Attitudes That Must Go...

ATTITUDES THAT MUST GO…Just because we feel something inside of us, doesn’t mean it is in our best interest to let it stay. And yet most people don’t question much whether or not the thoughts they are holding should be filtered. Here’s a verse that teaches us to kick some things out…
“Drive out the scoffer and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.” ~Proverbs 22:10
Scoffing brings a deep break-down in all human relationships. Scoffing is the exact opposite of respect. It’s designed to not only reveal a disagreement we have with another person, but it devalues the other person in the process. It’s a horrendous and caustic attitude to hold on to, and it becomes very costly. In fact it tends to get sequentially worse with time. It starts by breathing strife, then it degenerates to quarreling and finally it becomes comfortable with out and out abuse. Notice those words in the above verse. Some personalities are great scoffers. They can make anyone feel ‘small’ just by the way they respond. But no one will stand being devalued forever with reacting. If a scoffing attitude is allowed to stay, it will be very costly. It stays at the cost of peace. Scoffing…it’s one of the ATTITUDES THAT MUST GO! ~verlon

Better Than Rules...

BETTER THAN RULES…There is a need in the human mind to be able to anticipate what is coming. If we aren’t able to know what is around the corner, our sheep-like natures come out and we get nervous. For this reason, many people try to anticipate their spiritual futures by instilling controls and rules. And they apply them broadly across everyone else too. This was the dark side of the Holiness movement. I still hear left-over legalism in the guilt words of people. Here is the better understanding…
“For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” ~II Cor. 3:6
I don’t want to be too quick to say there aren’t some boundaries to be patrolled in our spiritual development. But I do want to strongly suggest that our spiritual life isn’t a system of rules and regs. There is nothing but guilt ahead for the person who tries to craft a one-size-fits-all spiritual system. Simply put, there is death in that approach. The new covenant was based on a different kind of reformation dynamic, in that the weeding out of self and replacing it with God-like-ness now occurs by simply following the Spirit of Christ that resides inside us. Day in and day out…that’s how the new covenant works. We are no longer staring at the borders and feeling the sting of our immediate failures, instead we are now keeping our eyes on the movement of Christ’s Spirit, and focusing on the courage He breathes into us to strive for the higher road. This way of living is simply BETTER THAN RULES. ~verlon

Invisible...

INVISIBLE…Isn’t it interesting how things can be almost invisible to us, until something happens that focuses our attention, then suddenly they are everywhere. For instance, I just became a grandpa, as I’m sure I’ve told you a dozen times already. Its amazing how many newborn babies I see around town now. They’ve always been there, but until our family had a new one of our own, I wasn’t paying attention. Here’s an interesting verse…
“Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him.” ~Psalm 41:1
There is probably no group on the planet as invisible as the poor and homeless in our population. Fact is, it just feels frustrating to think much about them. What can we do to fix their lives? We don’t like to feel helpless, or guilty for not being able to do anything for them. So we often go into operation avoidance and walk around them while looking the other way, if possible. But the scriptures instructs us to stop and actually ‘consider’ them. And if that isn’t enough, it attaches a promise of a blessing that will come to anyone who is willing to ‘walk a mile in their shoes’. Why is that so important to the Lord that we do this? The poor and the homeless are God’s sons and daughters too, and He doesn’t want any of His children INVISIBLE! ~verlon

ABILITY TO BREATHE COMFORT…There is a common concern among Christians…that they won’t be able to do the works of Christ effectively. This notion is a logical one. All we need to do is look at our weaknesses, and we can see we are not up to the challenge of ‘being Christ’ to others. But our strength to obey such a challenge does not come from our own energy, talents or personality.
“God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any afflictions, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ~II Cor. 1:3-4
This verse reveals the great secret of functional Christianity. Our ability to express Christ is poured into us and through us by God Himself. One of the things Jesus did over and over again during His brief time on earth was breathe comfort to others. So how do we take on that functional expression of Christ? We let Him breathe comfort to us in our times of affliction, then we turn to a brother in need and let the comfort we just experienced flow freely to them. It’s actually not our job to try to be like Christ, as much as just let Christ being Himself from within us! This is a critical point of understanding. When we ‘get it’, we will be able to express Christ quite easily. That’s what allows our Christianity to become functional…it’s how we master the ABILITY TO BREATHE COMFORT! ~verlon