Proof of Your Faith

I Peter 1 tells us that our faith will one day be tried, like gold is tried by fire.  The Scripture is also careful to point out that our faith is much more precious than gold.  Our faith is what will deliver us in the day that we are tried.  The passage states that the end of our faith is the salvation of our souls.  So from this passage we see that our faith is important, and that a trial of it is a guarantee.  What then, proves your faith?  Is there any proof of faith evident in your life?

Before we get into what proofs of faith we should manifest, we must carefully define just what faith is, exactly.  The terms hope and faith are sometimes used synonymously, but they are really different in their core meanings.  Hope is a word that carries connotations of the future.  Hope is looking down the road, and believing that some good thing lies ahead.  Hope is largely based on emotion and can be influenced by exterior circumstances.  We catch a bad break, and suddenly our hope begins to wane.  Faith, on the other hand, is a solidly present tense term.  Faith is the knowledge that God will do what He says He will do.  Faith is knowing that God has always provided, and not wavering from that knowledge when a new situation of need arises.  Faith is what we must possess when facing a trial.  Faith is the comfort of knowing that God has always delivered before, and therefore will deliver again because He is unchanging.  Hope is not so concrete.  Faith requires a knowledge of God, and hope only requires a belief in God.  The difference is quite stark.

There are many who have a belief that God exists, and they may actually hope that He hears their prayers and will help them.  However, these people do not have a knowledge of God and have yet to place their faith in Him.  Their hope, while genuine, will lead them straight to hell.  Faith prompts us to action.  Faith is taking that step into the unknown, and placing all trust and hope in that which is unseen.  Faith is then rewarded with the knowledge and confirmation that it has found a true resting place.  God provides His Holy Spirit to live within the temple of man once that man places all his faith in Him.  This indwelling confirms in us the presence of God and is the proof that our faith has been correctly placed.

Faith is the thing that transforms our hopes into realities.  Faith is the tangible proof of a thing we once could only hope for.  We gain faith when we see its provision in our lives.  These fulfillments of hope become faith, so that our hope is no longer only a dream.  When we hope for a thing and unwaveringly cling to the belief that it will come to pass, we build faith.  Faith is then fully gained when the hope becomes reality.  Going through trials with a hope that God will deliver is rewarded with a new measure of faith at the end of the trial when God actually does deliver. 

So what proofs of faith are manifest in your life?  Do you know Christ?  The only way to succeed in the Christian life is to live by faith.  We are only alive to bring honor and glory to the Lord.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.  Faith is the key that will unlock the blessings of God in your life.  Faith is a substance; it is the catalyst that will activate and bring about the things for which you are hoping.  Do you have regular answers to prayer?  Is your life marked by the unmistakable goodness of God?  When was the last time you felt so overwhelmed by the love and presence of God in your life that all you could do was weep for joy?  How has the Lord conveyed to you His grace, mercy, and favor lately?  How much power has God granted you for His service?  Are you regularly seeing opportunities to witness, and seeing people trust Christ?  How sweet is your walk with Christ? 

If these questions give you pause, you may not be exhibiting the proofs of faith you should be exhibiting as a Christian.  Faith is the force that will enable us to experience all the goodness that God wants to pour out upon His children.  God does not intend for us to lead an anemic, meager Christian existence.  The earmarks of a blessed Christian walk are abundance and blessing.  Yes, trials will come; but in the trials His goodness and grace abound even more.  Let us not only hope for God's blessings but also possess the faith necessary to receive God's blessings.  Endeavor to stand firm in time of testing.  See your hope mature into faith by refusing to waver until the hope becomes reality.  Grow your faith so that its proofs will be readily evident in your life.

As a Man Thinketh...

So much time is spent by Christians these days trying to shake off worldly habits and avoid the pitfalls of Satan.  Many times we struggle with the same sins over and over again.  Why is this?  Because we, by and large, have not learned how to train and focus our thinking.  As we think, we are.  This is a guaranteed, mark it down, unchanging, everlasting Biblical truth!  You cannot become something unless you first think that thing.  We never do anything unless that deed was first born as a thought of our minds.

The mind is the joint or gateway between the spiritual and the physical.  Our mind is affected by our heart or our spirit.  As we commune with God, our hearts are stirred and our minds are provoked to think spiritual things.  Likewise, if we allow ourselves to be inundated with worldly influences, our minds will stray to carnal, temporal things.  The mind is the joint that connects the spiritual part of us to the physical.  Nothing we do physically has not been impacted by our mind first.  The way we feel in our spirit will determine how we think in our mind which in turn affects how we act.

The Bible teaches us not to be conformed to this world.  What does this mean?  It means that we should not take on and accept the worldly mindset or way of thinking.  We as Christians should not be accepting of how the world thinks and operates.  We are not to conform.  By taking on a worldly mindset, we are guaranteeing worldly thoughts, and thus we are setting ourselves up for worldly actions.  Having a carnal mindset will produce carnal thoughts, which can only lead to carnal actions.  This progression of events is guaranteed by Scripture.  No matter how much we may try to deceive ourselves into believing that we can overcome a worldly mindset, it simply cannot be done.  A man who possesses a worldly mindset is a ticking time bomb of worldly thoughts and deeds waiting to explode.

The maturity we possess as Christians is determined by our mindset.  The decisions we make influence and indeed determine our level of Christian maturity.  A man with the mind of Christ will tend to make wise decisions and will constantly be maturing and growing- provided he maintains a Godly mindset.  A man who is carnally minded will make carnal decisions, do carnal deeds, and never mature in his walk with Christ.  Our thinking determines what plane of maturity we will achieve in Christ.

The Bible commands us to be transformed by renewing our minds.  To transform something is to change that thing from its original state into something new.  This transformation is not a one-time event; it must be a continual process.  We must be constantly changing and allowing our minds to be renewed.  We must transform our mindset by exchanging our thoughts and beliefs with those of Christ.  We must accept His thoughts and deny our own.  We must take on His mind, and put away our way of thinking.  This is the transformation we must undergo daily to achieve a proper mindset, which will inspire proper thoughts, which will trigger proper behavior.

To take on the mind of Christ, we must not try to fit Scripture to the way we think.  We must change the way we think to fit Scripture.  There can be no compromise is this regard.  In this area, people often fall short of truly inhabiting the mind of Christ as they attempt to pick and choose just how they will accept a Scriptural mindset.  We oftentimes try to mix the mind of Christ with a little of our own thinking.  This leads to disastrous and heretical results.  This kind of living is the source of much of the problems that exist in the body of Christ today- well-intentioned people halfway conforming to the world while proclaiming to take on the mind of Christ.  This cannot possibly work, because what fellowship hath light with darkness?  If we have any of the old conformity to the world present in our thinking, we are not fully submitted to the Christ-like mindset we are commanded to have.  The transformation is not complete, and we do not have the power that is implicit in possessing the mind of Christ.  We only have a bastardized version of Christianity that is warned of in II Timothy. 

To become a mature Christian and possess holiness, we must take on the mind of Christ.  As we think, we are.  Holiness is nothing more than having the mind of Christ.  Allowing ourselves to come under the authority of Christ and accepting the transformation that Scripture will effect in our lives as a result is the process we must undergo to achieve holiness.  We will never mature as Christians absent this transformation.  Again, this change is not a one-time event.  Salvation does not guarantee spiritual maturity.  The one-time change of accepting Christ as Saviour is not the same thing as becoming spiritually mature.  Everyday we must crucify the old man, take on the mind of Christ, and journey in His will.  Exchange your mindset for the mind of Christ.  You will then see how your heart will be touched by Heaven, which your spur your mind to think on true, honest, just, and pure things which will produce actions pleasing to the Lord.

Your mind is a gateway.  From your heart, emotions become thoughts which become actions.  Your actions determine who you are.  What you do defines you.  So, in effect, how you feel which determines how you think is what defines you.  Think with the mind of Christ and you can be guaranteed to become a mature, holy Christian living in God's will and producing the fruit of the Spirit.

Been away from the Blog lately...

I realize that I haven't posted much recently.  My schedule has been such that I haven't had the time to post as I usually like to and enjoy doing.  I have a few great things (I think) in the works to share, so please check back often.  Again, I appreciate all of you who come by the blog, and I hope the content is helpful.

Trip to Arkansas

This week, I have been privileged to travel with our boy's varsity basketball team to Jacksonville, Arkansas for the March Madness Tournament and Youth Conference hosted by Bible Baptist Church.  I love being able to travel and be around our guys- we have a great group of sharp young men.  The tournament portion of the week is over, and although we didn't fare well, it has been a great experience for the team.  The main speaker for the youth conference is Pastor Jay Reed from Suwanee, Georgia.  I have known Pastor Reed for several years, and he is a great preacher and has done a great job so far.  I will share some great thoughts from his messages in future posts.  I am blessed beyond measure to be involved in ministering to our young men everyday- I have the best job in the world and I love it!

Staying Hungry

One of the keys to sustained excellence is staying hungry.  Being driven to not only achieve excellence, but also to maintain excellence is a hallmark of those who accomplish great things.  We must never rest on our past successes, nor dwell on our past failings and misgivings.  We must always be looking forward.

To truly achieve excellence, you must first learn to master whatever it is you are doing.  This can usually only be done through hard work- and lots of it.  To the athlete who desires to rise to the top of his sport, many hours of practice must be put in to accomplish that goal.  The basketball player who is possessed of some talent, attends practice with his team, but does no extra work may perform adequately and even have the occasional stand-out performance.  It is the player that stays after the minimum team practice time has been fulfilled that goes on to develop a great career.  Putting in the time, energy, and effort to master your job is vitally important if you want to attain excellence.

Putting in the work to become excellent and achieving that goal in the short term, however, is not the sign of true greatness.  Continuing to put in that work to maintain and even improve your performance is the only way to achieve an excellent record.  Again, excellence is not a short-term or one time event; it is the continued achievement of a high standard.  How does one sustain the energy and effort it takes to pull this off?  He stays hungry. 

Paul admonishes us in Philippians 3 to "forget those things which are behind" and to "press toward the mark..."  This is an example of staying hungry.  Have you had past failures?  Forget about them, they are where they will always be- in the past!  Have you been successful before?  Forget about that too, because past success is not a guarantee of future achievement.  Stay hungry!  Constantly have your focus on what is right in front of you, and on what lies ahead.  This is the only way to achieve excellence.  Having a desire to be excellent must be the motor that will drive you to act and behave in ways that will result in your development of excellent habits.  Absent the desire to achieve excellence, a man becomes apathetic and lethargic.  These are not becoming qualities for a Christian to possess.  Strive to maintain high personal standards of excellence, and stay hungry to do and be better than you were yesterday.

Entering the Fourth Quarter!

This week is the last week of the third quarter for the 2011-2012 school year.  This year has flown by!  I have learned so much in the course of teaching, coaching, and fulfilling my other daily duties since August.  It truly seems like it was just yesterday that I sat in our teacher orientation filled with excitement for the coming school year.  The possibilities and potential that lay ahead were inspiring, challenging, and humbling then for this young teacher.  As I look back on the first 3/4 of this school year, I am even more humbled, challenged, and inspired!

I serve an awesome God, and I am so thankful that He allows and empowers me to serve in the capacity that I do here at Central Baptist School.  It is only by God's grace and mercy I am able to have any sort of ministry.  I love, love, love the staff and students I get to work and serve with everyday- there is no other place I would rather be and no other thing I would rather be doing!  Praise God for a wonderful first three quarters.  I am looking forward to finishing this school year being even more determined and committed than I was back in August.

Raider Boys Basketball Team State Runners-Up!

I am so proud to have helped coached this year's Raider boys basketball team!  The guys fought through adversity to win a spot in the Gulf Coast Christian Conference Championship game.  They did this by winning three games in a row, all against higher seeds in the tournament.  As a 5 seed, no one expected us to play for the championship; but we believed we could and we did!  The guys gave everything they had but came up short against the overwhelming favorite number 1 seed and undefeated team in the final game.  Losing held no shame for the Raiders, as they truly left it all out on the court.  Persevering and achieving has been a hallmark of this 2011-2012 Raider squad.  I love each and every one of you, Raider players!  Keep on improving, and watch out next year GCCC- the Raiders are taking it all!

What My Tears Would Say

If you could see my heart of love,

So full about to burst;

And when words fail, it empties out

Like rain on ground athirst.

If you could read those tears that fell

And stained this page so dry;

If you knew from which well they came,

And when they fell and why.

Those tears would say, "I love you" and

"I'll go that extra mile."

They carry love so strong and true,

So pure and undefiled.

The tears would say, "I miss you" when

By chance you're ever gone.

They'd stream and flow right down my face

Until your journey's done.

The tears would say, "You're special" and

"There's no one quite like you."

They'd make you feel like royalty;

They'd cheer you when you're blue.

The tears would say, "I need you" when

No other seems to care.

They'd reach out and they'd want you,

And they wouldn't want to share.

The tears would say, "I know you" when

Some lie you'd try to tell.

The tears would keep you honest should

You try to cast some spell.

The tears would say, "I trust you" if

Some indecision came.

The tears would back you up in times

When others issue blame.

The tears would say, "I'll hold your hand" and

Would comfort all your fears.

They'd drive away detractors and

Cause loved ones to draw near.

The tears would say, "Forgiven" if

You ever went astray.

The tears would never hold a grudge,

Not even for a day.

The tears would say, "I'm sorry" when

The tables have been turned.

If I'm the one found in the wrong,

And you're the one that's burned.

The tears would say, "You're lovely" should

Some haters mock and scorn.

They'd spread a balm where you'd been pricked

By critics' spiteful thorns.

The tears would sacrifice and give

So you would never want.

The tears would always acquiesce 

So you could glow and flaunt.

The tears would serve and gladly bend

So you some rest could take.

The tears would carry all your load

So your back never aches.

The tears would never breathe again

So you could draw one breath.

The tears would face your every foe, 

And if they could, your death.

The tears would do these things and more,

And in that way express-

But you can't read them, they can't speak-

So now I must confess:

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed,

And when my words fail me-

Just see my tears and know, my friend,

What all they'd say and be.

Leave Your Troubles

Another sleepless night, I fear

Of restless, wistful yawns.

Sleep evades me once again,

And soon the new day dawns.

The day that was had lingered so

I could not leave behind.

The cares and burdens it had held

Still weighed upon my mind.

With the setting of the sun,

My soul cried out for rest!

And though my body didst agree,

My mind would get the best

Of me and keep me up this night

While others drift away

To be refreshed, recharged, renewed;

But me, I had to stay.

And so all night I wondered why

I could not join that band,

That blessed troop that occupied

Sweet never-never land.

My eyes would burn but never shut,

So full of sand and fire.

Try as I might to slow it down,

My mind just wouldn't tire!

Whizzing, whirring, overloaded

From a day of care-

The topsy-turvy pace it kept

Belied my frozen stare.

Behind dull eyes, my brain's aglow

With worry, woe, and thought.

And deeper into night I drift,

While not a "ZZZZZ" I've caught.

But then I realized the thing

That I should have before-

The reason that I cannot rest

And slumber, sleep and snore-

I've carried burdens all day long,

Borne sorrows, pain, attacks.

The worries of the world had weighed

And bent and bowed my back.

I hurried through and did not take

The time to shed my load.

I should have left that heavy weight

Along life's busy road.

That road we all must travel as

We make our way through life.

The road that takes its twists and turns

Through sorrow, pain, and strife.

The road that brings us down dark trails

Of danger and despair,

O'er faulty footholds, unsure paths

That seem to go nowhere.

Beside this road each day we stop

To rest and catch our breath-

Not hurrying to reach its end,

For we know that it holds death.

But on our way we sometimes find

Redemption, mirth, and grace.

And with these helps we soldier on

To find a better place.

Then as each day draws to a close,

Night signals to us, "Sleep.

Lay down your burdens and your cares,

These through the night can't keep."

We must let go and on the morrow

Wake to find again.

But oft they seem to disappear

As though they hadn't been.

Sometimes we find them on our way,

And with them we contend.

Another day we carry on

New daylight hours to spend.

Toiling under strain and stress-

Something we all must do-

Working in the noon-time sun

Until the day is through.

Leave the troubles of the old day

In the setting sun.

Maybe in the morn discover

All of them are gone!

Maybe some are waiting right beside

Your chosen way.

Not to worry though, dear friend,

You only carry them one day!

2,345 page views in February!

Thank you once again to all you readers!  You made last month the biggest by far in the short history of this blog.  I sincerely and ever so humbly appreciate your taking time to come to the blog.  I am motivated to continue to provide content that I pray will be helpful.  Thank you so much for supporting the blog- I hope that you are in some way helped, blessed, inspired, or challenged by what you find here.  Thank you all so much!

Quiet Confidence

So much of what determines how promoted a thing is in the world today depends upon how loudly that thing clamors for attention and promotes itself.  "Swag" has become the buzzword in sports and entertainment.  Gone are the days of humble superstars like Bill Russell and Cal Ripken Jr.  Now we deal with self-aggrandizing athletes like Lebron James and Alex Rodriguez.  How much braggadocio you exude will often determine your place in the food chain.  This trend of "look at me" and putting self first is diametrically opposed to Bible teaching.

There is nothing wrong with having confidence.  A man has every right to the natural self-confidence that he gains after devoting his time and energies to achieve.  However, this confidence need not be an overt attitude of "look what I've done".  The true confidence gained in giving your all and succeeding will be an inner peace and sense of fulfillment.  This self-worth cannot be gained any other way, but it has to be earned.  It cannot be achieved through the compliments, praise, or laud of others.  The praise of men is but a shallow ringing in the ears that fades away and is soon gone.  To place too much stock in it is folly and self-deception.  Pride puffs up.  True confidence keeps you hungry to get better and do more.

Pride tells you that you are the best; confidence urges you forward to get even better.

The quiet confidence you earn from working to achieve does not need to trumpet itself.  The good work you do will be its own testament to success.  Oftentimes it is those who have actually accomplished little and are capable of the least that blow their own horns the loudest.  The one who is possessed of true confidence feels no need to seek for the approval of others because he knows that even though his past accomplishments may have been good, his next will be even better.  This is because he does not have pride whispering "you have arrived" in his ear.  Do not be deceived by those who seem to clamor for attention the most with boasting and self-promotion.  This will be a sign that there is really not much there worth your while.

The Bible teaches that pride comes before a fall.  Having confidence is necessary if you want to achieve great things.  We must be careful that we do not allow a good confidence to crossover into being an unjust pride.  Pride will often puff up a person because it bases worth on comparisons to others.  Keep yourself humble by comparing yourself to the measuring stick of the Bible and Christ- these are the only comparisons that matter.  If the Bible says that the best I can do is filthy rags, then what right have I to become boastful?  Stay quietly confident in yourself and in your will do work to achieve.  Shun the vainglorious, self-promoting tendencies of the wordly culture.

Patience

I hate to wait!  I am not a big fan of having my time wasted, and waiting- be it in lines, at traffic lights, at appointments, or at the microwave- almost always seems to be wasted time.  Waiting is torture.  Waiting is also necessary.  Waiting does not have to be wasteful.

The pace of many things has sped up in our modern time.  Travel times are mere fractions of what they used to be.  Food preparation has been made more efficient with microwaves, convection ovens, and infrared cooking.  Communication is instantaneous where it used to takes days, even months.  But there are still many instances throughout the day where we find ourselves waiting.  Of course, dealing with having to wait is the issue at hand.  We know waiting is necessary sometimes, but how it is that we approach waiting is the question. 

When we find ourselves waiting, we should know that time spent waiting is time spent accomplishing something.  While waiting at a traffic light, we are accomplishing the task of getting somewhere.  It may not seem like it, but we are making progress.  You see, waiting at traffic signals or stop signs is part of traveling on our modern highways.  As we pass through each such stoppage, we have made progress towards our overall goal of getting to wherever it is we are going.  When we wait on things to happen we are actually in the process of accomplishing that thing.

Also while waiting, we should realize that we have been given precious time apart from the things we are doing.  These wait times are like little "time-outs" in life.  These moments can be spent in reflection, thought, or prayer.  Or they may be simply enjoyed as a moment to take a deep breath and refocus.  Take advantage of time spent waiting to catch your breath when life becomes harried and overwhelming.  In the hustle and bustle of getting things done, we often have waiting times interspersed throughout our day.  Instead of anxiously tapping your fingers or pacing around waiting your turn, use that time to extract yourself from the moment and enter a time of peacefulness within that time of waiting. 

While waiting may be tedious, do not forget that it does not have to be wasteful.  Utilize your waiting time purposefully and it will become beneficial time. 

The Power in Pain

No one likes to endure pain.  No one enjoys suffering.  No one looks forward to hardship.  But there is extreme power in pain.  Pain and suffering are the keys that unlock a great store of power. 

Pain is never fun, but pain is always profitable.

Pain is promised.  Pain is a part of life.  There is no escaping it.  If you are alive on this earth, you have experienced pain of some sort.  The fact that you are breathing means that you have endured some sort of hardship.  If you haven't, prepare yourself- it is coming.  Pain is inevitable, unavoidable, and.....necessary.  If we are to ever gain power to do and accomplish great things, we must first suffer and travail.

Pain is profitable.  To bring a child into this world, a mother must endure great pain.  The anguish of childbirth is what allows the mother to have such joy as she holds her newborn babe for the first time.  The mother's agony of the delivery is soon swallowed up by the euphoria of having and holding a child that she brought into the world.  Her pain was the doorway she had to walk through to enter into the rest and comfort of caressing her child.  The workman toils and labors all day long and must endure many trying things in the course of his work.  But that pain is the passageway to the living he earns and the sense of self-worth and accomplishment he possesses at the end of a long week.  The athlete subjects his body to intense, painful training so that he may attain an edge in competition.  The painful sacrifices he makes in denying his body certain desires and appetites is the catalyst that will propel him to glory in his sport.  Without pain, there is no profit.  Absent toil and hard work, there can be no achievement or progress.  Comfort, casualness, and leisure have never wrought anything lasting.  

Only pain has the power to bring profit.

Pain is power.  Pain is in and of itself the power that moves and drives accomplishment.  Pain is not only powerful, it is power.  Our sufferings are the fuel that fire our drive to get past the suffering itself and move on to better times.  The "fellowship of suffering" Paul speaks of in Philippians 3 is the power that will allow us to know Christ, and to know Christ is to have power.  Only through pain may we gain the power we need to do the things Christ has for us to do.  Through this fraternity of hardship we take part in the pain Christ endured for us by taking up our cross daily and living a crucified life.  In this, we gain access to the power that is inherent in the pain.  

Pain is perfecting.  We are perfected in Christ the more we take part in this fellowship of suffering.  Unlocking the power that we need and that is available to us can only be done through taking part in pain.  Many see pain as a trammeling force that stunts progress or sets things back somehow.  They miss the crucial part of the process of pain.  Pain, after it is wrought, works to perfect and complete.  If we are faithful to endure the pain and accept the trial, then after we come through it we will reap the benefit of pain's power to perfect us.  Pain is the only way we will ever gain intimate knowledge of Christ and the immense power He promises those who partake in His fellowship of suffering.  Pain will grant power and pain will perfect us.  So don't think it strange when fiery trials come your way.  Do not shrink in fear when faced with a tiresome trial.  Stand firm in the confidence that Christ is simply working to perfect you.  Move boldly forward to face the hardship in the knowledge that you will be the beneficiary of the power that may be gained in the midst of the hardship's pain. 

Thank You! Best month ever!

Already this month, the blog has been viewed more times than in any other single month ever!  Yesterday the blog topped 1,600 unique visits for the month, putting the monthly total over that of January 2012 and April 2011 which were the previous high months.  Thank you all for continuing to come by!  I am humbled and motivated by these numbers.  I will continue to try to provide content that is worth your time.  Thank you!

Make New Friends...

The other day I found myself singing a little short song I heard from I don't remember where.  Maybe you've heard of it, "Make new friends, but keep the old- one is silver and the other gold."  This little saying sums up perfectly how we should view friendships and approach life always looking to make new friends.

I have been blessed to meet and make many friends in my lifetime, as probably have you.  However, I am always on the lookout for someone new that I can befriend.  Recently I was able to do so with someone in my church that I previously had not had much close interaction with.  I had seen him and known him from being at church, but hadn't really ever said more than, "Hello", to him.  I was able to spend some time with this person and buy him dinner, and get to know him a lot better.  I made a new friend.

The wonderful thing about making new friends is that you don't have to replace the old ones.  

Whenever you enter into a new friendship, you do not have to terminate an existing one.  Your pool of friends can grow and grow!  This is reflected in the body of believers.  As many people that want to, come to Christ and find that He accepts them when they place their faith in Him.  Christ doesn't unfriend someone each time a new person comes to Him.  Neither should we forget about the friends that we have had for a long time.

Treasure those friends that have known you for years and years.  These are the people that probably know you best, and given that fact it is amazing that they remain to be your friend!  They are comfortable with all your quirks and eccentricities.  They value you for....you.  Their gift of friendship to you is priceless and cannot be overvalued.  Likewise, cultivate your newer friendship so that they too will grow into the kind of deep, abiding relationships you share with your long-time friends.  

Be a friend, above all, and do not seek to only have people be friendly to you.  Go out of your way to befriend someone that cannot reciprocate the things you are able to do for them.  Find someone that cannot give back to you of their resources and be a financial blessing to them.  Find someone that cannot intellectually better you and be a teacher or mentor to them.  Find someone whose time is constrained and offer to do things for them.  Seek to be a blessing.  Actively pursue to surprise those you love with acts of "unprovoked friendship".  Random notes, letters, phone calls, or gifts from a friend could be the thing that lifts someone's spirit in a time of upheaval and personal crisis.  A kind deed or word could be the diamond among the rough of someone's day.

Make new friends and you will never be lonely.  Keep the old friends and you will always feel loved.  If you brighten the corner where you are, then everybody benefits.  To be a friend is to be a blessing.  To have a friend is to be blessed.  Have both to enjoy a life filled with the blessings that only come from loving and being loved. 

Should I post about this...

I went back and forth about whether or not I should share anything with you about what I am about to share with you.  Ultimately, I decided that it may...may be a help to someone out there, and that I would share this information on the blog.  This post and those subsequent posts that are relevant to it will be extremely personal.  I hope that they may encourage someone out there, and I do not share them with any vain intentions at all.

I have started a diet recently, and to be more accurate, I have changed certain lifestyle habits.  I had reached a point in my personal health that I was not happy with.  I needed desperately to make certain changes.  I began that journey in earnest on February 12.  Since that date, I have lost 14.6 pounds and have seen my body fat percentage go down by a little over a percentage point and have seen my BMI go down a point.  I was overjoyed to have seen results such as those in just a week.  The changes have been hard to adjust to at times, but adhering to them has paid dividends.  I have felt my energy level increase, and have been more alert and enthusiastic.  I feel great.

If you have reached a point of dissatisfaction with your personal health, start the change today.  Now is the only time you have to make a difference.  Starting tomorrow means that you will never start!  If anyone needed to change personal habits to improve their health, it was me- so I am by no means professing to be an authority on the matter, but I am someone who has made the leap to do so.  Take it from someone that has been disappointed in how they had let their health decline- make the changes you know you need to make starting right now.  Deal with the pain and inconvenience now, and avoid the drastic pains and consequences that await further down the road of poor health.

What did I do to achieve the results I saw?  I ate less, much less, than I had been eating.  I kept close track of what and when I ate.  I began taking supplements and vitamins to improve other areas of my health, and I exercised more than I had been.  Sitting at a desk or standing at a chalkboard or podium is not very taxing, so I had to figure out ways to get more physical activity in everyday.  I took stairs whenever possible.  I parked further away instead of looking for the close spot.  I didn't eat past a certain time (usually 6pm depending upon schedule limitations).  I started actively thinking about what I put into my body.  Our bodies are the temple of God and we should take extreme care to be good stewards of our physical bodies.  I had to begin to care more about my lifestyle choices and how they affected my health.  I had to be more conscious of how I ate and slept and exercised.  Nothing super complicated, but simple things that I had to discipline myself to do each day.

Supply and Demand

Recently, when studying to teach a history lesson, I found myself getting into a bit of economic study.  Explaining certain elements of the financial machinations of our country to junior high students can be challenging.  However, one element that is somewhat easy to illustrate is the principle of supply and demand.

While pondering the application of supply and demand within the history lesson, I also couldn't help but think of how the principle applies to our Christian walk.  When the demand to serve God within our lives is high, the costs to do so will also be high.  It costs you something to maintain a close relationship with Christ.  The Bible speaks of taking up a cross daily, crucifying our old man, and denying ourselves- Christianity isn't easy as we perceive easiness.  It is work, and there are certain costs associated with serving God.  When demand is high to serve the Lord, the devil will be sure to attack.

If your demand to serve God is low, the costs associated are also high- albeit of a different nature.  The costs associated with a high demand to serve the Lord will eventually work to enrich and strengthen.  We know this because "All things work together for good..." and God promises to aid those who seek Him.  The costs associated with no demand to serve the Lord are damaging and destructive.  These costs will result in the inevitable demise and death promised in Scripture to those who are not saved or to those Christians who neglect to serve God with their lives. 

When we have no demand to serve Christ, the costs are always higher than we can afford.

If  we maintain a high demand to live for God, there will be costs involved.  But those costs are quickly repaid to us by the blessings of the Lord.  We will find that His supply never runs out.  God has unlimited resources of wisdom, strength, truth, love, mercy, and grace that we may draw from daily.

The spiritual law of supply and demand may differ a bit from how the financial law operates, but I rejoice in the fact that our Lord will never withhold any good thing from us if we maintain a high personal demand to serve Christ.  Put this principle of spiritual supply and demand to the test.  Increase your demand to serve Christ and have a daily walk with Him, and see how the Lord will help you to pay the costs that it will incur.

Appetites

Recently, I began to make a change in my eating habits.  I disciplined myself in regards to food choices and portions.  I did so because I desired to become a more healthy person so that I am at my peak and able to offer my absolute best in my service to the Lord.  This has been a challenge.

I did not realize that certain appetites of mine had become very strong!

It was only when I began to attempt to alter and deny those appetites that the extent of their grip on my life became evident.

As I continued to stick with my plan, I noticed certain appetites began to wane.  At one time almost crippling, certain appetites were now all but gone.  How did this happen?

How could this happen- how could these cravings seemingly just disappear?

I realized that my appetites had become so potent because I constantly fed them!  The appetites began as a mild, almost subconscious urge.  I fulfilled those urges and satisfied them- momentarily.  By giving in to the urge and indulging it, I legitimized it to my conscious being as a need.

Now the urge had permission to come back- and this time more strongly.

Imagine a salesman knocking on your door.  If you invite him in, entertain his presentation, stop short of buying, but maintain a friendly demeanor he may be inclined to come back.  Should he come back, and that time you made a small purchase he would be even more inclined to keep coming back.

Now imagine that you had strongly rebuffed his initial proposition.  The chances that he would have returned have now been significantly lowered.  If he did return, and was turned down again, the likelihood of another return has been diminished even more.  The same principle applies with appetites.

Begin to deny them and they gradually lessen; feed them and they grow.

To avoid being overtaken in our fleshly, sinful appetites, we must resist them.  Denying our urges can only be successfully done through the power of the Lord.  We cannot fight fleshly urges in the flesh!  As we deny our appetites and begin to purge our lives of harmful things, we must remember to replace those things with useful things.  As I eliminated certain poor food choices from my diet, I had to add better options to take their place.

Walk in faith and trust in the Lord to grant you the strength to resist harmful appetites.  Trust in God to provide good things to add to your life to replace the excised damaging appetites.

Don't Turn back!

All of us go through painful times in life.  We all share the common experiences of loss, hurt, sorrow, tragedy, grief, and hardship; but the sun rises to break midnight's dark grip on the day. 

The rainbow only shows after the rainstorm.  

When coming out of a tough stretch in life, how eager are you to enter into another time of testing?  Or do you desire to embrace the light that is flickering at the end of your tunnel?  Of course the natural instinct is to leave behind the dark times and relish the newfound peace and calm of the blessed times.  We must be careful to take this approach as it concerns our sin.

When we sin, it is a dark time in our life.  Living opposite the will of the Lord will never make it onto the highlight reel of any life.  We must seek to confess and forsake our sin.

Why is it then, that we so often return again and again to our sin?

Purposing not to turn back is not enough.  Simply have a desire or intention to not backslide cannot sustain one in the fulfillment of that wish.  It has been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  We must have a plan and proceed in the strength of the Lord to ensure that we do not turn back to our sin.

The first thing we must do is see our sin how God sees our sin- vile and wicked.

We have become soft on sin.

We must utilize the mirror of Scripture to reflect back just how dirty our sin really is.  Go to Scripture each day to bathe in it and renew your spirit.

Additionally, we must flee from sin.  We must plan purposefully prepare to "get away" from sin.  In my school building, we have a procedure that tells us how to exit the building in the event of a fire.  That plan allows us to "get away" from the flames safely.  

We must allow Scripture to be our emergency escape plan from sin.

Finally, we must remember how bad it was when we were in our sin.  We must not allow ourselves to forget how low we were when God reached down into a miry pit to save us.  We must not forget how low we sink whenever we revisit our sin.  Just as we do not wish to return to times of personal tragedy or hardship, let us resolve to abstain from turning back to our sin.

 

How Deep is Your Faith?

I'm often fascinated to listen in when I hear folks discussing living a life based on faith and relationship with God as opposed to living a life based on following certain rules and standards that have become the norm for fundamental Christians.  More often than not, the dialogue follows a pattern similar to this: the advocate of having an inwardly focused "relationship" with God (who is usually a bit more comfortable with the newest trends, a tad more accepting of things outside the old-fashioned fundamental "norms", and who may be a bit younger) will say something like, "To me it doesn't matter what I wear, or where I go, or what I listen to, or what I watch, or what I allow to influence me, or what I say and do on social media, or how I live away from the church because I don't do things to impress men.  I have a "relationship" with Christ and I am not bound by the law and all its rules anymore." 

And then, inevitably, the person who thinks that everyone should follow THEIR standard of living and cling to certain rules and traditions will pipe up and say something like, "Well bless your heart, you just don't fit in with my preconceived notions of what it is to be a Christian.  You are a lady and you wear slacks.  You are a man and a new convert who is 15 minutes old as a Christian and you still have that earring in?  Maybe one day, you can attain the level of personal holiness that I inhabit."

I pity both sides of that discussion, because both sides miss the mark.  Galatians 3 offers a clear-cut perspective on how we as Christians should view the law, or "standards", and how we should view living within a relationship where rules are not what govern us in our daily walk.  Rules and standards and the law are meant to drive us to a relationship with Christ.  When we are growing as Christians, we need a certain set of standards and expectations to govern how we act.  These rules will act as a safeguard to keep us from sin.  Our relationship with Christ has not progressed to the level of doing right just to please Him.
  
We must be made to do right, and we must bring ourselves in subjection to rules and standards as a child is under the authority of parents and teachers.  Once we begin to mature as Christians, the law takes on a less important role as our relationship begins to strengthen and deepen.  


It is sad to see people who profess to be Christians with a deep, abiding love for Christ misuse the liberty that He affords as an excuse to get lax with personal standards.  To be accepting of and influenced by the world because you no longer are "bound by the law" is a tragic mistake many fall into because of liberal teaching and thinking that has become accepted by many Christians.  Compromising false ministers will peddle a philosophy of relevance and acceptance in order to gain inroads with the world.  They fail to see the fatal flaw in their own twisted logic.  They are willing to pander to a certain crowd, gain their acceptance because they then can identify with them, and then they profess to have a desire to change them? 


How can someone assimilate with a faction of people, and turn around and try to affect change within those people?  It just cannot work, and it doesn't.  

Those kind of ministries accomplish nothing for the cause of Christ, and serve only to do it harm.

These people must realize that absent the influence of the law, we are prone to wander.  I must allow rules and standards to drive me to a relationship with Christ.  I must grow and mature under the safe tutelage of those rules and standards and allow their rigidity to provide the structure of my early Christian life.  Then, as my faith and relationship deepens, I no longer live "under" the rule of law but I abide in love and affection for Christ and seek only to do those things which please Him.  Once I do reach that level of faith, I will find that Christ will speak to me about how it is I am to live. 

The closer I get to Christ, the farther away I am from  the world.  The deeper my love for Christ, the stronger my hatred of sin becomes.  The sweeter my walk with the Lord, the more sincere my love for people will be. 

To say that I have a relationship with Christ, and then flirt with the world is delusional thinking and false doctrine.

I also believe that the harsh critic who clings to his standards in a pharisaical way is tragically far from being in a true relationship with Christ.  This person is often bitter.  This person has replaced the close, sweet walk with Christ that he should have with a set of standards to which he rigidly adheres.  His life is not marked by the fruits of the Spirit.  There is a severity with which they deal with those who don't meet "their" standard.  They look down their nose at growing Christians who, though sincere, have not "cleaned up" enough to meet their standard. 

These people have, in essence, replaced Christ with the law.  

They fail to see that given their own personal failings (because no one is faultless), the law they love and cling to is the very thing that condemns them!  If they reject the true relationship they should have with Christ, then they become responsible to keep the WHOLE law.  This is impossible. 

To go too far to one side of this discussion or the other will find one in error.  Christ demands that we keep His commandments: whether we do this out of obligation to the law, or out of love for Him does not matter.  The whole duty of man is to obey Christ.  Early in our Christian walk, we need to be subjected to the law.  After we begin to mature, we should follow Christ out of love.  However, this does not mean that every now and again we may need to be brought under subjection of the law again.  We all fall short and sometimes backslide. 

Be where it is you need to be in regard to your current position in Christ.  

If a babe, do not buck against the law- it will be your safety net.  If mature, enjoy the liberty that is found in a relationship with Christ, realizing that a true relationship will now result in your misuse of said liberty to flirt with the world.