Toddler Tantrums or Steady Maturity?

 

Gloria Gaither, songwriter and poet, in her book Because He Lives, writes about an incident when her son, Benjy, was a toddler. He was enjoying a happy day at a birthday party. He and his grandma were playing at baseball; she gently lobbing the ball toward him, he swinging the bat.  That sweet moment evaporated into a toddler tantrum as the bat went crashing to the ground accompanied by a wail of angry frustration.  “Grandma! You missed again. You missed my bat again!”   

Ever thrown a toddler tantrum, blaming all the world around you for the frustration you feel?  Have you ever lashed out angrily at your spouse, blaming that person for your choice gone wrong? Something like - “I only took this job because you wanted to move to this town and now look at the mess we’re in.”

Probably just about every Christian who ever prayed has hurled angry words at God when disappointed, hurting, grieving, or failing at life. “Where are YOU? Why don’t YOU help me?”  Ah, those tantrums are ugly, damaging, and keep us from finding answers to our very real problems.  You know the story of Job, don’t you?  He had reason to be angry with God if ever anyone did.  He was a “righteous man” meaning he pleased God and lived in a right relationship with Him.  

But, life went inexplicably upside down. Within a short time he lost his wealth, his children were killed in accidents, his skin developed painful boils head to toe, and his wife despised him, urging him to “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9)  His ‘friends’ showed up and were so overwhelmed by his plight they sat in silence for days before launching into long rants that accused Job of some secret sin, something that would explain the tragedy. They urged him to humble himself and repent; except that there was nothing to say since he was ‘righteous.’ 

We know the back story. Job was caught in a spiritual battle in the heavens.  It is a tough story for us to grasp, but the short of it is that Satan (the accuser) came to the Lord God and said of Job – “You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.  But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”    “Job only loves you because life is good.” (Job 1:10) God gave Satan permission to take all that Job had except his life, for He knew he truly loved Him, not for the blessings but for Who He is!  Oh, yes, Job felt the awful, the pain, and he finally did cry out to God for answers and the reply of Heaven was basically – “You have to Trust Me and keep faith!” And, he did.

Christian, we need to grow up and learn to stand before God, our faith rock solid even when we are swept by the storms and troubles that are common to the human experience. And, we need to pray for the maturity to admit when we are failing, or we have not developed the skills, or we just want to be more than we are. If we refuse that maturity, we risk looking the fool, or worse, disgracing our God, when we throw a major toddler tantrum that damages relationships, weakens faith, and ignores reality.

Can God point to you as exhibit #1 of steadfast faith and deep devotion- not because He’s blessed you with a good life, but because you love Him – ‘heart, soul, mind and strength?’  Don’t confuse attempting moral perfection or some false piety with that kind of devotion.  This kind of love of God is robust, a daily choice to rely on the goodness, mercy, and grace of God that never fails.  

When you walk through the dark days, endure the awful, and live with disappointment, do you blame, accuse, and demand or submit, surrender, and stay steady?  Oh that we would learn the deep faith of Job who declared to his false accusers - "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him." (Job 13:14-16, KJV)   I trust Him. I am open before Him. My hope is the life He gives.

On a human to human level, do you readily accept responsibility for your part in the circumstances in which you find yourself?  Or, like so many today, are you ready to play the victim, to wait for a rescuer, to demand that somebody somewhere fix life for you?  I love the model of AA, which reaches out to that person who has ‘hit bottom,’ who has finally understood he is powerless over his addiction. But, AA does not offer excuses or rationalizations for the addiction. The program invites responsibility that is matched with support from others who have found grace to recover.   Here are some of the 12 Steps. Note the emphasis on matching God’s grace with a willingness to take personal responsibility for change.  Steps 3 through 9 are these:

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

 

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

 

Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

 

Let’s grow up in Christ. How about taking an inventory today. 

Perhaps you had really terrible parents who hurt you badly.
There is a Father who can heal you. Let Him.

Perhaps your spouse was an awful person and left you broken.
God restores broken hearts. Let Him.

Perhaps your expectations of life are set on all the wrong things and you lack spiritual insight. 
God heals blinded eyes. Let Him.

Perhaps you feel like a failure and have quit on life, concluding that the system is rigged against you. 
God rebuilds people and sees potential in you. Let Him.

Perhaps some sin weighs you down with guilt and you deal with it by excusing, blaming, or hiding.
God forgives unconditionally through Christ. Let Him.

Here’s a word from the Word. "And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. Don’t let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ. For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body, and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe." (Colossians 2:6-10, NLT)

You accept Him by faith alone.

Now grow up in Him by faith, too!

_________________________

God Is So Good (You Are Worthy)

No height or depth can separate
Your steadfast love who can escape
Your faithfulness an endless sea
So full of grace and mercy

We sing God is so good
God is so good
God is so good
He's so good to me

Haunted by the past no more
My innocence has been restored
Forgiveness flows from Your veins
Your kindness shown in all Your ways

(Oh there's) never been anyone like You
Never been anyone like You
You are worthy You are worthy

Hope is rising like the sun
The old is gone the new has come
I fix my eyes on Christ alone\
My Rock my Shield my Cornerstone 

God You are good
God You are good
God You're so good
You're so good to me

God You're so good always good to me

God is so good
He's so good to me
God You're so good
You're so good to me

 

Ben Smith | Daniel Bashta | Pat Barrett© 2017 Capitol CMG Genesis (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

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CCLI License # 810055

Following Fools?

 

“We follow the science.” This is the new mantra of those who are directing our lives in this brave new world. Make no mistake: I am grateful for scientific knowledge, glad for those who study and discover the many things that make our lives so much healthier, longer, and more comfortable. But, what of those contradicting messages? What about that human pride that confuses ‘I believe this is the best course of action,’ with ‘This is the only choice that is right,’ because of bias and/or larger political agendas?  When we find out that what we were told in the name of ‘science’ is an opinion dressed up in the language of certainty, our trust evaporates.

We are overwhelmed with dozens of messages every day. TV talking heads tell us what to think about a range of options from politics to economics to religion. Politicians require blind submission to their orders while warning about the dire effects that non-compliance will have for the world.  In between those declarations, we live with 30 second messages designed to get us to drive a Volva, shop at Target, buy insurance from Geico, and take the newest medicine from big pharma. On top of this, throw in the podcasts from our favorite influencers, the blogs we read on the ‘net, and the daily conversations with friends and family.  Do you, like me, find that the often conflicting messages are disorienting?  Do you find yourself sometimes feeling a near irrational anger in the confusion?

How do we evaluate all this information?
How do we make the right choices?

True wisdom starts with a humble acknowledgement of God. This eternal wisdom is worthy: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10, NIV)  If we choose to become our own god, if we believe that the great minds of the world can save us, we have trusted in a lie. The 'wise' sometimes are revealed as fools.  Last year's 'truth' is too often replaced by this year's discoveries. 

Dr. David Wells wrote that when we turn from a God-centered life to a man-centered one, "everything drifts apart. It begins to resemble confetti - a myriad of experiences, none of which is related to the others..... and which can mean anything. The human being becomes 'homeless' adrift in a world that is beyond comprehension." (Above All Earthly Pow'rs, Eerdmans, 2005)

Christian, are you living humbly?
Do you live with a healthy awe of the Majesty of God, your ways submitted to Him, your choices subject to His re-direction?

King Solomon knew great success and found many pleasures in this world.  In the course of his life, he ignored God and trusted in his own intellect and accomplishments.  He became a cynic. " I had everything a man could desire! So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. ... But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. . . . This is all so meaningless!" (Ecclesiastes 2:1-15, NLT)  At the end of himself, he found God. His counsel? "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, NIV)

We are taught to make sense of life with purely natural things - pleasure, money, technology, systems, education, and the science of our material world.  I’d be the fool if I suggested that those things did not provide a better life. I love climate-controlled homes, antibiotics that heal my body, and technology that connects me to the world.  But, the wisdom of the material world will always fall far short of providing a life with meaning! In the quiet, when we are alone, when we ponder what it all means – the only lasting answers are found in the love of God, a choice of faith in the One who says that His “ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55:9)

Please do not read that short line as a simple answer to life’s complexity!  Faith is not an easy choice.

Those who would be wise must pursue the Holy One, give themselves to prayer and thought, and live with patient endurance.  But, in God, we will find the ultimate answers that provide us with an unchanging anchor point for living well as well as the gift of Wisdom that stands above all the ways of humanity. When we are ready to be guided by His hand, we find the faith to know that God accomplishes His eternal purposes.

Are you confused by the noisy opinions of the world around you?
Are you exhausted by insistence of others that they alone, in their view, are right?
Choose the way of the humble.
Go sit with God, focused on Christ Jesus, and breath the Presence of the Spirit.

Invite Him to be the Lord Jesus Christ – the One above all others – Master of every thought, every choice.

The word from the Word reminds us of the folly of godless ‘wisdom.’
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God." (Psalm 14:1-2, NIV)   As He looks today, may He find you and me seeking Him in true humility and we will find wisdom!

_____________________

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision
O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me
Save that Thou art
Thou my best thought
By day or by night
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my light 

Be Thou my wisdom
and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee
And Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father
I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling
And I with Thee one

Riches I heed not
Nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance
Now and always
Thou and Thou only
Be first in my heart
High King of heaven
My treasure Thou art 

High King of heaven
When vict'ry is won
May I reach heaven's joys
O bright heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart
Whatever befall
Still be my vision
O Ruler of all

 

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain

 

Scammed!

 

Since the dawn of human history there have been frauds, crooks, and cheats.  The digital age makes ‘scamming’ others an international effort. With a phone call, that crook looking for your elderly mom’s bank information can reach out from Nigeria.  Hackers who hide in safe remote countries work at gaining access to our financial information with emails that look ‘just like’ the one from our bank. And, many of us have received that call from the ‘IRS’ in which an accented voice tells us that we are about to have our accounts frozen and all we need to do is provide some information.

Learn to protect yourself!  Know who you are talking to. Have even a shred of doubt? Hang up!  Think that email could possibly be fraudulent, don’t click on the link to find out!

Christianity is plagued with scam artists, too. It is not a new thing. Faked miracles, con artists posing as preachers, and insincere ‘promises’ of divine favor in return for some gift or donation have been part of church life for as long as the Church has existed. St. Paul warns us about ‘teachers’ who love to speculate about angels and demons, who are always writing about the next ‘crisis’ foreshadowing the Second Coming, who ignore love and holiness while debating proper modes of baptism, ad nauseum. He knew these ‘teachers’ well. He says. "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." (Colossians 2:8, NIV)   Don’t get scammed!

In the last few years far too many Christians have been tricked into believing that salvation will come from electing a leader who will ‘restore America.’  Electoral politics have taken on the fervor of a religious revival. People that disagree demonize the ‘other’ side, no longer content to say their ideas are wrong. Now those who have a different opinion are ‘purely evil.’  In this polar division, it is tragic to note that a significant percentage of Americans, many of whom are Christians, agreed that they would elect a leader who of ‘strong convictions’ who could ignore our rule of law to ‘make things right again.’  Christian, whatever your politics, IF you have believed the lie that your personal security or salvation will come from government – you have been scammed!

Our only Savior is Christ Jesus.  "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." (Colossians 2:6-7, NIV)  We are saved by grace, received by faith. We ‘work out’ our salvation, day by day, growing in the likeness of Jesus.

There are no shortcuts, no quick formulas, no easy roads to spiritual maturity.   That preacher who wows you with his amazing story and then reaches for your wallet is not your friend. That ‘school of miracles’ that teaches you that you can turn God into your own personal servant acting at your command is not to be trusted.  The Christian life is lived one day at time, in full faith, trusting the God Who loves us but Whose ‘ways are higher than our ways.’

There is a different kind of Christian ‘scam’ that points to human effort. “Do right things. Discipline yourself. Work hard in ministry. Go to church whenever the doors are open. Read your Bible. Say your prayers. Be rigidly moral. Wear a certain kind of clothing.”   There is an endless list of rules that purport to make us into ‘good Christians’ that actually rob the Gospel of power and majesty. 

Yes, friend, as attractive as all those rules may seem in this chaotic world, they have no power to truly transform us nor will they lead us to ‘life to full,’ or to eternal life.  Religious systems that promote denial of food, rest, on endless works of service, or giving large sums of money actually appeal to our pride because they allow us to measure ourselves against others. But, they are a faux spirituality. Human works replace matchless and scandalous grace of Jesus with slavery to self, to prophets, to social pressure.

This passage is lengthy but packed full of Truth.   "You were dead because of your sins  … God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.  So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new-moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 

 For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, Christ himself. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial. And don’t let anyone say you must worship angels, even though they say they have had visions about this. These people claim to be so humble, but their sinful minds have made them proud. But they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For we are joined together in his body by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God. You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world.

So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch.” Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires." (Colossians 2:13-23, NLT)

Don’t get scammed by those who would own your soul or your stuff!  Keep your focus on Christ alone! In Him, our salvation  is complete and hope is secure. Keep step with the Spirit, faithfully listening and obeying where He leads. If some teacher, prophet, or author turns your attention from Jesus, from the Cross, and the hope of the Resurrection – walk away. No, better yet, run!

Here is a word from the Word. "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God’s law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead!" (Philippians 3:8-11, NLT)

 Lord, give your holy people discernment. 

Open our eyes to the religious frauds that seek only to exploit.

Let us live in peace, contented in You, inspired by Your majesty.
Captivate us with the Gospel that you save us completely,
by grace, through faith, and help us to love You more each day. Amen.

__________________

 

Build My Life

(worship and pray to rest your life on the Solid Foundation)

 

Worthy of ev’ry song we could ever sing

Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

 

Jesus the name above ev’ry other name

Jesus the only one who could ever save

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

We live for You

 

Holy there is no one like You

There is none besides You

Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are

And fill me with Your heart

And lead me in Your love to those around me

 

I will build my life upon Your love

It is a firm foundation

I will put my trust in You alone

And I will not be shaken

 

Brett Younker | Karl Martin | Kirby Elizabeth Kaple | Matt Redman | Pat Barrett

© 2016 Martin, Karl Andrew (Admin. by Arkyard Music Services Limited)

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CCLI License # 810055