How Do You Secure the Presence of God in your Life?

The cutting edge of trouble slices into each person’s daily life. Jesus said, “In this world you will face trouble.” Yet he offered this assurance: “Take heart!  I have overcome the world.” Jesus believed in God’s power and presence even as he confronted life’s greatest evil.

When we’re forced to face our troubles, we can do so by believing God’s presence and power reside in us not just for coping with what life has hurled our way, but to give us wisdom for how to overcome any issue. God provides faith for moving against insurmountable odds.

God’s power and presence are available to those who trust him to help with trouble regardless of its dominance. 

God’s saving grace stands ready to snatch anyone back from the edge of despair, as mustard-seed faith reaches out to God’s love and mercy. God responds to your heart’s desperation as it opens wide to receive strength and healing.                 

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Fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith. Then there will be laid up for you a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award you on that day.  

~2 Timothy 4:7-8 (English Standard Version but Stated as a Challenge)

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Is There a Benefit Associated with Worry?

In all of God’s creation, human beings are the only ones with a propensity to worry. It’s possible to become so fixated with worry and fear that it becomes impossible to enjoy God’s provisions. Worry is a prelude to procrastination, which stifles creativity because of being preoccupied with negative thinking.

Dorothy Fields’ song, On the Sunny Side of the Street, gives us this advice: “Grab your coat, get your hat, leave your worries on the doorstep, and direct your feet to the sunny side of the street.” She survived the troubles of this life by staying focused on the wonderful things God had provided and would continue to provide.

Worry makes it look as if you’re all alone against whatever is over-whelming. Jesus promises to send the counselor, the comforter, to be our help and guide in every imaginable situation life presents. So praise God and thank him for carrying you through the troubled waters of this life. His love and mercy will sustain you through whatever you're facing.  

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The Lord’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning.

~Lamentations 3:22-23 Contemporary  English Version

 

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

~2 Corinthians 1:3 New Living Translation

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Hidden Briar Patches

 When the problems of life become prolonged and intense, it’s not unusual to wish for a way to escape. Life isn’t always a rose garden but includes briar patches, which prick the skin and create pain. An emotional briar patch filled with anger or hurt feelings is the source for prolonged grief and unhappiness.

The idea of secret keeping alludes to what is beyond exposure because of embarrassment, fear, or shame. Secret sins rooted in evil mean that unconfessed guilt must wait for disclosure and punishment. Yet  some secrets are enjoyed, but nothing can be kept from God no matter how deeply buried they may be.

Listen to Jeremiah 23. "Can anyone hide in a secret place so I cannot see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?" Forgiveness and cleansing are available when you place your life into God’s hands, for he is your place of safety. Entrust your complete self beneath his love and mercy where hope and security are readily available.  

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Nothing is hidden from God! He sees through everything, and we will have to tell him the truth.

~Hebrews 4:13 Contemporary English Version

 

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and turns away from his sins will find compassion and mercy.

~Proverbs 28:13 Amplified Bible 

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The Ties That Bind God's People

 So much of what governs our lives are the social, religious, and legal rules we internalized from childhood. The ties that bind us together as a family and society should be the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses at Mount Sinai. It would take generations of struggle for the Israelites to understand and apply the commandments to their lives.

Although a newborn baby is a treasure from God and a source of joy, rarely is a couple prepared for all the adjustments this new baby will require. As a newborn baby interrupts the status quo of a family system, so the Ten Commandments would change the value system for binding God’s people together.

The commandments reflect God’s love for his people just as rules and boundaries represent a parent’s love. God’s love and mercy are revealed most completely in the gift of Christ Jesus, who became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Thank God for the gift of faith to believe and trust in his kindness and compassion.  

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[Moses told the people of Israel,] “Meditate upon all the laws I have given you today, and pass them on to your children. These laws are not mere words – they are your life!”

~Deuteronomy 32:46-47 The Living Bible

 

God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.  

~Colossians  3:12-14 Contemporary English Version

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Mountains of Fear & Doubt

          

When Jacob heard the news that Simeon, another son, might be lost forever, he was heartbroken. Listen to the grief he expressed to his older sons. "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is dead, and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin? Everything is against me."

Joseph was not dead, however. He was a powerful governor in Egypt. His objective was to unite his family, but he could not reveal his identity. For Joseph to carry out his plan, he had accused these brothers of being spies and detained Simeon as security so that they would return with Benjamin, his younger full-brother. These older brothers were beyond being trusted.

Listen to Jacob’s anger and fear. "Benjamin will not go to Egypt. Joseph is dead, and Benjamin is the only one left. If harm comes to him, in sorrow I will go down to the grave.” Have you experienced such fear and grief? You may feel God is not working for you, yet God’s love and mercy are greater than your fears and doubts. Ask Him for patience and faith. 

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Blessed be the Lord and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father and the all-comforting God, who comforts me in every sorrow I have, so that I can comfort people who are in sorrow with the comfort with which I am comforted by God.

~2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Williams – New Testament in the Language of the People

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love. The Lord is good to everyone; His compassion rests on all He has made.

~Psalm 145:8-9 Holman Christian Standard Bible

Shackled by Unbridled Shame?

Shame has the capability to hold us captive by creating companion thoughts that, if we confessed to behaviors that were unquestionably wrong, then we would never be acceptable again. Shame communicates that something is wrong with us and that we are unworthy of God’s love and mercy. 

          This state of unbridled shame may come from years of being exposed to criticism and rejection by significant others. False reasoning tells you to stay where you are and remain silent. This is not God’s plan for you. Christ Jesus died to give you freedom from sin and shame, regardless of its source, by forgiving and cleansing you from all unrighteousness.  

          While the voice of shame is strong, the desire for a clear conscience is stronger. God's Spirit compels us to make amends for past failures. Making amends includes acknowledging and confessing behaviors that were hurtful to others as well  as restoring what was damaged or ruined. To do so indicates that transformation is  in process and is under-girded by God’s undeserving love, mercy and forgiveness. 

Gifts from God ~ Hope and Joy

Where do we find hope in a world filled with uncertainty and divisiveness?  Hope cannot be found in politicians or political creeds, for these are unstable. We want the world to be safe and trustworthy, but it continues to disappoint, as it seems to be in opposition to God’s love and mercy.

We must not forget that the world was created by God’s love or that he gave Jesus as a sacrifice for all mankind. HOPE and JOY are found in God’s word. John 3:17 is reassuring. “For God did not send Jesus His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” So be hopeful and joyful in what God has done. God bless you, and Merry Christmas! 

Poor Choices Produce Painful Consequences - Part 3

On the first day of my math class as a college freshman, the professor gave us his definition of love. He knew that's why we had come to college and enrolled in his class. Needless to say, he captured our attention because he was both funny and serious by saying, "Love is an outward expression of an inward all-over." Not what we were expecting to hear from an academic.

Human beings need to receive and give love. As a ninth grader, I had serious trouble in school. I made good grades but was too spontaneous in expressing humor, to the point of being threatened with expulsion. My mother’s response was to lay on the guilt. "After all the work and sacrifices I've made, how could you choose to act this way?"

My mother loved me enough to “lay on the guilt.” Love is about pouring yourself out for another person. Titus 3 explains that God generously poured out his love and kindness on us through Jesus Christ, not because we deserved it, but because he wanted to save us and give us purpose for living. Think about that. 

Melting Stone-Cold Attitudes, Ideas, and Hearts - Part 3

How important are other people's opinions to you? There are individuals  who will never be swayed by what others think or believe. Then there are those whose lives hinge on other people's opinions. Fortunately, most people will consider what others say and then make an independent decision.

The older brother in Jesus' story of the lost son was emotionally locked into an inflexible way of thinking. To him, his younger brother made a choice that forever separated him from the privileges and rights of belonging to the family. To him, it was incomprehensible that his brother could come home and be embraced as an important family member.

The older brother's indignation kept him from celebrating his brother's homecoming. He appeared incapable of feeling empathy for his brother or father. Empathy clears the way for understanding what's important to another person. Empathy encourages you to walk with someone through a troubled or a happy occasion. God's love and redemption can melt a heart of stone and clear the way for compassion.  

Melting Stone-Cold Attitudes, Ideas, and Hearts - Part 2

In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus teaches that God's love and mercy extend to undeserving people. This idea collides with the Jewish belief that God's love was reserved only for the Hebrew people. They made their theology fit into a rigid social and religious belief system that could not be altered.

God revealed himself to the Jewish people so they could be witnesses of his love to all humanity. God told them they were indeed their brother's keeper and responsible to God for their attitudes and behaviors. When the older brother in the parable witnessed his father extend acceptance to his undeserving brother, it was more than he could manage.

Another teaching from this parable is, never devote your life to what is transitory, for it cannot guarantee acceptance into God's eternal presence. Jesus encourages us to store up treasures in heaven where their value will never diminish. When kindness and love are given to those who are undeserving, treasures accumulate into a heavenly account just for you.

Jealousy or Forgiveness? It's Your Choice - Part 2

Children are keen observers of the attitudes and behaviors their parents model for them. In the story of the prodigal son, imagine what the older brother was thinking and feeling when he observed his father give away property to his younger brother, who would sell it and leave home for an extended period of reckless living? He would later witness his father maintain a vigilant watch each day for the return of the younger son.

Picture the lavish reception this wayward son received from his father when he returned home in abject poverty. The older brother was not happy. He felt threatened, betrayed, and defensive. He believed he was not as special as his brother although he had worked hard, followed his father's rules, and remained obedient.

Is it fair for God to be as accepting of someone who has enjoyed a life of sin and reckless living as he is of someone who has always been faithful? Your answer could  be based on which of these two brothers you more clearly identify with. The good news is, God's love and mercy are greater than all your sins.

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As of Monday, March 21 new posts now occur 3 days of each week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Blog posts will coordinate with the radio broadcast schedule of Attitudes/Answers that airs at 5:45 PM on KHCB radio at 105.7FM in the Houston area. To stream it live or for a listing of sister stations in TX, OK, LA, and FL, you may click on the KHCB link in the "About Me" section of this page.

Jealousy or Forgiveness? It's Your Choice - Part 1

When the prodigal son returned home, his father was so happy that he ordered a celebration with music, dancing, and special food. But this was bad news for the older son, who felt angry and refused to participate. Listen to the hurt feelings he expressed to his father. "Look, all these years I've slaved for you. Yet, you never once gave me a party. But when this irresponsible son of yours shows up, you offer a fantastic family celebration."

Did the older brother have good cause for his anger? He was responsible, hard-working, and dedicated but felt his father never recognized him for his work and loyalty. Now he felt angry and threatened by the father's acceptance and forgiveness of his irresponsible, worthless brother.

What prevented the older brother from celebrating his brother's return? Perhaps he failed to understand that his father's unconditional love was not based on performance or faithfulness. This father did not love the older son less for being faithful and loyal. The father's love surpassed the bad choices of his younger son. God's love for you surpasses your bad choices.  

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As of Monday, March 21 new posts now occur 3 days of each week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Blog posts will coordinate with the radio broadcast schedule of Attitudes/Answers that airs at 5:45 PM on KHCB radio at 105.7FM in the Houston area. To stream it live or for a listing of sister stations in TX, OK, LA, and FL, you may click on the KHCB link in the "About Me" section of this page.

Facing Evil: Choosing Survival - Part 3

Survival is paramount for everyone. I'm not referring to our physical survival, but to whatever causes anxiety and worry and feelings helplessness. Dark days of the soul come periodically. Grief triggered by a loved one's death, an unwanted divorce, an unhappy marriage, or a debilitating disease can be responsible for depressive days.

When your life space is threatened physically, emotionally, socially, or spiritually, survival becomes an issue. If tragedy strikes a family, relationships may become vulnerable. The death of a child can cause guilt and blame, even hatred and anger. Relationships can begin to disintegrate if emotions become toxic.

This is not God's intent, for he is a God of comfort and compassion, so be receptive to his love and mercy. Isaiah portrays Jesus as a "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief." What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear, what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Activating this privilege is a wonderful choice.