I Love My Job

Years ago I heard a story and it goes something like this:

“One morning a man got up and told his wife ‘I’m not going to work today. I just want to stay home’. To which she replied ‘You have to go, everyone’s counting on you’. The man muttered and said ‘No one there likes me, they criticize everything I say and do’. The wife tried to be encouraging ‘You have to learn to turn the other cheek. You really have to go, you’re the pastor.'”

I think we all have days like that. We get up and just don’t want to go to work and we need to find motivation to help us have a good attitude about what we do and who we work with. I have enjoyed most of the positions I have worked at but there was one that was a real struggle.

I didn’t handle it well. I complained alot; in fact, I did more complaining about my job than I did praying about it. Just being honest here. And then the Lord reminded me of these words.

“Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.” Colossians 3:22-25 MSG

I needed to do my job as if the Lord was my boss. My responsibility was to please Him and to be an encouragement to those around me. I was to use the talents and skills I had to be the best employee I could be. Less complaining, more praying. It was hard!!

Eventually the Lord opened the door to another position and I was able to quit. I learned a couple things during that time, 1) Pray before taking any position no matter how good it seems, 2) Each day seek to serve the Lord and you can be at peace anywhere and 3)Always, always do your best.

When I think of people who had tough work conditions I think of Joseph. His working conditions were far from perfect. In his first position he went from house servant to overseer of the whole operation but was falsely accused of rape and ended up going to prison. In prison he was the model prisoner and excelled in all he did. He served there for a number of years before he was brought before the pharoah to serve in his court. All along the way Joseph kept his heart free from bitterness and served each master with a pure heart.

“So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has shown you all this, there is no one as understanding and wise as you are. 40 My house will be put in your care. And all my people will do as you say. Only on the throne will I be greater than you.” Genesis 41:39-40 NLV

The Lord exalted Joseph. He went from slave boy to the highest ranking official in the pharaoh’s kingdom.

Wherever we are and whatever we do we need to stay focused on serving the Lord. He can be trusted to change circumstances for our good.

Learn to love the job the Lord has given you. Afterall, we’re working for Him!

Do It Again!

For the past several days Dave and I had been blessed to have our youngest daughter, son-in-love, and three small grandchildren visit. Our home has been filled with happy times!

After they left, we talked about all the fun things we did while they were here and are hoping to do it again as soon as possible. We hadn’t had this much time with them in over a year.

The house was filled with laughter and joy! There were a few tears and squabbles but those were minimal. Art projects were created, stories were read, games were played, swings were swung, meals were shared and bedtime prayers were said. (Thank God for bedtime, I needed to recharge.)

A happy home!

Yesterday morning when I was reading my Bible I saw plainly that a “happy home” is God’s plan for us and it’s spelled out for us in several places. One of those is right here in Colossians.

“Wives, be willing to serve your husbands. This is the right thing to do in following the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and be gentle to them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything. This pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, don’t upset your children. If you are too hard to please, they might want to stop trying.” Colossians 3:18-21 ERV

These are basic, simple instructions, instructions that create a happy home!

Wives are to submit to our husbands. It’s the right thing to do. There can only be one head in a home and God has vested that authority to our husbands. They, in turn, are answerable to God for making the right decisions for their familes. We are given the responsibility of being “keepers of the home”. It’s a high calling!

Husbands are instructed to love us and to be gentle with us. They are to be our protectors and providers. That’s a big responsibility. They need our prayers and our support. They are to love and care for us in the same way that Christ does.

Children are instructed to be obedient. If they learn this lesson in the home they will be respectful of the other authority figures in their lives, i.e. teachers, employers, elders, law enforcement, the Lord. This goes back to what I was saying yesterday. We taught our children there was one rule at home, be obedient.

Parents…for me, this is the hard one. There’s a fine line between being too strict or harsh and teaching our children discipline and respect. If we are constantly correcting, it becomes nagging, and it can create a child with low self-esteem. God doesn’t want that for our children, He wants them to realize how deeply loved they are by Him and by us.

“Fathers, do not be so hard on your children that they will give up trying to do what is right.” Colossians 3:21 NLV

I realized I was doing this to our kids when they did their household chores. I was pushing them to my standard of perfection and not realizing that they didn’t see things the same way I did. I needed to praise them for their effort and help them see the things they were deficient with.

Our kids are not just our kids. They are also sons and daughters of God and we should be raising them the way He instructs. Will there be times when correction and discipline are necessary? Absolutely. Will there be occasions of defiance and rebellion? Possibly. It’s up to us as parents to bring our children, individually, to the Lord in prayer and get His insight on their upbringing.

A happy home is built on a foundation of God’s love. His word is infallible, we can trust Him!

We keep doing the right thing because it’s right and then we do it again!

Do It Right

Growing up there was a saying I heard in our home frequently. “A job worth doing is worth doing well”.

We didn’t take short cuts just to get the job done. I was taught to do things right but if I hurried through and didn’t do it correctly, I would have to do it again. This applied to everything from music scales on the piano, to baking, cleaning my room and homework.

Life lesson learned. Do it right.

But it really was so much more than that. It wasn’t just a philosophy to help me live better; I came to understand that it was the bedrock that I built my life upon.

Do it right!

“God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient13 Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. 14 Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body. And always be thankful.

16 Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.” Colossians 3:12-17 ERV

A few days ago I shared how we should avoid the list of don’ts that the world tries to impose on us. These verses above give us a list of things we can and should be doing which are good and beneficial. I’ve even highlighted a few of them.

God used the Apostle Paul to give this instruction to young Christians. This teaching was the bedrock for their relationship in Christ. It was an amplification of the teaching that Jesus gave to his disciples when he said “by this will all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another”.

The verses above give explanation to how love acts: love is merciful, kind, humble, gentle patient, forgiving and thankful. Love seeks peace, not turmoil.

Do what’s right.

Everytime I read verse seventeen I am reminded of what we told our kids when they were little. “You have one rule, obey what we say”. Paul is saying the same thing here: Everything you say and do should be done for Jesus.

In other words, be obedient. Do it right!

A few years back a whole lot of folks were wearing those rubberized bands on their wrist – WWJD, that thought puts the verses above in a nutshell.

When there are areas where we’ve missed it, God’s love grants us a do over. If that’s where you are today, begin again and do it right.

Be Focused & Aim High

On a number of occasions Dave and I have gone out to the desert to do some target practice. He is the skilled marksman, I am not. I have heard him say, on several occasions, “Kris, you need to focus and aim higher”.

That’s always good advice!

“You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 ERV

Focus. Aim High.

When we follow Christ we are given a new life. This life is higher than anything we could acheive on our own. We are empowered by the Spirit of God who lives within us. Our goal is not to look down on ourselves or others; it is to look up to the One who is our example.

In yesterday’s blog we looked at some of the man-made rules of religion, those that are always telling us the things we can’t do. But when we look to Christ, when we raise our aim and focus on Him, we gain a greater perspective.

  • Jesus loved the Father and His neighbor.
  • Jesus was forgiving and kind.
  • Jesus helped those who were in need.
  • Jesus elevated the outcasts and downtrodden.
  • Jesus sacrficed His own comfort to minister to others.
  • Jesus always spoke the truth.
  • Jesus always saw the best in others.

Who better to focus on than the One who gave His all for us!

Do I miss the mark? Absolutely!

There are days when my thoughts, and my actions, are self-serving. Sometimes I repent immediately and there are other times I wallow in my selfishness for a while. It’s then I hear that still small voice in my heart telling me “lift your gaze, look up, you’re missing the mark”.

“But now put these things out of your life: anger, losing your temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and saying shameful things. Don’t lie to each other. You have taken off those old clothes—the person you once were and the bad things you did then. 10 Now you are wearing a new life, a life that is new every day. You are growing in your understanding of the one who made you. You are becoming more and more like him. 11 In this new life it doesn’t matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, circumcised or not. It doesn’t matter if you speak a different language or even if you are a Scythian. It doesn’t matter if you are a slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he is in all of you.” Colossians 3:8-11 ERV

Focus. Aim High.

We’ve been given a new life; every day we should become more like Him. Christ is all that matters and He lives in us!

Too Many Don’ts

When I grew up there were a lot of don’ts. Don’t do this and don’t do that. Some were for my own protection, i.e. don’t touch the stove, it’s hot, while other’s were rules set up by religion, i.e. we don’t go to dances or movies.

There was a whole list of them and they outnumbered the things that we could do. The emphasis was more on the negative aspects than it was on the positive.

The college I went too was very strict. As in-coming students we had a list of things we could and couldn’t do.

But this list of what was acceptable and unacceptable behavior wasn’t just limited to the religious world in the United States. I was shocked to learn that at one time in the Middle European countries it was considered shameful for Christians to drink coffee but perfectly acceptable for them to drink beer and wine.

No wonderful so many people think if you claim to be a Christian you can’t have any fun!

There are God-given instructions for our well being and then there are those that men have added on because of religious piety. The Bible has something to say about these add-ons.

“Don’t let anyone tell you what you must eat or drink. Don’t let them say that you must celebrate the New Moon festival, the Sabbath, or any other festival. 17 These things are only a shadow of what was to come. But Christ is real…20 You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don’t have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, 21 “Don’t handle this. Don’t taste that. Don’t touch this.”? 22 After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? 23 Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don’t really have any power over our desires.” Colossians 2:16-23 CEV

The list of man-made don’ts cause us to focus on ourselves. We develop a type of tunnel vision. “I can’t do this, I can’t do that, I can go here or there”. We become Rule-Centered instead of being Christ-Centered. As the verses above point out, we should be looking at Christ and the reality He brings to our lives.

It was life-changing when I realized there was a different list for my life in the Bible – it is a list of “do’s”. We’ll cover some of those tomorrow. It’s time to evaluate our actions or, in some cases, lack of action to man-made rules.

Our relationship with the Lord sets us free to do good works. Let’s get started!

Run the Race

This morning I am dedicating this blog to my children. They are amazing people.

A few months ago our son-in-law ran his first marathon. It had been cancelled but he traveled to the race site with our daughter and grandson and ran the course anyway. He had trained for it and he ran his race.

This encouraged our youngest daughter who, today, will run her first half marathon. She has been training for months and her race was also cancelled but today she will be running through the streets of her neighborhood to accomplish her goal.

Our children have overcome physical injury and disease and they continue to press on to achieve the goals and dreams in their heart. Their roads haven’t been easy but that’s what makes the accomplishment so rewarding.

“You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one runner gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win! 25 All who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a prize—one that doesn’t last. But our prize is one that will last forever.” I Corinthians 9:24-25 ERV

Each of us has been given a race to run, that race is life! Our courses differ. God has given each of us a purpose. Our race is to bring Him honor and glory and He will run every step of it with us, if we ask Him too.

Remember yesterday’s verse – “I will not, I will not, I will not leave you alone or abandon you”. That’s the Father’s promise to us. We are not in this race of life alone. He is with us to protect and strengthen us. We also have a cheering section to encourage us along the journey.

“All these many people who have had faith in God are around us like a cloud. Let us put every thing out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us.” Hebrews 12:1 NLV

When we commit our lives to the Lord, when we receive God’s gift of eternal life, we are given a plan personalized for our strengths and talents. Jesus know the hardships we will face in life and He is here to help us all along the way.

“So Jesus had to become like His brothers in every way. He had to be one of us to be our Religious Leader to go between God and us. He had loving-pity on us and He was faithful. He gave Himself as a gift to die on a cross for our sins so that God would not hold these sins against us any longer. 18 Because Jesus was tempted as we are and suffered as we do, He understands us and He is able to help us when we are tempted.” Hebrews 2:17-18 NLV

Whatever we face in our race of life we aren’t alone. Run with confidence. Jesus is running with us. We will finish the race and receive the prize of life eternal with our Father.

Looking In

It’s so easy for those who don’t know us very well to “look in” on our lives and make judgements.

Have you ever had that happen to you?

It’s hard to deal with but we can dismiss those actions with “they just don’t know me well enough”. However, it’s much harder when someone we love and are close too spreads lies or judges us harshly.

That can cause relationships to crumble and/or jealousy to grow. I know. Personally, I have been judged harshly on a couple occasions and regretfully, I have also been guilty of doing the same.

I’d like to tell you about a lady who had her reputation besmirched publically. She was called out because of her past. Her accuser tried to humiliate her in the presence of his friends and business associates. She had no where to retreat from his cruel words.

“Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”…

 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Luke 7:36-50 NKJV

Jesus’ words “judge not unless you want to be judged” ring in my heart when I read this story. No one is insignificant to the Father. He sent His Son to die for everyone of us. Others may judge us, whether correctly or incorrectly, but Jesus only judges sin and all sin is the same to Him. And then He offers us peace and forgiveness.

The Bible tells us that man looks at what we do on the outside but God looks at our hearts. When people make hurtful accusations, look inside to see what God sees. Others may see failure, a screw-up, but God sees us as His sons and daughters, forgiven and wrapped in His love.

“God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father.” Romans 8:15 CEV

Brand New

For the next couple of days we’ll be looking at the “new creation” that God has designed us to be. I have been asked a number of times “How can God love me and want to have a relationship with me after all I’ve done?”. The answer is simple. God sees us as new. He has chosen to forget our past and has given us a brand new life.

The Apostle Paul knew this was a hard truth to comprehend so he made it the central message in his writings. We are brand new – part of the body of Christ – and even if we are the skin on the bottom of the little toe we are still part of the body and that gives us relationship and authority…

“Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.” Ephesians 1:21-23 NLT

The head is the authority, the decision making or ruling part of the body. The power manifested through the decisions made by the head are valid for the whole body. Jesus took authority over principalities and powers and placed them under His feet. He defeated them when he died and rose again. If we are in the body, His body, then those powers are placed under our feet.

“Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead.  So, he is first in everything.19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” Colossians 1:18-20 NLT

Christ, as the head, rules or directs the members of the body. The head makes the decisions that protect and provide for its wellbeing. Wisdom, spiritual insight, knowledge, and understanding come from the head.

“I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!” Ephesians 1:17-19 MSG

Take time to look at the example of Jesus’ life on earth.

How did He act; what did He do? It was all done through His body. The attributes that made Jesus, who He was, are available to us. He had victory over sin, sickness, emotional distress, and spiritual attacks. He moved in total obedience to God’s word; as His body we should be striving for this same commitment of pleasing the Father.

Our life in Christ is not about us doing something good enough to measure up, it’s about us allowing Him to lead, guide and gives us the strength! Christ invested His life to make us Brand New!

Did You Know?

I had a professor in college that loved to start class with questions. “Do you know”, “did you realize”, “do you understand” were some of his favorites. We knew to pay attention to what was about to be said because we were going to learn something.

The Apostle Paul is good at asking the same kind of questions.

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” I Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT

The temple in the Old Testament, a beautiful building, was divided into three sections: the outside court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. Everyone was allowed in the outer court. The Holy Place was reserved for the priests and then there was the most holy place, the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest went once a year to offer sacrifice for the sins of the nation of Israel. It was there that the glory of God dwelt. The power and glory of God was housed in the temple.

Something extremely exciting happened on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion; the veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn in half from the top and to the floor. The glory of God was no longer confined to a specially designated room. God’s glory was released to all who received Him.

      “Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,” Matthew 27:50-51 NLT

When we follow Christ we are called the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have three worship areas also: spirit, soul, and body. Our spirit is the Holy of Holies where the fulness of God dwells. It is the part of us that is perfect and was created new when we received the gift of salvation.

“For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” Colossians 2:9-10 NLT

      Our body is the outer court. The part that everyone can see. Our soul – our mind, will and emotions, is the Holy Place. It is here that we experience forgiveness and the peace that new life in Christ gives us. As we let God’s Word change our actions, our intents, and our desires our temple takes on God’s glory and likeness…

“For we work together with God. You are God’s field. You are God’s building also…16 Do you not know that you are a house of God and that the Holy Spirit lives in you? 17…God’s house is holy. You are the place where He lives.” I Corinthians 3:9-17 NLT

Do you know that you are God’s house? The Holy Spirit of God has chosen to live in us. He is the resident who makes our house special and furnishes us with the attributes of God’s character.

Did you know…

Is Hope Gone?

When we go through a long battle or struggle we are tempted to lose hope and throw in the towel. However, when we keep our focus on God’s unfailing love hope is revived and our faith is strengthened…

One final example I would like to share with you comes from the life of Samson. I am not sure if you are familiar with Samson’s life so I will recap it for you.

His parents were visited by an angel who told them that they would have a son and he would be used by God to lead the people of Israel. Samson single-handedly defeated one thousand Philistine soldiers and his weapon was the jawbone of a donkey. There was another occasion when he lifted the city gates and their door posts and “he carried them all the way to the top of the hill that overlooks Hebron, where he set the doors down, still closed and locked” (Judges 16:3)

During this time, the Israelites were being ruled by the Philistines. The leaders of the Philistines became so angry with Samson that they hired a prostitute, that Samson loved, to discover his source of strength. They knew there had to be a secret to his strength because he was undefeatable.

Delilah spent every waking moment trying to get Samson to tell her his secret. He finally gave in to her constant nagging and told her that he had never had his hair cut because it was a sign of his commitment to the Lord.

“Delilah started nagging and pestering him day after day, until he couldn’t stand it any longer. 17 Finally, Samson told her the truth. ‘I have belonged to God ever since I was born, so my hair has never been cut. If it were ever cut off, my strength would leave me, and I would be as weak as anyone else.’…”  Judges 16:16-18 CEV

The Philistines came and cut Samson’s hair while he was sleeping. When he woke up his strength was gone. The Philistines poked out Samson’s eyes, imprisoned him and then tied him to a millstone and made him grind grain like an ox.

During this time Samson’s hair was growing back but they did not notice. The Philistines had a big party and were praising their god, Dagon, for helping them to defeat Samson. To make the ridicule worse, they brought Samson out to be mocked in the temple of their god. Samson was led by a young man to the temple columns. As he stood there, he stretched out his arms and placed them against the columns.

“A young man was leading Samson by the hand, and Samson said to him, ‘I need to lean against something. Take me over to the columns that hold up the roof.’

27 The Philistine rulers were celebrating in a temple packed with people…They had all been watching Samson and making fun of him. 28 Samson prayed, ‘Please remember me, Lord God. The Philistines poked out my eyes, but make me strong one last time, so I can take revenge for at least one of my eyes!’

29 Samson was standing between the two middle columns that held up the roof. He felt around and found one column with his right hand, and the other with his left hand. 30 Then he shouted, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ He pushed against the columns as hard as he could, and the temple collapsed with the Philistine rulers and everyone else still inside. Samson killed more Philistines when he died than he had killed during his entire life.” Judges 16:26-30 CEV

The enemies of Samson thought they had defeated him. All hope was gone. But God!

In his death Samson had once again become an “overcomer”. His enemies had no power over him. God was his strength and his deliverer.

The circumstances of life may look overpowering, but God is a promise keeper not a promise breaker. He has given us His word to be our protection and our strength.     

“The Lord God will save them on that day, because they are his people and they will shine on his land like jewels in a crown.” Zechariah 9:16 CEV

Through Christ we overcome. Through Christ we always triumph!