What is more important, what we give or how we give?

There are several passages in scripture that answer that question.  The passage that I'd like to focus on today is from Acts.

Acts 5:1-10(NKJV)
1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 
2And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 
3But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 
4While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 
6And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
7Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 
8And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.”
9Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 
10Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. 

God only requires one thing from us to be saved.  That we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and that God raised Him up.  That's it.  Now is it a good idea to tithe?  I think it is.  Is it a good thing to give over and above your tithe?  Absolutely.

If God let's you know through the Holy Spirit that He needs something of yours, give it to Him cheerfully, or don't give it at all.  But what ever you do, don't try to lie to God and convince Him that you don't have what He is asking for.  He knows you do and He wouldn't ask you for it unless it was necessary.

As Peter says "4While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

So the next time you feel God telling you that He needs something from you, give it to Him with joy or don't.  But if you don't, then at least be honest with yourself and God and admit that you have it, you're just not willing to give it up to God.  But don't try to pull the wool over His eyes.  From what I read above, He doesn’t much care for that!

Do Miracles Still Happen?

One of the things that distinguished Jesus' ministry was miracles.  From turning the water into wine to raising people from the dead, Jesus performed miracles.  So one question I often hear is "Can we still expect miracles today?

Well the first thing I would suggest in answering that question is to look back in your own life.  Can you see any miracles that God worked there?  The way He wove seemingly disconnected pieces together to form the fabric of your life?  That little coincidence where you happened to meet this person who introduced you to that person that lead to something cool happening in your life.

Or how about that seemingly coincidental thing that happened that kept you fro doing something that as you look back now you realize would have been a mistake? 

I don't know about you but I don't believe in coincidences.  I believe that all of those things are simply little miracles that God chose to perform  anonymously. 

But what does scripture say?

Acts 3:4-10(NKJV)

4And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 

5So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 

6Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 

7And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 

8So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 

9And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 

10Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Here we have the first miracle performed by one of the apostles after Christ had ascended into heaven.  So based on that, plus the fact that I have witnessed miracles in my own life would lead me to believe the answer to that question is a resounding yes.  

Now take a look at this.

Acts 3:12-16(NKJV)

12So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 

13The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 

14But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 

15and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 

16And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

"Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this?  Not only do they still happen but based on what Peter says here I think we can infer that we should EXPECT them to happen!  We shouldn't 't be surprised at all.   When we have faith in Jesus and call on His name, we can expect miracles to happen in our lives.  Why?  Because we are part of Jesus family.  We are heirs with Jesus.  We should live our lives expecting great things and great miracles in His name.  Would you like to be part of the family?  Then just ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life today.  An d then get ready to see miracles in your life too!

The 7 Basics

Pastor Beth has a new book out called the 7 Basics - Strong Roots for Every Christian.  One of the things that has always attracted me to Valley Family Church is the strong emphasis on "the basics".  Check out this video message from Pastor Beth.  (About 4 minutes)

http://vimeo.com/39171458

I'll bet you are wondering what the 7 Basics are aren't you?  Take a look.

7 BASICS

BASIC #1: Get To Know God

BASIC #2: Get Into The Bible

BASIC #3: Get Real In Prayer

BASIC #4: Get Into A Good Church

BASIC #5: Get Excited And Tell Somebody

BASIC #6: Get Your Head On Straight

BASIC #7: Get Ready For The Adventure

Pasted from <http://jeffandbethjones.com/7-basics>

I can't wait to read it!

If you'd like to learn more about her new book you can click here!

http://jeffandbethjones.com/7-basics

I also wanted to share a cool chart that I found that helps me understand the order of the Prophets.  I don't know about you but I find the way the Bible does the Prophets confusing.  They are all out of order.  I just finished Joel who lived in around 500 BC.  Now I move on to Amos who was the second prophet chronologically, back in around 760 BC.  So now I am reading about stuff that was happening 260 years before the stuff that the last guy was writing about. 

See why I find it confusing?  That is why I found this chart helpful.

 

Now I can look and see when they lived and who they were a prophet to.  See how helpful that is?  There is another good chart at this site that you might want to check out also.

http://spiritrestoration.org/Church/Timelines/TimelIne_of_Minor_and_Major_Prophets_in_the_Old_Testament.htm 

Well that's all for today folks.  Have a blessed day!

We Have Our Marching Orders

Acts 1:6-8(NKJV)

6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 

8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be £witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Do you have the Holy spirit?  If so, then here is what those of us that have the Holy Spirit are called to do.  Pretty simple isn't it?

Love it when God keeps it simple.  Looks like 4 main things to me.  How hard is it to do four things?  What are they?  Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  Love God with all your heart.  Love your neighbor as yourself, and witness about Jesus locally, regionally, and indeed around the world. 

Notice that it starts with accepting Jesus.  Have you done that yet?  If not why not ask Jesus to come into your life right now.  Just close your eyes and pray something like this.  "Dear Jesus, I don't get all of this but what I do get is that I somehow need you in my life.  Please come into my life and guide me through the rest of this stuff.  Thank you Jesus.  Amen."

Once you have Jesus and through Jesus you receive the Holy Spirit, He will indeed guide you.  And one of the biggest areas that He promises to guide us in is witnessing about Him.  So as we go forth to fulfill our marching orders just let the Holy Spirit be your guide as you witness about Jesus in all you do!

Rend Your Heart, Not Your Garments

Joel 2:13(NKJV)

13    So rend your heart, and not your garments;     Return to the Lord your God,     For He is gracious and merciful,     Slow to anger, and of great kindness;     And He relents from doing harm.

What a great passage!

As scripture says "we have all fallen short of the glory of God".  Even those of us who are saved still fall short.  The Apostle Paul told us that would happen. 

So what are we to do?   

Return to the Lord.  Over and over and over again.  We serve a great God who has the following characteristics: He is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, very kind, and he relents (cuts us a break).

God knows the struggles we face on a day to day basis.  Having come to earth in the form of Jesus, He knows first hand, not theoretically, but first hand.  Therefore as long as we continue to return to Him we can expect to continue to benefit from His grace and mercy.  We can expect Him to continue to cut us a break, IF……..

We accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of our life and we "rend our hearts, and not our garments".  OK, got the accept Jesus part but what the heck does "rend out hearts" mean?

Think about in the Gospels.  So many times the Pharisees would "rend their garments".  It was all show.  I think this verse simply means be genuine in your surrender to Jesus, genuine in your repentance each time you fall short. 

God's grace, mercy, and continual renewal are there for the asking.  Just rend your heart for Jesus and experience all the rest that God has to offer!

Who does your soul long for?

Genesis 34:8(NKJV)

8But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 

What a great way to describe being in love isn't it?  My soul longs for……

For any of us that have ever been in love, you can immediately understand the authors meaning when he describes it this way.  That depth of emotional feeling, especially early on, that was almost overwhelming. 

The relationship that Jesus has with those who believe in Him is described in marriage terms many places in scripture.  Jesus as the bridegroom, the church as the bride.

Just think, as the bridegroom, Jesus' soul longs for us to be saved.  That depth of feeling that we all are familiar with, that is how deeply Jesus loves each and every one of us and wants to see us saved.  Wow!

If you want to experience all that God has to offer then ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.  Jesus' soul longs to receive you, all you have to do is ask.

And if you are as fortunate as I am to still have the person in your life who your soul longs for….let them know.  Sure they already know it but it is always nice to give them a reminder!

The Voice of the Turtle Is Heard In Our Land

The weather hear in Michigan has been gorgeous this week.  High 70's to mid 80's for the last week.  Sleeping with the windows open each night.  I got in about 50 miles on my bicycle last week and I've had a couple of good rides already this week.  Very cool!

For me spring is one of those times that I just marvel at God's creation.  Riding down the trails and seeing all of the plants coming to life.  And the smells, oh the smells!  To be riding along and smelling the most wonderful fragrances floating on the breeze.  Incredible!

I hope you will indulge me in a trip down memory lane.  Ernie Harwell was a famous baseball announcer for the Detroit Tigers.  Every year he would start the first broadcast of the year with the following verse from the Song of Solomon.

Song of Songs 2:11-12(KJV)

11For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 

12The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 

You can hear Ernie himself right here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr0T9c8SEUk&feature=player_embedded

To hear Ernie say that each year meant the spring was really here!

Whether today or some other day this spring, as you watch God's creations blossom again, take the time to thank Him for making you part of the family and sharing this with you.

What if you aren't part of the family?  Then look around at the beauty of spring.  Does that stir your heart?  Does that help you believe that God exists?  If so then take God at His word when He says that He sent Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your life.  Simply ask Jesus to come into your life.  If you do that then get ready to see your life blossom in unbelievable ways even as you watch the rest of God's creation blossom this year!

He Prevailed Against God?

Genesis 32:28(NKJV)

28And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but £Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

I found this interesting today.  (Actually I would find it interesting any day)  How does one struggle with God and prevail?  Struggle against men and prevail I get, but prevail against God? 

God is all powerful.  How can a man prevail against that?  He's quicker than man, smarter than man, in better shape than man, more influential than man, how can a man prevail against all of that? 

Just don't get how that is supposed to work.  Let's take a look at the definition of prevail

pre·vail

1. to be widespread or current; exist everywhere or generally: Silence prevailed along the funeral route.
2. to appear or occur as the more important or frequent feature or element; predominate: Green tints prevail in the upholstery.

3. to be or prove superior in strength, power, or influence (usually followed by over ): They prevailed over their enemies in the battle.
4. to succeed; become dominant; win out: to wish that the right side might prevail.

5. to use persuasion or inducement successfully: He prevailed upon us to accompany him.

Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prevail>

Oh, didn't realize that's what prevail meant also.  Jacob was able to reason with and persuade both God and men.  I get it now.

In the words of Emily Litella:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3FnpaWQJO0

How close can we get to God?

I know I've used some of this scripture recently but I wanted to highlight a different aspect of it today. 

John 17:9-11(NKJV)

9“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 

10And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 

11Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep£ through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 

John 17:21-23(NKJV)

21that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 

22And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 

23I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

John 17:26(NKJV)

26And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

What I want to highlight to day is the relationship that we have been invited into.  We don't serve an impersonal God "out there" somewhere.  We serve a God who has invited us to have a personal relationship with Him. 

Scripture tells us that God and Jesus are tight, they are of one mind and spirit.  They have been together since the very beginning.  Now we are invited into that relationship. 

What does that mean?  It means that we can directly to God with our thanks, our wants, our needs, and our desires.  We can go to God directly and ask for guidance.  We can go to God directly and seek His comfort.

So how do we get to enjoy this relationship?  By accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and then by seeking God continually.  God is willing to have just as close of a relationship as we want to have.  The more we seek Him the more He will reveal Himself to us. 

So if you are already a Christian, as you go through life today, take comfort that Jesus prayed that "they may be one just as we are one".  If your not a Christian yet, what are you waiting for?  Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life and start sharing in the relationship that so many of us already enjoy!

How good do we have to be before God can use us?

As I've been reading Genesis again, one of the things that strikes me is how God is able to carry out His plan through the human race, not because of how good we are but in spite of how bad we are.

As I look at the lineage from Abraham on down I am left shaking my head to a certain degree.  You have Abraham telling people his wife is his sister.  Lying in other words.   You have Jacob dressing up like Esau to deceive his father Isaac.  You also had Isaac telling people that Rebekah was his sister instead of his wife. 

Then you have women not being able to get pregnant and giving their maids to their husbands to have kids with.  All sorts of jealousies and such.  You go down through King David and King Solomon and you find murder, adultery, and worship of other gods.

These were all men of God and yet they all had their failings.  But out of this human line of sinfulness God was able to bring about His plan of salvation through His son Jesus Christ. 

That's really good news for us today.  Why?  Because it tells us that we don't have to be perfect to serve God.  He can use us just as we are, right where we are.  He only requires two things. 

First God requires that we believe in His son Jesus.  The other thing I believe God requires is that we earnestly and diligently want to serve Him.  Not the lip service kind of serving but real serving. 

Things like being in the Word daily, seeking God.  Things like when they announce at church that they need something done and you right away go "Ya, I can take care of that.  Got it covered".  That type of serving.  Being willing to do whatever God puts on your heart to do for the cause.

So don't wait, step up to the plate and let God know that you truly want to serve Him.  You won't believe the miracles that can come from that!

A Thought on Bearing Good Fruit

This may be way off base but check this out.

John 15:4(NKJV)

4Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

One of the things people wonder about is how can God condemn "good" people to hell?  This verse might help to explain it.  The main problem is that people define "good" differently than God does.

Many people, if they see a person who selflessly gives to the poor, etc.; even if they are not a Christian, they don't see how a loving God could send that person to hell. 

I think one answer can be found in the verse above.  Scripture very clearly tells us that we can not bear good fruit unless we abide in Jesus and He in us.  So no matter how much good people do, if it is done without Jesus, God doesn't view it as good fruit in the way that He defines it. 

"But that's not fair!".  Actually according to God it is.  Those that believe it's not fair are substituting their judgment for God's.  Try thinking of it this way. 

When you were young your parents probably made unreasonable demands of you like that you clean your bedroom.  No, don't just shove all the junk under the bed and call it clean, actually clean the bedroom.  And when you didn't do it the way your parents wanted it done you were punished.  And you were angry about how unfair it was because after all, you cleaned it your way and that should be good enough!  That or something like it ever happen to anybody out there?

Now fast forward 20 years and you have kids of your own and funny thing, you are making unreasonable and unfair demands of your kids.  Why?  Because you now have a better understanding why your parents wanted it done a certain way.  And you come to realize that your parents weren't really unfair after all.  In fact they were right. 

The simple fact of the matter is that a person can think it is unfair all they want, God says it isn't.  God is the owner and master of all.  It's His plan.  He  says very plainly that if you want to bear good fruit, it can ONLY be done through Jesus. 

So here's a suggestion.  Even if right now you think it is unfair that you should have to accept Jesus to bear fruit that is pleasing to God the Father, do it anyway!  In the end I'm sure that it will turn out just like it did when you realized just how smart your parents were after all!

“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Here is a verse that came out of my reading in Genesis today. 

Genesis 28:16-17(NKJV)

16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 

17And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

Now let's contrast that with what a friend of mine posted on Facebook yesterday.

What a contrast!  Here is what strikes me about that contrast.  Jacob, a favored son of God, is surprised to find God there in the place where Jacob was at.  So surprised and astounded that he truly felt he was at the gates of Heaven.  It was an unusual occurrence for him.   

On the other hand, my friend knows that God was with her, not just in one place, but EVERYWHERE she was today.  How can she know that?  Because Jesus told her that it would be that way.

John 14:19-21(NKJV)

19“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 

20At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 

21He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

When you accept Jesus you now have God with you everywhere you go.  You don't to have wonder.  You don't have to be surprised.  You can actually count on it. 

If you would like to experience the joy that my friend obviously experiences by having God with her everywhere then simply ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.  You'll be glad you did.

If you could ask God one question, what would it be?

I'm sure that for all of us there are things that we just don't get about God, Jesus, the Bible, our lives, whatever.  Out of all of that, if you could ask God just one thing, what would it be?  Take a minute to really think about that.

Think about how cool it would be to get a chance to actually ask God a question.  I mean come on, He's a busy guy so we probably shouldn't expect to be able to sit there and chat all day long.  But to get too ask just one question, how cool would that be? 

What would you ask?  Think about it, don’t want to waste it.  Got it?

Good, now ask!

That's right ask God the question.  In fact ask a bunch of questions because God actually will spend all day chatting with you if that is what you need.  God is willing to spend as much time with us each day as we want to spend with Him. 

So go ahead, ask Him a question or two.  I'm sure He'd love to hear from you!

Do you think God really hears you?

John 11:40-44(NKJV)

40Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 

41Then they took away the stone £from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 

42And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 

43Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 

44And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Here's a simple question for you.  Do you have that kind of confidence that God really hears you?  If so, how can you be so sure?  If not, would you like to?

First for those that are sure.  That part is easy for all of us that have experienced it.  When we accept Jesus we are given the Holy Spirit. 

Ephesians 1:13(NKJV)

13In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 

 

Jesus promised that God would provide the Holy Spirit as our comforter and counselor and that the Holy Spirit would live in us.

 John 14:16-18(NKJV)

16And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

17the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 

18I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Before you have Jesus you are praying to God who is out there "somewhere" "hopefully".  You want Him to be there but you're just not sure.  Once you've accepted Jesus you now have the Holy Spirit living in you.  You now have a direct line of communication to God.  It's that direct line of communication through the Holy Spirit that gives you the confidence to know that you know that God hears you.  I know that this will sound weird but you can just feel the difference.

Does that mean that now all of your prayers get answered?  Absolutely!  Does it mean that they all get answered the way we want?  Oh please, we're talking God here, not Santa Claus!  God answers the prayers in the way that He deems best in order to fulfill His will for our lives, but we'll save that for another discussion.

So how do we get the Holy Spirit?  We ask!

Luke 11:13(NKJV)

13If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

That's right!  You simply ask Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your life.  If you'd like some guidance with how to do that then just click here.

http://4laws.com/laws/english/flash/

It's such a comfort to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God hears our prayers.  Ask Jesus into your life and find out what it is like!

What bait do you use?

Pastor Beth had a great sermon yesterday and so I want to make very clear from the start that these are her ideas, not mine.  My intent is to simply relay them to you because she put witnessing in a way that I've never heard it talked about and I hope you find it as insightful  as I did.  I don't have a copy of her sermon so I will be paraphrasing her ideas as best I can from memory.

------------------------------------------

Did your parents or grandparents ever take you fishing when you were growing up?  Was it something that you looked forward to or dreaded?  I always looked forward to it.  I was excited to go. 

Jesus calls us to be fishers of men.  He is calling us to go fishing.  How many of us react to that invitation with as much enthusiasm as we did to going fishing when we were a kid?  My guess is not many.  I know I sure don't.  So the first insight was to re-frame our view of witnessing from something scary and a chore to something exciting and fun.

So then the question is why are we not excited about fishing for men?  Maybe part of it is not feeling prepared.  When we went fishing we had the proper equipment to catch fish.  One of the most important decisions when fishing is what bait to use. It's no different when fishing for men.  What bait do you use?

This is the second part of Pastor Beth's insight that I thought was brilliant.  When trying to figure out what bait to use when fishing for men, the fish will tell you! 

How cool is that?  The fish will tell you.  Let me explain. 

When we witness we know that the ultimate goal is to lead them to Christ so that they have their sins forgiven and receive eternal life.  Unfortunately most of the fish don't really understand that they need eternal life.  We're using the wrong bait.

When the fish tell you that they are struggling financially, they've told you what bait to use and eternal life isn't it.  You can take them to scripture and show them how Jesus wants His people to prosper and has a plan for helping them do so.  Now you are fishing with the bait that they are truly looking for.  You now have a basis to invite them to church where they can learn all about how Jesus' plan can help them with that immediate problem, not something like eternal life that is so far down the road that it doesn't seem real to them.   

When they share problems about their health they've told you what bait to use and again eternal life isn't it.  You can tell them about Jesus' love and healing power. 

If they share about broken relationships again you now know what bait to use.   Isn't that a great idea?

I want to again thank Pastor Beth for sharing that great insight in her message yesterday.  To learn more about Jeff and Beth Jones Ministries and for some great resources please click http://jeffandbethjones.com/ .

To learn more about Valley Family Church please click  http://www.valleyfamilychurch.org/

The Triumph of Common Sense

John 9:24-33(NKJV)

24So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.”

25He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

26Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

27He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

28Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 

29We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”

30The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 

31Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 

32Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 

33If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

I have long been a fan of common sense.  Book learning is fine and it is important but sometimes there is nothing like common sense. 

We've all heard the story (not sure if it really happened or not) of the big truck the gets wedged and stuck under a bridge.   They bring in all kinds of experts.  Wreckers and cranes and they can't get the truck unstuck.  A kid walks over and simply lets the air out of the tires of the truck.  Lowers it enough that they can just back the truck out from under the bridge.  Pretty cool!

Where do we get common sense?  I think it is a combination of our book learning and then our life experiences.  I don't know why but some people are better than others at melding those two facets of their lives to reach conclusions that escape others.  That's the "common sense quotient".  (Think I  should trademark that phrase?  LOL) 

Can it be taught?  I think to a certain extent it can.  One of my first jobs out of high school was reconditioning used cars.  The mechanics used to get such a kick out of me.  I provided the entertainment.  They would watch me struggle on a project and then after I finally finish it one of them would walk over and say "Hey did you ever think of doing it this way?" , and they would all laugh and laugh! 

That taught me to stop and think through a project before starting.  Two reason.  First it helped me find quicker and easier ways to accomplish the task.  Second, I don't like looking stupid!  Some might think their laughing at me was cruel but I've got to say it worked on me.

OK, back on track.  What I love about the scripture above is the triumph of common sense over book learning.  Look at the first part.  The Pharisees (book smart and legalistic) ask this guy if the person who healed him was a sinner or not.  Let me paraphrase his response.  Don't know, don't care, here is what I do know, He fixed me!

He's just a regular guy.  He doesn’t know all of that technical stuff.  He just knows he is fixed.  He had a life experience with this guy named Jesus.  He doesn't know all of the ins and outs of the thing.  He doesn't know that Isaiah prophesied about Jesus?  He doesn't know that the book f Daniel also predicts His coming.  All he knows is that this Jesus guy just did something for him that no one else has ever been able to do for him his whole life.  That's what he knows, and he knows it beyond a shadow of a doubt!  Why?  Because he lived it. 

The Pharisees continue to try and cast doubt.  Then the guys simply walks them through his common sense logic, step by step. 

1Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 

32Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 

33If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

So here is my question for you.  What is it that makes you know that you know that you know? 

For me it is a couple of things.  It's looking back in amazement at all of the seemingly unrelated events and how they have brought me to where I am today.  It's being able to talk to God and experience that peace that passes all understanding.  That peace that while all external indications tell you that you are screwed, you can smile because deep down you know that it is going to work out.  It's experiencing God guiding me through that little voice deep inside me.

Spend some time thinking about what it is that makes you know and then give God a smile and thank Him because that is worth more than all the book learning in the world!

“What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

That's a great question isn't it?  What is God's will for our lives?  What does He want us to do?  What is the purpose He has for us?

These are things that we ask God.  So obviously the first place to look for the answer is where?  The Bible, God's word.  I can't think of a better place to start.  Let's see what it says in the Gospel of John.

John 6:28-29(NKJV)

28Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Can it really be that simple?  Isn't there more to it than that?  Could this be another case of thanks God, but…….?

There is a lot of confusing stuff in the Bible.  A lot of stuff that you really have to puzzle over.  Jesus spoke in parables all the time.  Why did He do that?

Mark 4:11-12(NKJV)

11And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 

12so that      ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,     And hearing they may hear and not understand;     Lest they should turn,     And their sins be forgiven them.’” £

Matthew 13:10-13(NKJV)

10And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 

12For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 

13Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 

So I can see why we would have a tendency to look for deeper meaning but sometimes we need to just take things at face value.  So if you want to do the work of God, believe in Jesus.

Yeah but what about caring for the poor?  Just believe in Jesus.  What about evangelizing the world?  Just believe in Jesus. 

How can it be that simple?  Because if we start by focusing our heart and soul on Jesus, the rest will take care of itself.  You see it is through believing in Jesus that we receive the Holy Spirit.  Once we have the Holy Spirit then God has a direct line to our heart and He can guide us to do whatever else He would like us to do, but it begins with Jesus.

So do you feel that there has to be more?  That there has to be a purpose to your life but you can't quite figure out what it is?  If so then the answer is pretty simple.  Do the work of God by first and foremost , "believing in Him whom He sent."! 

It's Thankful People Who Are Happy

Love this sign!

 

So true in my opinion.  So how do you become a Thankful Person?  Make a decision!  Seems simplistic I know but it really is a matter of making a decision.  A famous quote by Abraham Lincoln states; “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be,” .  What I like about this quote is that it says "most folks" leaving an exception for those that suffer from clinical depression (according to some reports this is something that Lincoln himself suffered from)

But back to the central point, "most folks will be about as happy as they make up their minds to be".  So how do you make up your mind to be happy?  I think the easiest way is to make up your mind to be a Thankful Person.  Let me give you a really easy way to do it.  Then you only have to decide to do it.

 

My wife and I once went to one of Tony Robbins 4 day events in Chicago.  We did the barefoot fire walk and everything.  That's right, we both walked barefoot over a 20 foot bed of glowing hot embers.  Pretty cool.

Now I have learned a lot of great techniques in his training but I will also say that some of his stuff is a bit too new ageish and I am uncomfortable with it.  Those things that I was uncomfortable with I simply didn't participate in.  Doesn't make any of the good stuff I learned any less valuable.

I'd like to share one of the valuable techniques I did learn.  For those of you that work out, especially walking and running, use that time for an extended time of prayer.  Now here is the technique.  Spend the first 5 minutes of that prayer time to just thank God for all of the ways in which He has blessed you and those around you.  Who do you pray for?  Use the concentric circle approach.

Start by thanking God for all of the ways He has blessed you personally.  Then move on and thank Him for all of the ways He blesses your spouse.  Then thank God for all of the ways He blesses your kids.  And just keep widening the circle. 

You could also do this on your drive to work or while you are taking a shower in the morning, the possibilities are endless.

Here is my guarantee.  If you will make a decision to begin everyday by doing this simple exercise, within a very short time you will begin to experience the feeling of a heart soaring with thankfulness. (I know it is a cheesy saying but it is the only way I know to really describe the feeling that I get when I begin my prayer time with a thankful heart)

If you want to be happy then be thankful.  Start each day counting your blessing with a thankful heart and see how happy you become!