Should We Hate People Who Defy God?

As Christians, it’s natural to oppose lies or any other kind of ungodly acts, but does this mean it’s okay to hate? The Holy Spirit, itself, *opposes lies and ungodly acts so when we’re walking in the spirit, it’s natural to feel turmoil when we’re around anyone or anything that defies God. This is really hard when that person just happens to be someone we’re close to, like a family member. It can cause unbearable strife, which is exactly what Satan wants.

Satan would love for us to hate the person who is bringing us such strife. He would be accomplishing a lot if he could get us to hate, so he uses one of his best tricks by quoting scripture. He reminds us of the verse, “Jacob I loved and Esau I hated,” hinting to us that if it was okay for God to hate, it’s okay for us to hate. When we read that verse we should remind ourselves that God knows things we’re not capable of knowing. He not only knew Esau before he was ever born, but knew him during and after his life. The amazing thing is, He knew all this at the same time. He knew all along exactly how Esau was going to turn out.

We, on the other hand, may have known a person in the past and thought he was an okay person, and now in the present he has become unbearable, but we have no idea how he is going to be in the future. We have no idea if God is working in him right at this very moment, or if he might even end up being one of God’s most faithful followers. This is why it’s not okay to hate anyone. We are full of faults and sin ourselves, and when we hate someone it’s like requiring them to be perfect, and that’s not very fair. Only God is perfect and only He can truly judge a person.

It is, however, okay to hate or be *opposed to the things a person is doing, and sometimes we actually need to distance ourselves from that person because they are interfering with our own walk with God. Being around people who defy God definitely clashes with the peace we should have in our souls. When we feel ourselves losing this peace it’s a sign our faith is in danger, so we should have nothing to do with anyone who threatens it. This does not mean you hate the person.

Don’t let Satan fool you into believing that it’s okay to hate people because they’re “evil” or convince you that by distancing yourself it’s because you hate them. You can continue to love them and pray for them without having to be around them. Don’t buy into Satan’s lies!

It is written, “If a man says I love God and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” 1 John 4:20

*Hate - “to oppose yourself against.” (Strongs # 7852)

Unwavering Faith

When God says to come to Him as little children, He’s talking about faith. Children are totally trusting when it comes to being taken care of and they never stop for one minute to worry about what tomorrow will bring. Even though most of us claim to have a lot of faith, how many of us actually have the faith of a child?

One of the areas in which we need to be more child-like is our study of scripture. If we were to read the Bible simply, as a child would, instead of tearing apart words and sentences the way we do, maybe scripture wouldn’t seem so difficult to understand!

I know it’s not easy to be all grown up and try to think like a child again, so I’m going to give an example of how a child perceives a simple sentence. If you say to a child, “Grandma is coming to see you on Thursday and will be bringing you a basket of treats,” he immediately grasps the idea that Grandma’s coming on Thursday, bringing treats!

Now I’m going to repeat the same sentence, but this time, we grown-ups are going to do a little in-depth study of it. I know it sounds silly, but that’s pretty much what we do in our bible studying, so let’s see how it works with a regular old sentence.

Let’s start with the word “grandma.” Since the definition of “grandma” in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “grandmother,” maybe we should pull it apart and look up the words “grand” and “mother,” so we can have an even deeper understanding.

The word “grand” means “having more importance than others,” and the word “mother” means “a female parent.” Now instead of “grandma” we have “a female parent having more importance than others.” I can see how a lot of debates could grow from that!

Other words in the sentence mean as follows:

Coming – “the act of arriving.”

Bringing – “leading, carrying, or causing to come along.”

Basket – “receptacle.”

Treats – “an especially unexpected source of joy.”

Now we can truly understand the in-depth meaning of the whole sentence:

“Someone, having more importance than a female parent, in the act of arriving, will be carrying a receptacle of an especially unexpected source of joy.”

Try telling that to a child!

I know all this sounds silly, but the point I’m trying to make is, it’s perfectly fine to look up a word here and there to clarify the meaning of a noun or a verb, but too many people go to extremes, digging and delving into just about every word they can find, until they finally end up destroying the whole meaning of the sentence or scripture verse. If we would just look at the sentence simply, in the way it was intended we could save ourselves a lot of confusion.

What is it that makes us have this need to find hidden messages behind everything written in scripture? It’s because the flesh is constantly seeking to have its own way! We think we have all the answers, or can find them all on our own, and that’s what we do. Believe me, if there are any hidden messages God wants us to know about, the Holy Spirit will reveal it to us when He feels we’re ready.

A child trusts, unwaveringly, because he instinctively knows there is someone bigger and stronger who is watching out for him and is there to take care of him. We instinctively know this too, but our grown-up sophistication gets in the way. A child knows he's small and helpless, but we need to remind ourselves that we are too, without God!

As we learn to rely on God for all things, instead of leaning to our own understanding, we will regain the confidence of knowing there’s always someone there watching over us and taking care of us. We will trust in Him with all our hearts, and our faith will be as a child’s, unwavering!

Wisdom and Understanding

In Ecclesiastes, we read about a King who sought to learn, first-hand, the wisdom of man. God allowed him his desire and he set out on an adventure to experience everything life has to offer. He eventually acquired all the things most men desire in life: riches, fame, property, and even women! His wealth and accomplishments soon became known all over the land, and people came from far and near just to see it for themselves.

But, alas, his spirit soon grew vexed because nothing he owned brought him any peace. Somehow, along with all his wealth, he had acquired worry, travail, envy from his neighbors, and many a sleepless night! He began to ponder about how a man is born and dies, just as every other creature on earth, so what good is it to have anything at all? Nothing on this earth is lasting, not even love. He began to hate life after that because there seemed to be no purpose for anything.

"Life is here and then it's gone," he sighed. "Like a breath or a whisper, it just vanishes. It's all just vanity!"

King Solomon finally realized that the only true wisdom is God's wisdom, and the wisdom of man is foolishness. He had learned that the only thing that's everlasting is that which is from above, and from that day forward that's what he sought.

We, as Christians know to seek God's wisdom, but sometimes we find gaining wisdom is not such an easy task. Even with all our reference and study guides, we still seem to get confused. We exhaust ourselves delving through all sorts of books trying to find answers, but somehow we always seem to fall short.

"Canst thou, by searching, find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than hell; what canst thou know?" (Job 11:7-8)

First of all, our understanding is not God's understanding, so even with all our study aids, we have to realize there is no way we can gain wisdom through our own efforts. Wisdom is not something we can obtain through books and learning! It's obtained through how we live our lives. As we learn to fear God, follow His commandments, and depart from evil, He imparts His wisdom unto us!

"Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is WISDOM; and to depart from evil is UNDERSTANDING." (Job 28: 28)

Sharing In Jesus’ Suffering

Jesus suffered all the same things we suffer.

I've been reading in my daily devotionals about how God expects us, not only to follow Him and to keep His commandments, but be willing to share in Jesus' suffering. It got me thinking about how He really did suffer the same kinds of things we do, so He really does know and understand. It's hard to think of Him as actually going through some of the "little" things we go through in life, but He did. Think of the times you've been misunderstood by your family or maybe criticized for no reason, then try to think about how it might have been for Jesus when He was a young boy. Even though His mom and dad knew who He was and why He was here, it was probably hard for them (in their human understanding) not to question some of the things He did. They must have been pretty teed off when He stayed behind at the temple, hanging out with the priests and elders, and they had to turn around and go all the way back to find Him!

When people talk bad about us when we didn't do anything wrong, it really hurts. Heck, it even hurts when we're talked about when we did do something wrong. Well, Jesus certainly had His share of that, and He never did a thing to deserve it. Most of the town-folk all thought He was crazy, and they used to call Him names and throw stones at Him every chance they got. Later on they got tired of that and tried to have Him arrested. No matter what He did, they tormented Him and made His life miserable.

We whine and complain all the time, about how tough our lives are, but we can't even begin to imagine what it was like for Him. He met with opposition no matter where He went or what He did, and was even physically abused. The very people He wanted to help, hated Him with a vengeance. The amazing thing about it all was, no matter what they did to Him, He never wavered in His love for them and sacrificed Himself daily for their sakes.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is our example and we are to follow in Him, but most people don't even think about the part that says to share in His suffering, too. I guess most of us think about the suffering part of Jesus' life, as the task He was sent here to do, so it doesn't really apply to us. It does apply to us. Part of His suffering was to teach us how to deal with all the hard things we all have to go through in this world. Every single thing He ever went through in this life, is an example for us to follow. Sharing in His suffering is just as much a part of following Him as is keeping His commandments.

So why do we have to suffer?

The trouble is, we get too darn comfortable when things are going our way, and far too often, we begin to feel as if we're pretty powerful in our own strength. What need do we have for God when things are going great and we're handling things just fine? Unfortunately, this is the nature of man, and I guess we need a reminder now and then that we're really not all that. When trials and tribulations hit, it causes us to stop and realize just how small and helpless we really are, and most of us do turn to God in these situations. Disasters, especially, cause us to stop and reflect, and most always prompt us to look towards the heavens and seek our Creator. Even people who deny His existence seem to look to the heavens for help during a disaster! Most of us remember how thousands of people flocked to churches and prayed after the twin towers were attacked, but, sadly, all the praying and looking up to heaven didn't last long. It never fails that when things start to return to normal, we soon forget our need for God and return to our old ways!

When a person goes through any kind of suffering, it usually changes him and this is what God is looking for. There's a lesson to be learned in every single trial we may go through, and as we go through each one, we are also being refined to become more and more like Jesus. This is something we could never do on our own, so suffering with Him is probably the most important part of our journey here on this earth!

It's amazing to think of how Jesus, who was perfect, was so willing to suffer for our sakes. We should all stop and think of Him the next time we're feeling sorry for ourselves and wondering why we're so persecuted. He not only suffered throughout His life to be an example for us, but took on all the sins and sufferings of the entire world. That's a lot of suffering and a lot of love.

("Suffering") Revised 9/28/09

Sometimes It's Not Good To Be So “Blessed”

I once knew an elderly man who had grown very depressed over the thought of leaving this life. He had been blessed with a wonderful family, many good friends, and had been financially secure throughout his life. He truly enjoyed life to the fullest, and told me he hated the thought of leaving it all behind. Here was a good Christian man, who felt he had lived a life that was pleasing to the Lord because he had gone to church faithfully. He even boasted about how he had never missed a mass and knew every part of the service by heart, but he admitted he had never read the Bible. Maybe if he had, he wouldn’t be finding it so difficult now to leave this world behind.

I can’t help but wonder how many “good” Christians go through life focusing more on the here and now, and never even give a thought to where they’ll spend eternity. There are some who even believe if they have acquired much wealth in their lives, it’s because they have earned it by being exceptional Christians. What they’re doing is focusing on the here and now, and sadly, by doing that, they are depriving themselves of having something wonderful to look forward to, a home in heaven, free from all the cares and sorrows of this world.

When I look at the beauty of God’s creation, I'm always in awe. I can’t think of a single thing man could ever create that can even come close to what God has created. There’s no color man could ever come up with that could come even close to the colors of a rainbow or the colors of the flowers in a field. There’s no skyscraper or structure that could ever be built that would be near as magnificent as a full grown cedar tree or a majestic mountain. No airplane, rocket, or any other kind of flying machine could ever fly as smooth and gracefully as an eagle or a hawk!

Yet, people will pay thousands of dollars for a painting or a statue that will deteriorate in time, when all they have to do is look around them at the artistry of God for free. I guess when you don’t have much, you learn to appreciate the little things in the world, and you realize it’s so much more valuable than any “thing” you can buy or possess. I really do feel bad for people who have been so busy all their lives, or who have had so much wealth, they never even noticed the beauty and glory of God all around them. I feel even sorrier for the ones who have never known Jesus personally and felt His love, or realized what He did to give them a chance at eternal life. More than anything else, I pity people who have been so “blessed,” they have never even known they needed Him.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
(Matthew 6:19-21)

The life we have here will soon be past, let your heart be where life is forever!

Searching for Truth

With the abundance of study resources available to us today, a lot of people seem to think it’s enough to just read or listen to what others have to say about the Bible. Maybe they believe they are being diligent in their Bible studies when they read a lot of books and commentaries, listen to various preachers on the radio or on TV, or search the internet in search of truth. Naturally, they are very careful to only listen to “reputable” teachers who have done enough studying and research to know what they're talking about. Unfortunately, many of these “reputable” Bible scholars are leading people astray and don’t even realize it themselves. They really believe what they’re teaching so they can be very convincing.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." I John 4:1

People are always asking why there is so much disagreeing in the Christian faith and this is one of the reasons. All it takes is one person who thinks he has discovered a unique truth about God’s word, and it isn’t long before he’s out preaching about it. As more and more people hear this new “truth” and begin agreeing with it, it isn’t long before a new doctrine and another new denomination is born. There are so many different denominations and doctrines in the world today, it’s no wonder there is so much disagreeing among Christians. The Bible says “the gate is straight and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few there are that find it,” (Matthew 7:14) so naturally, each one wants to believe they are one of the few who have found it. Sadly, by following a person instead of God, they are going through “the wide gate and traveling the broad way, that leads to destruction.” (Matthew 7:13)

"Don't give heed to fables and commandments of men that turn from the truth." Titus 1:14

Although most people, who inadvertently end up following a person rather than God, are sincerely seeking the truth, there are others who latch onto a particular person’s doctrine mainly because what they preach sounds a lot more appealing than what the Bible actually says. They don’t want to hear anything that might convict them, so they look for preachers who say what they want to hear. It’s amazing how verses of the Bible can be sugar-coated to excuse sins that people don’t want to acknowledge. Today, there are as many doctrines and denominations as there is candy in a candy store, and people can just take their pick. It’s not hard to find one that fits any particular lifestyle.

"In the last days people will not endure sound doctrine, but following their own lusts will find many teachers...they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall turn to fables." II Timothy 4:3-4

The many interpretations of man are confusing, and are really only as good as whomever they might appeal to. If people are honest they will admit this is the primary reason why they choose certain denominations or doctrines over others, because it fits what they want to believe. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, gives the truth, whether it sounds appealing to us or not.

Paul said to the church at Corinth: "My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of Power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." II Corinthians 2:4-5

Having a thirst for knowledge is natural for Christians, and sometimes it can actually be helpful to hear someone else’s point of view, but this should only be done by someone who is mature in the Word and is capable of discerning truth from fable. There’s only one way to acquire this ability, and that’s to spend a lot of time in the scriptures, allowing the Holy Spirit to give the proper understanding. We must study to show ourselves approved, meaning it’s a personal endeavor to gain understanding so we can rightly divide the Word of Truth, and be better able to discern.

"Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." II Timothy 2:15

As wonderful as it may seem to have the abundance of study resources we have available to us today, it makes sense to be cautious and go first to the most trusted source of truth. The Bible is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, because it was written by the inspiration of God.” (II Timothy 3:16)

"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater." I John 5:9

A Life Lesson From Ecclesiastes

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

With the way things are going in the world, sometimes it’s hard to think of things as ever getting any better. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 explains there is a season and a time for everything that happens under the heavens. Though we pretty much know this, it’s not always easy to think of the hardships we’re facing as just a season or a time.

We’re all going through times of hardship these days. People are out of work, the economy is unstable, and many people are losing their homes. Arguments are rising about healthcare reform, taxes, and politics in general. People seem to be divided over just about everything, and no one is really sure where any of this is headed. With so much uncertainty in the air, fear can easily take hold of us and begin to control us.

We may find ourselves reading every news article we can find about the state of the economy, jobs, politics, and of course, the healthcare debate. We begin to talk to people incessantly about it, and we may even feel rage at the injustice we see in so many things. Pretty soon we begin thinking we must do everything we can do to stop it. It soon becomes all we think about, and though we may feel we are doing something useful by keeping up with things and speaking out, we need to be careful not to allow it to become an obsession. Obsession is a stronghold that binds us, and fear is what feeds it.

There is no need to fear. Our major focus during times of hardship should always be on God. We should never get so caught up in what’s happening around us, that we miss what He is trying to show us. Every trial and hardship we go through, whether individually, or even as a nation, is indeed, a “season and a time” even though it might not feel like it. It’s a time when God is trying to teach us something or make us stop and reflect on our actions. It’s a way for Him to draw attention to Himself when He sees us getting too absorbed in the things of the world.

No matter how bad things may seem to be, we can always be assured that every season and time has a “purpose under the heaven.”

God Still Has Hope For This World

Sometimes in the morning when I wake up and see the sun, I immediately think of the Son. Jesus is the light of the world and without Him we would be blind, groping around in the darkness with nothing to lead us or guide us. It would be the same way if the sun were suddenly to vanish. We would all be in the dark with no light to guide us.

When I see the sun shining, it makes me know God still has hope for this world. Every single day is another chance for us to acknowledge Him. He must have a lot of patience because He has given us so many days and so many chances. Yet so many people don't acknowledge Him at all. They just go about their everyday lives, oblivious to their Creator, and even to all the beauty He has given them. Most people hardly ever notice the beauty of a flower or a tree as they scurry past on their way to work or wherever they’re going. Everyone’s just too busy to give God a second thought.

People are even oblivious to the sun that gives them light every day to be able to do all the things that keeps them so busy. They just take it for granted. They probably don’t even realize how much they depend on it. Not only does it give us light, but it gives us warmth, and is essential for the growth of plants and every other living thing.

What if the sun were to suddenly vanish? We would not be able to survive. This whole world and everything in it would shrivel up and die. It is written that one day this will come to pass. That will be the day when there will be no more chances and the time to turn to God will be over forever. When people cry out to God at that time, it will be too late and He will say, "I never knew you."

Every day that the sun shines and lights up the world, God is giving us a reminder of His great love for us. This reminder is just as wonderful as the rainbow He sends after the rain. They are both an awesome tribute of His promise to never forsake us.

The next time you wake up and see the sun, think of the Son. Even as there would be no life here on earth without the sun, there would be no life here, or in eternity, without the Son.

What Causes Evil to Abound?

It seems like the whole world is going crazy these days and evil is escalating everywhere. There were other times in history when the world seemed to be out of control also, such as in the time of Noah. It is said that the world then was the epitome of evil. What is it that causes such evil to abound?

Maybe one of the reasons evil abounds is because when man is left to his own devices, he ultimately creates chaos. More and more today, people are renouncing God and trying to do away with anything pertaining to Him. They claim they don’t need anyone or anything telling them what to do and they can rely on themselves. What we’re seeing happening in the world today is simply the result of man relying on himself.

With laws permitting so much these days, man is gradually letting go of self control. It takes a lot of self control to do what’s right, but apparently, there’s no need for that any longer. We’re living in a “feel good” society where we make up the rules as we go along. If it feels good, it’s right. It doesn’t matter if someone else doesn’t look at it the same way, because there’s no specific meaning for right and wrong any more. It all depends on the person.

The new norm of our society is to tolerate whatever anyone says or does, so we don’t offend anyone. We have no right to tell anyone what they’re doing is wrong or that we don’t agree, because what’s right to them has absolutely nothing to do with us. It doesn’t matter if what someone else is doing offends us, we just can’t offend them by telling them it does. None of this makes any sense to me, but apparently, it seems to make sense to a vast majority of people these days. In my opinion, this new self-ruling society man is so proud of creating is only taking us backward, not forward.

All I can picture in my mind are wild animals. Animals have no conscience or morals, they live for themselves, never giving any thought to whether or not they might be infringing on another’s space, they live by their own rules, and they never, ever hesitate to tear apart anyone who gets in their way. This is how the world is starting to look like to me.

But, we were not created to be like animals that rely solely on their instincts to do whatever benefits them. We were created with the intelligence and moral aptitude to live together harmoniously, have respect for one another and to care about each other’s feelings and well-being. We were born with the full knowledge of the costs of our actions and we know how to live accordingly.

Unfortunately, man has (once again) grown wise in his own deceit and is rejecting all these concepts. He thinks he knows better than God and he’s out to prove it. He’s too blind to see that his efforts are futile because without order and law, and a true value system, he is headed for doom. All we need to do is look around us and we can already see this self-ruled society is failing. Escalating crime, the bad economy, joblessness, wars, contention, unrest; everything we see going on in the world today are all signs of its failure.

As Christians, we may not be able to stop what’s happening to our society today, but we can rest assured that it’s already failing. Even though times are tough and even frightening at times, God is proving that the ways of the world cannot work. We must stay strong because we alone know how all of this is going to end.

Loving Your Enemies

The Bible says we are to love our enemies. There’s no way I could ever love my enemies if it were all left up to me. Sometimes I get so upset at people I want to wring their necks. It's only God’s hand on me that has stopped me from doing that. Every day I have to confess my real feelings to Him and ask Him to put His love there in its place because I just cannot do it on my own. It's quite a struggle.

There are so many times God has replaced my anger with His love and I never cease to be amazed at this. When I’m able to respond to someone who has hurt me or is yelling at me, with quiet words that are kind, it shocks even me. It’s like something super-natural has taken possession of my body. (Which is in fact, it has, God's holy Spirit.)

What's even more amazing is to see the other person’s reaction. There they are, yelling and acting crazy, obviously wanting a fight, and instead of getting a fight they get a soft answer. The look on their face is priceless! It’s one of utter confusion and they stand there for a moment like they’re wondering what to do next. Usually, they start yelling some more, and then end up stuttering and stomping out of the room. (I guess there really is something to that verse about "heaping coals.")

Sometimes we feel anger at the whole world. There’s so much evil out there and sometimes people are so smug and brazen. How is it possible to keep love in our hearts when people flaunt evil in our faces? One way to deal with it is to try to remember people who don’t have God in their lives really can't help being the way they are. They are submitting to an evil force and don’t even realize it. Just as we try to submit our will to God and allow Him to control our lives and actions, they are submitting to Satan who is controlling their lives and actions.

It’s a lot easier to allow Satan to have control than it is to allow God to because human nature is already evil. When a person rejects God, Satan immediately has complete control over them. All those people out there who believe they are their own gods and have complete control over their own bodies and minds are deceiving themselves in the worst way. They are under bondage and don't even know it. When Jesus said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do…” it's because they really don't know.

It's only through the Holy Spirit that we're even able to have compassion for and pray for our enemies. We should remind ourselves every day that if it wasn't for God, we would be just like the very people we find so hard to love.

Why Does It Seem God Abandons Us?

Someone hurt your feelings and you can't let it go. You sit there stewing and wondering how someone could do this to you. The whole world seems to be in turmoil right now and people everywhere are suffering. Where is God? Sometimes it's hard to think God is anywhere near or even cares. Why does He allow so much pain and suffering and why does it seem He's so far away?

One of the reasons God seems so far away is because Satan is able to get us to focus on ourselves. When someone hurts us we can't help but think of ourselves and our hurt feelings. It's easy to get angry and even a little vengeful and this is exactly what Satan wants. It's these kinds of thoughts and feelings that help build a gap between ourselves and God, and if we're not careful that gap will continue to get wider and wider.

Another thing that causes the gap to widen is when we get so wrapped up in things going on around us; we don't give Him a second thought. We're too busy with our jobs or our families, or whatever else is going on, and we just don't have time to think of anything else. When it comes to our problems, we seem to think we can solve them all by ourselves. Isn't it true we will drive ourselves crazy thinking of every possible solution, and try everything we can before we ever even think of turning to God for help? We usually only turn to Him out of frustration because we've exhausted every other avenue.

You would think we'd learn, after failing time and time again when left to our own devices, but we usually don't. Our human nature is like a magnet which constantly keeps drawing us back to ourselves and pulling us away from God. It's a daily struggle, and if we don't keep God first in our thoughts and actions, we're pulled far too easily back into the clutches of the world.

We need to slow down and set aside a time to talk to Him, and we need to listen to Him. He reminds us in His Word to "be still and know I am God." That's a reminder to us of the dire need to shut out the world, with all its noise and distractions, and just be still and be quiet. How else will we be able to hear Him speak to our hearts, giving us the direction and comfort we need in our trying times?

God is as near as you want Him to be, or as far as you push Him. Every single thing we say or do that interferes with our relationship to Him pushes Him farther away. We need to stop waiting until something goes wrong before we give Him our attention and talk to Him and listen to Him every day. The next time you wonder why He allows pain or why He wasn't there in times of trouble, just remember it's not He who abandons us, it's we who abandon Him.

I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me

I’ve always been a perfectionist, whether at my job, in my home, or even in the smallest tasks. Everything I set out to do, I put my all into it. As a Christian, I put a lot of demands on myself, trying to follow Christ to the letter and trying to show the same kind of love and understanding He did. This isn't very easy in a world where we’re not only faced with much opposition, but sometimes people can be downright mean.

I found myself falling short time and time again, and began to feel a sense of extreme discouragement. No matter how hard I tried, I kept sliding back into sin and could never seem to do anything right. It got to a point I could hardly even pray any more, and when I did it was half-heartedly. I began to drift and it wasn’t long before I stopped praying altogether. I was so down on myself I didn’t feel I was even worthy to pray. It wasn’t that I had stopped believing in God, I just didn’t think He believed in me any more.

I went on with my life. I was a nurse and concentrated on caring for my patients the best I knew how, not giving much thought about trying to be perfect any more. I guess you can say I felt pretty much defeated.

One night, as I was busy caring for a premature infant in the NICU, I noticed one of my co-workers watching me with a peculiar look on her face. I asked her what was wrong. I thought for sure I must have been doing something wrong for her to be looking at me so oddly. I was not prepared for what she was about to say to me at all. She smiled and said, “I see Jesus in you.”

I stood there stunned for half a minute while all sorts of thoughts raced through my head. How could she think she saw Jesus in me when I had turned my back on Him years ago? Then, almost as quickly as I had that thought, I realized if she was seeing Jesus in me it had to be because He was there. Even though I had left Him all those years ago, He had never left me. I burst into tears as this realization flooded over me and I had to ask to be excused. I went downstairs and outside to the parking lot and fell on my knees weeping, thanking God for never leaving me.

As I sat there I thought about how Jesus must have been working in me all this time and I didn’t even know it. He had to be the one enabling me to give my patients the love and understanding they needed, because I was so bogged down with all my problems I didn’t care much about anything any more. What my co-worker had seen certainly had nothing to do with me.

The verse, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” came to my mind as I sat there. I was beginning to realize without Him we are nothing and no matter how hard we try to do good, we cannot do it on our own strength. No wonder I always felt so defeated when I was trying so hard to do things on my own. The only thing that’s worth anything in this world is His love and His righteousness, and if people happen to see that in us, what they’re really seeing is Him.

I know now it’s in my weakness that His strength is made perfect and I am confident He’s always there, even when it might not feel like it. I am no longer a perfectionist, trying to do all things on my own, but someone who knows “I can do all things (only) through Christ who strengthens me.”

Submitting Your Will to God

We try so hard to control our own lives. Relinquishing our own will and accepting God’s will for our lives is probably the hardest thing we can ever do. It seems every one of us must go through a lot of pain and sorrow before we get to that point.

Being alone has always been one of my hardest struggles. When I was younger I did a lot of wrong things to fill the void. I went to bars and hung out with the wrong people and got myself into several abusive relationships. I began to wonder if I had a sign on my back saying, "abuse me." It took a very long time of heartache and pain before I finally stopped trying to do things my way and submitted my will wholly to God.

I knew in order to do that I had to sincerely desire His will for my life no matter what it might be. There were a few things I desired that were pretty hard to let go of, but when I looked at the mess I was making doing things my own way, I was a little more willing to hand it over to someone who knows better. It was my first lesson in trust.

The hardest thing I had to lay down was my desire to have a good man in my life. I was never good at relationships and I longed to have a good man to share my life with. Now I was faced with whether or not I’d be able to accept spending my life alone. I wasn’t sure if I had enough trust. Did I really believe God knew better than I did what was best for me? Then I was reminded of how God tells us His ways are not our ways. While I was thinking of being loved by a man, He was trying to make me see that He loved me more than any man on this earth ever could. He was offering me Perfect love and I decided I wanted it and it was enough. That’s when I knew I had truly submitted my will to Him.

In my favorite book “Hinds Feet on High Places” by Hannah Hurnard, the main character, Much Afraid, goes through many trials and tribulations before she is finally able to submit her will. The book portrays her trials as a journey through treacherous terrain and when she finally lays down her will it’s portrayed as pulling her flesh heart out of her chest and laying it on an altar. That’s pretty much what it was feeling like to me.

I’ve been alone for a pretty long time now and I still don't like it, but I try to fill my time reaching out to others. He never fails to bring someone into my life that needs encouragement or some kind of help. I'm always busy doing something. I still get lonely and sometimes I get discouraged and maybe even a little resentful. It seems I’m always taking care of someone else and my life is not my own. It just doesn’t seem fair sometimes. But then it hits me and I have to smile. My life is NOT my own, (thank God.) I remind myself how, left to my own devices, I bring nothing but heartache and pain on myself. My life is HIS, it's in His hands, and I’m so very thankful.

There are always going to be hard times. People will try your patience and things won’t go right. But, no one is perfect so try not to come down on yourself too hard if things start to get to you. Every hard time you go through has a lesson for you to learn, whether it’s patience or endurance, or just an invitation to lay it all down and give it to God. He’s there with you always, loving and guiding you, even when you don’t acknowledge Him. He’s just waiting for you to reach out to Him.

Is It Possible To Be Without Sin?

If it were possible for us to be without sin, we would never have needed a Savior, it would make Jesus’ death on the cross null and void, and we wouldn’t have to fight so hard to avoid temptations every single day. The Apostle Paul said he was constantly warring against the flesh and the things he knew to do good he could not:

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature, for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” (Romans 7:18-20)

The Bible is full of examples of how the flesh, which is our home for now, is constantly warring against that which is spiritual. The most we can do as long as we’re in our human bodies, is to strive to follow Jesus’ example and live our lives as close to His example as we can. Even Paul had to do that, and you can see how much of a struggle it was, even for him. No matter how much we try to do good, we are constantly warring against the flesh.

The Bible says:

“There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Romans 3:11-12)

There are many such examples in the Bible of how impossible it is, on our own efforts, to obtain perfection and how vital it is to submit our lives to God and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. Even with that, we still need to make a conscious effort every single day, not to quench the Spirit by giving in to sin and temptations. It's a daily struggle within all of us.

Putting aside the examples of Paul, the Bible verses, and even Jesus, let’s look at another reason why it’s impossible for us to be without sin. If it were possible for us to be without sin, this world would have outgrown the need for God a long time ago. As more and more people become sinless, the world itself would eventually reach perfection, with no more wars, murders, or other crimes. We all know this is never going to happen until Jesus comes. The very fact that all these things are still in this world and escalating, proves that sin is rampant.

There has only ever been one man on this earth without sin, and that was Jesus, only because He was born of God and was one with God. We, on the other hand, are born of the flesh and are one with sin. All we can really do is try to follow His example and live our lives as close to His as possible. It is not possible to reach perfection as long as we are cloaked in the sin of our own flesh. Only when we come to the end of our journey, and our souls are freed from the flesh that hinders us, can we ever be one with God and be without sin.

Are Angels Real and Can You See Them?

I believe there are angels all around us and I do believe we can see them, but I don’t believe they appear to us as creatures with glowing wings and halos. They may very well look like that in their celestial state (who really knows?) but I believe they appear to us in the form of ordinary people and sometimes even animals.

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13: 2)

This verse from the Bible claims that any stranger we happen to meet could very well be an angel so we should we should be careful how we act around them. This pretty much convinces me they do not appear in a celestial form, but more likely as someone we probably wouldn’t even notice on the street. I’m positive I have had several encounters in my lifetime and believe we probably all have and might not know it.

My first encounter was when I was about 11 years old and I had just started going to a new school. The buses were on strike so we had to walk the 2 miles to get there. I was a very timid child and the thought of having to walk by myself to a strange place was a little frightening, but the way was straight, with no turns, so I felt I would be fine.

I made it to school with no problem and when it was time to walk home I was feeling very brave and confident. What I hadn’t realized during my walk to the school was, the road forked right at the intersection where I had crossed. I hadn’t noticed it then, because the road was still straight going up to the school, but now on my way back, there it was looming ahead of me.

I immediately panicked. I wasn’t sure which way to go because both roads were practically side by side. I hesitantly started to walk down the one I thought looked the most familiar. It wasn’t long before I realized this road had all kind of bends and curves I didn’t remember being there on the way to school. I came to a bridge I knew I hadn’t passed in the morning and when I turned around in a panic to go back, I was faced with yet another fork in the road!

I literally began to shake because, not only was I helplessly lost, but I had been given strict orders to come straight home from school and I knew if I was late I would be in big trouble. I began to cry because I had no idea which way to go. Then I remembered a Sunday school lesson I had learned about having faith. If you pray, believing with all your heart that God will hear and answer, He will give you your desire.

With the pure, unwavering faith of a child, I closed my eyes and prayed and asked God to please send someone to show me the way home. I believed with all my heart, He would. I had no doubts, whatsoever, that when I opened my eyes someone would be standing there.

I opened my eyes and there stood a little brown dog looking up at me. He started walking away and without hesitation I followed him. I had no doubts whatsoever that God had sent him. I wasn’t in the least surprised when we came to the same intersection where I had first gotten lost. The little dog looked up at me again and then turned and scampered back the way we came. I remember getting goose bumps because I knew in my heart I had just been with an angel.

My second encounter was about 6 years later. My younger brother and I had always been close and he had run away from home. He had been gone about a week and we couldn’t find him anywhere. Back in those days they didn’t have Amber Alerts and the local police weren’t much help in finding runaways. I was worried sick over him and hadn’t slept that whole week. I was exhausted and had an ache in my heart that just wouldn’t go away. I had been praying earnestly for God to protect him and somehow let me know he was alright.

I was on my way to work and had come to the trolley station where I took the trolley every day. There was always a wait of about 15 minutes so I sat down on the bench as I always did. There were people sitting next to me on the bench and people walking around. The station was always busy in the morning with people going to work. I sat there and silently continued my prayers.

I was interrupted by someone tapping me on the shoulder. I looked up to see a very old, kindly looking gentleman looking down at me. He had the kindest eyes. No one else seemed to even notice him standing there, because no one turned their heads as he spoke, and it was almost as if everything around me suddenly stood still.

All he said to me was, “Things are going to be alright,” and then he turned and walked away towards the road. I sat there stunned for a few seconds, and then I jumped up to run after him to ask him how he knew, or why he said that, but he was gone. I looked up and down the long road. There was nowhere he could have ducked into or went, except for either up the road or down the road. He was a very old man so he couldn’t have gotten very far in those few seconds, but he was gone! I got goose bumps again, just like I had years earlier. I got on the trolley and, during the ride to work, I once again knew I had encountered an angel. I also knew, without a doubt, I would see my brother that day.

I worked for the telephone company and I had only been at my station about an hour when my supervisor plugged in behind me and told me I had a visitor down in the lobby. It’s so strange when something like this happens, because it’s as if you know exactly what’s happening, but logic is telling you it’s impossible. Regardless of that, here it was. I knew I was headed down to the lobby to see my brother.

When I got down to the lobby, there he was, dirty and disheveled, and looking so scared and lonely. He wanted to go home but he was afraid of getting punished for running away. I promised to go with him and stand by him, and gave him some money to get something to eat and told him to wait for me to get done work and then we went home together.

I have had other experiences where I was sure I had been visited by angels, but none of them stand out as much as these two experiences. I have to admit there may have been a little room for doubt in some of my experiences, but not these two. I am absolutely sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a little dog and a very old, kindly gentleman were not of this world.

Why Is There So Much Disagreeing In The Christian Faith?

There seems to be so much disagreeing among Christians it leads you to wonder if there’s anything they actually do agree on. How can there be so much disagreement when we all worship the same God and read the same Bible? There has to be a reason why there is so much division among Christians.

Even though we all read the same Bible, I believe one of the primary causes of disagreement among Christians is a lack of understanding of scripture. Even with all the study helps available, people still seem to derive different interpretations and persist to argue over the meanings of words. This ultimately results in confusion and division. I have personally witnessed the breakup of many Bible study groups and even churches over this kind of conflict. In my opinion, the primary reason for all the different (and new) denominations of today is because of too many people having their own personal interpretations of the Bible, and each one believing his is right.

I’m sure all the struggling over the meanings of words is an honest attempt to gain deeper knowledge, but we seem to forget it’s impossible to know the ways of God through our own understanding. God said the only way to have true understanding is through the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, this concept appears to have gotten lost in the shuffle with the numerous Bible study resources available to anyone who wants to gain knowledge. Who needs the Holy Spirit when you have all that?

There are many Christians these days, who pour through every book they can lay their hands on and listen to every “reputable” pastor they can find. They consider themselves to be true Bible scholars and are eager to plant their seeds of knowledge everywhere they can. Unfortunately, they are the ones you’ll usually find lashing out at anyone who doesn’t agree with them and the ones lording themselves over everyone else in churches and Bible study groups. You won’t find much in the way of love and kindness because that can only come by the Holy Spirit.

God warns us in the Bible this is exactly what happens when people lean to their own understanding so it’s really not surprising. He also says leaning to our own understanding is prideful:

“He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,” (1 Timothy 6: 4)

I admit this isn’t an easy concept to grasp because our logic tells us there’s nothing wrong with an honest quest for knowledge. How could it be harmful or prideful, and how else are we supposed to learn if we don’t ask questions and seek out answers? The reason it’s prideful is because there is definitely an ego trip involved. Who of us hasn’t had a sense of pride after finally achieving a goal through our own efforts and hard work? Doting about questions and striving over words is certainly hard work.

The second part of the verse tells us all this puffed up knowledge will eventually lead to envy, strife, railings and evil surmisings. Why? Because pride will, undoubtedly, cause us to flaunt it. We just can’t help ourselves, we’re human. If you go to any online Christian group, you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. It’s not easy to be humble when we work hard at something and come up with amazing results.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

These verses sum it all up very nicely. We need to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, especially in matters of understanding. This means submitting our wills (and our egos) to Him. How many people are truly doing this when studying His word? From the looks of it, I wouldn’t guess many. If we could all just learn to rely on God to give us understanding instead of trying so hard to understand on our own, “our paths would be made straight” and maybe we could finally be in agreement.