Not the Ten Commandments..... Harder to keep!

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”     Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

I don't hang out with people that kill others. I don't know thieves. Personally, I don't struggle with the Ten Commandments. But, this list in Ephesians is completely different. I am watching the news and seeing quite the battle to be our next president. The American public is fed up with politicians and rightly so. We are fully supporting candidates that show anger, bitterness, hate, and uses harsh words. Why can't we support and seek out candidates that are kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. 

I also have difficulty with bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and struggle being tenderhearted, forgiving, and kind to those not like me. Our society views these three positive traits as weakness and "whimpy". My savior is the epitome of strength, power, forgiveness, kindness, and tenderness. He shows us it is possible and should be our goal in life.

Dear Lord, I praise you for being the example of all that we need to be. When you came down to live with us you were kind, loving, and forgiving, while still being a strong and powerful leader. Help me to do the same as I continue in life with you. Defeat the anger and rage I feel toward my enemy and those who challenge me. Help me to share your compassion and love with all that cross my path. I love you Lord. I beg your forgiveness when I fall short. You are truly amazing and I worship you with all my heart. Amen!

Hardened hearts!

Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. (Proverbs 28:14 NIV)

I know many people blame the ills of this world on social media. But, long before Facebook, many people spoke poorly of our people and were critical of nearly every walking person on the planet. Now we just get to see it more evident on social media. 

I am so amazed by the cold, hard hearted comments people make on social media. Politics is the topic with the worst posts. But, it doesn't stop there. I have a dear friend hurt when he and another of his friends were involved in some "horseplay". Instead of people being genuinely concerned for the survival of this great Christian man, many posts were critical of the incident. C'mon people! They are two great friends, goofing around with each other. Who amongst us haven't done similar things thousands of times with no tragic results. It is so easy to be critical of others not knowing their circumstances. It comes from a hard heart. 

We must continue to feed our heart with things of God or our hearts will also harden. We need to look at every situation through the eyes of Jesus and respond like he would respond. We need more soft hearted people in this world, with compassion and concern for their fellow man. Prayer, worship, and service for others will help keep your heart soft and your posts uplifting!

Do you blame him?

In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:8 NIV)

God gets mad at us. Do you blame him? I look at the world today and realize my loving God has every right to be angry, to hide his face from us. The AMAZING part of grace is he doesn't stay angry long. He has such great love for us that he never gives up on us, even when we deserve his eternal anger. God is no like us, he doesn't hold a grudge. His kindness is eternal, not his anger. His anger quickly turns to compassion. Compassion is 

"a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering."

It's safe to say his anger turns to a broken heart and deep sorrow. He looks down on us, holds his head in his hands and weeps. The image of the creator of the universe crying for me is a powerful picture. I need to do all I can to change that sorrow. Sure, I am fighting an up hill battle, but I will not let my own actions feed into that sorrow. If we all worried about making our own little world a more godly place, God's tears would turn to joy. God has given us freedom to control our own lives. When we do that we usually make a mess of things. Asking God to intervene is the only way to really correct the ills of this world. So our goal, the way to change his sadness to sorrow is through spreading his gospel. If we can see more and more lives turned to Christ, the world will be a better place.

What csn you do to stop the pain of our wonderful caring God?

Stumbling is Painful, not Funny!

Psalm 35 (New International Version, ©2010)

¹⁰ My whole being will exclaim, 

   “Who is like you, LORD?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
   the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
 ¹¹ Ruthless witnesses come forward;
   they question me on things I know nothing about.
¹² They repay me evil for good
   and leave me like one bereaved.
¹³ Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
   and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
 ¹⁴ I went about mourning
   as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
   as though weeping for my mother.
¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
   assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
   They slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶ Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;^[b]
   they gnashed their teeth at me.

I think all of us have laughed at someone who has fallen only to realize they were really  hurt and we had to change our tune. Some people watch NASCAR for the amazing wrecks, but when they witness someone die or get seriously injured, they have to think twice. I enjoy a good physical hard hitting game of football, but too often someone really gets hurt.

How do we react when people are hurt spiritually or mentally? How do we treat our own Christian Brothers and Sisters when they stumble and fall. Maybe someone has mistreated you when you were stumbling spiritually or mentally. These verses paint a grim picture of how ruthless we can be as sinful people. Be careful, you could be next.

Dear Lord, keep us from evil. Protect us from those who mistreat us. Help us to be loving to all. Help us to contribute to healing lives not hurting them. Treat others as we wish to be treated. Open our eyes so we can help those who need it the most. Amen!