What Principle Is Required for Keeping God Close?

Older adolescent children may push their moral and spiritual boundaries to the edge, seeking separation and individuation in order to establish a personal identity. Stretching the limits of their values is often motivated by the desire to please and be accepted by friends and peer groups.

What pulls adolescents or adults back to their spiritual and moral roots is an inner strength that enables them to love God and their family as well as the need to love and respect themselves. The love of God can reach beyond the worst fall into sin to rescue his willing son or daughter.

Saul, Israel’s king, was unwilling to override the impulse to do what was contrary to God’s plan and purpose. Keeping God close to your heart and mind is made possible by choosing to please him in all things. 

This is a strength that must be nurtured. God will help you accomplish this very important task.                           

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For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we might receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  

~Hebrews 4:15-16 New International Version 

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Allow Your Conscience to Accuse or Excuse - Part 2

I overheard a young person express with exasperation, “Why should I follow my conscience? I’d never have fun. What difference does it make? I’d be bored to death and no one would notice I exist.” Even if we deny the existence of our conscience, it still functions and implores us to do what is right, regardless of the outcome.

We may tell our conscience, “Be quiet! Shut up!” Yet there is still an awareness and knowledge that we should behave in accordance with the guidelines of the conscience. C. S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity explains that being aware of the conscience is not enough to keep us from disregarding it.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” 1 John 5:3 confirms that loving God means doing what he tells us to do even though it may be difficult.” Isn’t it interesting that loving Jesus parallels appropriate, godly conduct? Love for Christ Jesus, love for others and love for self inspire compliance with what the conscience requires. 

Integrity Guards Self-Respect - Part 1

Self-love and self-respect have nothing in common with self-righteousness. I can understand how these concepts get confusing for some people, even devout Christians. The Bible warns of thinking too highly of oneself because it makes us vulnerable to failure. The goal of self-righteousness is to deceive. It gives the impression we’re above the rules of society.

Thomas Adams said, "Self-righteousness is the devil's masterpiece. It persuades us to think too highly of ourselves." However, healthy self-esteem parallels self-respect and self-love, which are companions to the commandments to love God with your entire being and your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus modeled for us self-respect and self-love by consistently putting himself into the role of a servant even though his righteousness was on the same level as God the Father. Appropriate self-respect and self-love reach out to others and are the building blocks for establishing values for a happier, healthier, contented life.

Imagine the Possibilities: Take Action - Part 2

The issue of self-esteem has been a popular subject of numerous books and magazine articles. Self-esteem is related to the way you view yourself, what you think of yourself in relationship to the world, your perception of other people and what you think they think of you. Self-esteem is inseparable from your identity.

Your identity and purpose punctuate your uniqueness. The Apostle Paul instructed the church at Rome to be clothed, to put on Jesus Christ. To embrace Christ Jesus is a choice which assimilates all you are with the attributes and attitude of Christ Jesus himself. Amazingly, God gives you faith and righteousness when you accept Jesus as Lord of your life.

As you realize how gracious God is, it generates a yearning to love Him with all your heart and to love others as yourself. It is possible to love yourself as a child of God whose identity intersects with the righteousness of God. Though difficult to actualize such a choice, this privilege is made possible by God’s grace and mercy.

Open Minds and New Ways - Part 2

“Loving God with all your heart, soul and mind” is not something most people continuously think about.  Neither does “loving your neighbor as yourself” always get prime time consideration.  This does not mean these values are missing from your life, but they should be the most important guidelines for everyday living.

Rarely does a day go by without encountering situations which require asking questions like: "What should I do?" "How should this problem be resolved?” "How should I live my life?" "Is there hope?" At the core of such questions lie the heart and soul of a person's value system. Values define what actions need to be taken.

Life does not always present a clear way forward and may require clearing away some wreckage and chaos so wiser choices can be made. Listen to a choice Jesus extends to you. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." It’s this light that empowers you to make choices to honor and follow Christ Jesus.  

Open Minds and New Ways - Part 1

Tolerance does not come easy for some folks. In fact, tolerance may require total transformation by God’s redemption. An indication of spiritual transformation signals a change from being an enemy of God to becoming his friend. This makes way for developing new values that are compatible with God's values.

God's transforming power replaces a closed-minded attitude with an open mind that includes God’s love and purpose for ourselves and others. What seemed hopeless becomes possible because with God’s gift of tolerance we have peace and a developing attitude of confidence. Peace produces compatibility with God and a partnership with him to do his work in the world.

Tolerance gives evidence of a deepening love for God, a healthy love for others and an adequate love for self. It also produces a framework of personal conduct that affects the lives of others and encourages them to enter the Kingdom of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Sounds challenging, but exciting. 

Endure: Press Upward and Onward - Part 3

In the decade of the 1960's, values of the previous generation came into conflict with young people, producing a period of political, social and spiritual upheaval. The sexual revolution and escape from conventional values indicated change was inevitable. The Bible, prayer and God were expelled from America’s public schools.

Protests on university campuses and other demonstrations gave voice to those seeking change. Change in a nation’s social structure doesn't come without some degree of outrage. One thing’s for sure, turbulence demands examination of basic values and the will to endure.

Our society has gone through numerous changes, and many more are sure to come. One stabilizing force in times of change is to "love the Lord your God with your complete being and love your neighbor as yourself." James 2:8 calls this the royal law because it demands for tolerance and good will to be extended to others. This command helps us stay focused on the fact that we are God's creation and he love us all equally. 

The Foundation for our Values: Jesus' Commands - Part 1

Avoiding strife and conflict seems impossible when we live in a world of turmoil. Although I grew up in small farming communities, some people kept struggles and strife alive by dishing out their unhappiness upon others. Strife is usually embedded in discontent, indicating the absence of inner peace.

Inner peace and serenity are embedded in values that determine thoughts and behavior. Strife occurs when values are separated from Jesus’ command for us to love others as we love ourselves. When you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you have the ability to love yourself and others as sons and daughters of God.

Loving yourself as God intended makes it possible to love others as God's creations. Because Jesus died to save each person, we all are equal in that respect. Strife is defeated by inner peace which God provides, as Isaiah 26:3 indicates. "You (God) will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed (fixed) on you because he trusts in you." 

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You are invited to listen as I will be the guest on "Vital Issues in the Christian Home" this week on Thursday morning, February 23 from 10:30-11:30 Central Standard Time on KHCB radio at 105.7 FM 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.

Establishing Your Values? Choose Wisely - Part 3

I was privileged to spend my adolescent years growing up in a small Texas town and county where alcoholic beverages were prohibited by law. However, most teenagers knew where to get bootlegged alcohol, and like today, these teens experimented with alcohol at some level. For two close friends, alcohol became a serious problem.

The big event of the week in this little Texas town was hanging out at Audrey's café on Saturday afternoons listening to music, drinking cokes, and eating the best hamburgers ever. Thirty years later a party was given to honor Audrey for being a good role model, a surrogate mother, and a good friend to these young people.

Jesus said we are to love God with our entire beings and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. How you apply these commandments to your daily life determines the kind of role model you are to others. God will bless you with perfect peace as you trust Christ Jesus completely and keep your mind tuned to his purposes for you.  

Establishing Your Values? Choose Wisely - Part 2

Personal values define your identity. When I worked at a child guidance clinic, my supervisor would ask a child if he or she thought of himself or herself as a good person. Most children would say they were a good boy or girl, while acknowledging some serious problems existed. If any children said they were bad, then those children were seen as a serious risk to themselves.

The church, God's word, and society teach values. What comes to your mind when you hear the word values? Values identify your ethics and morals. Most people think of values in a positive light, even when their behaviors contradict what they believe.

Your relationship with God determines how closely you live by the fundamental guidelines which Jesus laid down for you in Matthew 22:37. This verse challenges you to "Love the Lord God with all your soul, with all your heart, and with all your mind." God’s love for you empowers you to choose this awesome challenge for establishing personal values to live by each day.  

Focus on Your Values - Part 3

Big city life is a marked contrast to the seemingly simple life I knew as a child. Don't get the wrong idea. Stress and worries always were associated with farming, but there were the exciting days. At harvest time in late summer and fall, neighbors and family helped each other gather in crops.

These were the days before big combine machines replaced those neighbors and friends. While the men worked in the fields, women prepared lunch. I begged to stay home from school, but my dad insisted that I go to school because there wasn't much I could do as a young child.

Although these people were far from perfect, their values bonded them together. It isn't that the big city lacks values, but in the confines of a fast-paced, hurried life, values may become blurred. God’s word from Luke 10:27 helps to clarify where values should be anchored. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” Do these words identify where your values begin and end? 

Manage Conflict: Commit to Engage and Change - Part 2

Couples get married believing they will live happily forever. When fantasy collides with reality, disillusionment can lead to despair. Disillusionment is created by failing to know and correctly understand another person. Couples ignore differences in each other's belief systems and personalities so that negotiating real differences will be based solely on each other's integrity and willingness to change to save the relationship.

The first wife of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright as well as his six children  gave up on him because he was unavailable, unengaged, and aloof. He had a type of resilience and hardness of character that made it impossible for him to be warm, loving, and involved as a father and husband.

Peter had a presumptuousness that had to be confronted. Jesus asked him: "Are you more than a friend? Do you love me unconditionally? Are you willing to step outside of your protective walls so you can love me completely?" Will you let Jesus choose you for his service?

Manage Conflict: Commit to Engage and Change - Part 1

A young man and woman in their late twenties, engaged to be married, decided to seek counseling before setting the wedding date. In the counselor's office, the future groom complained that his fiancée needed to discuss in minute detail every aspect of their wedding. She complained he would not talk about anything unless pushed to do so.

Conflict centered around communication styles and different needs. Trying to engage her fiancé in something other than surface talk created resistance, which caused the young woman to feel anxious and rejected. She, however, learned not to be put off by uncomfortable feelings. If important issues could not be resolved immediately, she learned to wait for a more opportune time.

Resilience is overcoming obstacles to reach an objective. When Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him, he was seeking a commitment that Peter seemingly had trouble giving. Jesus was asking for more than a minimal commitment. He wanted Peter's complete loyalty, including his promise to be faithful. This is what Jesus is asking from us.  

God's Gifts: Love, Hope, Freedom - Part 1

As we experience life each day we often encounter people who profess to be something they're not.  Duplicity portrays unfaithfulness or perhaps living two separate live styles. Webster defines duplicity as deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech. The word duplicity derives from the Latin word duplex, meaning twofold.

How does duplicity affect integrity? For integrity to be strong and able to guide us toward honesty and truth, it must be integrated with knowledge of God's word and committed to practicing what it teaches. "Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." A person's integrity is rendered ineffective by duplicity.

Life is complicated as Jeremiah 17:9 acknowledges. "Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing so deceitful." Choosing to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind is the antidote that saves and strengthens integrity. This choice empowers us to make significant changes that reflects God's love for each of us.