YOU WIN MORE BEES WITH HONEY

Philippians 1:27 Only live your lives in a manner worthy of the Good News of the Messiah.  Then, whether I come and see you or I am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit-striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the Good News.

What is going on in this world?  Disagreements over viewpoints turn to anger, turns to rage, which turns to violence, which turns to murder....seriously?  Well meaning believers push their beliefs down the throats of non-believers with yelling and finger pointing.  It's ridiculous!  We point the finger of blame on religions but actually the finger of blame should be pointed at the one who points the finger.  Judgmental attitudes does nothing but push people away from Jesus.  We somehow think we have the right to shove our beliefs in peoples faces to prove we're right and they're wrong.  We are so proud of our biblical knowledge that we can even quote chapter and verse of those bible passages that prove our point.  Oh we can be so well rehearsed that we even surprise ourselves.  But who are we trying to fool?

We can preach and preach and preach the good news until we're blue in the face.  We can pray every night for God to bring us someone to witness to, but if we ain't livin' and actin' in a manner worthy of the good news our testimony, our beliefs and our words will be empty and meaningless. (At least that's what I believe.)  We can all talk a good talk, but are we walking the walk?  We hear messages on Sunday morning, but are we living out what we're hearing?  We read the Bible but do we conduct ourselves the way Jesus wants us to?  If I had to honestly ask this question of myself, I would have to say no.

It really saddens me to answer that question that way but it's the truth.  I try and I try but I always fall short.  I could sit here and beat myself up over this sad fact, but instead I keep striving, I keep walking and I keep going towards the goal Christ has set for me.  I do my best to live my life in a manner worthy of the good news of Christ, but I'm not perfect and never will be.  The thing I do my best to do is ask myself a scary question, 'What Would Jesus Do?"  I know this goes back many, many years but for me it is still very relevant and very real.  I makes me check my motives and check the way I do and say things.  Actually it has stopped me in my tracks quite a few times.  WWJD has caused me to shut my mouth and close my eyes.

Listen I know that we believers are called to witness to the lost, but we cannot finger point and think we're gonna lead people to Christ.   We cannot get in people's faces and tell them they're gonna go to hell and honestly expect them to give their lives to Christ.  Jesus only got in the faces of those "religious" people who disliked Him and His ways.  Jesus sat with sinners and showered them with love and grace and understanding and patience.  That is how He won people over.  His motive was to show them grace by His humility.  Jesus was God in human form on this earth.  If anyone had the right to finger point and get in people's faces, it was Him, but He didn't.  He could have sat with royalty, but He sat with sinners.  

So how do we witness to the lost?   We give them grace they don't deserve, we love them even though they aren't worthy of it, we sit down and be a friend.  No preaching, no condemning their sins, no judgmental attitudes, just grace and love.  We can be the Jesus people need to see or we can just talk about Him.  But when I read this verse it really makes me stop and think about what I am doing, what I am saying and my motives.  I do not want to be one of those believers who can quote chapter and verse of Bible scriptures without actually  living them out.  Head knowledge to the lost is just empty words, action speaks volumes.  

Love and grace handed out so freely to those who are lost will impact their lives forever.  By planting seeds of love and grace we will  change lives quicker than we ever could with our words.  Paul was a prisoner when he wrote these words.  He was in chains, living in a cell surrounded by garbage and sewage, yet he lived what he wrote.  Many soldiers came to belief in Christ just by witnessing Paul's actions and listening to his words that were filled with grace.  

Remember the old saying, "You win more bees with honey"?  Well it's true.  We cannot be argumentative and angry and preachy and expect people to hear us.  We cannot be telling people to believe in Christ while we're condemning them for their sins.   We cannot live our lives in a way that does not bring God glory and expect the good news to change them.  Grace and love are the weapons we need to show people who Christ really is.

A STONE COLD HEART

Ezekiel 36:26  Moreover I will give you a new heart.  I will put a new spirit within you.  I will remove the stony heart from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

My passion for God has become dim.   My passion for connecting with God has been stolen. Where did it go?  How could this passion I once felt just disappear?  I should file a police report because someone took it, but who?  And why?  My smile has vanished, the light in my eyes have seemed to dim.  Oh sure I have faith in God still, but the passion, the desire seems to have diminished.  Oh well, what's the big deal anyway?  I mean I believe, I have faith and after all that's all that counts.  Right?  I love God, I just ain't feelin' it right now.  So what's the big deal?  Why all the concern?  So my passion seems gone?  It's like it was stolen right out of my soul, no particular reason, no particular event happened. so I can't blame anyone, or can I?

You see the enemy, Satan, wants to steal my passion for God.  He wants me to live distracted and aloof.  He wants me to believe it's no big deal if I have no real passion for God or spending time with God.  When my passion is gone, I am more vulnerable to temptations and discouragement.  When my passion to connect with God is diminished, my hope fades, life becomes mundane and boring.  My self esteem suffers blows that makes it hard to recover.  Every word or lack of words leave me feeling beaten down.  When my passion to spend time with God has vanished, I become a sad version of what I once was.  God's promises fade and my heart becomes like the stone in this picture, stone hard and cold. 

 These times are difficult for me to understand myself let alone my husband try to understand.  But these attacks are way too real.  Satan knows just where to hit me and who to use to do it.  You see he knows me better than I know myself sometimes.  He has studied me and knows my weakness.  He knows how to mess with me.  I have allowed myself to become a victim of sabotage.  My defenses have been lowered and an attack on my heart has began.  He condemns me and points out every flaw.  He accuses me of all my past sins.  He wants to destroy me and humiliate me.  He wants me filled with guilt.

I fall prey to his tactics and surrender my heart, why?  Why do I allow this?  I just don't get it.  Do you?  I mean I know God's word, I pray, I listen to sermons and I read good books...what the heck is wrong with me?  Do you ever feel like this?  Does your heart play tricks on you?  Is what I'm describing seem real to you?  Has the enemy stolen your passion?  Has he killed your joy?  Has he destroyed your life?  Then please listen to me for a moment....the only way to get your passion back to be honest with God and drop to your knees and pray.  The truth of the enemy is found in this next verse.....

John 10:10  The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come so that you may have life and have it abundantly.  

Look at the very first verse again and gaze at the promises of God.  The "I will" statements makes it clear that God's promises are for us in the here and now.  God is with us at all times, it doesn't matter if we feel we lost our passion for Him or not because He will never lose His passion for us.  He will reach down from heaven and touch our stone, cold hearts and give us a new heart and a renewed passion that beats for Him.  He will give us a new heart!  He will put a new spirit in us!  He will remove our heart of stone!  He will!!!  Do you get that?  Do you understand that?  The enemy is so busy trying to steal, kill and destroy those things that give our life meaning, we lose our passion.  How sad!

Passion, true passion, cannot be manufactured or made up.  Passion is what makes a parent run after a child in the street with a car racing around the corner.  Passion is whats makes your knees hit the floor after a bad medical diagnosis.  Passion is what makes pushes a track member to run one more lap as fast as he can.  Passion is what fuels a soldier to fight for freedom.  Passion is what sends a firefighter into a burning building with children in it.  Passion is what drives a police officer to lift a car off of an accident victim.  Passion is what motivates a husband to bring his wife flowers.  Passion is what drives me back into my War Room and back into my Bible.  

Passion connects me back with my God and my Savior.  Through honest, heart wrenching prayer I have had my heart renewed and refueled with the passion I need and desire most.  Heart surgery is not always easy and it can be complicated and painful, but the reward is so worth it.   Prayer is the only way I have found to really get my passion re-energized.  True and honest prayer, with tears running down your face, along with the mascara, can melt a stone cold heart.  

Grab a hold of the promises of God and get your passion back.  I will too!  

MY DELIVERER

Psalm 91:14-16  "Because he has devoted his love to Me, I will deliver him.  I will set him securely on high, because he know My Name.  When he calls on Me, I will answer him.  I will be with him in trouble, rescue him, and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation."

As I sit here right now thoughts of the past come creeping back into this brain of mine.  These thoughts cloud my vision and confuse my mind.  The past can be a scary place filled with storms that we often caused us more damage than we originally thought.  The repair process after a storm can be extensive or minor depending on the strength of the storm and the strength of our refuge.  No one likes to face the damage a storm creates in our lives.  Families can be altered and friendships tested beyond, and even our faith can become weak.  But when we love God and devote ourselves to Him, He is our hope, our refuge in the storm. 

Praise God in the midst of the storm.  Yea this is easier said than done, BUT it is an essential part of our faith and one that changes the course of our lives, when we learn to do this.  The thing I have come to realize is that no matter what our circumstances are, God is there. No matter how dark the storm clouds are, the sunshine will always pierce the darkness.  No matter how devastated we may feel, God is always holding us.  The thing I have learned through life is that when we learn to praise Him in the storm, when we ask Him what we need to learn through this process, we eventually come out on top and better off than we ever dreamed possible.  

Wilderness mentality when we are going through a storm will not help us.  The "woo is me" mentality, the pity parties and the sad faces lead us down a path that God does not want us to travel.  Trust me I have been down that road and occasionally I still do,  The pity party train is not a pleasant journey and quite frankly, I am sick and tired of it,  How many pity trains have you journeyed on?  I lost track.  Honestly I got tired of counting them.

Listen life is hard especially during a storm or trial.  The winds may blow, dark clouds may loom overhead and even thunder may roll, but when we love God, when we devote our lives to Him, there is no storm to big for Him to handle.  He is our safe place to hide.  He is our rock in quick sand.  He is our fortress in the storm.  He is our shield in battle.  Trust me when I say, I need God more and more each day.  

I wish I could say that I handle every storm correctly.  I wish I could say that I've got this, but I can't, at least I can't say it with all honesty.   I am human!  But at least I know what this verse says and it gives me hope.  Because I love God, because I am devoted to Him, He will deliver me!  He will set me on high!  He will answer me!  He will be with me during times of trouble and strife.  He will rescue me from my enemies,  And He will satisfy me with a long life and the promise of salvation.  

Oh there are days I wake up and wonder why?  Why am I here?  Why does God love me?  Why do I feel so down?  Why am I going through this right now?  My list of "whys" can be quite long at times.  Then at other times I feel empowered and strong and loved.  I don't understand all of our human emotions and I'm not going to try to understand them.   But what I know is this; God loves me!  That's all I need to know right now.

I will continue to devote my love to God.  And because of Jesus Christ, I have the very presence of God inside of me.  That fact changes everything in my life.  I can endure anything knowing that. 

JESUS IS GOD

John 14:9-10  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?  Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, 'show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does His works.

Alright, I may raise a few eyebrows, I may ruffle a few tail feathers, I may get your panties all in a knot, but I will state my beliefs once and for all.   

JESUS CHRIST IS GOD IN HUMAN FLESH!  

Some may want to argue with me, some may disagree, some may delete me.  That's okay because I will not back down or deny my faith and beliefs.  For me there is no doubt, no question.  For me it is a fact.  I know it deep down in the depths of my soul.  My heart is overwhelmed with this knowledge.  There are religions that deny this fact, but when I read my Bible the writing is crystal clear, Jesus is God in human flesh.  

His word is true and alive.  That's right, His word lives because it is relevant even for today's world, or should I say especially for today's world.  In a world where people are searching for something or someone to fill the void in their heart, the prescription they are seeking will not be found in pharmacies or pills.  You cannot fill the void in your heart with sex, drugs or alcohol.  The emptiness you feel cannot be filled by how many likes you get on Facebook.  The longing in your heart, that void that aches no matter what or who you try to fill it with cannot be filled with anything or anyone else but Jesus Christ.  

I know it's hard for some of you to believe this.  The sheer idea that this man who died on the cross over 2,000 years ago is actually God seems illogical and far fetched, but for me it is true.  I realize that for some of you God is this higher power that sits on a throne and sends out punishments, diseases, droughts, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and so much evil that life can be unbearable.  For some of you, God is this figure who judges you and spends His time finger pointing and blaming.  You my friend have been lied to. 

Yes, bad things happen to good people.  Yes, sometimes God allows trials in our life.  But the evil that is present in this world comes from the enemy, Satan.  God loved us enough to give us a free will to chose Him, to love Him and to accept Jesus Christ.   God will never force you to believe in Him.  We all chose between God and Satan, life or death, blessings or cursings.  When we do not chose God, we become victims of Satan, that is why there is evil.  Again, my belief.

There is a young lady I know named Jaime.  She has the worst kind of MS possible.  At 40 years of age, she is wheel chair bound, cared for by her parents.  She has never been married, never had a child, and so many other "normal" things in life she has missed out on.  She cannot move anything except her head.  She should be depressed, angry, and she could hate God for He allowed to happen to her, but she isn't any of these things.  She is in church every Sunday singing the worships songs, praising God for every breath she takes and praying to God for her father to have the strength to lift her one more day.  Oh she has her bad days,  who wouldn't?  But 99% of the time Jaime is positive and uplifting.  She inspires me!  She loves God!  And she knows God loves her.  Jesus Christ is God in human form to Jaime.  No matter how bad her circumstances may seem to many, Jaime may never walk again on earth, but because of her faith and belief in Jesus Christ, she will dance in eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ.

Look I do not understand everything that happens on this earth, but there is one thing I am sure of, Jesus Christ, my Savior, is God in human form.  I am forever His and He is mine.  The void, the emptiness has been filled to overflowing with the love and grace of Jesus Christ.  I have a peace which surpasses all human understanding.  I have a joy in my heart that sings the praises of my God.  My heart skips a beat every time I breathe in His presence.  His presence is no longer in a tabernacle or some "holy" place, His presence is in me and I get to take Him everywhere I go.  

Do you feel lost and broken?  Are you searching for something to fill the void, the emptiness in your heart?  Turn to Jesus!  Accept Him as the Lord of you life.  It will be the greatest blessing you ever experienced.    

KEEPING A RECORD

1 Corinthians 13:5 Love does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, is not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs.

My parents were married for over 50 years when my dad died.  Their life was not easy, they worked hard for all they had.   They loved, they struggled, they scrimped, they saved, they worked at their marriage.  The one thing I never heard from either of their lips was a list of wrongs the other had done.   I never heard my dad complain about my mom and I never heard my mom complain about my dad.  I'm sure there were things that the other did that made them mad, but I never heard about it.   I'm sure that each one of them hurt the other, they were human, but I didn't know.  That's the way it should be according to this verse in scripture but for some reason, we tend to gloss over this and dismiss it.

" If you knew how many times my husband (or wife) hurt me you'd keep a list too!"  Sound familiar? I know I used to keep a list of who wronged me and how they hurt me.  Oh I may not have written it down, but I kept a mental list in my mind.   That way if they ever got in my face about something I did, I had ammunition to fire back at them, never mind it may have been years ago.   Memories became a weapon instead of something precious.  Instead of focusing on the good, I focused on the wrongs done to me.   Now I know I'm not the only one out there who does this.  How do I know?  I've heard it out of people's lips and written all over Facebook.

Oh yea we like to keep a list of wrongs done to us.  That way when we throw ourselves a pity party we can pull up the past and relive it over and over and over again.   It's not just husbands and wives that this verse talks about.  It talks about all of those we say we love.   Brothers, sisters, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, cousins, best friends and our everyday friends are all possible victims of our list of longs.  In fact some of us live to shove people's mistakes in their faces.   Read Facebook,  it's all over there for millions to read.   "My family wasn't there for me like I needed them to be."  " My ex has screwed me over for the last time."  "Some friend you are.   Remember when we were in high school and you stole my boyfriend?"   You know my list of saying are endless, in fact you could add to my list couldn't you?

Why do we keep a record of wrongs?   To make us feel more superior?  To make us feel sorry for ourselves?  To remind us of how many people have hurt us?   To remind us which people to defined and block us on Facebook?   Seriously?   Who do we think we are?  God?

After all let me be perfectly blunt here, if anyone should keep a record of wrongs it's God!  We have used His name in vain, we have disobeyed al out every commandment and then some.  Yet He doesn't keep a record.   He forgives!   He wipes our record clean when we ask for forgiveness.  So when we keep a record are we saying God should also keep a record?  Or are we saying we know more than God?  Listen I do not ever want to even come close to comparing myself to God.  

THERE IS A GOD AND IT IS NOT YOU!

We need to stop the madness!  The list of wrongs done to us is nothing compared to the list of wrongs we have done to God.  Just like the story of the king who forgave a massive debt from one of his servants the in turn the servant would not forgive a small debt owed to him by one of his workers.  That is how we are if we keep a list of wrongs done to us.

Listen I totally get it that some of you have been wronged in ways I cannot imagine, but this verse doesn't say don't love  keep record of small wrongs, it says love doesn't keep track of wrongs, period. That means all wrongs.  If you're keeping a list of wrongs then we are not being like Jesus.   Jesus was killed by soldiers, He had no friendship with them, He may not have even known their names yet from the cross He said, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do."  Jesus didn't keep a record of the wrongs the soldiers had done to them.  By doing this I believe many of those soldiers truly believed in Him, because He wiped the record clean.

I know sometimes this is hard to do but if God can wipe our record clean, can't we do the same for us other human beings who screw up and make mistakes?  What makes us think we're perfect?   I'm sure you've made mistakes and hurt someone you didn't intend to?  We're humans, we're not perfect.  We live offended and bitter lives by keeping a record of wrongs done to us. Families have been destroyed by keeping a list of wrongs.  Lives have been ruined by keeping a list of wrongs.   Friendships forever altered by a list of wrongs.

Listen what's done is done.  You can't change it or alter it.  It is what it is.  People may not have intended to hurt you.  When we live keeping a list of wrongs, we're opening the door expecting the worst.  We expect to keep our list growing, and guess what it will.  The way we perceive things is not always the way things are meant.  We read into things,  we read into a persons words, we read into a persons actions.  We assume they mean to hurt us, especially if we tend to keep a list of wrongs.

Want to live like Jesus?  Get rid of your list of wrongs.   Forgive the past and move on for your own sake.  Bitterness and living a life offended leads to sickness and health problems of all kinds.   Let it go!   Erase that list and thank God He has erased your list.