Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Submit to Authority

One of the hardest things for a man to do is to admit defeat, wrongdoing, or simply that he may be wrong. It seems to be hard wired into our being. In the hispanic culture there is even a word for this phenomena - "machismo". It means to make others submit to your authority because you are a man. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but our Father in heaven has given us orders as Christians to submit ourselves to the authorities. In Romans chapter 13:1-7 we are told that the authorities are put there by God's own hand to deliver God's punishment for wrongdoing.
So the first question that comes to mind is, "Do you mean to tell me that Hitler was put there by God?" Perhaps. I'm not one to question God's authority on the matter only to speak what his Word says on the subject. Perhaps God had a purpose for the evil little man with a big mouth. Even so, God made a way for him to exit the scene as well.
We are to submit ourselves to authorities of law enforcement, government and at our jobs. We must also teach our children to do the same. Granted there are cases when this authority is perverted or misused in the name of some crazy ideology or simple greed on behalf of one or several people. If that authority contradicts God's word we have an obligation to fight against it as well. Remember that no man can serve two masters either he will love one and hate the other or hate the one and love the other.
When that authority conflicts with our own agenda, however, it is easy to say they are in the wrong and we begin to fight against it, but that is not the case most of the time.
Examine families that have no authority figure present. Either dad or mom is not present or one or both will not take their rightful place of authority within the family and the family structure collapses. We are not to allow our children to run the house in any form or fashion. They may have an opinion and we should allow them to positively speak their minds, but ultimately you as the father of your home have full authority and responsibility to execute both rewards and punishment within reason. Do not misuse that authority over our children to beat them down beyond recovery either physically, mentally, or emotionally (Ephesians 6:4 Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord)
If, however, you do not believe in submitting yourself to the authorities put in place by God, then how can you in full faith believe you have every right to rule over your own household? You will be a direct contradiction to yourself.
In all things seek the wisdom and direction of the Holy Spirit to guide your words, your thoughts, and your action. Give praise to God for all He does in your life and your family.



Man O God

Friday, July 8, 2011

Drop the Baggage

Three men were driving through the desert when their car broke down.  After a short time of trying to repair the vehicle, they realized that it was useless to try so they spoke to each and said, "We should gather whatever we can carry that will help us get to civilization."  One man grabbed up two jugs of water, another man took a large blanket, and one man carefully removed one of the car doors.  After walking for a few miles, two of the men looked over at the man with the water and said, "What's that?" The man said, "We're in the desert, we're going to need to drink lots of water to stay alive." They all nodded and continued walking.  After a few more hours, two men looked at the one carrying the blanket, and asked, "What's that for?" The man with the blanket said, "At night the desert temperatures can drop significantly so we'll need to stay covered or face hypothermia." "Oh", they said, and continued walking.  After another hour, two men looked at the man carrying the car door and said, "What gives with the car door man?"  The last man looked at the other two, and said, "Duh...if it gets hot, I'm going to roll down the window!"

Sounds funny when you look at it like that, but in reality we are each carrying a piece of luggage, sometimes dozens, hundreds, or thousands of pieces of useless luggage.  The luggage is unforgiveness.  We carry our grudges, our anger, our "reasons" for not speaking to this person or that. We hold on fiercely to our excuses why this person deserves our revenge or our cold shoulder.  We even find ways to avoid those people by declining invitations to social gatherings.  As if they will really noticed we are missing.  Unforgiveness is one of the worst things you can do in your life. It is a cancer that eats away at your mind, your heart, and your soul.  If someone cuts you off on the freeway, you cuss them out in your heart and probably dwell on it for hours, maybe even days.  Meanwhile that other driver probably has no idea how you feel and is already moving on with his or her life.  Who's suffering? You are! Jesus said that if you will not forgive others their offenses against you neither will he forgive your offenses.  What a terrible thought?

Think of all the good you think you may have done in your life, it would be all for nothing if you stand before the throne and realize that due to your unforgiveness you will never enter the gates of heaven. Unforgiveness is important not only for your eternal life after your death, but it is critical for you to live a full life here on earth.  You cannot be truly free until you shed that useless baggage.  

Make a list of people who have offended you and begin contacting them by email, letter, phone, or in person.  Pray beforehand for for guidance and patience because it won't be easy.  Tell this person you forgive them.  Ask them to forgive you for judging them.  Don't try to fight or defend yourself, just accept that they may not want your forgiveness and they might not forgive you. They may even add to the list of things you should hate them for, but none of that matters.  What matters is that you do your part, then either reconcile or walk away.  I guarantee that if you do this in God's love there will be a burden lifted off your shoulders and you will begin to breath freely again. The first time is terrifying, but the more you do it, the more liberated you will be each day. God's mercy is waiting for those who show mercy were it is not deserved.



Man O God 

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15*

Why All the Suffering?

All this month, I've been hearing about so much suffering going on all around. Suffering in different countries. Suffering in our country. Suffering in our neighborhoods. Suffering of men, women, and children through violence, abuse, hunger, neglect, and so many other nameless horrors. With all this suffering, you may ask, "How can a loving God allow so much pain and suffering in the world?" You're not alone asking this question. It's a question many have asked going back to the oldest book in the Bible - Job. Job suffered in the most awful way and all so that God could prove to Satan that Job was a man dedicated to God because of his love, not because of the blessing that God bestowed upon Job. Sounds really harsh when you think about the deaths of his children, the loss of all his possessions, and the loss of his health doesn't it?
So why? Why so much suffering? Does God really love us like those Bible thumpers say He does? Yes, yes, and YES! God's love is never ending and unconditional. He loves you more than you can fathom. God's heart goes out to those who suffer in pain and hurt, but many times, the blackness of sin disrupts our connection with God and severs our relationship so that God can only watch helplessly as we wallow in our selfishness. When Jesus died on the cross, he died to grant us total freedom once and for all. We have freedom to chose whether to seek God's face or to seek our own destiny on our own. Each choice we make will either bring us a step closer to his love, mercy, protection, grace, guidance, and salvation or one step closer to independence, vulnerability, darkness, and depravity. God's people suffer just as anyone else, BUT! Yes, but, we suffer knowing that there will be a growing. There will be a newness when the suffering is over. God will never put more on you than you can handle. We do, however, put more on ourselves than we can handle and as a result we lose our minds at times and in extreme cases we take our own lives. Nevertheless, suffering is needed in order to grow. Athletes suffer vigorous training in order to attain peak muscular levels. Soldiers suffer extreme conditions in order to mentally and physically prepare for the horrors of war. Even in nature we see examples like the butterfly who tirelessly pushes out of the cocoon. If we were to remove this process and help that butterfly by cracking the cocoon open, we would doom the creature because the struggle is necessary to force vital blood into the crumpled wings that will enable it to fly.
So how, then do God's people endure this suffering of tragedy and loss? We must seek God's wisdom in all things, good or bad. He promised never to leave us nor forsake us. Millions have held him to that promise and He has always come through for those who have diligently sought him.



Seek him today. Look to Christ because He says, "Come unto me, all that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Man O God

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

When the Tears are Gone

Most of the time it's fairly easy to be happy - for a time. It's easy to get a few laughs from your favorite tv show, get a smile from your the one you love, or even get a quick fix from a bottle. Some of these things bring happiness which is not, in and of itself, necessarily good or bad, but real happiness is easy to spot. It's those times when you are so overwhelmed with happiness that tears well up in your eyes and flow like there's no tomorrow. It's Miss America being crowned. It's holding your first born in your arms. It's getting the news that the cancer is gone. It's winning the lottery. It's the look on his face when you say "Yes, I'll marry you". It's your son or daughter going off to college.



These are the moments that come by the pinch into our lives and make life really worth living.
Some who know and love God have those tearful moments whenever the love of God comes flowing suddenly and you feel so moved by it that you can't help but cry from the sheer joy of it. We call those moments "mountain-top" moments. Those moments are wonderful, but what happens when the tears dry up? What happens when the crown gets dusty and the wrinkles show up? What happens when the baby just won't shut up at 2 in the morning? What happens when the love of your life falls into a steady humdrum? What happens when everything falls back into the everyday norm again?
The fact is that life happens. Things tend to become boring again very quickly as the "newness" wears off and we realize that our spouse doesn't always make us laugh. Our children aren't always going to do the right thing, the lotto money ruined our lives, and even those mountain top episodes fade quickly.
So what is it that keeps us from becoming depressed and feeling like we've been let down? These are the times when it becomes important to deny oneself. Yep, I said it. DENY YOURSELF. Realize that your spouse, your children, your parents, your boss, and yes, even God are not here to entertain you. Those people are not even there to make sure you are comfortable. John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country". I believe this goes for all things. Ask what you can do for your spouse, for your children, for your friends, your boss, and yes, your God. As you begin to serve others instead of yourself, you will open up new channels that you never knew existed before. By doing this, you can renew your joy in all things daily try it for yourself and see how your love toward others can turn quickly into receiving the same from others.

Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. - Luke 17:33

Man O God

The Divinity and Humanity of Christ

Isn't it funny how when we go through things in life, especially those really rough times, like when we are hurting, ill, or lose a loved one, we always have people who come up to us and mean well, but always have a way of making things worse?  You know the types that say things like, "I know how you feel." or "I've been there".  Deep inside we say, "There is no possible way you can know what I'm going through".  We just smile, say words of gratitude and listen to their advice.  Mostly, they do all the talking and don't really listen to anything we are really feeling.
Okay, I know there are some exceptions out there and I pray that you have at least one friend out there that listens more than talks.  If, however, you find yourself without such a friend, rest easy.  There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).  His name is Jesus.
I was speaking to a good friend of mine yesterday who wasn't clear on the Trinity and what it means.  I began to think that I take for granted all the things I learned in Sunday school and always believed that if I knew, everyone else must know.  Here's the nitty gritty on J.C. (yeah, we're close like that).
First, we need to understand that Jesus was, is, and always will be 100% man and 100% God.  I know that this is one of the most difficult things to understand, but it's vitally important to the hope we have as human beings.  If our hope in salvation from the ultimate penalty of sin rests squarely on Jesus' shoulders, then we need to trust in Him fully.  How can we trust in Him if we don't really know him?
Well I'll give you a little info on my Lord, my savior, my friend Jesus.  We know that he was there at the beginning with God and was God(John 1:1).  We also know that when he came to earth, he shed all his Godly qualities so that he could be just one of us (Hebrews 2:9).  We also know that he suffered in every way a man can know (Matthew 4:1, Hebrew 4:15).  When his mission was complete, he was raised again to the status He had before he came to earth (John 17:5).
This is how we can fully trust in Christ.  We know that he sufferred like we all do.  He was tempted like we all are and he overcame in all points.  This is why in all things we can and should go to Jesus for comfort, for support, for answers, and especially, for salvation from our own selfish desires.  When he says, "I know what you're going through", He really means it! (Psalm 139:2)
If you examine yourself today I can promise that you are exactly as close to God as you want to be at any given time in your life.  If you feel a million miles from God, it's because you put yourself there.  If you feel he won't hear you, it's because you don't really want to hear from Him.  He's just a prayer away (Hebrews 4:16).







Man O God

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Pushing Forward

I have to admit I had a bit of a dry spell with my writing. I guess I was just waiting for some kind of inspiration to kick my in the butt and get me going.
Ever feel like that? Ever feel like you're just running on autopilot? Like your job, family, home, car, church, whatever are just going on mindlessly? At first I used to feel guilty about doing that. I used to think that if my heart wasn't in it, I shouldn't be doing it at all. In some cases that may be true, but as adults we quickly learn that some things are obligations and must be done regardless of how we feel about them.
It may seem mean spirited to think that playing with your kids or taking your spouse out for dinner are meaningless if your heart isn't in it, but they don't know that. There will be times in your life when you just have to keep on keeping on and wait upon God to renew your joy in those things again. I don't care how much you hate your job, your school, your spouse or whatever. If you keep pushing forward...and I don't mean grudgingly...I mean with some kind of decency, praying about it all the way, God will bring about a spark. That spark may fizzle on and off, but you keep pushing yourself and before you know it that spark will grow into a full blown forest fire!
The famous British prime minister Winston Churchill once gave a legendary speech that said," We shall never surrender!" That speech gave the people of Britain hope to fight the most relentless military machine of their time. Outnumbered and outgunned, they fought and fought until finally they overcame. I'm not saying it was a good time, I'm just saying it was worth it.



Now assess those things in your life and never surrender. It will be worth it. Like Paul said, "I have fought the good fight".

Man O God

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Assuredly So

Today I was reflecting on a little talk I had with one of my kids that is quickly approaching teenagerism (I know its not a word, so what?!).  We had a talk about being selfish and stubborn.  I seem to be pretty good at recognizing it in others, yet I don't seem to find it in myself.  It took a divine mirror to show me that I am just as selfish and stubborn as the next person (maybe even worse).  At the end of our talk I explained that I am not perfect and hoped that would solve my issue with a "band-aid".  We talked about the uncertainty of things around us and people around us.  Then this morning I thought about several things.  It seems that things you can prove and things you are sure of are not the same.  I thought to myself, "I can prove the sun shines, but I'm not sure it will continue to burn tomorrow.  I can prove that I went to school, but I'm not sure I will remember that knowledge.  I can prove that where I work, but I'm not sure I will have a job tomorrow.  I can prove that I have a family, a home, a car, money, friends, etc., but I cannot be sure that I will continue to have any of those things when (or if) the sun comes up tomorrow."  Then I remembered there is one thing I cannot prove and yet, this I CAN be sure of.  I cannot prove that there is a loving, caring, unselfish, all-seeing, all-knowing God who loves me unconditionally, but I am sure beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is there, watching over me, my family, my home, my car, my money, my job, and yes, the sun.  I cannot prove to anyone that He is there, but I can rest peacefully at night without a worry in the world, because I know nothing can ever happen that He has not allowed to happen.  He has said, "All things work together for those who love God who are called according to His purpose."  So I can rest assured that He loves me and that He will always bless me in all things. 

Funny how the one thing we cannot prove is the only thing we can be 100% sure of.  :-)  Have a blessed day.

Man of God

Watch What You Say...

As I was readying my lesson for this coming Sunday, I was reading through the book of Numbers.  I was studying how God's people the Israelite people kept grumbling and complaining all the time.  They had spent 400 years in slavery to the Egyptians and when God sent Moses to free them, all they wanted to do was go back into slavery at every turn.  Then God decided to show them the land he had promised to their forefathers so they sent twelve spies into the land (then known as Canaan).  They spent 40 days checking out the place and realized it was a land of milk and honey full of fertile land, lush fruit, and everything they could ever dream of.  They also, however, saw fortified cities, men armed to the teeth and GIANTS!  

So they went back and reported that while it was a wonderful place, they couldn't take it because of all the obstacles.  One one man - Caleb saw it for what God made it out to be.  He pressed his people to go and take it because God had promised it.  Unfortunately, the people didn't believe him, they believed the negative reports of the other 11.  In Numbers 14:28 God said, "...as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you."  Basically he was saying, whatever you say to me whether good or negative, God will do to you.  
Do you ever wonder why people who constantly complain that they are sick are always sick?  People who say they never have money never do.  People who are bad at math really are?  I learned a few years back that the words we say about our circumstances will come true.  If you really want to make a positive change in your own life then start speaking it out so God can make the changes.  
It won't happen over night so get that out of your head, but as you begin to say things like, "I AM good at math" or "I am a good parent" or "I have a good job" these things will eventually turn around for you.  If you continue to speak those things eventually you will believe them and God will bring it to pass.  
Then once you have allowed God to make those positive changes in your life, begin to speak them into the lives of others and teach them to do the same.  
Don't make the same mistake those people did.  When things go wrong, don't say, "See it doesn't work, let me just go back to being miserable (a slave again)."  Keep believing in the promises God has for you.  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future - Jeremiah 29:11

Man O God