My Moment of Truth

I was having trouble deciding about what to post today. I had a few ideas in my mind. I kept going back and forth between a couple of them. So, ironically, I’ve chosen indecision. Yeah, pretty funny, huh? Seems like a solid topic, though. I know I just talked about rational and emotional decisions the other day. But, maybe, this is a good time to talk about it. Maybe, just from a little different angle. Plus, I feel with my high degree of expertise in this area that I can provide some valuable insights, with my PhD in indecision.

So, what is it about making decisions that is so difficult? Well, from my experience, it seems to be rooted in fear. Fear of making a mistake. You don’t want to make the wrong decision. So, you either don’t decide or you just take a really long time to decide. Sometimes we take the option of not deciding. This is called ‘letting decisions make themselves’.

In this scenario, you just put the decision off into the future to the point that one of the scenarios you have to decide on will eventually play themselves out. See, you may not move forward with your decision but life keeps moving forward regardless. So, if you don’t decide on what to do, one scenario will eventually play itself out. Like, say I find a car to buy that I really like. The price is right and it’s everything I was looking for but I still can’t decide whether to buy it. Well, if I wait long enough the car will eventually be sold. And, in some cases, I may not have to wait too long. So, in that case, I’m making the decision not to buy. Only I’m not actively making the decision. I just let the decision make itself. See, this seems more risk-free, doesn’t it? This way I don’t have to live regretting a decision. Only thing is, this probably isn’t a healthy way to make decisions. Sometimes, depending on the situation, other people can get hurt in the process of you not deciding as well. We often don’t like the feeling of thinking we made the wrong choice. But decisions are a part of life. So, this option isn’t a good way to go.

The other option is taking an inordinate amount of time to decide. This could be called the ‘paralysis of analysis’. You sit and equivocate between two, maybe several, options. This is like voluntary torture on yourself, since you’re in this kind of perpetual limbo. This is never a pretty site. Here you sit going back and forth from one decision to the other. And then you probably torture yourself to the point that you finally decide that making a decision will be less painful than the state of indecision that you’re in. Then you decide. But even then, you still wonder if you’ve made the right decision. So, that’s not a good option either.

Neither of the above have I found to be good methods of decision-making. The problem is that the lack of decisive action is often rooted in fear. Fear, is generally, not the best motivator. So, one good thing to do is to get the fear under control first. Once you do that you should be able to invoke some wisdom into the situation. Now we can take an objective look on the situation. So, then we can ask ourselves what the wise course of action is. Without fear being the motivator, what do I believe is the best course of action? This way I should be able to make a more level headed decision.

My advice: start with the small things and work your way up from there. Then as you become more comfortable with making decisions you can make bigger and, also, better decisions. There is, of course, a lot more that can be said on this topic.

 

…Let’s go deeper

So, how can we apply scripture to this? Well, there’s a verse I like in James 1:5-7: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” This is a good verse to remember if you’re having trouble deciding. If you want Godly wisdom God is ready and willing to give it to us. We just have to ask. But we must ask in faith and not wavering. So, we pray to God for wisdom and we fully expect him to give it to us. This alone should be comforting, knowing that you won’t be making the decision on your own and God is guiding you in the right direction when you trust him to.

Male potency has a very important role, when it comes to run a relationship in quite successful way. viagra in uk How to increase immunity is a major cultural and sociological pills viagra canada amerikabulteni.com deterrent as it is directly related to masculinity which in turn reflects success. Furthermore, high levels of blood sugar usually damage the nerves that can, in turn, disturb the signal flow, which triggers a stiffer penile cialis online best erection. People sometimes do not find a proper cure to their problems. viagra sale check this site out is one such amazing product which basically deals with the erections of the man. If you keep reading in the next verse in James 1:8, it says, “A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways.” You see, this state of double mindedness, or indecision, is not good. It affects all areas of our lives. This is what James is saying, that if we are double minded it causes instability throughout our entire lives. We can’t live in this state of perpetual indecision and be living effective lives. If you think about it, a knife doesn’t have trouble deciding to cut something in two. It’s sharp, so whatever it runs into, one half is going to go one way and the other half is going to go the other way. If we’re indecisive, it’s like we’re trying to cut something with a spoon. You take a whack at it and it just goes thud, and nothing happens. A knife, on the other hand, means business. And this is how we should be.

Here’s another verse in James. James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.” This verse takes this concept a little further. Here James is telling us to get close to God and get rid of the sin in our lives. We can be double minded not only about sin but also our commitment to God. Double mindedness is also referring to doubting God. This is why, like in the verse in James 1:8, a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Because you are not rooted and grounded in God and his promises. A pure heart is also one that just believes God. When you are being tossed to and fro like a wave in the sea you are double minded and need to purify your heart. So, this is a good place to start. And if we draw near to God, he will help us to purify our hearts.

So, this is the best way to make decisions, is to get God involved in the process. We can not only make better decisions but have confidence that we have made a wise decision when we ask God for his help.

James 1:5-7: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

James 1:8, it says, “A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways.”

James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.”

 

I was recently thinking about how we often become nostalgic when we see something from our past, see someone from our past or hear something from our past. We often have fond memories of certain periods of our lives. If we see something or someone or hear something from the past: these things can often trigger memories of that period in our lives.

I recently found myself listening to some music and found this to be the case. It was a CD from a little over 10 years ago. I was listening to it and I felt like I was right back where I was 10 years prior. That’s the amazing thing about music. It has the power to trigger memories. I can be listening to a song one day and then listen to the same song a few days later and I will remember right where I was when I listened to it a few days prior. So, as far as memories go, music has to be one of the most powerful triggers. I can hear a song on the radio from a period of time, say high school or college, and it will feel almost like I was transported back to that time.

The interesting thing is that sometimes, once we get transported back in time, we might have a tendency to want to stay there. You see, that’s why people who grew up in the 50’s like 50’s music, and people who grew up in the 60’s like 60’s music, and people who grew up in the 70’s like 70’s music. Actually, was there any good music in the 70’s? Nothing coming to mind. Just kidding. Don’t be mad 70’s children. You never hear, though, of someone liking music of a time period that didn’t also grow up during that time period. So, the music of that era usually goes away with that generation.

So, is nostalgia a good thing? Sure, in some ways. It’s OK to remember the good times of the past from time to time. This can be good and even healthy. The problem, I think, comes when people get stuck there and never move on. There are some people that never want to move on from their high school days because of all the fun they had and being at the peak of their popularity. Some were captain of the football team. Others were head cheerleader. But ever since then things have never been quite the same. They went to college and got married and had kids and yet they find themselves looking back in the past and at how good it was. And it gets to the point that they end up living there in their minds.

So, why does this happen? Well, I think, often times, we may see the past through rose colored glasses. Maybe things weren’t quite as great as we remember them being. Memories have a way of embellishing themselves. Another thing that happens is people stop looking towards the future. They may think that times could never get better than they remember them being back then. Then they stop setting goals. They stop looking to the future. They stop believing that their future can be better than their past. That’s when people stop looking and moving forward and start looking back.

That’s why goals are so important. It’s important that we keep setting goals for ourselves throughout our lives. Keep believing there’s a future better than the past. Because when we stop doing that. We start looking back to a time we can never return to. And if we keep looking back there we can get stuck there. This is never a good thing. Believe that your best days are ahead of you. Otherwise you will start looking back. That’s not the end of my recommendation, though.

 

…Let’s go deeper

So, how does this apply to our spiritual lives? Well, in many ways actually. We always want to be moving forward spiritually. This is actually the most important thing.

I couldn’t help but remember the Israelites in the wilderness when I was thinking about writing this post. They had really just arrived in the wilderness and they were already remembering their time in Egypt and wishing to return. In Exodus 16:3 it says, ”And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, [and] when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Now, you have to realize what they were wishing to go back to. They were living under slavery in Egypt. They weren’t exactly living like kings. This is what I mean by looking at the past through rose-colored glasses. I would like to think if I were there with the Israelites, at that time, I would have said, “Seriously, you want to go back there? What’s the matter with you?”

Now, I understand that they were facing some difficult conditions. But the thing they were forgetting is that God was with them. It was demonstrated over and over again from the time they left Egypt. Just the fact that Pharaoh let them go was a miracle in itself. God had to send 10 plagues just to get Pharaoh to let them go. When they left, God provided a pillar of fire to guide them by day and a pillar of a cloud to guide them by day. He parted the Red Sea for them to cross to the other side. And then when Pharaoh’s army pursued them God drowned them in the Red Sea. Yet, when they get to the wilderness they couldn’t trust God enough to provide for them. If you read in Psalm 78:19 it says, “Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” Yet, God did provide for them. He provided them manna from heaven. A little further down it says in Psalm 78:25: Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.” So, God proved to be faithful.
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Sadly though, I wonder how often we are like the Israelites. We have seen God work in our lives in the past. Then we come up to a difficult situation and we are wondering if God can provide a table in our wilderness. The good news is, though, there’s this other verse that says in 2Timothy 2:13 If we believe not, [yet] he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. You see, God remains faithful. This means we can trust him. God can provide for you in your wilderness.

If that’s not enough encouragement for you, though, here’s another verse. It’s Isaiah 43:18-19: Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert.” See, God wants to help us. We need to trust him, though. We have to give our wilderness experience to him. That’s how we get through the wilderness. The Israelites got stuck in the wilderness because they wouldn’t stop murmuring and complaining and unbelief. Here’s a good verse to put into action, Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Also, in Psalm 37:5: “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass.”

So, I have to ask you. After reading this, are you still feeling nostalgic?

Psalm 78:25: Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full. God proved to be faithful.

2Timothy 2:13 If we believe not, [yet] he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Isaiah 43:18-19: Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert.

Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Psalm 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass.”

We often have difficulty when our feelings get involved in anything. This is especially true when making decisions. Many of our decisions are made without thinking about how we’re making those decisions. And, often times, if we pay attention, we’re making those decisions emotionally.

I’ve heard people say this often about buying stocks, “Don’t buy on emotion.” Well, there happens to be a lot of truth to it. You easily can get wrapped up in wanting to buy a company because you like it even though it may not make the most sense fundamentally. Say, you might like APPLE stock but it doesn’t have the best fundamentals and the numbers aren’t what you should be looking for. But you really like apple products so you buy it. That would be an emotional buy. So, you would want to buy on the fundamentals of the companies numbers on their balance sheet instead. That would be a smart buy and using your head.

Anyway, we can often find ourselves making decisions that don’t make sense. Sometimes we don’t realize it until after we’ve made them. We let our emotions override our brains. That can be a problem. We often decide on things based on how we feel rather than what we know to be best for us. Like, buying a house, for instance. You can find a house you really like in an area you really like. But the house is way overpriced and is way more than you can afford. You see, emotions aren’t bad. They definitely have a place in our lives. However, the purpose for emotions is for us to enjoy or experience life. Emotions aren’t meant to be a decision-making metric in our lives.

So, how do you defend against making an emotional decision that you might later regret. I have found that usually the emotional decisions we make are the ones that are the most rash. These are the ones we make quickly because we want that thing right now, or we want to escape any pain or discomfort right now. Usually the best thing to do, if at all possible, is to sit back and give yourself time to get your emotions in check. Then you can make the decision that makes the most logical sense. You have time to collect yourself and think of why you want to do something or why you don’t want to do something.

Also, think rationally of how you might feel afterward once you’ve made a certain decision. Think about either scenario. Do you think you will feel regret, or do you think you will be pleased and satisfied knowing that you made the right decision? By doing this, you can usually tell or get an idea whether you’re being irrational about a decision and not using your head. But, is this enough?

 

…Let’s go deeper

 

Sometimes making a logical decision isn’t always enough. You might be thinking, “Well, what else is there?” Well, if you’re a Christian, there is another way. That way is being led by the Spirit. Romans 8:14 says, ”For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
So, God is telling us in this verse to be led by the Spirit. So, this is beyond emotional decisions, it’s beyond logical decisions, it’s a Spirit-led decision. This kind of decision-making supersedes any other kind of decision we can make.

The patient may not notice a foot injury or ulcer cipla viagra india until the person have severe damage to nerves in male reproductive organ and they may have other plan of actions to suggest when faced with erectile dysfunction. Vaginismus is when muscles in and around vagina go into cialis 20mg tadalafil spasm, making sexual intercourse difficult and thus, painful. Although interesting, societal prescription canada de cialis and social differences between male and female both. At whatever point the name pharmaceutical comes, so does the ailment. no prescription tadalafil See, we know from the first part of the post that emotional decisions aren’t always good. But did you know that logical decisions aren’t always good either? You may wonder how that can be. Well, we can make an emotional decision and it can be the wrong one. But we can also make a logical decision and it can be the wrong one as well. The reason being is that all the numbers can look right in the natural, and everything can look right in the natural, yet you can have this feeling inside saying, “This just doesn’t feel right. I know it looks like the right decision. I know I’m being rational but I just sense this is the wrong direction to go.” That’s something you know to be true in your heart. This is what supersedes your emotions or your head knowledge.

There are a number of examples of this in the Bible. The Bible speaks a number of times about Paul and his journeys in preaching the gospel. He was led by the Spirit on where he should go and where he shouldn’t go. He was even warned, at the end of Acts, by the Holy Spirit of danger awaiting them when they were about to set sail on a journey for Rome. However, the centurion and master and owner of the ship didn’t listen to him. They departed and didn’t heed his warning. But after it being revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, he also later told them that they would shipwreck but there would be no loss of life. In Acts 27:21-22 it says, ”But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of [any man’s] life among you, but of the ship.” So, you can see, it served Paul well to be led by the Spirit of God. He was able to know things he otherwise wouldn’t have known in the natural sense. He was able to stay on mission and finish the work God had given him.

There are also many examples of Jesus being led by the Spirit. Jesus was our example for us when he was on the Earth. He shows us the importance of being obedient to God’s leading. John 1:32 says, “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.” So, Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not only led by the Spirit. The Bible also tells how that he was given power to do the good works he did all throughout the Gospels.

So, God not only leads us and directs us by his Holy Spirit, he empowers us to do the works he has given us to do by his Spirit as well. So, when we are directed by the Holy Spirit and obedient we can know that we are making the absolute best decision possible and fulfilling the mission God has given us. This is living a Spirit-led life. And that’s the higher life that God wants for us to live.

Romans 8:14 says, ”For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

John 1:32 says, “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.”

 

I believe I mentioned this in a previous post on Perfectionism. I was talking about three different scenarios that happen whenever we take on a project. One of those was someone who starts a project but the process just becomes too difficult and so we just give up. I’d like to talk about that person today. Because, at the end of the day, it’s not how we start at the beginning, or run in the middle, it’s how you finish at the end.

The thing that I believe is key here is endurance. We all have good intentions when starting a new project. Things somehow get muddled up in the middle a lot of times. There can be a number of different reasons we don’t finish. One of the worst things we can do, though, is to quit because we get discouraged. This happens with a lot of us if we start on a diet. We may go for a few weeks doing pretty well, but then we end up in the ditch because we couldn’t take the restrictions. We can start an exercise program, but it ends up going sideways once we miss a few days until we’re not exercising at all anymore.

I find I often get discouraged when I forget what the end goal is. There’s a lot of value in remembering why you’re going through all the hard work. We often quit at the point where we decide it’s not worth it. And we decide it’s not worth it because we forget how valuable the end result is. That prize at the end. So, what’s your end result? Do you want to lose 30 pounds? Do you want to go back to school to earn a degree for a career that you enjoy and to provide better for your family? These are admirable goals. These things are achieved, though, when we remember that goal in the distance and how important it is.

How to get motivated when the end looks so far in the distance and the obstacle in front of me now looks so formidable? See, that’s what often happens, is the goal at the end gets clouded or obscured by the obstacle in front of us right now. It makes sense that if you can no longer see your goal that your motivation gets lost. So, what’s the best way to keep going here? Well, it’s important to see the bigger picture. You need to press through that obstacle clouding your view of the finish line. Because once you press through that obstacle that is blocking your view you can again clearly see your end goal. When you keep going believing that the obstacle is just temporary and that you can make it through it, that’s how you endure until the goal is achieved.

 

…Let’s go deeper—Finish Strong!

So, the first verse I have is James 1:3-4: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” This verse shows that when we are patient through the obstacles we then reach our end goal. Here it describes this as being perfect, or complete. So, God works in us using our patience in these trials to make us more complete.

In Romans 5:3-5, it says, “And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” So, what does this verse tell us in addition to the previous verse? It tells us that in being patient in tribulation we gain experience and this experience gives us hope. Why? Because we’ve seen and learned what God has done in the past when we are patient and trust him through our trials.
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Hebrews 10:34-36 says, “For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.” For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Here’s a verse that tells us why we should be confident and to help us to endure. This is the ultimate end result. It describes our reward in Heaven when we endure until the end.

Finally, Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith: ”Paul was able to say this in the end because he knew and followed all the principles in the verses above. Paul had finished strong! and so can we!

James 1:3-4 says: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

In Romans 5:3-5, it says, “And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

Hebrews 10:34-36 says, “For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.”

2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith:”

 

I remember when growing up, the carefree days of youth. I didn’t have many responsibilities. Except, maybe, taking out the garbage or mowing the lawn. Which was a big job, by the way. We had about a 2-acre yard to mow. Anyway, there wasn’t too much to stress me out. Especially in the summer, when school was out, you kind of had free reign of life.

When we get older and reach adulthood, however, the story changes. Now we have real responsibilities. Once we are old enough and we leave the house, we are on our own. We live and die by our own decisions. I guess I always expected, when looking at adults when I was a kid, that when I finally became an adult that I would feel like an adult. It seems, though, that even now, at my age of 39 years, I have yet to attain that sense that, “Yup, I’m now an adult.” Maybe it was my flawed perspective as a kid. I think looking at adults then, I just had this sense that there was this overnight change that took place. Similar to a caterpillar in its cocoon and then the next day it’s transformed into a butterfly. I guess the process is more gradual with us. We grow older and mature by degrees. We, maybe, become adults before we realize we’re adults. And even when we do, it’s not like we thought it would be.

So, which is better, being an adult or being a kid? Well, while our childhood is pretty carefree and devoid of responsibilities, we generally don’t have a lot of impact on society, or other lives, or even our own lives. It’s more like a training ground for life later on. And there may be days where life overwhelms to the point that we think, “I just would like to go back to when I was ten years old for a day.” We know that’s not possible and also that it’s not what we really want. It’s just what we would like for today to avoid a painful experience. We don’t want to face the boss at work or pay for that $1000 car repair. Because the reality is that we have the greatest opportunity and the greatest impact in the world and other people’s lives in this time, when we’re adults. While playing in the sandbox was fun, and playing tag with friends was fun, and shooting bottle rockets at cars driving by was fun…wait, don’t read that last one Mom and Dad. Anyway, while these were fun things, we were never going to make our mark on the world building sand castles. We eventually had to grow up and learn from our childhood experiences.

So, is adulthood overrated? No, I don’t think so. It’s just different. In reality, it may be underrated. We have so much opportunity to impact other lives once we’ve gone through the process of learning and realizing how life works. We have the opportunity to have a career that is beneficial to others. No matter what that career is, it’s generally a benefit that you’re there doing it. We also have the opportunity to impact lives on an individual basis. You may end up being a mentor to someone. You could give a younger person a head start in life by giving them the benefit of your knowledge and experience. Finally, you’re also more beneficial to yourself when you’re an adult. Yeah, that’s not selfish, as long as it’s in the proper perspective. But you can also benefit yourself from your own knowledge or experience.

So, childhood was important. But we can’t afford to stay there. We have too much potential and opportunity to stay there. So, knowing this, maybe we can appreciate being an adult a little more now.

…Let’s go deeper

I have a verse in mind that applies to this topic. Its’ 1 Corinthians 13:11: “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” See, we not only need to grow up naturally, we need to grow spiritually as well. There is adulthood in the natural sense but there is also adulthood in the spiritual sense. So, like we can remain naturally immature, we can remain spiritually immature. And the way we know we’re becoming spiritually mature is when we’re taking Biblical principles and applying them to our everyday lives. James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” So, this verse makes it plain that we are deceiving ourselves if we just hear the word but don’t end up living it in our everyday lives. Putting these things into practice actually helps us grow and mature.

Here’s another: Colossians 2:6-7, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” So, since we have received the Lord Jesus Christ, we are supposed to walk in him as well. And we not only are doing the word, but we are established in what we have been taught and rooted and built up in him. So, you don’t waver. You are steadfast. That’s the mark of a mature Christian.

This next verse, I like. It’s Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Paul is telling the Galatians here that we are to be led by the Holy Spirit so that we don’t do the things our flesh wants. Being led by the Spirit of God is a key component of the Christian life. This not only applies to staying away from sin, it applies to us doing those things God directs us to do by his Spirit. See, God has not only given us directions in his word and our example through Jesus, but he has given us the Holy Spirit to help us to put these things into practice. That’s comforting, right? His word actually calls him ‘another comforter’. In John 14:16 it says, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;”
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So, God has given us everything we need to be mature, adult Christians. We just need to put them into practice. When we do that, God will also guide and direct us through his Holy Spirit and empower us to put those things into action.

1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

John 14:16 “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;”

 

We often times are concerned about appearances, especially today in our modern culture. There are a number of different things we monitor from how we look to how our house looks, or the car we drive.

I have to admit I’ve found myself concerned with some of these same things. Often times it can even be subconscious. We may not even realize we’re so obsessed with how we appear to other people. So, what should I do? Should I not care how I appear to others? Or, if I should care, how much should I care?

I had a situation not that long ago that helped me understand this issue a little better. You see, about nine months ago I had a sinus surgery. This surgery was due to some inflammation I had been having in my sinuses and was meant to relieve some of that. I had a CT taken of my sinuses and it had showed there was a moderate amount of inflammation there. There was something else, though. The doctor said that I also had a deviated septum. His statement was that, “It’s not insignificant.” Meaning that it was drastic enough to probably do something about it. Well, I had never noticed any ill effects from it before. But with the issues my sinuses were giving me I was willing to try about anything. So, I went ahead and decided to do it. They were going to do an endoscopy, which would go in and kind of clean out my sinuses along with a septoplasty, which fixed the deviated septum.

So, I had the surgery. Afterwards the doctor said I probably wouldn’t be back to 100 percent for about 2 months. And his prediction was pretty accurate. Knowledge through experience, I guess. Well, it probably took all of that 2 months before I realized that my nose looked a little different. It wasn’t by a lot. But, yet, it wasn’t quite the same as it was before. It looked straighter for one thing. So, in some ways it looked better. But, this is coming from somebody who also hates change. So, I guess in that sense it was a double whammy. I even became a little self-conscious about it. The reality is that I don’t think anyone else probably even noticed. Except, maybe my Mom, who I think noticed after I had pointed it out.

I was a little upset. I thought, “Why wouldn’t they say something before the surgery.” Why not say that this could make your nose look a little different. I guess I thought that I had a reasonable expectation that, since I wasn’t going in for cosmetic purposes, my nose would look pretty much the same after the surgery. I mean, if they had told me before the surgery, “Hey, we can help you breathe better, but you might end up looking like Klinger from M.A.S.H”, I probably would have said, “Thanks, I’ll pass.” Thankfully it wasn’t that severe, though. Mine was just a minor change. And it was probably so minor that the doctor might not have even given it a second thought.

Over time, though, I’ve found that I learned something from this about myself. I know what you’re going to ask, “Was it that you’re really vain?” Well, yeah, I have to admit that was part of it. Anyway, besides being vain, I learned that not only was the change in the appearance of my nose minor, but that one aspect of me and who I was as a person was minor. Of all the things I am and the person that I am, it’s of such minor importance as to hardly register on the scale. I’ve realized, if I focus on my character as much as I was concerned about my nose that I won’t even care about my nose. And other people won’t even either.

Often times, things like this sneak up on us. We may not realize we’re obsessing over such a minor, trivial thing in our lives. Or, why we’re obsessing over them. So, does it matter how we appear to other people. Sure, to some degree. I mean, it’s probably best not to walk around with a ketchup stain on your shirt. The problem comes when appearances are the motivating force in our lives.

So, at the end of the day I’m glad that this happened to me. I learned something about myself and also about life. Plus I can breathe a lot better!

 

…Let’s go deeper

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So, here’s a good Bible verse. In this verse God was talking to Samuel. Samuel was to choose a King to rule over Israel and Samuel saw someone that he thought looked like the right candidate, one of Jesse’s sons named Eliab. So, it says in 1 Samuel 16:7: “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” Following this, all of Jesse’s sons were brought before Samuel except for one. Samuel then asked if these were all the sons he had. Jesse said that there was one more but he was keeping the sheep. Samuel then asked him to be brought before him and in 1 Samuel 16:12 it says, “And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.”

Now, the point of this here isn’t that David was a good-looking guy. The point is that, based on his appearance in the natural, he was probably the last person anyone would have selected to be the next King of Israel. He wasn’t considered by any man, but he was considered by God. And God chose him. The Bible says in Acts 13:22 God even called David, “…,a man after mine own heart.” Why did God choose David? What was he looking for?

Well, David had a few characteristics that God really admires. One of these is displayed in 1 Samuel 17:37, “David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.” See, this verse demonstrates David’s steadfast faith in God. He had seen God deliver him before and he knew God would do it again. David also respected and loved God’s law. The book of Psalms is filled with David speaking of and being thankful for God’s law, which leads into the next characteristic. David was also thankful. Psalms is also filled with David’s praise and thankfulness to God. One other things was this: David was quick to repent. Not only quick to repent but truly repentant. We know from the Bible that David had sinned. But David then confessed his sin to God and was forgiven.

So, we often, in this life are a lot like Samuel was; looking at the outward appearance to choose the next King. We, too, can be so concerned about outward appearance and miss the most important thing. Godly character. Our own.

1 Samuel 16:7: “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

 

We only have so much time on this Earth. And there a million things we could spend our time doing. One of the areas this is true is the career path we choose.

When we are old enough to leave the house we have a million opportunities. Yet, we can only choose one. We are often told when we are growing up, “You can be anything you want to be.” But is this really true? I mean, I know that it’s true in a sense. I know we can, in this Country, legally become anything we want to be. But is it true in the practical sense?

It can be difficult when we are just starting out to decide which direction to go. I know I floundered around a lot when I was in College never really deciding on a career path. Maybe I still haven’t. The thing is, can I really be whatever I want to be? I mean, what if a plumber decided to become a doctor. Could a plumber, with his skill set, just decide to go and be a doctor? The plumber might have the manual dexterity to be a plumber but lack the technical precision to do surgery. I mean, who knows what kind of damage he could cause. I certainly wouldn’t want him working on my internal plumbing. And if you flip that around, what if a doctor decided to become a plumber? A doctor might know how to work with soft tissue. Yet, he might be totally clueless when it comes to working with hard metal surfaces. He might take five hours to do a one hour job and I would end up getting charged five times as much. And that’s assuming he did the job right to begin with. In that case, I certainly wouldn’t want him working on my plumbing (house plumbing, that is).

So, is it true that we can be anything we want to be when we grow up? I would say that it’s not and it shouldn’t be. Maybe, instead, kids just need to be guided in the right direction. Maybe, instead of a parent saying, “You can be anything you want to be”, they could say this: “I believe in you. I know you’ve been given certain gifts and abilities and, as your parent, I’m going to help you find out what those are.”

I know that some things sound really good to say. But are they true? Some things sound good in theory, but aren’t true in practice. Just hearing the truth is powerful. And I think hearing the truth is more kind and loving than anything else. This gives kids a starting point. If we really could be anything we wanted to be, some of us would never be able to decide. Choices can be cumbersome. I’m almost relieved sometimes, when walking into a restaurant and there’s only a few items on the menu. Less decisions to make. It makes it a more practical matter from the beginning. A lot of decisions can be narrowed down if you get down to just personal interest and abilities. Then you can filter out the rest.

 

…Let’s go deeper

So where does this take us where the Bible is concerned? One verse jumps out at me, Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.” See, when kids are guided from the beginning they develop the ability to make wise decisions for themselves later on. I believe this applies to both spiritual and natural matters. Helping kids to think wise and Biblically will give them a head start in every area of life. You can do more than just tell them what to think. You can teach them how to think so when they are old enough they will have the tools to think wisely.

Also, Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.” So, what does this mean? This verse is saying that we can make decisions and go about our lives but God will, if we allow him to, guide us in the right direction. Even when we are wise and know how to make decisions wisely we are still going to make mistakes. So, your kids can not only have the tools you have given them with wise Biblical counsel, they can also have God guiding them in the right direction and back on the right track even if some of the decision they make may not be the right one.

So, you can see, these two verses working together are a powerful combination. A child raised to think and act wisely and Biblically with an all-knowing, loving God standing behind them guiding them all the way. What could be more comforting than that?

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.”

So where does this take us where the Bible is concerned? One verse jumps out at me, Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.” See, when kids are guided from the beginning they develop the ability to make wise decisions for themselves later on. I believe this applies to both spiritual and natural matters. Helping kids to think wise and Biblically will give them a head start in every area of life. You can do more than just tell them what to think. You can teach them how to think so when they are old enough they will have the tools to think wisely.

Subjects, who discount buy viagra http://deeprootsmag.org/2012/10/03/and-heres-to-the-life/ took Vinpocetine performed significantly better compared to those, who took placebos. There are some mild side effects of this medicine like: Red eyes Dry eyes Blur vision Head ache Stomach upset Vomiting Nausea Blocked nose You should not use this medicine if you are planning to buy kamagra jelly and viagra soft tablets have no licensed pharmacist on staff to check for drug interactions. The study found a cheap no prescription viagra pop over here direct correlation between the treatment of sexual disorders. 1. Hence, avoid using the medicine if you are also using a best viagra in india nitrate drug for chest pain or heart problems. Also, Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.” So, what does this mean? This verse is saying that we can make decisions and go about our lives but God will, if we allow him to, guide us in the right direction. Even when we are wise and know how to make decisions wisely we are still going to make mistakes. So, your kids can not only have the tools you have given them with wise Biblical counsel, they can also have God guiding them in the right direction and back on the right track even if some of the decision they make may not be the right one.

So, you can see, these two verses working together are a powerful combination. A child raised to think and act wisely and Biblically with an all-knowing, loving God standing behind them guiding them all the way. What could be more comforting than that?

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.”

So where does this take us where the Bible is concerned? One verse jumps out at me, Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.” See, when kids are guided from the beginning they develop the ability to make wise decisions for themselves later on. I believe this applies to both spiritual and natural matters. Helping kids to think wise and Biblically will give them a head start in every area of life. You can do more than just tell them what to think. You can teach them how to think so when they are old enough they will have the tools to think wisely.

Also, Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.” So, what does this mean? This verse is saying that we can make decisions and go about our lives but God will, if we allow him to, guide us in the right direction. Even when we are wise and know how to make decisions wisely we are still going to make mistakes. So, your kids can not only have the tools you have given them with wise Biblical counsel, they can also have God guiding them in the right direction and back on the right track even if some of the decision they make may not be the right one.

So, you can see, these two verses working together are a powerful combination. A child raised to think and act wisely and Biblically with an all-knowing, loving God standing behind them guiding them all the way. What could be more comforting than that?

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.”

 

This happened a while back while I was at work. My job is such that myself and a co-worker work together mostly without many other people around. One day we were working together and somehow the topic of baseball came up. This is one of those random workplace topics that come up.

Anyway, I posed a question out of curiosity. I was trying to figure out in my head about how far it was from the pitcher’s mound to home plate. And I just wanted something to compare it to. So, I asked, out of the blue, “How far do you think it is from the pitcher’s mound to home plate?” Then I gestured to the two walls running length-wise of the room we were in. I asked, “About the distance from this wall to the other?” My co-worker said, “Oh no, it’s probably from that wall to here”, pointing to the middle of the room, which is where we were sitting. I said, “No, I don’t think so.” He said, “That’s a long ways from that wall to the other.” I must have piqued his curiosity because he then went and got out the measuring tape. He ended up measuring the whole length of the wall. He came to the end and the length he came up with was 57 feet. For those of you who don’t know, the length from home plate to the pitcher’s mound is 60 feet.

After he measured it he was kind of in disbelief. This went even further, though. We explained our debate to one of the guys who comes in on our next shift and he didn’t believe it either. And he, also, had to get out the measuring tape to find out what the actual distance was. Of course, he too found the distance to be 57 feet. And once he had measured it he said, half-jokingly, “I think there’s something wrong with this measuring tape.”

The point I’m trying to make here is this; I wonder how often what we perceive to be true maybe isn’t. You see, in this instance, I had adjusted my perceptions to match my experience. And what my experience told me was that distances always appear further when you are indoors. So, I had made that adjustment mentally when I estimated the length of the room. Now, my point here isn’t that I was right and they were wrong. I’m sure there are instances where I would have been wrong in a different situation.

But I started thinking about this in another light. This can happen also when we make snap judgments about other people, situations, or things. Maybe that person isn’t the way they actually appear to be to you. Maybe, and most likely, once you got to know them you would find that your perception was entirely wrong. Sometimes we can approach situations and think we have it totally figured out at the beginning, only to find out once we get into it that we didn’t know anything about the situation. Maybe some location you thought you wouldn’t like to live you would end up finding you did if you tried it.

So, sometimes, maybe many times our perceptions are off. There is more I want to say about this, though.

 

…Let’s go deeper

There’s one main verse I would like to apply here. The verse is Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” You see, as we go about this life we learn as we get older that things aren’t always the way they appear to be. We tend to want to trust what we see. We can see a mirage in the desert and think that there’s water there. But when we finally reach the mirage we see that our eyes were fooling us. So, we know we can’t always go by what we see.
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So, if we can’t go by what we see, then what do we go by? Well, if you can’t go by what you see, then you have to go by what you believe. And, as a Christian, this is how we’re supposed to live. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” This means, no matter what the situation looks like we trust God and what his Word says. Sometimes the situation may look dire and overwhelming, but if we give it to God then he can work on it. He will work through that situation and help us through that situation. We have to give it to him, though. We can’t cling to it. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all you care upon him; for he careth for you.” So, we don’t worry about it. We trust him because we have cast our care onto him.

And some of you may not be Christians. You may think the path you’re on is the right way. But, like that mirage in the distance, when you finally reach it you find there’s nothing there. Whatever you think that right way is. Whether you think it’s just being a good person, or being materially successful, or some other way. But have you ever asked yourself if you’re on the right track? Do you know how you’ll end up when this life is over? You can know today. That way is through Jesus. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” All you need to do is confess your sin to him and trust him and he will change you from within. Then as you follow him he makes you more like himself.

This is what the truth is. It’s exclusive. There can only be one truth. That’s why Jesus said he is the way, the truth, and the life. So, we can know our perceptions match reality when we know that we’re following him and what his Word says. Amen?

Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

2 Corinthians 5:7 “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”

1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all you care upon him; for he careth for you.”

 

Did you like that? I typed the title in all caps like I was shouting. Oh. Well…anyway, this is what prompted this title and the following story. I was recently thinking about how we often forgo speaking up at times just because we just don’t want to bother, or don’t want to bother someone else, or just don’t want to go through the bother. I sound like Eeyore, huh? Anyway, I have done this many times myself. But I wonder what would happen sometimes if we would just speak up and take things one step further to let our request be heard.

I recently found myself thinking of a kind of unusual request. You see, I had this magazine I had bought on a flight back from Arizona. It had an interesting article in it where they interviewed Harrison Ford. And in this magazine he told a lot of his story and how he didn’t really see any success as an actor for a number of years. He talked about how he just never gave up and kept pursuing his dream even while he was working menial jobs. Then he finally got a few big breaks that really launched his career. Well, I found this story inspiring. The most inspiring part, though, was that the cover of the magazine had a picture of Harrison Ford and a large caption of him saying, “Never give up. No matter what!”

I then had a thought. I thought, “What if I got that magazine cover enlarged and hung it on my wall as just a reminder to keep going when times get tough?” So, I proceeded to a local copy center, with magazine in hand, and walked up to the counter. A lady came to the counter and I said to her (confident there was no conceivable reason she could refuse my request), “I was wondering if I could get this magazine cover enlarged and printed?” She then said, “Unless you have copyright approval we can’t print something like that.” My first thought was, “Duh, didn’t think of that.” I think I may have said something similar to her. Maybe without the ‘Duh’ part.

Anyway, I immediately after that thought, “Well, that’s the end of that. This isn’t a big deal and I’m not going to go to the trouble of getting copyright approval just for this.” So, a few days went by, but I was still thinking about that poster. And then I finally thought, “I wonder how hard it is to get copyright approval?” Then I thought, “How hard can it be just to write an email to the editor? And what’s the worst that could happen? Other than them saying, “No.” I already had the copy center lady say, “No.” So, I found the email information for the editor online. I then typed out a concisely worded email to the address. I stated my request that I was asking for permission to have the magazine cover enlarged just for personal use to hang on my wall. I tended to assume they would get back to me in a few days, if at all. To my surprise, she responded within a matter of minutes. In her email she stated, “Bradley, if it’s for personal use, go for it!” I was a little surprised. But, I thought, “Cool.”

After she sent me the appropriate consent, I proceeded to the copy center (a different one this time). I asked for the poster sized enlargement. They said it might take a couple days. I said that was fine. I then picked it up a few days later. So, that’s what happened when I decided to just take something one step further

So, now I have Harrison Ford hanging on my wall. And whenever I look at him, he’s saying, “Never give up. No matter what!” Thanks for the encouragement Harrison Ford.

…Let’s go deeper—LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

Well this life lesson got me thinking about a couple Bible verses. One verse that came to mind was James 4:2-3: “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” Another was 1 John 3:22 where it says, “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” Also, Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Now, all of these verses talk about asking and receiving. There are contingencies, however, on the things we ask for from God. One of these is stated in the book of James. I like James. Now, James isn’t saying there’s anything wrong with asking. He’s just saying there are right and wrong motives for asking for things. I think a lot of this comes down to maturity as well. If you remember when Jesus was on the Earth with the Disciples, they came up with some rather immature requests. I do believe these things change as we grow in God and he works and changes our hearts. His desires become our desires. I think this is important to remember whenever we are in prayer petitioning God for a request. That’s also what part of the purpose of prayer is, for God to change our hearts. I believe God wants us to ask for things. I also believe, though, that God cares about our motives for asking.

The second verse, in 1 John, states another contingency when asking for something. That is keeping his commandments. It is saying that we can know we have what we ask of him because we keep his commandments and are pleasing to him. This gives us confidence in prayer. If we know our hearts are clean, we know we are in agreement with God. When we know we are in agreement with God and he’s in agreement with us we are in a position to receive from him. This makes us good candidates to receive from him.
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The last verse in Matthew talks about the process of asking. It says to ask, seek, and knock. I think God not only wants us to ask him, he wants us to seek him and I think he wants us to be persistent and steadfast. So, in other words, I think God wants us to seek him and not the things he can do for us. I think I have to add another verse in here: Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” This is pretty clear that seeking him is our first priority.

I believe when we do these things listed above God honors our hearts and our requests. He sees that we mean business. We’re not some immature Christian and we’re in alignment with his goals and purposes.

So, similar to my request for the poster on my wall, we may have to take our request one step further. We may have asked God for something: but is there maybe some impure motive in my heart, am I keeping his commandments and doing things that are pleasing to him, and am I seeking him and not things from him with steadfastness? Sometimes we aren’t receiving our requests in prayer. But, sometimes, it can be just something simple and we need to make an adjustment here or there. We can ask God to show us and he is readily available to do so. Kind of similar to copyright approval…..Huh.

James 4:2-3: “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

1 John 3:22 where it says, “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”

Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

 

We generally like to get along with people if at all possible. And that’s what we should do. There are times, however, when a situation may require a confrontation which can be uncomfortable. These are times we would like to avoid rather than to face it head on. How do we handle these things?

I was recently in a situation where I had what I would call a minor confrontation. I was at a local eating establishment and I guess unsanitary practices in food preparation are especially bothersome to me. Anyway, I had asked for some mustard packets for my sandwich and the guy behind the counter went and grabbed a couple for me. On his way back he ended up dropping them on the floor. He then picked them back up and proceeded to wrap my sandwich in paper for me. So, I said to him, “Sir, please don’t pick something up off the floor and then touch my food.” Yeah, I called him sir. I don’t know why. I’m not sure if that makes him old or me old. Probably me, I guess. But he responded by asking if I wanted him to get me some more mustard packets. I said, “No, that’s OK. Don’t worry about it.” I got the feeling he wasn’t understanding the point I was making. Anyway, I’m not normally someone who is known to be a complainer. I don’t know what it was. Maybe I’m actually maturing. But, I think part of it was that I had just seen some other poor food-handling practices at other places and it had finally gotten to me. I felt like I just had to say something. I know this isn’t that big of a deal for most people. But for me it was.

Now, I know this is just a small example. We do run into these situations in life, though. It can be someone we need to confront at work because they’re not pulling their weight, a family member who offended you and the issue never got resolved, or maybe a friend who owes you money and it was never repaid. Any of these situations can be difficult to address.

So, what’s the proper course of action here? The first thing important to remember is this: just be tactful. If you address the offending party in a hostile manner, or in anticipation of hostility, it’s not likely to be received too well. So, don’t come out with your arms swinging. Find a cordial way to address the other person. Another thing to remember is that the other person probably has an explanation and sometimes even a legitimate one. So, be willing to listen and hear their side of the issue. Sometimes they might just admit they were wrong. Finally, I think it’s important to find some common ground. Find a way to reach a resolution. In most cases, if you’re being polite, they most likely will be willing to work with you to resolve the issue.

So, let’s say you do all this and they are still not in agreement with anything you say. Well, good question. I would say that, in that case, you would have to forgive them. I don’t mean for you to tell them it’s OK they wronged you. I just mean that you have to not hold it against them in your heart. “Forgive them?”, you say. “How am I supposed to do that”? Well, let’s talk about this some more.

 

…Let’s go deeper

 

 

There are a number of confrontation situations in the Bible. Of course, for the sake of brevity I will focus on just a couple here. I’m going to go from the minor to the severe.
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One situation that comes to mind is where Moses was confronted by his Father-in-Law, Jethro. This is what I would call a minor confrontation. This is a confrontation more in terms of providing wise counsel. In this instance, the Bible talks about how that the Israelites were bringing matters before Moses and that he would stand before them and judge them from morning until evening. Jethro sees this and says in Exodus 17:18, “…The thing thou doest is not good.” Jethro then proceeds to tell him he’s going to wear out if he keeps doing this. He then advises him to appoint devout men of God to decide the smaller matters and then Moses would decide the larger matters. Moses then proceeds to take his advice and the issue was resolved.

The following instance is much more severe. This is where Nathan, the prophet, confronts David over taking Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and the death of Uriah. But Nathan does it in a way so that David is forced to come face to face with his own sin. Nathan tells a story of a rich man and a poor man who live in the same city. The rich man had many flocks and herds. But the poor man has only one ewe lamb. And this lamb grew up with him and he fed it and it grew up with him and his children and was to him as a daughter. Then a traveler came to the rich man. And instead of the rich man taking from his own flock he took the poor man’s lamb and dressed it for the traveler. When David hears this story he is filled anger and says, “As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” And Nathan says to David, “Thou art the man.” You see, Nathan used a rather unique way in order for David to see his own transgression. Sin always looks worse on someone else. David now sees clearly how he had sinned and he asks God’s forgiveness and repents. And God does forgive him.

So, what does all of this point to? Well, in the first part of my post I talked about forgiving the offending party. And we may, at times find it difficult to forgive that other person. You know the best way to come to terms with and forgive someone’s offense against you? The best and easiest way is to realize all that God has forgiven you. You’ll have a real difficult time holding bitterness and anger in your heart when you have a proper understanding of all that God has forgiven you. And it’s a powerful understanding. Just as God forgave David for all that he did, he has forgiven you. And that forgiveness is realized when we confess our sins to him. In 1 John 1:9 it says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So, we can see that confrontation isn’t always just about confrontation. Sometimes it’s also about forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Proverbs 27:5 “Open rebuke is better that secret love.”