Looking over your shoulder!

Do you see how many people Have it in for me? How viciously they hate me? Keep watch over me and keep me out of trouble; Don’t let me down when I run to you. Use all your skill to put me together; I wait to see your finished product. GOD, give your people a break From this run of bad luck. (Psalm 25:19-22 MSG)

I've continued to study a Chuck Swindoll series called "What if......." It continues to be a fascinating study. My life, right now, is a true blessing from God. Trust me when I tell you, I don't deserve my life. I am a sinner and have not been righteous in any sense of the word. But I have found favor with the Lord and my life is truly a display of Gods amazing grace.

So, when I listened to the message today, I had to look back in my life to relate to David. Yes, I have enemies. You can't live for 55 years without upsetting someone or enduring some hate. I also have had phases in my life where my haters were quite numerous. A former principal of mine said, "Your list of enemies or people that hate you, never gets smaller." I have truly found this to be true. I'm not sure I've ever heard someone tell me,or someone else, they used to hate me and now they love me! It just doesn't happen. But, if my detractors are near me, I'm unaware of their hatred. I praise God for his love and protection. He alone is the reason the haters in my life don't impact my day. So, let me give you advice from someone who has endured some hateful people. It may be an overly simplified approach, but I have found the greatest defense from you haters is just to turn them over to the Lord.  If I could tell you how to live, I would say, do not spend your life in fear. Do not spend your days looking over your shoulder. Eliminate distrustful thoughts, shut out those who do not lift you up and only wish to tear you down. Love your enemy. Trust in the Lord to protect you from evil and hate. 

We, which means you and I, can overcome our haters. Yes, we can ignore the life of a hater if we can just radically and unwaveringly follow Jesus. Praise God for his wondeful love and amazing grace. Thank you Lord for isolating me from the hatred surrounding me. I am honored to follow you and renew my commitment to serving you. Amen!

Praise God!

Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! (Psalm 147:1 NIV)

This world is turning more and more hostile to Christians. I saw a story the other day that said religion would be eliminated in the next generation. It saddens me to hear such hate for my God. But, through all the hate, through all the anti-Christian sentiment, I praise my God for his love, mercy, and grace. I don't care what others say, I have seen his greatness, I have seen the real God of the universe active in the lives of the people I know.

It is great to give praise. It is great to openly celebrate the wondeful love of Jesus with all we see. Thank you Lord! I praise you and am honored by your love even when I don't deserve it, even when the world turns against you! I love you and worship your holy name!

No more Monday Morning Quarterbacking!

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. (Proverbs 10:12 NIV)

It's been a long few days as we start another school year. I've been working late and getting up early, putting in 16 hour days between school and working at home getting ready for the next day and adjusting curriculum for new students, etc. I think only teachers can appreciate the first couple weeks at school. It makes the floor of the New Yprk Stock Exchange seem like a peaceful walk on a quiet beach! 

But, I love the start of school. Everyone has pretty good attitudes. We haven't developed a dull routine and everything is fresh and new. Even the teachers lounge is a positive place. 

I have made a goal of completely avoiding negative people this year. People that hate everything and everyone about life drag others down and I won't be a part of it. I will respond to Gossip, he-said-she-said talk, and bad mouthing teachers and students by TURNING AND WALKING AWAY. I've never been more serious about any goal. Monday morning Quareterbacks don't just criticize on Monday morning, it happens every day in schools, businesses, and homes. Not me!

Will you join me, we can stamp out hate and negativity if more people just do the same. Stop it, walk away, don't feed in to the hate!

I believe in the Bible, I'm not a hater!

For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21 NIV)

I love the Bible. It is the word of God written through man. It is a great story of how we are saved through Jesus and all that leads up to the wonders of the cross. The world doesn't understand it's powers. It doesn't understand the truth. It is a story so precious, we would rather die than live contrary to its teachings. Many of these words offend the world, but it does not mean believers HATE those it offends. It is a simple story that is distorted by the sins of the world. 

I read an article today about a bakery in Indianapolis that refused to make a cake for a gay union. The owner was chastised and many are up in arms about the refusal. It's amazing!  How come when a black, a gay, or a woman is "wronged" everyone is indignant. Protests are forged and battle lines are drawn. Yet, when someone stands there ground in the word of God and is publicly destroyed, no one cares. Do we or do we not have religious rights to worship as we see fit? I support this business. Do I think he would go to hell if he would have made the cake? No! But that's not the point. God has given this man the blessing of talent and ability to bake. He has chosen this work to honor the God he dearly loves. The story links actions like this as reason a young gay teen committed suicide. I'm sorry, how can not selling a cake offend someone so much? All indications are the baker rejected the business of these two people in a loving and caring way. There was no HATE. Just because you disagree with someone's lifestyle doesn't mean you HATE them. If I disagree with you because of your politics, does that mean I hate you? NO. I have family members that strongly disagree with me, I LOVE them and certainly do not HATE them. I know some go beyond disagreeing and intimidate, ridicule, and bully, but this is not the case here. That is not the feelings of most people, and most Christians. This man feels it dishonors God if he would bake this cake and he has the right to refuse. It's not a hate crime. God will honor that decision. His business will flourish, regardless of some protest.

A man who believes he is not honoring God should be able to refuse the work with no consequences. I greatly respect this man for taking a stand for the Bible. If he feels led by the Holy Spirit to take this stand he really MUST obey! 

Stop the Hate!

Luke 1:69-72 (New International Version, ©2010)

⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David ⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), ⁷¹ salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— ⁷² to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant,


Have you ever had anyone you thought was an enemy? I can't really think of someone who I thought of as an enemy. I also can never say I have hated someone. In sports, we sometimes view our rivals as our enemies. I have heard kids say "I hate you!" on more than one occasion. But every time they said it, it was out of the anger of the moment. I never really thought they meant it. I don't really think of my athletic opponents as "Enemies". I wonder if someone out there considers me their enemy. I wonder if their is someone out there who hates me. (Please don't post it in the comments if you do, I'm not sure I could take it!) I think everyone has someone who hates them and even some who thinks you are the enemy. I am no different. But, as a Christian, we are not to hate people. We may hate what they do. We may hate their actions, but we must love each other.  Remember these verses:

Matthew 5:43-44 (New International Version, ©2010)

Love for Enemies
    ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[a] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

One of the most popular sayings this time of year is biblical. "Peace on Earth, Good will to men!"

Luke 2:13-15 (New International Version, 2010)

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

This can't happen unless we as Christians take the first step and stop our own hating. We need to get rid of our list of enemies. We need to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It is like the old theory, "kill them with kindness." Maybe we should change this to "Kill them with Love".  I know first hand how easy this is to say and how hard it is to do. Although I can't think of anyone who I would call an enemy or anyone I hate, their are certainly many people who I don't get along with. Since I don't hate them or consider them an enemy, can I just mistreat them or maybe just ignore them? Can I wish them ill--will? The answer is obvious. No! We need to love these people just as much. Avoiding someone is not loving them. Wishing failure or ill-will is not loving someone. You also can't show love from a distance. (Darn it!)

God has every right to hate us for how we treat him and how we treated his son when he came to live with us. He doesn't. He loves us so much and has shown us great mercy. Even as we treat him with hate and constant disrespect, he loves us all the more. He is the model for how we should all live. He doesn't ignore us. He doesn't observe from a distance. He is right here with us, his love is not conditional on us. It is always present.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the grace and mercy you show us. Please forgive our hate. Please forgive our treatment of our "Enemies". We know you have told us to love our enemies and we continue to ignore you. Please Lord, help us to treat each other as you would have us to. Amen!