Drying Off With A Wet Towel….

For the skeptical heart that just wants to stir the pot, no answers that will satisfy will be given. Unless a man resolves in his heart to seek out God honestly, he will never find satisfaction. He will never find peace. He will never find wholeness. God doesn’t work that way. Jesus spoke in parables for a reason. If people didn’t take the time to want to know the meaning of each parable, they would never be able to know. Unless a man decides that he will accept God on God’s terms, he will never know Him. Jesus knew the Pharisee’s hearts. He knew their demand for a sign wasn’t because they truly wanted to believe in Him. Jesus responded by not giving them a sign. If you truly want to test yourself when it comes to the genuineness of your heart, ask yourself these questions, “when God speaks, will I listen?”, “When God speaks am I willing to accept whatever He asks of me?”, “When God speaks, am I willing to suffer in order to accomplish His will?” Unless you answer “yes” to these questions, you may have more in common with the Pharisees than the Disciples. Does this mean you will suffer if you subject yourself to God? Not necessarily. The point is are you willing to listen, to serve, and to suffer for God? You may never have to experience great suffering, but are you willing? That is a very good indicator that you’re heart is aligned with the Spirit of God, and your faith is still in fertile soil. When your skeptical about God, your heart needs attention. When you’re focused on yourself, you’re distracted from the path. Your heart needs to be fed. A slice of humble pie may just satisfy the nourishment it needs. Your eyes need spiritual glasses, in order to see the obstacles in your path that need avoiding. God’s ways are not our ways. Until we learn this and subject ourselves to His Authority, understanding, accepting, and embracing His ways are impossible. Understanding God with a hardened heart is like drying off with a wet towel. It just ain’t gonna happen.

11 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with Him. Testing Him, they demanded that He show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove His authority.12 When He heard this, He sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.” 13 So He got back into the boat and left them, and He crossed to the other side of the lake. 14 But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”16 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so He said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18 ‘You have eyes–can’t you see? You have ears–can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?19 When I fed the 5 ,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?”“Twelve,” they said.20 “And when I fed the 4 ,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”“Seven,” they said.21 “Don’t you understand yet?” He asked them. Mark 8:11-21

Garbage In, Garbage Out….

I’ve always believed that protecting our heart is the most important thing. What you allow in it, will eventually come out of it. All evil comes from within the heart. Hatred, violence, and slandering, all come from the heart. Its where selfishness originates. In today’s society we see a lot of hostility and anger being played out. It comes from the heart. When you see it don’t believe the message being portrayed unless you know the objective is godly. If the objective is biblical, if it matches God’s character, then it‘s good. If it doesn’t resemble God, then it’s from Satan. It takes a discerning heart to see the difference. And the only way we obtain the spiritual sight to discern truth from falsehood is by protecting what we allow in our hearts. Fill it with Jesus, and you will become more like Him. Fill it with anything else, and you’ll defile yourself over time. What we “pay” attention too, we take it in and become like it. If you really think about it, we “pay” for our attention, and that payment has rewards and consequences. The word defile means to spoil, or corrupt/damage. As the “techie” talk goes, “garbage in, garbage out “. Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. It’s the most important thing you’ll ever do as a believer.

14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” He said, “and try to understand. 15 It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”1617 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and His disciples asked Him what He meant by the parable He had just used. 18 “Don’t you understand either?” He asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you?19 Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, He declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)20 And then He added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”  Mark 7:14-23

Why Integrity Matters….

Do you ever wonder why integrity matters? It matters because it’s the fuel that helps us endure. It’s motivation to continue when our “feelings” tell us to quit. It’s the resolve that keeps us focused knowing its Author is watching and is pleased that we are portraying His character. It’s consistency that backs us up when we are tired and worn down mentally. It’s routine that breeds familiarity when confusion wants to disorient us. It’s strength in times we may feel weak. Integrity is walking alongside the Lord. It’s our stronghold that keeps us moving forward when the world wants us to stop. Integrity matters as a believer. Without it, it’s impossible to serve God. Why does integrity matter? It’s God’s prescribed way that we, who are called by Him, should live. It’s our way of showing our gratitude and love towards God. It’s our way of showing ourselves Who’s #1 in our own lives. It’s our way of imitating Jesus, giving the world a glimpse of what He is like. Integrity matters, and it has no holiday. Choose to walk in it today.

29 The way of the Lord is a stronghold to those with integrity, but it destroys the wicked. Proverbs 10:29

True Strength….

The older I get the more I realize that true strength, the kind that helps us endure, the kind that helps us cope, the kind that helps us stand, and the kind that helps us fight against evil, only comes from God. And it’s disguised as human weakness. The best place to build strength is not in a gym or in a high intensity workout, it’s on our knees in prayer asking God to empower us with His Spirit. What the world perceives as weakness (admitting our faults and inability to cope) is really the conduit in which God infuses us with His strength.

11 The Lord gives His people strength.The Lord blesses them with peace. Psalms 29:11

Being More Concerned With Your PR….

Hypocrisy has always been an issue. It’s just changed it’s name. Today hypocrisy is better known as “political correctness”. Jesus calls out the Pharisees’ hypocrisy here. Doing something to “save face” isn’t really a good reason to do it. How often do we see today man-made ideas pushed into the mainstream that are purposely presented to be a substitute for God’s standards? Or how many times do we see evil rewarded in the name of “progression”? Or love being converted into tolerance? Disagreeing with someone doesn’t mean you hate them. And loving someone doesn’t mean you accept every aspect to their behavior. Jesus confronted these religious leaders because they were more concerned with man-made traditions than they were with God’s law. They were pretenders, whose hearts didn’t really know God. If they did, they would’ve recognized Who Jesus really was. Being PC may earn us brownie points with the world, but will only drive us further away from what matters most, God Himself. Stop pretending. Get right with God. Instead of pursuing political correctness, how about being more concerned with your PR, personal responsibility (to God).

1 One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of His disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3 (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. 4 Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to–such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.)5 So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked Him, “Why don’t Your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor Me with their lips,but their hearts are far from Me.7 Their worship is a farce,for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ 8 For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”9 Then He said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents.13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.” Mark 7:1-13

The American Gospel….

The American Gospel has twisted the Biblical Gospel enormously. One particular area is sharing the truth in love with others. When people refuse to listen, slandering Christ followers for their belief, the Americanized Gospel tells us to feel bad, try to compensate the offender by convincing them that Jesus will make their life better. The Biblical Gospel tells us to handle rejection by shaking the dust off of our shoes as a sign to show the offender they have been abandoned to their fate. They have rejected God, so God has rejected them. Our disassociation with them is evidence that we stand on opposite sides. That’s huge. Should we feel bad? No, just sad that these people will miss out on eternity’s blessings (what they could have). Then we should focus our attention on those we haven’t met yet, that will receive our message with joy. We need to stick with the Biblical Gospel. It’s worked for centuries, and doesn’t need to be altered.

7 And He called His twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits. 8 He told them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick–no food, no traveler’s bag, no money. 9 He allowed them to wear sandals but not to take a change of clothes.10 “Wherever you go,” He said, “stay in the same house until you leave town.11 But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”12 So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God. 13 And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil. Mark 6:7-13

A Way That Actually Accomplishes The Goal….

These proverbs speak volumes. Discipline is huge. I look around and see very little discipline anywhere. Education is one of the biggest offenders of this principle. People have gone astray, and our government rewards them for evil behavior. If the divide in America could be summarized in a few short words, it would be good vs evil. It’s that simple. People are fighting for their right to do evil, while others who oppose them are fighting for what’s right. The core problem goes much deeper. All of the BLM movement is just a disguise for hiding hatred. What’s the difference between the hatred they use (display), to fight the hatred they say they are against? What’s the difference between the violence they use, from the violence they are fighting against? Honestly, like it says right here, slandering others makes you a liar and a fool. When hatred is hidden, division follows. Be one that accepts discipline. Better yet, as I’ve always said, “discipline yourself, so others won’t have to”. Do it God’s way and it will lead to life, not death. Stop fighting, and start disciplining yourself to live a way that actually accomplishes the goal.

17 People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray. 18 Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool. Proverbs 10:17-18