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.  

Pervasiveness of Evil: Guard Your Heart - Part 1

God is gracious and kind and has clearly chosen to reveal himself in Christ Jesus. Each person then chooses to open their heart and soul to Christ Jesus to be rescued from the consequences of their sins. God’s word reveals that Jesus is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, who sustains all things by his word.

Balaam believed that God had spoken to him personally. Nevertheless, for ulterior hidden motives, he refused give up old beliefs and idol worship. He would speak for God when confronted to do so but refused to obey God if a chance existed to profit monetarily.

Listen to Balaam’s understanding of God. "God is not a man that he should lie, or change his mind. Does he speak and not act?  Does God promise and not fulfill?" Balaam's heart was corrupted and could not apply God’s revelation to himself. God reveals himself to us so we can choose to love him with all our heart, soul, and mind. God bless you in this New Year.   

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.