You Won't Find The Answer There

Do you ever start to wonder why, wish, become fearful, feel guilty, worry, struggle with sin, become depressed, feel sick, have dreams broken, feel lonely, and have regrets? Pray. The world will offer other alternatives, but you won't find what you are looking for.

The answer for all our needs is to look to the Lord and His strength, seeking His face always.

"Look to the Lord

and His strength;

seek His face always.

1 Chronicles 16:11 (NIV)

As we seek God's face in prayer, we will find the answer, the peace, the freedom, the love, the care, the strength, the joy, the hope, and the miracle that we long for.

My heart says of you,

'Seek His face!'

Your face,

Lord,

I will seek."

Psalm 27:8 (NIV)

Making The Other Person's Speck Look Like A Log

It is common to see a person who has done wrong to not face responsibility for his/her sinful conduct by placing the blame on someone else. Many times, such a person will tell exaggerated truths and ugly lies about this other person to divert the finger of judgment. You see this often in a spouse wanting the approval of others to divorce, in separated parents fighting for custody or support of their children, in those who want to justify their sins and gain sympathy, and in criminals wanting to be free from the punishment of the law.

The Bible says that we are each responsible for our own conduct.

"For we are each responsible

for our own conduct."

Galatians 6:5 (NLT)

If someone doesn't take responsibility for his/her own actions, then he/she is a hypocrite who tries to make the speck in someone else's eye look like a log so that the log in his/her own eye looks only like a speck.

"Hypocrite!

First get rid of the log

in your own eye;

then you will see well enough

to deal with the speck

in your friend's eyes."

Matthew 7:5 (NLT)

We Can Be Sure Of This

The Lord God sees all and hears all. He also knows our thoughts and the contents of our hearts. And there are seven things which He hates, seven things which are an abomination to Him: pride, lies, murderers, manipulators, evildoers, false witnesses, and troublemakers.

"There are six things which the Lord hates,

Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

Haughty eyes, . . .

. . . a lying tongue,

And hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that devises wicked plans,

Feet that run rapidly to evil,

A false witness who utters lies,

And one who spreads strife among brothers.

Proverbs 6:16-19 (NASB)

We can be certain that even if our world's justice does not prevail, God's justice will.

"Be sure of this:

The wicked will not go unpunished."

Proverbs 11:21a (NIV)

A Time To Weep And A Time To Sing

My remaining budgie grieved for days after the loss of her companion. She wouldn't sing, squawk, or make any noise at all. I felt bad seeing her sit on the large swing that the two of them would often share as they gazed out at the peculiarity of humans in our household. Then I thought how very natural it is for animals and humans to grieve after losing a loved one. It is how God made us and it is how God Himself is. He grieves every time He looses a precious soul to the evil one, and rejoices every time a soul comes to Him.

In the Bible, when Moses, the great leader of God's people died, the Israelites weeped for thirty days. However, after the thirty days, the weeping and mourning ceased.

"So the sons of Israel wept for Moses

in the plains of Moab thirty days;

then the days of weeping and mourning

for Moses came to an end."

Deuteronomy 34:8 (NAS)

So no matter how great our loses are, we must not give ourselves up to sorrow forever. There is a necessary time to weep and mourn, but after that there comes a necessary time to go on with life with laughter and dancing.

"A time to weep

and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn

and a time to dance."

Ecclesiastes 3:4 (NAS)

It is wondrous how God's uses even the tiniest creatures to teach us so much. I am pleased to say my budgie is now happy again, singing, squawking, and peering perplexingly at the craziness of humans in  my household.

So Don't Be Afraid

Tuesday last week, one of our budgies died suddenly at the unripe young age of one and a half years.

His lifeless body was still warm and soft under my touch as I pulled it from his cage. Recalling a verse in Matthew, I realized, as I held this little sweet bird in my hands, that God knows.

"What is the price of two sparrows —

one copper coin?

But not a single sparrow

can fall to the ground

without your Father knowing it."

Matthew 10:29 (NLT)

And if God cares about this one bird who fell to the bottom of his cage, how much more He must care about each one of us.

"So don't be afraid;

you are more valuable to God

than a whole flock of sparrows."

Matthew 10:31 (NLT)

God's Word Must Be Kept Holy And Set Apart

"The words of the Lord

are pure words;

As silver tried

in a furnace on the earth,

refined seven times."

Psalm 12:6 (NASB)

The Word of God is pure. It is perfect. It represents God and all He is. The Word of God is holy and sacred.

But is our modern Christian culture defiling His Word? People rarely take their physical Bibles to church anymore. Instead, they leave them at home to collect dust, sometimes in a forgotten location, sometimes displayed righteously on the coffee table for all to see. They seldom pick them up and open them. They go to church, take their cell phones, and leave their Bibles behind.

It is much easier, more convenient, and demonstrates a greater degree of technological sophistication to read God's Word from our laptops, tablets, cell phones, and projector screens. However, we need to decide if we are dishonouring the purity of God's Word for the sake of convenience and display. The Internet is used for so much evil. It tempts many Christians to stray from God's commands. Is it right to combine God's Word with something so impure?

As God-honouring Christians, we need to be very careful that His Word is always kept holy and set apart from worldly things.

Keep Watching And Praying: The Spirit Is Willing, But The Flesh Is Weak

Not only are we to keep praying that we will not enter into temptation, but we are also to keep watching. Why? Because even though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.

"Keep watching and praying

that you may not enter into temptation;

the spirit is willing,

but the flesh is weak."

Matthew 26:41 (NASB)

We must never let down our guard. Our eyes must always be alert to the possible snares and traps of the devil so that we will not hesitate to turn around and walk away. It is better to loose popularity, wealth, and even friends than to loose our salvation.