Are you reading your Bible …

I know I struggle with being consistent when it comes to reading my Bible.  I get to feeling guilty for not reading it, then, I get it out for a while and do some good reading.  But then … I put it down again for days (and often weeks) on end.

WHY????

I put on a good Christian face most of the time.  Most of my friends would probably tell you I am a good Christian who could serve as an example from others.  As far as I’m concerned … that just makes me a pretty good actor.  I have been a Christian since I was 10, and I know how to act like a Christian.  Rather than BE the real thing, I pretend.

WHY????

I am weak and stupid.  That is why.  Weak because I cannot maintain the consistency that I would like to maintain.  Stupid because I KNOW … I REALLY KNOW … that a Christ-directed life is the best life in the world.  By not reading my Bible consistently, I might as well be hitting myself in the head with a baseball bat regularly.  It’s as if I say to myself – “reading the Bible would draw me closer to God and bring me ultimate joy … hmmm … what can I do to screw that up … don’t want any of that joy.”

What about you?  Are you reading your Bible?

I have a suggestion for you.  This is something I am going to try to do as well.  I heard it from a preacher on the radio the other day.  And no … it’s not reading the Bible all the way through in a year or anything.

I am going to read 1 John every day for 30 days.  There’s a lot to be said about repitition.  By the end of the 30 days, I ought to have a pretty good idea of what is in 1 John, and I will also probably (by the end of 30 days) realize that 30 days of reading 1 John is not enough.  That’s key.  We can read God’s Word over and over and over and there will always be more for us to learn.

I’ll close with these verses:

Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

1 Peter 2:2 – 3
Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Go with God,
Donald B

A Husband’s Responsibility

First, this post is for men.  My hope is you will find encouragement to do the hard things to make your marriage work.  Women – feel free to read.  However, this is NOT intended for you to use against your husband as a battering ram.

Here’s the skinny – if you marriage isn’t working, it’s probably your fault.

I use the word “probably” above because there are some rare (but few in my opinion) situations where this is not true.

Let’s kick this off with some scriptures.
Genesis 3:16 (NIV)
Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth.  And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.

By sharing this verse, I am not trying to give you more reason to try and treat your wife as a slave … or to “put her in her place.”  If you have this attitude, then we’ve already discovered your problem.  Stop here … ask God to forgive you for your sins of treating your wife badly, then come back and finish reading.

By sharing this verse, I am pointing out a responsibility that God has placed on man.  To “rule over” our wives should not be equaled with “king of the world.”  Rather, it should point out how much God is going to hold you responsible for your wife and everything about her.  So, our role comes with a GREAT responsibility.

Check out these verses from the NT:

Ephesias 5:21, 25 – 27 (NLT)
And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 
…
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her  to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.  He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

I skipped verses 22 – 24 on purpose.  Those verses talking about the wife submitting to the husband, but your focus shouldn’t be on what she is supposed to do, but rather on what you are supposed to do.  And even if we were to discuss this, how you understand submission may be totally wrong any way.  My wife does a great job of explaining this.  Maybe she will someday, and then, I’ll point you to her post.

My reason for going here today is because of some wise counsel I received early on.  Someone was telling me about words of wisdom he had heard from some other guy about the man’s role in marriage.  Let me try to get this straight …

Man: My wife is the most irritating person in the world.  She nags at me all the time.  She’s always picking fights with me.  She doesn’t show me any respect ever.  She’s just impossible to be around.

Counselor: Why would you marry a woman like that?

Man: She wasn’t like that when I married her.

Counselor: Then, what did you do to her?

Point of this story: If we follow the guidance from Ephesians 5 above – “love your wives, just as Christ loved the church” - we will have a thousand more reasons for loving our wives today than we had when we got married.  We will be able to say, “This is not the woman I married” and be glad about it … and her too.  Because she will be EVEN MORE the woman that God wants her to be.

BOTTOM LINE:

If your marriage is rocky, if your wife is more irritating to you than you like, if it seems she is just out to make you miserable … you should probably stop trying to find her faults and get out your mirror.  If you will truly practice what is written in Ephesians 5 above, I firmly believe that over time, you will begin to see just how beautiful and lovely your wife truly is.  Your attitude affects her attitude!  Simple as that …

Practical advice:

• Stop being selfish.  Better yet, practice being selfless.
• Fix your faults.  Don’t even focus on her faults.
  If you think you don’t have faults, talk to me for a little bit, and I’ll help you find them. 
• Pray to God.  Ask him to show you your faults.  Ask him for strength.
  You will need strength as you begin to recognize and accept your role as husband.
• Read some books.  There are plenty of great ones out there.  Start with “The Five Love Languages” maybe.
• Work, work, work on your marriage.  If you want it to be good, then you will work.
• Gather godly men around you to pray for you and to hold you accountable for your actions toward your wife.

Bottom line for me is … if things aren’t good at home, it’s usually my fault.  If I find out what I am doing wrong and work on that … my marriage always seems to improve.  Go figure.

I think you will find the same thing to be true for you.

Go with God,
Donald B

RESPONDING to God’s Guidance in Our Lives

Does God speak to you?  Have you ever felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something?  How did you respond?

For some, I am sure the answer is that you obeyed whole-heartedly!  And that is great!  But for most, I am guessing the answer is you are now feeling guilty because you are having to think about the failure again.  This I understand … and this is why I write today.

Yes, I know what it means to fail to obey God.  I know what it is to ignore the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  However, I also know how it feels to succeed in obeying God.  I understand the joy and satisfaction that comes from positively responding to the Holy Spirit.

I have recently been reminded of how important it is to obey the Spirit’s guidance.  I want to share with you a couple of thoughts from a book that I am reading.  The book is The Life You’ve Always Wanted, by John Ortberg.  In chapter 9 – entitled The Guided Life - Ortberg is describing to the reader how we can live out our daily life and function on the spiritual level.  He states:

This gentle receptiveness, this ordering our minds on more than one level at once, is a skill that can be learned.  For instance, if we have a significant decision to make tomorrow, we can stop and ask for wisdom.  If we have some discretionary time unexpectedly open up, we can pause and ask God, “Do you have anything for me to do?”  Then we can “listen” for a moment, and if no prompting comes, we simply do what seems wisest.  Each time we greet someone tomorrow, we can inwardly ask the Spirit, “How can I respond to this person?  Do you want to speak or work through me?”

Have you ever asked God a question like that?  If so, what happened next?  Did you receive guidance as to what you should do?  If so, did you obey it?  It is this next statement from Ortberg’s book that I find striking:

Guidance only makes sense for people who are resolved to respond.

“Resolved to respond.”  That’s what I am looking for.  I am looking to be the type of person who is RESOLVED to RESPOND to God’s leading.  What that says to me is that no matter what … no matter how stupid I will look, no matter what ridicule may come, no matter what my friends think, no matter how scared I am … I will respond.  Being resolved to respond means that I plan now for how I will respond when God calls.  It means that I will decide now to recklessly say YES to God’s leading.  Are you taking the time to actively prepare your mind to whole-heartedly follow the Spirit’s leading.

Let me finish with this quote from the devotional My Utmost For His Highest – July 9th.

We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!”  The question is, “Will I believe?”  No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief.  “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58).  If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like!  Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?

Resolve today that you will respond to the Spirit’s guidance completely and whole-heartedly.  Demonstrate that you do indeed believe … don’t just say you believe.

James 1:22 – 25 (NIV)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Go with God,
Donald B

What could 3 accomplish?

Have you ever felt like this?
            Or does this describe your life now?

Ecclesiastes 4:2 – 3 (NIV)
And I declared that the dead,
    who had already died,
    are happier than the living,
    who are still alive.

But better than both
    is he who has not yet been,
    who has not seen the evil
    that is done under the sun.

I know I have. And my own opinion is that if you said “no” … you are not being completely honest with yourself. At some point in our lives, we all have to come face to face with the “why am I here”, “what is my purpose” or “who cares that I’m here” questions.

Some of you may be saying … “YES! That’s me now! As a matter of fact … that’s me all the time!”

Are we supposed to live feeling this way? I don’t think so.

What’s the solution? PEOPLE

That answer came pretty quick. Let me show you why I believe this to be true.

We are given these scriptures in the first part of Ecclesiastes 4. But then we get verses 9 – 12, and I firmly believe that God’s Word is so well written and constructed that there is a reason why certain verses follow certain other verses. So, read verses 9 – 12.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 – 12 (NIV)
Two are better than one, 
   because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down, 
   his friend can help him up. 
   But pity the man who falls 
   and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. 
   But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered, 
   two can defend themselves. 
   A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

The answer is people! God’s answer to our loneliness, our lack of will power, our inability to stay on a diet, our failure in the world of fitness … and even more importantly, our lack of spiritual growth, our lack of desire to apply God’s principles in our lives, and our inability to establish a consistent quite time … is PEOPLE!

I’m sure I could continue that list above. Parenting, being a teenager, work ethics, taxes, etc. And I’m sure you have your own list that you have been going through in your head.

Our inability to be all that God wants us to be comes when we try to “go at it alone.”

I was thinking yesterday that if I had 2 brothers who would commit (me committing also) to making daily verbal contact with each other for the purpose of asking a set of prying questions we have all agreed to and for the purpose of pushing each other to do the things we’ve committed to do I would be able to qualify and finish the Ironman Triathlon (if you know me … HA to that.) But as silly as that seems even to me … things even greater than this could be accomplished. Spiritual growth as never seen before could happen!

Some of you may be saying … “That’s all fine and good, but a sign of spiritual maturity is being able to stand on your own without being dependent on others.” (Did that sound snooty? I was going for snooty.)

BALONEY!!!

God designed us for relationships! Look in Genesis about why God created Eve.

Genesis 2:18 (NIV)
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

We were designed to work best together when we work together.

Are you depressed now because you don’t have these kind of people in your life? Well, stop. Pray! Ask God to bring them into your life. He will.

You … be ready. Remember, you have to commit to them also.

Go with God,
Donald B

can a christian still sin?

Some one hit my blog the other day using using the title of this blog as their search. People want to know if Christians can still sin. And I believe this is something that needs to be addressed … and so, I will do my best here.

Before I go another step, the picture to the left is apparently real. Therefore, this lady must really believe she doesn’t sin. I THINK SHE’S WAY WRONG!

YES … Christians can still sin! The best thing I can do to support this is to take you to the scriptures.

Romans 7:14 – 25 (NLT)
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

This scripture alone should answer the question. Paul – the greatest missionary to ever live (in my opinion) – struggled with sin … AS A CHRISTIAN!

But then … we read scriptures like this one:

1 John 3:4 – 6 (NLT)
Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

While we never want to ignore any scripture – even if we don’t fully understand it or it seems to contradict other scriptures – this one seems to stump a lot of Christians. Here is what I have learned over the years from other teachers and readings.

Check out what this excerpt from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary says about 1 John 3:4 – 6:

Christ, shows an interest by faith in his obedience and sufferings. But a man cannot act like the devil, and at the same time be a disciple of Christ Jesus. Let us not serve or indulge what the Son of God came to destroy. To be born of God is to be inwardly renewed by the power of the Spirit of God. Renewing grace is an abiding principle. Religion is not an art, a matter of dexterity and skill, but a new nature. And the regenerate person cannot sin as he did before he was born of God, and as others do who are not born again. There is that light in his mind, which shows him the evil and malignity of sin. There is that bias upon his heart, which disposes him to loathe and hate sin. There is the spiritual principle that opposes sinful acts. And there is repentance for sin, if committed. It goes against him to sin with forethought.

While it is true that we should always strive to live without sin, it will just not happen. However, this scripture does tell us that we can make evaluations about a person’s spiritual life based upon their daily life. Are they are person who sins without any apparent remorse or guilt? Or are they a person who struggle with the sins they commit? This can tell us a lot about a person. Please note: this is not to be used as a tool for bringing down the hammer of judgment … but rather, as a tool to make us aware of a person’s spiritual condition so that we can be ready to present the Gospel when the time presents itself. That’s another blog on its own.

As I close this blog (I’m sure a lot more can be written about this subject), I would like to point out an earlier scripture in 1 John.

1 John 1:9 (NLT)
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

The same author who gave us 1 John 1:9 is the same author who gave us 1 John 3:4 – 6. So, if he’s giving us a way to deal with our sins – GIVING CHRISTIANS A WAY – then we have to know that 1 John 3:4 – 6 is NOT saying that we will never sin again. Instead, it tells us that we will leave the life of sin.

Unfortunately, until Christ returns, sin will always be a struggle that Christians have to deal with. Fortunately, we don’t have to do it alone. Just read the Romans passage above again.

Go with God,
Donald B

They’re My Rights!

… aren’t they???

Have you ever considered what your rights are as a Christian?  I believe this is a tough topic of discussion for most Christians because nobody enjoys being wronged.  And we actually believe it is our God-given right to fight against those would would dare wrong us.

Here are some examples where we may believe we should – as Christians – be able to claim our rights.

You get rear-ended by someone who does not have insurance.  Do we have the right to sue them for damages?  Of course, only to cover the costs of repair and any medical bills … not for any of that extra “emotional” damage or such.

Your kid gets beat up at school by a bully.  Do we have the right to go to the school and demand that the individual be punished?  And maybe his parents as well?

You loan a friend or family member cash, and they do not pay it back like they said they would.  Do we have a right to hound them until they pay it all back?

You hear from another person some unkind words another individual spoke about you.  Do we have the right to confront this person and demand an apology?

There are many other examples we could include here.  And there are many examples we would not even think about simply because it seems absurd to think that particular thing might NOT be one of our rights.

Here is what I have to say … and then, I will try to explain this a little.

As Christians, the only right we have that no one can take from us is to be in a loving and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.  Other than that, I have no rights, and I should live as if I had no rights.  I believe this is the example that Christ set for us.

The problem with us demanding our own rights begins with our view of our own self.

Romans 12:3 (NLT)
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

Demanding our own rights does come from us not viewing ourselves as last … as servants to others.  Remember, Jesus told us that “those who are last now will be first” in Matthew 20:16. 

In order to become what Christ wants us to become, Christ says “whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant” in Matthew 20:26.  We should always remember that our focus needs to be on life after death.  Everything I do now should be to prepare me for what is to come.  I should DESIRE to be nothing here if it means great rewards there.  But rewards should not be the drawing factor to be less here.  Our love for Jesus Christ should be the drawing factor.  I should want to be just like Jesus.

What about those people who treat us badly or treat our family or friends badly?  How do we deal with them?  Are we supposed to let them run over us?

Romans 8:14 – 21 (NLT)
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.  Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!  Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.   Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God.  For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.   Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.  If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”  Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

If we take this scripture completely as it is written … the answer to the question above is yes.

Is this possible?  Yes.  Is this true in my life all of the time? Definitely NOT!  Do I want it to be true?  Yes.

If we look at the life of Jesus … these traits are there?  If we look at his apostles, we see that when they took action into their own hands to fight for their rights, we find Jesus reprimanding them (i.e. when Peter cut of the servant’s ear in the garden.)

Another example would be Stephen.  He did not pray curses down upon the people stoning him.  Rather, he prayed that God would have mercy on them.

Bottom line:  where is our focus?  If we can begin to view those around us as people needing Jesus … If we can begin to see the people we are dealing with in an eternal perspective … maybe then … just maybe … we can begin relinquishing our so-called “rights.”

I have a right to call Jesus my Savior and my Lord!  I have a right to obey Him completely!  I have a right to love Him with everything I am!  I have a right to die in His name!  Those are the rights I claim.  Those are the rights that you can never take from me.  Just try to stop me from praying.  Will never happen!

And one day … as I live eternally in Heaven with my God … I’ll understand better what He has called me to today.

Go with God,
Donald B

When satan Attacks

Originally posted in a previous blog on December 6, 2006.

Ephesians 6:11 – 12 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

As we humans tend to do or believe everything to one extreme or another, I am going to divide us into 2 groups. 1 – Those who blame satan for everything bad in their lives. 2 – Those who pretend satan doesn’t exist. Which one are you? Hopefully, by the end of this, you may lean more toward the middle somewhere.

You cannot read the verses above without coming to an understanding that satan is indeed real and that we – as Christians – are at war with him and his hordes of demons. However, these verses do not remove the fact that we are pretty good at sinning on our own (ref. Romans 3:23) . Nor do they remove the fact that our God tests us and disciplines us in order to grow us into the Christians He wants us to be.

So … what does a satanic attack look like and how can we stand against them? I wish I had the one perfect answer for you, but I do not. However, what I can offer are my own personal struggles and how I deal with them.

There are many things that happen in my life that are bad that are simply results from the sins in my life that come from being a sinner … such as debt, weight gain, snapping at my kids, laughing at my wife when she runs into an exercise bike because she didn’t turn on the light – not that this ever happened … and I made sure she was ok first. I do not go around giving satan credit for these. I beat myself up about them. I ask God to change me and strengthen me to make be better. I discipline myself to overcome these.

So, from where do the satanic attacks come. For me, I find that satanic attacks are more frequently mental attacks. I say “for me” because “for Job” they were definitely physical attacks. But in my case, they are mental. Small things will happen around me (things that are everyday type things), and I will begin having thoughts that make the small situation into something it is not … and was never going to be. These thoughts could be classified as lustful, power-hungry, greedy, selfish, etc. I believe that these are real satanic attacks on me to get me to follow through with decisions that will be divisive or hurtful to those close to me. I cannot describe them much more than that. I finish by saying I have come to recognize them as attacks because try as I may … I am unable to simply dismiss them and start thinking of something new. The barrage continues.

There are only 2 things that I have found that help me during these times. Prayer and the Bible! I talk to God about what is happening. I voice my concerns. And I read His Word searching for answers to what I am dealing with.

I feel as if I have typed a bunch of rubbish above. I hope that is not the case. I hope that in these words, you have found some kind of truth or hope that can help you continue in your Christian walk.

Go with God,
Donald B