praise You with all of my life
I will praise You with all of my strength
With all of my life, with all of my strength
All of my hope is in You”

Let me leave you with this. “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest”!

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Godly Character = Self-Control

Looking at the character that the Holy Spirit is working to develop in our lives requires effort or submission on our part. God doesn’t force us to behave in a godly manner. We have a free will.

“So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way. 2 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.” Romas 12:1-2 ERV

We bring our lives, a living sacrifice, to the Father. Offering our lives to honor Him, thanking Him for His forgiveness, unconditional love, grace and mercy.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of criticizing – or maybe that’s just my weakness. That has been around since the beginning of time. Satan’s first efforts were to criticize the Lord and to cast doubt on His loving nature.

I found myself criticizing critical people yesterday. “Lord, I repent.”

All around us there are things we don’t agree with – actions, political views, eating habits, driving habits, work ethics, education or lack there of – and so we criticize.

“The tongue is like a fire. It is a world of evil among the parts of our body. It spreads its evil through our whole body and starts a fire that influences all of life. It gets this fire from hell.

7 Humans have control over every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have controlled all these things. 8 But no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness. 10 These praises and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen.” James 3:6-10 ERV

I’m still a work in progress and I desire to follow the Lord’s instructions. Instead of being critical I need to pray and let God change those I’m critical of or perhaps change me.

I want my mouth to be filled with prayer, praise, encouragement and edification. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks so Lord I want to fill my heart with nothing but your love.

“Don’t let me do what I know is wrong. Don’t let sin control me. If you help me, I can be pure and free from sin. 14 May my words and thoughts please you. Lord, you are my Rock—the one who rescues me.” Psalm 19:13-14 ERV

I want to show God’s love to all I meet because of the love and correction that He has given me.

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Godly Character

It’s very important to me that we have a true view of the Father’s character.

Growing up when preachers on television and in the movies were characterized for preaching hell, fire and brimstone, and one of the popular songs of the day was “God’s Gonna Get You For That”, a cloud was cast on God’s character.

God’s goodness is something I marvel at, almost on a daily basis. The Apostle Paul wrote:

“God has been kind to you. He has been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives.” Romans 2:4 ERV

And James writes this: “ Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17 ERV

I didn’t realize until just now that James 1:17 is an ALWAYS verse.

Probably everyone reading this has heard at least one teaching on the fruit of the Spirit. These are the character traits that the Holy Spirit develops in our lives once we are born again. I see them as being part of our spiritual DNA. (Divine Nature Attributes)

When we’re born naturally we have inherited traits like blue eyes, dark hair, olive complexion, left-hand dominance. Well, when we receive new life from the heavenly Father we inherit His traits and characteristics.

“But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25 ERV

Our heavenly Father’s life displays all of these. Jesus’ earthly life was an example to us on how to act like the Father. His life was selfless, kind, good and loving.

I heard a wonderful teaching on the goodness of God. Goodness is one of God’s attributes. He is always good! He can’t be anything but good; He is, and everything He does is, motivated by love. His love is never tainted with selfishness or envy so everything He does is good.

Don’t attribute the bad things that happen in your life to God. When you do you are misguided in your thinking. The enemy, the one responsible for the destruction in this world, takes pride in getting you to mistrust God and to lose your confidence in His goodness.

Remember these words from the Apostle Paul: “Brothers and sisters, continue to think about what is good and worthy of praise. Think about what is true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. 9 And do what you learned and received from me—what I told you and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9 ERV

Let’s keep our thinking on the Father and His character and we will see true and lasting fruit grow in our lives.

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Always and Forever

Yesterday I shared with you a few verses on the Father’s character that NEVER change. Today I want us to look at a few that are ALWAYS the same.

Realizing that God has chosen to hold Himself accountable to His word gives me such tremendous confidence in the Lord. He will ALWAYS keep His word.

Just this morning I was reading in the Psalms and saw this verse:

“The Lord is always kind to those who worship him, and he keeps his promises to their descendants 18 who faithfully obey him.” Psalm 103:17-18 CEV

This ties in with the verses we read yesterday from I Corinthians 13. Love, God, is never jealous or rude. There is also an always verse in I Corinthians 13.

“Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting. 8 Love never fails!” I Corinthians 13:7-8 CEV

One of the last things Jesus told his disciples before He ascended back into heaven was this:

” Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.” Matthew 28:19-20 CEV

I will be with you always is a promise without an end date. Always means exactly that – always.

Just a couple more before I end my thoughts on the Father’s unchangeable character.

“ I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 CEV

Now, that’s a lot to process. ALWAYS kind, always supportive, always with us and always leading us to victory!

“Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, Lord.” Psalm 23:6 CEV

Forever and always our heavenly Father’s love will not fail.

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Thankful for Never

There are two words in the Bible that stop me every time I read them. Those words are never and always.

Today I want to focus on never.

“ Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed—be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for He has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!” Hebrews 13:5 AMP

“Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 CEV

We can confidently go about our lives each day, knowing that we are not alone. Our Father has promised that He will never, under any circumstances, desert us! And He follows up with a second promise, He never changes. He is always the same. What He promised when the Bible was written is still a valid promise today.

Let’s take a look at a few more “Nevers”.

“Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.8 Love will never end.” I Corinthians 13:6-8a ERV

That’s a lot of “nevers”. But that’s how God is – never gives us, never stops trusting, never loses hope, never quits! God doesn’t quit us! Yes, we fail; we disappoint; we even walk away but God never quits us! He’s always there waiting, hoping, trusting, unfailing!

The “Never loses hope” part reminds me so much of the Prodigal Son’s father. The Scripture says that each day he would watch the road, looking for his son’s return. Even when we walk away from God the Father, He watches lovingly, patiently, unfailingly looking for our return.

Do we do the same with those that walk away from us, or do we just write them off? Love never fails – as we experience God’s unfailing love, we can begin to show the same to others.

Love never gives up!

Remember Peter asking the Lord how many times he had to forgive when he was wronged? Peter thought he was making some grand gesture when he asked, “seven times seven?”. Jesus brought forgiveness out of man’s perspective and into God’s when He told Peter, “seventy seven”. Love never quits and forgiveness is an act of love.

” Peter came up to the Lord and asked, “How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?”

22  Jesus answered: Not just 7 times, but 77 times!” Matthew 18:21-22 CEV

We must look at forgiveness from the Father’s point of view. He forgives and forgets even when it’s our 100th screw up of the day. He doesn’t give up on us – He’s always there waiting and reaching out to us. He’s never refused anyone yet.

I’m so thankful for God’s nevers. His love never fails!

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Rolled Away

Some mornings I can’t write fast enough to keep up with what the Lord is pouring into my heart.

My simple prayer each morning is “Lord, what do you want me to share?” Then I sit quietly and wait. This morning my heart began to sing a song, complete with hand motions, from my childhood Sunday School days.

“Rolled away, rolled away, rolled away
Every burden on my heart rolled away
Rolled away, rolled away, rolled away
Every burden on my heart rolled away
All my sin had to go, ‘Neath the crimson flow..
Rolled away, rolled away, rolled away
Every burden on my heart rolled away”

This was followed by three thoughts from Scripture. I’ll share each one as briefly as I can and hope you will let the Holy Spirit reveal to you what stones the Father has rolled away for you.

Let’s go to John 11 first. This is where we find the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. He was Jesus’ close friend, he had been dead and buried when Jesus arrived.

Jesus wept. And after He wept, He prayed and took authority over the situation.

“ Jesus then said, ‘I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. 26 And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die. Do you believe this?’

27 ‘Yes, Lord!’ she replied. ‘I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God. You are the one we hoped would come into the world.’” John 11:24-27 CEV

When we believe in Christ we are no longer dead but we have new life; we are born again.

“Then he told the people to roll the stone away. But Martha said, “Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead four days, and there will be a bad smell.”

40 Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you had faith, you would see the glory of God?”

41 After the stone had been rolled aside, Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed, “Father, I thank you for answering my prayer. 42 I know that you always answer my prayers. But I said this, so the people here would believe you sent me.” John 11:39-42 CEV

Roll away the stone – they did – He prayed and Lazarus came out of the tomb.

“His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of burial cloth, and a cloth covered his face. Jesus then told the people, “Untie him and let him go.” verse 44

Lazarus was wrapped up in grave clothes. He was tied up in his past, in death but the command of God was more than enough to speak new life into his being. Jesus set him free from the past and gave him an eternal relationship. No longer to be bound to sin and the distresses of this life.

Now quickly, let’s go to John 20. We are at another tomb, this one was for Jesus.

“ He bent over and saw the strips of linen cloth lying inside the tomb, but he did not go in. 6 When Simon Peter got there, he went into the tomb and saw the strips of cloth. 7 He also saw the piece of cloth that had been used to cover Jesus’ face. It was rolled up and in a place by itself.” John 20:5-7 CEV

This time God rolled away the stone. This time no one needed to untie the man from the grave clothes. This time the man in the tomb, Jesus, walked out in victory. Death had no hold on him! Jesus had come out of the grave with the keys of life for all who believe.

“Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. ” I Peter 1:3 CEV

Now, let’s go back to that children’s chorus. “Rolled away, rolled away, rolled away
Every burden on my heart rolled away”. The stone of our tomb has been rolled away and Jesus has called us out to a new life. A life not bound by grave clothes – no, Jesus had us leave them in the tomb, rolled up and laying there.

We have had our sins rolled away and we now live in newness of life!

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Refreshed – The Good Part

You all know how much I love to sit in the morning quiet and spend time with the Father. This morning is no different than the others. But I am finding such a refreshing for my soul.

We had a wonderful 4th weekend. It was filled with friends. We laughed, we talked, we ate, we had some business to take care of, and we just enjoyed the contact with family.

As I came to my morning quiet time today, I am finding the Father here to restore my soul. I’m feeling refreshed, encouraged and energized!

“Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing. 2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures, he leads me by quiet water, 3 he restores my inner person. He guides me in right paths for the sake of his own name.” Psalm 23:1-3 CJB Complete Jewish Bible.

I feel so blessed to know that the Father knows what I need when I need it!

He loved spending time with His friends and ministering to the needs of those who followed Him. Jesus also knew the importance of pulling away and spending time with the Father. It was in those times that He was refreshed.

I think that’s why He told Martha that she was “cumbered about with much serving”. Jesus made himself a servant to all so He knew the responsibility of meeting the needs of others. And like Mary, He knew when it was time to “Choose the good part” and listen to the Father.

“While Jesus and his followers were traveling, he went into a town, and a woman named Martha let him stay at her house. 39 She had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. 40 But her sister Martha was busy doing all the work that had to be done. Martha went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 ERV

It seems all too often we get caught up doing too many things and we get upset and anxious, we lose our joy. BUT GOD, wants us to focus on the “one thing” that will restore our soul and bring us peace. He wants us to follow Him to green pastures and feed on His word.

Thank you Father for restoring and refreshing. Thank you for friends and family who fill my home with so much love. Thank you for reminding me to choose the good part!

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How Far Is Too Far?

I’m sure that’s the question that the four friends of the crippled man were asking themselves. They had taken their friend, on a stretcher from his home and carried him through the streets of town.

Once they got to the house where Jesus was teaching, they couldn’t get in. The place was packed and it was SRO, standing room only, around the doors and the windows. Everyone wanted to hear this new teacher who had come to town.

He spoke like no one else, He spoke with authority. He knew the Torah and He lived it.

The friends had to re-evaluate their motives and their actions. In the next few moments, the decision was made. We’ll go to the roof!

Now, I’m not sure if you have seen those roofs but they were substantial. In the book of Acts, we see that Peter was on the rooftop of the house for his prayer time. These men had to accurately assess where in the house they thought Jesus might be and break through right above Him. There would be no second chance to get it right.

Now imagine the people in the house. Jesus is teaching and roofing materials begin to fall on you. Do you stay, do you panic? Jesus just kept preaching.

A sizable hole opens up above Him but wait, there’s more! A man on a stretcher is being lowered down, right in front of Jesus.

“Jesus was still teaching 3 when four people came up, carrying a man on a mat because he could not walk. 4 But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they made a hole in the roof above him and let the man down in front of everyone” Mark 2:2-4 CEV

Mark records that Jesus “saw their faith”. Not just the faith of the lame man but the faith of his friends, as well. Jesus spoke to him, forgiving his sins. This angered the religious leaders. They didn’t think anyone had the right to forgive sins except the high priest so Jesus made it easier for them.

He told the lame man you’re no longer lame. You’re healed pick up your bed and go home!

“8 At once, Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, ‘Why are you thinking such things? 9 Is it easier for me to tell this man his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and pick up his mat and go on home? 10 I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.’ So Jesus said to the man, 11 “Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.”

12 The man got right up. He picked up his mat and went out while everyone watched in amazement.” Mark 2:8-12 CEV

My question today is how far would you go to help a friend come to Jesus? Or how far would you let your friend go to bring you to Jesus?

Let the Holy Spirit direct you in your relationships so that you can be a stretcher-carrying, roof-removing friend. The results will amaze you!

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How Common is Common Sense

Wisdom – a commodity to be treasured. Some call it common sense but it’s far from common. Good judgement, practical thinking – whatever the term, it’s not as common as it used to be.

People seek for knowledge but don’t know what to do with it – not sure how to apply it. The application of that knowledge is wisdom.

I was reading this morning about Solomon.

“God made Solomon very wise. Solomon could understand more than you can imagine. 30 He was wiser than anyone in the Eastor in Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone on earth, even Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. King Solomon became famous in all the surrounding countries. 32 By the end of his life, he had written 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs.

33 Solomon also knew very much about nature. He taught about many different kinds of plants—everything from the great cedar trees of Lebanon to the little vines that grow out of the walls. He also taught about animals, birds, and snakes. 34 People from every nation came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. Kings all over the world sent their people to listen to him.” I Kings 4:30-34 ERV

When the Lord asked Solomon what he wanted Solomon didn’t ask for money or strength or power, he asked for wisdom so that he could rule well. God blessed him in that way and added the other blessings also.

What is it that you find yourself asking the Lord for?

Do you ask Him for wisdom – direction to finish a project, the ability to lead well, understanding of the unknown? The Lord desires to aide us in our day-to-day life and He will give us the wisdom we ask for – it comes from Him.

“Do any of you need wisdom? Ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to everyone. So he will give you wisdom. 6 But when you ask God, you must believe. Don’t doubt him. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is blown up and down by the wind. ” James 1:5-6 ERV

I found it “coincidental” that as I was reading about Solormon’s great wisdom that I also started reading Proverbs again. Look at the first few verses there.

” These are the proverbs of Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel. 2 They will help you learn to be wise, to accept correction, and to understand wise sayings. 3 They will teach you to develop your mind in the right way. You will learn to do what is right and to be honest and fair. 4 These proverbs will make even those without education smart. They will teach young people what they need to know and how to use what they have learned. 5 Even the wise could become wiser by listening to these proverbs. They will gain understanding and learn to solve difficult problems. 6 These sayings will help you understand proverbs, stories with hidden meanings, words of the wise, and other difficult sayings.

7 Knowledge begins with fear and respect for the Lord, but stubborn fools hate wisdom and refuse to learn.” Proverbs 1:1-7 ERV

Let me encourage you to spend time each day reading in Proverbs. Learn from the wisdom that God gave Solomon. It is definitely a game changer. Let’s regain our use of common sense!

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