Tag Archives: bible

February 4, 2013 · 8:08 AM

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

I’m traveling today so I am reposting one of my previous posts that’s relevant today.

In my yard I have several crape myrtle trees. Every year I watch around town for when I’m supposed to prune them. It’s usually in the winter just before spring. When it’s time, I take my clippers and start cutting back on them. If there are dead branches, I cut them off at the tree. For all the others, I trim back to a few inches from where they split off. When the spring time comes, they blossom and bloom even more than the year before.

In John 15, Jesus said that God does the same to us. He said that the branches that don’t produce fruit are cut off and thrown away. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the fruit we are to produce in our lives is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. When I read that, I began to think about the fruit in my life. Am I producing that fruit? How much of it am I producing? What do I need to do to produce it?

In the same passage in John, Jesus says that everyone who does produce fruit is then pruned so that they will produce more fruit. Ouch. So even if I am producing fruit, I am going to be pruned. Jesus wants us to produce more fruit all the time. He recognizes that the only way to produce more is to provide an opportunity for growth. That’s what pruning does. It trims us back so we can have a greater opportunity for growth.

Most of us don’t like or want to be pruned. When it happens, we ask God why are bad things happening to me when I’m doing everything right. We’ve all heard the question asked “Why do bad things happen to good people”. Well it happens to give you an opportunity to grow. If things aren’t happening in your life that are pruning you, that’s when you should be concerned.

If you aren’t being pruned throughout the seasons of your life, you need to find a way to start producing fruit. You need to take a hard look at your life and see what fruit you are producing. Chances are, it’s not the fruit listed above. If it were, you be getting pruned so that you would produce more. We all produce fruit in our lives. Our actions produce results. Our results show God, others and ourselves what’s important to us. There is a law of sowing and reaping.

If you sow time I to other’s lives, you will reap love. If you sow forgiveness, you will reap joy. If you sow understanding, you will reap peace. On the other hand if you sow selfishness, you will reap loneliness. If you sow bitterness, you will reap hate. What you do matters and will come back as fruit in your life. God wants us to produce good fruit in our lives so that others will be able to see Him through us.

God recognizes and knows that to produce more of the good fruit in your life, He will have to prune you. Yes, even if you ate a good producer, He knows that you can always produce more. Without pruning, we can only produce so much of each fruit. When He does prune us, He creates more opportunity to produce than ever before.

So why do bad things happen to good people? To give them the opportunity to grow and to produce more than ever before. If you are being pruned right now, stop and thank God instead of questioning Him. It means that He thinks you are producing good fruit and He has bigger plans for you. Trust in Him and in His plan for you. Handle the pruning with grace and look forward to the next time of harvest in your life.

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February 1, 2013 · 7:11 AM

God’s Antidote for Poison

I was watching a sales skills video yesterday of Brian Tracy. In one of the segments, he said, “You cannot like anyone else more than you like yourself.” The problem, he pointed out, is that most people don’t like themselves very much. Their inner voice points out their negatives. His remedy was to say out loud, “I like myself. I like myself. I like myself” over and over until it becomes ingrained in your fibers. It was kind of funny to watch to be honest, but there was a lot of truth there too.

Each one of us has that inner voice that speaks to us. Each one of us also has a label that has followed us through life. That voice in our head speaks it to us over and over every day. It tells us why we’re still single when everyone else is married. It tells us why we’re too incompetent to get that promotion. It tells us why no one will ever be our true friend. The list goes on and on. The problem is that that voice is creating your perceived reality.

I call it perceived because it is not the truth, but you have bought into it anyway. It could have started when you were a child and a parent, sibling, teacher or other influential person in your life told you that you weren’t good enough, smart enough, good looking enough or whatever. Your mind reluctantly gave in and it has become how you see yourself. Let me tell you that is not how God sees you.

There is a battle for your life and it is won and lost in the mind. If the enemy can get you to believe that lie, he can minimize your effectiveness. He can keep you from being who God called you to be. He would rather have you sit on the side lines of incompetence than in the game fully engaged. That’s where God wants you. He created you with a specific purpose and destiny that ONLY you can fulfill. God has a plan for your life, even if it has gone off course He can use that experience to fulfill your plan.

Proverbs 18:21 in The Message reads, “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose.” Your inner voice has been poisoning your mind rather than nourishing it if you have been listening to it. You must change the narrative today! The verse said “you choose.” It’s up to you what you believe. You can trust that voice that says, “You’re incompetent. You’re not worthy. You’re ugly. You’re fat. You’re not worth it. You’re a disappointment. You’re dumb.” Or you can change that and believe what God says.

When that voice comes into your mind, change the narrative by saying out loud, “I’m a child of God. I’m a king’s kid. I’m competent. I’m worthy. I’m beautiful. I’m just the right size. I’m worth more than rubies. I’m God’s favorite (That’s mine, but you can borrow it!). I’m intelligent. I’m created in God’s image.” Say it out loud, say it often and continue until you believe it because it is true. You can believe what others say, your mind says or what God says. I choose to believe God.

Join with me in an exercise if you will. I want you to post a comment today. I want you to first put in what lie you’ve believed. Then I want you to write out your new narrative, the truth. If you know a scripture that backs it up, put that in there too. If you are unfamiliar with verses in the Bible, ask if anyone knows one for you. Lets work together to help each other get off the sidelines and get in the game so we can fulfill our God given destiny. I’ll start with mine.

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January 30, 2013 · 7:44 AM

Chopping Trees

I’m reading “Greater” by Steven Furtick right now. I’m only a few chapters in, but already I am being challenged. The premise of the book is to dream big, start small. I’ve had no problem dreaming. It’s the starting that is the problem. When you have a big dream, it’s natural to think you have to start big. In reality, you have to do the little things first.

Noah was called to build a big boat. His small start was chopping down the first tree. Think about that. He didn’t have a Home Depot to go to in order to buy the lumber he needed. He had to chop down trees, form them into lumber and then build the boat. That’s a lot of work. I think that my problem, as well as others, is that when God gives us a dream, we think He’s going to do everything and we forget we have to work towards that dream.

God plants the design and the desire in us, but we are the ones who have to walk by faith to make it happen. We have to chop down the trees and build what God has planted in us so that when the time comes for us to do what He called us to do, we’re ready. If Noah had waited until he saw a storm cloud to chop down the first tree, it would have been too late. The time to build an ark is while it’s sunny, not when the storm clouds are on the horizon.

It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. None of us have that kind of time, but it shows that just because God plants a dream in us, it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen overnight. We may have to chop trees for a while. We may even cut down an entire forest before that dream becomes a reality. In that time of preparation is when our faith is tested. Thoughts like “Did I really hear from God” and “What if I do all of this and nothing comes from it” pop in our head to challenge us and cause doubt.

It’s in the chopping of trees that our faith grows. It’s believing God when we can’t see ourselves getting closer to the dream. Faith is knowing we heard from God and continuing to work towards that dream even though we can’t see how it will ever happen. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”

If I could see the entire road and how it would happen, it wouldn’t be faith. Faith is about believing God when all I see are trees. It’s about putting it all out there and trusting God with everything. Others may laugh, ridicule or even stand in your way, but you have to keep building. You have to keep chopping. You have to keep trusting so that when the time comes for the fulfillment of your dream, you’re ready.

Noah could have dreamed about the ark for 120 years and then prayed for a miracle once the storm clouds started rolling in. Thank God he didn’t. He would have been in disobedience if he had only dreamed and never picked up an ax. Because he took small steps toward his dream, his family and the animals were saved. There’s no telling how many will be saved by your obedience. You’ll never know unless you start chopping.

What dream has God placed in you? What trees do you need to start chopping?

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January 29, 2013 · 7:41 AM

When You Can’t Hear God

I heard a joke last night that I want to share. There was an older man who went to the doctor. He told the doctor that he thought his wife was going deaf. The doctor thought for a minute and then told him how to test it. So the man went home eager to try what the doctor had told him. He got about 20 feet away from his wife with her back to him and asked, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” She didn’t reply so he moved closer. He asked again and got the same result. He moved closer still and asked again. With no reply again, he moved about 5 feet away from her and asked. This time she answered in an agitated voice and said, “For the fourth time, we’re having lasagne!”

I think that’s how we are with God a lot of the time. We keep asking questions and think he is deaf to our prayers. We ask over and over again with no reply. We start to believe that God doesn’t hear us or that He doesn’t care. Neither is the case. Too often, we are the ones who are deaf (or blind) to His answers. We are the ones who are too far away to hear Him speaking to us. The problem is we don’t move closer to hear Him. We end up moving further away because we think He doesn’t care.

If you think God is deaf to your prayers or isn’t answering you, move closer and ask again. James 4:8 tells us, “Come close to God and God will come close to you.” It doesn’t say, “When God comes close to you, you come close to God.” The first move is yours. We are the ones who have to take a step closer to God first. So how do you do that? It’s the same way you would get closer to anyone else you have a relationship with.

The first thing you need to do is make time for Him and then spend time with Him. Anyone that you are close friends with, you spend time with. That’s how you get close with someone. You carve out time from your busy schedule according to how important they are to you. The more important it is to spend time getting to know them, the more time you will create for them. How important is God to you based on that? Have you given Him much time lately? The good news is you can start carving out time today.

Another thing you do with someone you want to be closer to is communicate with them. Communication with Him is as simple as talking. He’s with you wherever you are waiting to Hear from you. He doesn’t want to just hear all your requests. He wants you to open up and talk to Him. Share with Him your darkest secrets, hidden fears and unrealistic hopes. That’s a sign of being close with someone. He wants to listen and reply, but you need to move closer to hear Him.

I know these aren’t the only steps to moving closer to God, but if you do them, they will get you closer than you are now. The good news is that your moves toward God are doubled because He is moving closer to you. I like that. It’s a two for one deal and all you have to do is take a step. Soon enough you will hear (or see) His replies. He’s been talking this whole time, you just haven’t been close enough to hear.

What steps have you taken that others can take to move closer to God? I’d love to hear about them.

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January 28, 2013 · 7:57 AM

The “Why”

I’m the type of person who likes to know the “why” behind a task before I do it. It drives my wife crazy. Even yesterday she asked me, “Why can’t you just do what I asked without knowing why?” I like knowing the intention, purpose and final outcome before I do something so I know its importance and how to prioritize my time and effort towards it. It wouldn’t be bad if it were just a couple of things, but that thinking bleeds into every task including those God asks me to do.

I’m sure that He, like my wife, gets frustrated with me. Even when God asks me to do something, I still like to know the “why” and the final outcome. What I’ve found is that more often than not, God doesn’t give me those. He expects me to trust Him blindly and to do what He asked without question. That is tough for me because it goes against my very nature.

When I look at the Heroes of Faith in Scripture, I see men and women who trusted and followed God without knowing the “why” behind everything. When God said, “Go”, they went. When God said, “Speak”, they spoke. A couple of them might have argued because they didn’t want to do it, but they really didn’t ask why. They knew that when God asks for something, you do it. You don’t argue with the details. He knows them and will give them to you when you need them.

That’s what faith is. Doing what you’re asked to do without knowing why or what the outcome will be. If God shared with us the “why” and what the end result would be, we wouldn’t be acting in faith, we’d be acting on knowledge. God didn’t call us to walk by knowledge. He called us to walk by faith. He knows that when we know the outcome, we will try to do things in our own strength to affect the outcome to what we think He wants.

Look at Abraham. When God told him that he would have a son and that all nations would be blessed through his descendants, he took matters into his own hands. His “knowledge” said that his wife couldn’t have kids and so God must have meant to have a kid through her maid. Had he walked by faith, he would have trusted God to do what He said and had a kid with his wife. That mistake cost him 14 years before he saw the promise fulfilled in Isaac.

I don’t want my need to know the “why” to cost me years of wandering when I could be enjoying the blessings of obedience instead. I want to trust God without knowing the final outcome. I’ve got a long way to go in that area before I’m there. Until that time, I will take the small steps and trust His direction without knowing the “why’s” until my faith is strong enough to take the giant steps He wants me to take. I don’t want to hear God ask me like my wife did, “Why can’t you just do what I asked without knowing why?” I would rather hear Him say, “Thanks for obeying. Here’s what happened because you did…”

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January 25, 2013 · 7:39 AM

What are you Worth?

Do you feel unworthy or just not good enough? You aren’t alone. There are many who see themselves that way and never reach the full potential God has for them. It’s easy to know how great God is and see yourself as small and insignificant, but that’s not how God sees you or wants you to see yourself. Yes, we are to be humble, but we are also to know who we are in Christ.

There is a difference in being humble and feeling insignificant or worthless. Humility is something that God honors. It’s having a right perspective of who we are and that what we have is God’s. Worthlessness is not a trait from God. It is a tactic from the enemy to keep you from tapping into the power of God in you. It will destroy you from within through thoughts that change how you see yourself.

How you see yourself reflects in how you behave and act. If you feel worthless, you draw back from others and become isolated. I’ve watched enough Discovery channel to know that a predator’s first goal is to separate you from the heard. Once you are isolated, he attacks. I Peter 5:8 says, the devil “roams around like a lion roaring in fierce hunger, seeking someone to seize upon and devour.” He isn’t seeking a group, he’s seeking someONE.

If you struggle with those feelings that are isolating you, I’ve been where you are. You can beat it. It’s not easy, but you can. Start with reading God’s Word. A few verses I like to read when I feel that way are Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 12:6-7 and I Peter 5:7. These verses talk about how much God cares for you and how much He values you. You don’t have to be great in the eyes of people to be great in the eyes of God. You are more precious to God than you can even imagine.

Don’t let those thoughts consume you. When they come into your mind, you have to fight back immediately. When Jesus was fasting, He was attacked mentally and each time He fought back with the Word of God. Bring those thoughts captive and speak the truth to them. Tell them and yourself who you are in Christ. Don’t dwell on them because then you start to believe them. You can’t believe the attacks of the enemy, but you can believe God’s Word.

Don’t be a victim, be a victor. There is safety in numbers. Don’t allow yourself to be separated from those who love you and will lift you up in prayer. Share with someone what you are struggling with. They can help you through encouragement, prayer and accountability. It takes some honesty on your part, but that vulnerability is worth more than the cost of succumbing to those thoughts and being devoured. You are a child of God, worth more than anything in this world. When God looks at you, He sees His child, His creation and someone He loves deeper than you can imagine.

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January 23, 2013 · 7:42 AM

Praying Isn’t Complicated

I wonder if we try to complicate prayer sometimes. We think that God speaks King James English and try to pray that way to Him. We try to use big words we barely understand hoping to impress Him. We make a list of what we’re going to pray for as if He doesn’t know our needs. We make sure we are serious and have a somber attitude because somehow we aren’t respecting Him if we’re not. We practice the structure to make sure it includes certain things as if the right structure will move Him to act and make my prayer more powerful.

The truth is that prayer is simply a conversation. God isn’t concerned with the format or syntax of your prayer. He’s concerned about the heart that it is coming from. The most powerful prayers are the most well thought out ones. They are born out of a heart in need of communicating to God. They are given in desperation. They are the most honest ones. God desires to have a real conversation with you. One that is born out of your need and desire to hear from Him.

I grew up believing the loudest, fastest prayer is the one that’s heard. I’ve read books that say slow contemplative prayers are the ones that work. What really works is when you pour your heart out to Him and tell Him what’s on your mind. He’s not scared of the doubts you have or the thoughts you think. He knows them already and He still loves you and desires to meet with you daily.

I think even daily is too far a part between prayers honestly. I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to never stop praying. How can we do that? Simple. Prayer is simply communication with God. We just don’t stop communicating with Him throughout our day. Just like you would call, email, text or Facebook someone throughout your day as you thought about them, you would send little prayers to God throughout the day as you needed.

Don’t get me wrong. There are still times you need to have longer than a text conversations with God just like you would have longer conversations with a friend. A relationship is built on time and communication. God desires both from you. He wants to spend time with you, hear what you have to say and also say things to you. Most of us rarely stop to listen to what He has to say to us. It could be that we’re scared of what He’d tell us or ask us. It could be that doubt of thinking it’s your own mind talking that keeps you from listening. Whatever it is, be honest with Him about it.

In John 10:27, Jesus said, “The sheep that are my own hear and are listening to my voice (AMP).” There are two verbs in that verse that are important. We need to hear His voice and be listening for it. Don’t be afraid to stop and listen to what God is saying to you today. Write it down if you want. Put it in a journal. Measure it against the Bible. God will never contradict Himself or what He said in the Bible. That’s one way you can know if it’s God.

Today, I want you to have an honest conversation with God. Tell Him your fears, hopes and dreams. Ask Him the questions you’ve been afraid of asking in the past. Speak to Him like you would a friend. Don’t complicate it. Be real. After that, stop and listen. Hear what He has to say to you. It could be a little or a lot depending on how long it’s been since you’ve given Him the opportunity to speak. Let me know how it goes.

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January 22, 2013 · 8:03 AM

My Declaration

I refuse to live an ordinary Christian life. I will not be in the habit of going to church, I will be the Church. I will be the hands and feet of Jesus. I will choose to open my eyes to the needs of those around me and fight for those who have no strength. I will not turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to their plea. I will give all my strength to defend the weak and the broken. I cannot sit idly by and hope someone else will do what God called each of us to do.

I will stand for what is right and true. I will honor God in my word, deed and life. I will be a leader and not a follower. A pioneer who is not afraid of the unknown. I will forge ahead when the nights are dark, the roads are blocked and the mountains are too steep so that I can accomplish that which I am called to do. I will not fail or allow others around me to either. I will push, challenge and motivate them to continue on even when they are out of hope, breath and faith.

I will not wait until the battle is nigh before I prepare. I will pray up, store up and lift up so I will get up, build up and live up to my calling. I will cast down every stronghold, tear down every imagination and beat down the fear that would try to prevent me from walking this path and running this race. I will sharpen my Sword and grow my Shield by being a man of prayer and God’s Word. I will do what it takes to win this war.

I will build the wall with one hand on a brick and the other on my Sword. I will stand ready to defend the work that God has called me to. I will not falter. I will not waiver. I will not be distracted by the things of this world. I will remain focused on the fight and keep my eyes on the prize. I may get struck down, but I will not be destroyed. I may be mocked, but I will not cower. I will stand in the gap where others have fallen.

I know that Christ is coming and time is short. I must choose to act now and not procrastinate. The sun is setting. The night is near. I will not rest. I will not let up or give up. I will work until He comes and gets me. And when He comes, He will have no trouble recognizing me. I will be in His fields laboring as He asked. I will have spent time with Him and He with me. It is only then that I will hear Him say, “Well done. Come and find your rest.” Until then I won’t let up, slow down or give in. There is too much to be done and too many others living ordinary Christian lives.

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January 18, 2013 · 6:45 AM

Let Go

As I mentioned here I will be studying Joseph’s life more in depth this year. I want to share with you something else I found while reading about him. In Genesis 42, the famine had spread from Egypt to the surrounding countries. Jacob, his father, heard that there was food in Egypt. In order to keep from starving, he sent 10 of his remaining 11 sons to go buy food there.

Since Joseph had correctly interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, he was placed in charge of selling the food they had been storing in the seven years of plenty. His brothers came in and bowed before him. He recognized them, but they didn’t. Immediately God reminded him of his dream and how it had just been fulfilled. He used an interpreter to speak to them and accused them of being spies. He then put them in jail for three days.

After three days he visited them and said he would release 9 of them and hold one until they returned with the youngest. He also filled their sacks with grain and secretly returned their money to them in the bags of grain. When they got home, they told their father what had happened and what the Egyptian wanted. They then emptied their sacks and found the money that was to pay for the grain. In verse 36, Jacob exclaims, “Everything is going against me!”

I find it interesting how Jacob crumbles in this situation. You and I have the privilege of knowing how the story ends, but he didn’t. We can see how God was lining things up for him to take care of his family and then to return his son he thought was dead. All that was being asked of him was to send all of his sons back to Egypt to get the last one. In his mind he was giving up everything, not knowing that he was about to be completely taken care of.

I wonder how many times in our own lives, God is trying to work things out for our own good and we think the sky is falling. He asks us to give things up that are precious to us and we cry out, “Everything is going against me” when really everything is lining up for Him to give us more. Our perspective is so focused on the now that we can’t see what God is trying to do. What if Jacob had decided not to send his 10 remaining sons to get the one? What if he chose not to give up everything? How would history have changed?

God is lining things up in our lives. He is asking us to let go of things we’re holding onto so He can fulfill dreams in your life. Everything is not working against you. It’s being worked for your good. You have to trust Him and let go of what He’s asking you to. So what is it that He’s asking you to let go of? What is it that He wants you to trust Him with? Are you willing to let go of everything so He can fulfill your dream and His promise?

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January 17, 2013 · 7:57 AM

Wrongfully Arrested

My wife told me a joke last week that got me to thinking. There was a lady who was in a hurry to get where she was going. She was tailgating people and weaving in and out of traffic. She was riding the bumper of a truck when the light turned yellow. Instead of speeding through it, the truck stopped. She was furious! She started banging her steering wheel, screaming and making hand gestures that showed she was upset.

About that time, there was a knock on her window. She hadn’t noticed the police lights behind her. He arrested her and took her to jail. About an hour later, they came and got her out of jail to release her. While they were processing her, the arresting cop was there. He said, “Im sorry, ma’am for arresting you. When I saw how you were driving and acting and then read your bumper stickers that said, ‘WWJD, Follow me to Sunday School, My boss is a Jewish carpenter and God is my co-pilot’ I assumed you had stolen the car.”

Now that’s funny, but it’s also true of how most of us act. We advertise Christianity to everyone around us through bumper stickers, the Bible we carry, the tracts we leave laying around and telling others that we’re believers. But what about our actions? I’ve always heard it said that actions speak louder than words. How do we act when we think no one is looking? How do we respond when nothing goes our way? What do we do when we are hit with one trial after another?

I know we’re still human and we will respond like that lady did from time to time. I know have been guilty on several occasions. What message does that send when we behave that way? We are called to be different. To live different, to act different and to respond differently than others. When we tell others we are Christians, it feels like they’re waiting on us to mess up. Guess what, you will at some point. Why? Because we’re still human and have that nature in us. It’s what we do after we mess up that makes the difference.

I wonder how the lady in the joke responded after she left the station. Did she remove the bumper stickers from her car? Did she repent and ask God to give her the strength to be a better witness? I know that’s what I would have done in that situation. I would have gone crawling to God, begging for His forgiveness and looking for ways to be a better light in this dark place. That’s the beauty of Christianity. That’s the unfathomable thing about God’s grace. That’s what gives me hope.

We all mess up. We all deny Christ with our lives at times. The witness to others is that even when I royally mess up, I can find mercy, grace and forgiveness in Christ. While others may not forget what I did, God can. No one can live a completely righteous life, but we can live a life dominated by God’s grace and make that our witness. People know you can’t be perfect, but they want to know they can be forgiven. They want to know if there is enough grace for what they’ve done. There is.

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