Politics- Love it or Hate it

What I am going to write about today is surely going to rub some people the wrong way. So if you are easily offended please try to maintain an open mind.

I don’t normally write about politics in this type of forum nor do I usually engage in conversations centered on sensitive political views. However, I get frustrated when I hear people constantly complaining about the President, one party or the other, our government in general and the latest “Obamacare” which is not even the name of the plan.  When I have voiced my opinion I have been told I am naive, that I haven’t read the policy or candidates promises, I don’t know the repercussions of the policy (or the election’s outcome) and in general been made to feel a little dumb. However I am a little bit of a control freak so I do read the issues and do my best to make informed decisions.

I have been stuffing my emotions for a sometime on this subject, and while I am not going to come unglued about this I do want to make this point, no matter what – 

I still believe we live in the greatest county in the world.

Are there things I would like to see changed? Yes!  I hate it that Christian values are being pushed out to accommodate those that say they are offended by it.  I hate that every bill that is presented to congress for a vote has so much garbage attached to it that congress doesn’t know what they are voting on with out reading a 200 page document; then has to decide to vote against a good issue to stop a bad issue that is attached to the bill. I hate it that Candidates make promises that cannot be kept without the votes of congress. I hate that congress seems to take party loyalty more serious that the issues. I dislike the Electoral College way of voting. But I still believe~

 We live in the greatest country in the world.

“Obey the rulers who have authority over you. Only God can give authority to anyone, and he puts these rulers in their places of power. 2 People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done, and they will be punished. 3 Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it. 4 After all, they are God’s servants, and it is their duty to help you. Romans 13:1-4

I try not to complain about our government, I don’t know the solution to fix the problems But without  exception we should be adding more God & prayer and less ego & pride.  The Bible is clear about what we are supposed to do in Romans 13.  That doesn’t mean follow blindly.  The Bible also says put God first and if those that rule go against God- we don’t follow. Look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. See, God will help you, if you stay loyal to him.

The three men replied, “Your Majesty, we don’t need to defend ourselves. 17 The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up.” Daniel 13:16-18

Our leaders are not perfect; they are human. Our system is not perfect, and as our country grows and more ethnicities come in to live here, there will be more opportunities for adjustments so get ready.

Time it buck up buttercup and enjoy the ride, consider it a great opportunity to teach about what God can do for us all if we can just agree to put Him first.

Fear: Fight or Flight?

Fear is the emotion or reaction of a perceived threat. How do you react when in fear? Fight or flight? Are you lashing and bashing or running and deserting?

Reactive Fighting

Mary & Martha were afraid for their brother Lazarus, he was very sick so they sent word to Jesus to come right now. Can you just imagine the urgency of their message? They knew Jesus well and knew he was capable of saving their brother. But two days and Jesus didn’t come, Lazarus died.  Then Jesus shows up. Now can you imagine Mary & Martha coming “unglued “ on Jesus?  They see him coming toward the house, “There that little bugger is” says Martha. She drops the pots and pans she was cooking with (you know she is the event planner) and runs out the door, Mary hot on her heels. They both say:

“If you had been here, our brother would not have died.”

John 11:21, 32

Ok so maybe that is all in my head, the girls were more respectful to him than that according to the Bible, but I may have had a moment…out of fear.

What causes your fear? 

Are you afraid of what others think? Are you judging yourself? You are if you assume you know what others think of you.

A miss diagnosis of who you are can be your biggest hindrance in doing what God wants you to do.  Pastor TJ Hankey reminded us this weekend that God saw Gideon as a warrior, not a man hiding in a pit.

 Gideon replied, “But how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest one in Manasseh, and everyone else in my family is more important than I am.”

Judges 6:15

Gideon, I believe had judged himself to the point he had no self-esteem, I mean he was hiding from the world in a pit! So unsure that he, Gideon, could possibly hear from God, he asked for a sign to be sure!  Gideon’s misdiagnosis prevented him from seeing who he could be and what he was capable of doing; holding him hostage in that pit.

So what are we to do?  Fear will always be there, the only way around it is to overcome it.

Emotions-

Don’t let fear direct your emotions- Bow up to yourself and boss those emotions around!

Get Moving-

God has a plan for all our lives, when you hear God’s voice or feel His urging, get moving.

Pray-

God will give you strength, and everything else you need in just the right timing and portions to do His work. You can bank on it.

Stop Searching and Start Listening!

At times I feel like I am still searching for who “I am” and what “I” want to do with my life; and I think I am too old for this, I should already have this down. 

But God does put new desires in our hearts though out our lives. Discerning which is from God and which are your own desires becomes the key.

I have so many different prayers that if God gave me them all at one time I would be overwhelmed! I’d be on gift overload. Looking back I wanted to be singer chick, I wanted to be a Christian Teen Club owner, Christian Concert Event Planner. I wanted to help the homeless, get the prostitutes saved, raise awareness to the human trafficking rings, see where I am going with this?

 My thoughts and My ways are above and beyond you,
        just as heaven is far from your reach here on earth.Isaiah 55:9 Voice

I thank God that His thoughts are greater than mine!  What God has for you is greater than you can even imagine. Oh I may have been able to accomplish some of those things on my list, but here is the constraint –I didn’t wait, I wanted it too quick. When that didn’t happen I gave up or was distracted by what was next on my list.

When I stopped focusing on “my “ desires I could hear God’s desires for me.  Desires I could not imagine because I felt I didn’t have the skills.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Ephesians 3:20 MSG

“I” don’t have the skills, but God can provide them. He will open doors and provide a path for my journey.

Remember God made you, He knows you inside out. He has a plan for you if you will just- Stop searching and start listening!

"Well, I'm just wait'in on the Lord..."

I’ve realized I am waiting in the wrong way.  That’s right, there is a correct way to wait.

Have you heard people say, “Don’t pray for patience God will teach you a lesson in being patient.” But  we confuse patience and passiveness; patience means waiting without complaint, your willingness to suppress your restlessness, or steady perseverance. It is not being passive or inactive.  

“Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.” James 5:7-8 MSG

I 'm sure you know someone that has been praying for years for something, they'll say "Well I'm just waitin' on the Lord..." 

You see it’s not all about waiting on God, we can’t just pray and then do nothing. The farmer is weeding and fertilizing while waiting.  If you are waiting for the right job, make sure you are filling out applications and in the mean time volunteer.  I have several things I have been praying about, yet I seem to focus on one and forget that I need to be cultivating the others. I imagine God looking down saying- 

“Yep, I hear you Sherry, I know you want that and I want it for you too. But what are you doing to make it happen? This is going to hurt a little but-No, you aren’t ready yet.” 

We are like God’s teenagers whining because He didn’t give us what we wanted.

“Oh snap! I didn’t realize I actually had to w-o-r-k for it!"

Or how about this one- "Well I've been pray'in for it, Bible says God'll give it to me if I just ask."

Matthew 7:7  does say, "Ask and you will receive". Sort of makes God sound like a vending machine doesn’t it? I’ll put my money in and press B-2, out comes the answer to my prayer.  But read the entire verse-

“Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

There are requirements to receive the answer to your prayer: search to find it; knock to get the door to open. Read verse 8

“For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:8

So can we get positive results just waiting on God? Without a doubt God loves us just like we love our teenagers, but no, God wants us to do our part too.

That means I have a lot of doors to start knocking on and a lot of searching to do. Oh, geeze I’m so far behind!

My Unglued Girls

It’s so great to have a group of friends to hold you accountable, pray for you, encourage you through life’s tough moments & celebrate the joys in life with you too. That’s my connect group.

I love these girls, I’m old enough to be their Mother, but that doesn’t seem to matter.  I am so proud of them; how they, (we) are making so much progress in dealing with our emotions through the book Unglued.  I love how openly we can share our personal “unglued moments” without fear of judgment.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” James 5:16

Why confess to others?

First I believe this verse is a commandment, maybe not the top 10 commandments, but a commandment nonetheless. 

And I think it means –do it, it’s good for you.

1.    It holds you accountable for your own progress.

Saying things out loud makes it real; it helps you to really think about the issue. Look at the situation from another angle and you could see the humor in your reaction to it.

2.    God loves it when we pray for one another; it is an action of love.

I give you a new commandment – to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34

3.    Praying and really believing in the prayer can help you overcome and be healed. The bible tells us where two or three are together in His name, we can count on God being there too.

Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

Matthew 18:18-20 MSG

Yes, I have a fun group of young ladies; they inspire me to be a better “me’. I hope they find their selves encouraged by me their best too and know we are all an imperfect work in progress. I love you “Unglued Girls”!!

Know Love to Show Love

I admit there are times I have opened my mouth and later thought “Oh God, what have I done, that wasn’t a very Christian thing to say.” or my reaction in a situation, wasn’t exactly what I would consider “Christian like”… oh the guilt! I sometimes would think “I just don’t feel like a Christian should or act like one."

So what is the problem?  Self control?  Emotional control? Loving people more? Probably all of these would help, but if you find yourself thinking “Maybe I don’t know God well enough.” as the reason for your behavior, you could be right. 

We love because he first loved us.1John 4:19

Do you know how much God loves you?

Have you ever been in that new love?  You were just happy, happy, happy!  No one could do anything to ruin your day!  You felt loved and so were willing to respond in a loving way.

Well God loves you if you are confused, mad, or hurt the same as when you are happy.

You see it is much easier to respond in a positive way and love people instead of reacting to them if you really feel the love of God; really know how much God cares about everything in your life. You can find new words to use if you choose to praise him in all situations.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:3

When you don’t want to go to church is when you need it the most.

Press into God even when it is not really what you feel like doing. Go to church, read your bible and trust God and he will keep you on track.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
 Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track. Proverbs 3:5-6

Empathy,Compassion and Humility

A lovely 20 something young woman once proudly told me that she has no problem telling people, “this is the way it is going to be.”- because she just doesn’t “feel” that deep about things so sometimes she insults people. 

Wow.  I suppose that will change with maturity. Age isn’t necessarily a sign of maturity, but you do have to learn empathy, humility and compassion to be a mature Christian. You really will never fully understand someone else’s pain, sadness or suffering until you can “feel deeply”. Without feeling deeply how can you know empathy or compassion? Without empathy and compassion how can you be humble?

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience… Colossians 3:12

Empathy comes from the Greek word empatheia and the en, “in” pathos as in feeling.  The World Dictionary defines empathy as, “The power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person's feelings”. Having this skill will certainly make it easier for you to have compassion. 

Other words for Humble are unpretentious or unassuming; I think these words are a good description of someone that I find humble.

Someone that shows humility will remove themselves from their own desires, egos and mind long enough to feel empathy & compassion for others.

My take on this is;  you can have empathy without compassion, you can have compassion without empathy, but you cannot have either without humility.  Jesus should be our example; with humility he showed empathy by healing and raising the dead, with humility he showed compassion by forgiving.

Compassion

“A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

³³ Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” ³⁵ Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!” Mark 7:32-35

Empathy

“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The Law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” John 8:4-5

 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:7-11

Humility, letting yourself get out of your own way so you can feel deep enough to care about others. I don’t know about you but I think that’s a really good way to live my life.