Insight: God's Light for Values - Part 3

Self-respect and self-love are conjoined together to create a personal standard of conduct. Self-respect is crucial to integrity because it promotes honesty and truthfulness. Alfred Griswold, past president of Yale University, noted that "Self-respect comes to us when we realize that knowing the good, we do it; and knowing the truth, we speak it."

Self-respect develops as a person disallows guilt and shame from gaining a foothold. How are these enemies of self-respect held at bay? Immediately confess to God and others when there's been a failure to live up to your conscience and God’s word. Make things right where wrong exists. Reclaim whatever of your moral character you've given up.

A young man admitted to forsaking the values he'd obtained as a Christian to live with a beautiful young woman. Now bitter regret and sorrow occupy his day, for what he believed to be true was false. The good news is, self-respect can be reclaimed through repentance and by acceptance of God's forgiveness. God’s business is restoration and forgiveness.  

Insight: God's Light for Values - Part 2

The essentials for effective change are insight, endurance and action, and usually develop slowly in separate stages but may occur simultaneously. Insight generates honesty with oneself and then stands with what is right and with authentic moral decisions. Insight serves as a bridge to value formation and clarification.

Values lay the groundwork for the development of self-respect and are incompatible with guilt, shame and disgust with oneself. God does forgive our sins when we confess, repent and express faith in Christ Jesus. Self-respect is a product of a clear conscience and is strengthened by refusing to take the easy way through life's challenges.

Ephesians 5:22 identifies self-control as a fruit of the Spirit. So, insight is God’s enlightenment that helps us make healthy choices. Self-respect derives from a clear conscience and aids us in choosing the narrow way that leads to life now and for eternity. The challenge is both difficult and rewarding. 

Hero or Failure? Riding the Roller Coaster - Part 2

Gideon served as a judge in Israel before there was a king. Hebrews 11 introduces him as a member of the Hall of Faith. God's call came as he was working to provide for his family, practicing values that were upright and honorable. He became a hero by defeating an entire army with just three hundred men because God was with him.

After this decisive battle Gideon demonstrated moments of moral failure. He failed to anchor Israel in faithfulness to God, for after his death the nation soon returned to idol worship. Abimelech, Gideon’s son whose mother was a concubine, had all but one of his half-brothers killed.

What's clear about Gideon is that he could be a hero one day and a moral failure the next. God's desire is that we develop and maintain values that reflect his presence in our lives. Yet by God's grace and mercy, he can and will use us despite our limitations and failures. Thank God for his unmerited favor that permits us to choose and serve him.  

Don't Dance with the Devil! - Part 2

Balaam, an Old Testament believer in God, portrays an unusual personality. His belief system allowed him to mix unacceptable behavior with God’s truth. God permitted Balaam to explore the unrighteousness of evil, which he did with such eagerness and disregard for God’s boundaries that he provoked God to anger.

Yet God sent an angel to prevent his fall into destruction. The moment he sees the angel Balaam confesses his sin. Yet he is still trying to find a loophole so he can proceed with this allurement into unrighteousness? Satan's grip can ratchet down the heart, soul, and mind so tightly that escape from his captivity seems impossible.

A short time later Balaam is beating his donkey, urging her onward because he refuses to turn loose of what’s driving him to go against God's purpose and will. Great damage is done to oneself and others when repentance is not sincere and real. What God desires is a broken and contrite heart. This paves the way for mercy and forgiveness.  
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To coordinate with KHCB’s “Five Days of Christmas” programming, I will post special Christmas thoughts on my blog Wednesday-Sunday, December 21-25. On those days, KHCB will air only Christmas music and short thoughts from the programmers. 

On Monday, December 19, and again beginning December 26, my 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.

Looking Back, Moving Forward - Part 2

Memories have the capacity for being a blessing that provides contentment and joy. However, memories can be obstructions to our feelings of well-being and may contribute to a life-style of underachievement. We consistently come to crossroads where our choices remain permanently marked in our memories.

The Old Testament patriarch Jacob had left home as a young man under duress after he and his mother had conspired against his brother Esau to steal their father's blessing. While sleeping on a lonely dark road, he had dreamed about a ladder extending from earth up to heaven. There God had spoken to him and made a covenant to give him and his descendants the land where he was sleeping.

The memory of deceitfully conspiring against his brother would continually haunt him, but now he had the memory of that dream and a commitment to honor God with his life. As sinful as Jacob and his mother had been, God favored him. God sees beyond the moment to a future time when a person will change, mature, and live up to his or her potential. Jesus saw this in the apostle Paul.  

Remember! God Favors You - Part 2

The pastor of a metropolitan church states unequivocally that God favors those who put their trust and faith in Christ Jesus. Do you realize how significant it is to be favored by God? We tend to forget and consequentially fail to appreciate the benefits of such a privilege. God's word assures us we can't begin to imagine what God has in store for those who love him.

Someone revealed how frustrated she felt because God seemed so distant. She felt frightened, lonely, and powerless because of the loss of God’s presence she’d known since childhood. Another person asked, "Why doesn't God cut me some slack and give me a break? I'm struggling and desperately need help that only God can provide!"

Search your heart, confess your sins, and repent by turning from every wrongdoing. God will forgive you and remember your sins no more. Do not forget, God favors you and will send resources to aid you when it is in your best interest for him do so. Seek God with all your heart and he will be found. While God may not be early, he will never be late.  

Feeling Afraid? Remember Your Faith in God - Part 2

There are unexpected moments in life when a good, positive memory is made that lasts forever. Some memories are so powerful they haunt us in ways that are uncomfortable or even disturbing. These we try to suppress, especially if they’re overlaid with guilt or shame or if they’re associated with anxiety, anger, or resentment.

Memories are stored in our brain like a savings account where they’re held in trust, ready to be examined or relived if a stimulant strong enough ignites and brings them to remembrance. God’s word declares, “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” Sin produces bad, negative memories, but here’s the good news. When we confess our sins and repent, we are forgiven and made right with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

When negative memories surface, confront these intruders with the fact that God dealt with them by cleansing and washing you clean through confession and forgiveness. The reality of dealing with unwanted memories from this point of view creates new memories that result in peace and joy.