God's Temple

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16 NET)

This is one of the things about Christianity that separates itself from all the other religions in the world. Our God is a living god, He is not dead. All the other religions serve a dead god. What makes this even more extraordinary is that not only is our God a living god, but His Spirit is living in us! Yes, when we became Christians, the Spirit of the living God CHOSE to live inside of us! Think about it, the Creator of the universe and everything in it, the stars, the moons, our earth, the trees, the mountains, the lakes and river, and us humans...He is living inside of us! Wow! If we really grasped a hold of this truth, then we would really think about how we conduct ourselves. Would we be watching on TV or the movies the same shows we are watching now? Would we be speaking to each other the same way we are speaking now? Would we be behaving like we are behaving now? This is a challenge to each person, myself included. 

Take Away: The next time you look in the mirror, look at yourself knowing that the Spirit of God is living on the inside of you and ask yourself, "where (not if) do I need to make changes in my life that glorifies the Spirit of God inside of me?"

Remembering

Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. (1 Corinthians 1:26 NET)

In this passage, Paul was talking to the Corinthians about remembering how they became Christians. In that culture, position in culture was very important, wealth was important, and wisdom was important, that meant that your were somebody...not much different that today's standards. However, in God's kingdom, none of that matters. God doesn't look at the "Who is Who" book, and He doesn't look at the "Top 10 Wealthiest People in the World" and He doesn't look at who won the Pulitzer Prize or the Nobel Peace Prize. God's kingdom is based on love, and He chose to love and accept you, so much that He adopted you into His family. According to today's standard, I am not wealthy, I don't have a position of notariety, I am not the smartest person around, I not the best looking guy around (you don't see me on the front cover of Men's fitness nor on GQ), I am not a lot of things, but what I am stands head and shoulders above everything...I am a child of God, and He loves me and accepts me...defects and all. 

Take Away...Whenever you are feeling "not worthy" by today's standards, whenever you are feeling down because you may not be rich, or smart, or whatever, remember Who calls you His. Remember that the King of Kings chose you to be in His family, chose you to have a relationship with, and above all, remember that He loves you!

Closing Doors

When they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this, (Acts 16:7 NET)

There are many times that we try to go somewhere or do something, and each time we try, the proverbial door closes, an obstacle appears that prevents us doig or going. In Acts 16:6-7 Paul tries to go to two different places, but the Holy Spirit prevented him from going. It wasn't until Paul stopped "doing" and he rested that God showed him what to do. There have been many times that I wanted to do something, and each time I tried, something prevented me from doing it. At first I would get mad and frustrated because I wasn't getting my way. But after this kept happening, I knew something was up and I finally said, "Okay God, You are obviously keeping from from doing this, so I am going to stop and wait on You." I would say most of the time I would eventually find out why He was preventing me from doing what I wanted to do. Someimes we get in our mind that what we want to do has got to be the best thing ever, so why would God want to stop us. We don't see the big picture, but He does, and this is where trust comes in. Do you trust God or do you trust your circumstances? 

Take Away: When you are trying to do something or go somewhere, and every time you try, the door closes, take a step back and stop doing. Ask God, "okay, You are obviously keeping me from this, so I am going to trust that there is something I don't see that is not good for me, so what do You want me to do?"

When you are discouraged

Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset? Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention. (Psalms 42:5 NET)

It doesn't matter what kind of life you have lived up until now, each of us has had good times, and we have had bad times. We have had times where we were discouraged, and we have had times where we have been encouraged. It's those sad, discouraging times that we seem to lose our focus on God, and focus on our situation at hand. When we find ourselves going through those times, we need to remember that God is on our side, that He is there, wanting to help us, but if we are constantly looking at our circumstances and not God, then we have more or less tied His hands in helping us. The psalmist is telling us that when we are discouraged, sad, down and out, whatever you want to call it, it is not the end of the world. In fact he gives us instruction during those times. He is telling us to be patient, wait for God, and while we are waiting, start thanking and worshipping Him for what He is about to do. 

Fear of Man

“17) Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them. 

18) For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land— the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah. 

19) They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 1:17-19 NLT)

God has instructed us to be bold, to step out and be a witness for Him and to speak His words of healing and comfort to the hurting. But how many times have we come across someone that was hurting, but were afraid to tell them how God could help them because we were afraid of what they might say, afraid that they would speak badly about us to their friends and family...in essence afraid that they would reject us. Our culture today is set against God and His word, but so was the culture of the first century when the church was just beginning. But that didn't keep the Apostle Paul from speaking out. Yes, he went to jail, but he also wrote two thirds of the New Testament and many were saved because he spoke out. The boldness that Paul and many others that went before us had came from the God, He is the only One that can strengthen us to stand and speak to the hurting. Yes, there will be people that will not accept what we are telling them, but remember what God said to Jeremiah, "they will fight you, but they will fail!" 

Take Away: The next time you see someone hurting, think about what God told Jeremiah, think about how Paul spoke out and shared healing words to the hurting. Use that as encouragement to battle the fear of what others would say and do, and then speak God's truth to the hurting. Remember, those fears will come, but they will fail for God is with you!

The Real Enemy

For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, (2 Corinthians 10:4 AMP)

When was the last time you got upset with someone because of something they did? Is that person the one you should be getting upset with? According to scripture, the answer is no.

The Bible says that our enemy is not flesh and blood (other people), but it is the strongholds and mindsets we have in our minds. When you get upset with someone, what is really happening is that a "button" was pressed inside of you that caused you to react in a destructive way. For example, I came out of many years of low self esteem, so what I thought I needed was constant validation from people. As a musician I had to be perfect because if I wasn't then people would look down at me...those are the thoughts that would go through my mind. So when someone would say, "Kent, you made a couple of mistakes in that piece you just played," instead of taking that as encouragement to practice more, I would take it personally and think they not only didn't ike my playing, but thought I was a horrible person, and therefore I would get upset with that person, and I would verbally lash out at that person. What God is saying in 2 Corinthians is that my battle is not with the other person, but with my mindset. Instead of getting upset with the other person, I need to re-direct all that energy, face my "wrong thinking" and allow God to heal me in that area. 

Take Away: the next time you find yourself getting upset with someone because of something they said, or did, instead of getting angry with them, take a step back and ask God, "why am I reacting this way, what is it inside of me that needs to be healed?" He will show you truth, and it is the truth that will set you free.

What are you seeking?

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. (Matthew 6:33 AMP)

What are you seeking? Are you seeking a better job? Are you seeking a solution to our problem? Are you seeking better relationships? Are you seeking justice to a wrong done to you? If you are seeking any of these things, then you are seeking the wrong thing. What you should be seeking is His kingdom and His righteousness and you should be seeking this FIRST! So what is His kingdom? First Corinthians 4:20 says "For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. (NET)." This means we need to do things God's ways, with love, with joy, with peace, with patience, with kindness. When you do this, you will be seeking His kingdom, and when you do this, then everything else will be added. God already knows what you need (Matt 6:32), and He said He will supply all your needs (Phil 4:19). So why be seeking these "things" when He is already going to provide them if you seek Him? So instead of seeking a better job, seek the One who can get you the better job. Instead of seeking the solution to your problem, seek the One who can give you the solution to the problem. Instead of seeking better relationships, seek the One who will find relationships that you need. Instead of seeking justice to a wrong done, seek the One who will deal with each person in the way they need to be dealt with. You will know that you are seeking Him and not the solution to your problems because when you do, you will be able to walk with joy, peace, patience, kindness and love and not worry about the solution.