Hardened is a word that has many meanings depending on its use. If you’re involved in the construction or engineering field, hardened can refer to metals that have been made harder.
In the medical field, hardened can mean someone who, through experience, is no longer sensitive to the unpleasantness of healthcare. In each of those, being hardened is a good thing. However, there are many aspects of our life where being hardened isn’t a good thing.
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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Living
Tagged 2 Chronicles, Christian living, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, James, Job, Matthew, Psalm, Romans, Teachings of Paul
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Time is a funny thing. We spend so much of it making plans for the future and thinking about the things we wish we had done differently. We often forget that time squandered can’t ever be regained. Once it is gone, whether for good or bad, it is gone. As I share with you today, it is obvious that for much of 2018, I’ve wasted time. As a result, there are many things I haven’t kept up with in my life. I have a history class I want to revise. I’ve not been keeping up with my exercise and diet the way that I should. And I’ve not been as faithful in my personal Bible study as I should have been.
We all have things which takes up more of our time than they probably should. For me, it is easy to become focused health issues, work, family commitments, and even things I regret in my past. Each one of these things is enough to derail my best of intentions each day. A while back ago, when I was teaching a pre-teen Sunday school class, we discussed the things which can rob us of time. For a few, it was Facebook and other social media platforms. For others, it was video games and on-line gaming.No one is exempt for the very real spiritual battle of how we manage our life.
A study of David’s life shows the power of emotions in our life. Whether it is our service to the Lord or our relationships with other believers, our emotions impact us. At times, when David was happy and full of life, his life reflected a wish to do all he could for the Lord. His faith wasn’t a chore or something he dreaded, but a part of himself he freely gave to God. But then there were the other times. And we’ve all experienced them. Our faith is challenged or we have failed Him. Guilt and depression begin to pull at our very soul. David captured this feeling when he wrote, How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? (Psalm 13:2).
But David doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t allow his emotional state of being interfere with his faith in the Lord. He writes, But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me (Psalm 13:5-6). This is often easier said than done especially if you struggle with depression. I often have to remind myself of the sovereignty of the Lord in every situation I face. And I understand it is difficult to praise and give thanks to the Lord when everything around you seems to be crashing down. It comes down to this: we either believe God will or we believe God can’t.
Our emotions have an impact on our attitude. Whether it is worshiping the Lord or even preparing dinner for the family, our attitude plays an important role. When we feel loved and valued by our family we have a tendency to focus on others more. For me, that involves cooking their favorite meals and helping with the household chores. Attitude is a mental position with regard to a fact or state; a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state.1
When we feel angry, bitter, or even depressed, our attitude will shift. Things that need to be done will often find a back seat as we seek emotional comfort. For me, that could be binge watching a television show on Netflix, eating junk food, or even binge-playing my favorite PC-based game. In a book written by Dr. Stephen Thurston Jr., Attitude – The Paint Brush of the Mind, the connection between our attitudes and how we approach the Lord and others around us is discussed. But as I read the book I began to understand my attitude was also affecting how I used my time.
Since January of this year, there has been a struggle each day to stay focused on what needed to be done. At the heart of the struggle was my attitude. Unlike David who turned his entire heart over to the Lord, I allowed myself to become consumed by what I was feeling. Soon, things I normally did, such as daily Bible study and my daily prayer time began to suffer. My attitude, which was one of defeat and uselessness, was impacting every thing I did every day. Not only did it strain my relationship with the Lord, but it also affected relationships within my family, church, and even at work.
It also affected the ministry which the Lord called me into service. As you may have noticed, it has been a while since my last entry. The gifts and talents the Lord gave me went unused. Small things I do for the local church I attend, such as the monthly newsletter, the prayer list, and even preparation of the weekly Bible lesson I teach on Thursday were no longer fun. Therefore, they began to become things I did which were expected and not things I enjoyed doing. My attitude had caused me to lose my focus. I began focusing on other things trying to fill the void now created by my attitude. My attitude allowed me to waste time and to make excuses for it.
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Posted in My Walk, Our relationship with God
Tagged 1 Peter, 2 Corinthians, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Luke, Psalms, Romans
Pruning roses. For anyone who hasn’t done this, it can be a challenge. When I saw this image on one of the sites I use for stock images, I actually laughed. Only the brave or foolish will prune roses without gloves! But of all the free images on the site, it was the only picture which showed the base of the rose bush.
Last night, our church had the latest monthly dinner using a program offered through the Salvation Army called the Embrace Dinner. The materials are geared towards women’s meetings but are flexible. Our congregation uses it as a theme for a monthly dinner to encourage discussion. Last night’s theme was spiritual challenges. And believe me, this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I listened as others shared their spiritual challenges and the Lord reminded me it was time to prune my roses.
I live in an apartment and do not have the ability to have a rose garden. Instead, I have a rose bush in a large flower pot outside and a miniature rose on the kitchen window sill. Both roses need pruning to keep them healthy and growing. When I prune the rose bushes, I look for the dead branches. I look for the branches were leaves look unhealthy, and I also look for the long branches that are growing in a direction I don’t want them to grow. All three of those types of branches are removed.
As anyone who loves roses knows, pruning doesn’t hurt the roses when it is done correctly. Pruning roses encourages new growth. Removing the dead branches allows more room for healthy growth. Cutting away the sick branches allows the rose to redirect those nutrients needed for the healthier branches and new growth. Removing the runners allows the gardener the ability to shape the rose bush. And as I was thinking about rose bush care, it hit me: this is how the Lord works in our lives.
What causes dead branches? Within a rose bush, a number of things such as disease, bugs, and weak or broken spots. If left untreated, these imperfections can impact the health of the rest of the rose bush. As I sat in the dinner last night, listening to everyone share their spiritual challenges, I began to see things a bit more clearly. Just as there are dead branches that jeopardize the health and growth of rose bushes, there are branches that hinder Christian growth. And each of those branches are sins.
The apostle Paul spent a lot of his time warning early Christians about sin. In Romans, he writes this strong warning, For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). We all apply this verse to the spiritual death those who have rejected Christ will experience. But for Christians, sin can bring about physical death. Yes, we may be forgiven for sinning as a Christian. But that forgiveness does not stop the consequences of our sin.
There’s a trend among some Christians to think that a little sin in life here is to be expected. But again, Paul warns us of this kind of thinking. In his first letter to the church in Corinth, he is addressing an area of concern. He has heard rumors of how the church is defending the sin of one of its members. Paul rebukes the members of the church. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 1 Corinthians 5:6. Just as a dead branch in a rose bush can impede its growth, tolerating sin in our lives has the same spiritual effects – we cannot grow in our faith. We’ve grown deaf to the pleadings of the Holy Spirit for us to avoid this sin.
Just as the dead branches are cut out and removed from a rose bush, the Lord leads us to see these sins within our own life. He understands we are imperfect beings, but He still calls us to a life of holiness. Within the Old Testament, there ae several places where this is taught: Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God (Leviticus 20:7). Yes, we are forgiven for our sins when we repent of them, but it is our willingness to yield to sin which cannot be overlooked. This willingness to sin must be pruned out of us. And this only happens as we seek closeness and fellowship with the Lord and other Christians.
No gardener expects a rose bush to remove its own dead branches. Those dead branches will stay attached to the bush and will block new growth from happening. When we begin to allow the Holy Spirit to remove the temptations to sin, we begin to grow, just as a rose bush will send out new growth. David wrote, Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously (Psalms 119:29). David is asking the Lord to prune him, to remove the sin of lying from him. It is such a yielding to the will of the Lord which allows Him to remove our dead branches.
Continued on next page.
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Posted in Christian Living, Difficulties and Trials, My Walk
Tagged 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Ecclesiastes, Ephesians, Hebrews, Leviticus, Matthew, Philippians, Proverbs, Psalms, Romans
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