Usually...

We humans tend to have patterns of behavior. Habits are made easily, both good habits and bad habits.

We have lots of encouragement from our enemy to make the bad ones.

Making good habits is encouraged by the God Who loves us, but He doesn’t force us.

It has always been our choice, and the operating procedure of the enemy hasn’t changed. He tempts, lies, deceives, and encourages poor choices.



What do other people expect of you? What is your ‘usually’?

Last week I didn’t have my iPod playing the music I like. People asked about it. They said "it is ‘usually’ playing".

I wasn’t at church last week, this week people asked why. “You’re usually here…” they said.

My husband asked if I was taking a nap after we had lunch Sunday, “You usually do.” he said.

Yes, I exhibit many definite patterns of behavior. Certainly not all good. (…I’ll not reflect on those here…)

In studying the events of Paul’s travel, I was struck with his ‘usual’.

“….as he usually did…”(Acts 17:2 The Message)

“…Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.”(Acts 17:2-3 NIV)

Paul’s main objective was to inform every person he could influence about Who Jesus is, that Jesus was not dead but alive, and what that meant to them personally. He always had an audience at the local church house. He might not be welcomed for long, they might reject his message and throw him out, or throw him in jail, but he went.

And he told them truth.

That’s what he usually did.

What do I usually do? Do I look for opportunities to talk about who Jesus is?

Or is my ‘usually’ something far different?

Lord, help me to never miss an opportunity to relate to someone else the awesome truth of Who You are and what You have made possible for us.

Results...

Results…. I like to see them quick, or else I usually get discouraged. It is something I struggle with……walking in obedient faith.

Faith is not being sure of what we see. It is not hoping intensely for what we hope for…not wishful thinking, or even positive thinking. It is “being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see.”(Hebrews 11:1)





Tonight, since sleep alludes me, I open the scriptures and begun reading about Paul and his companions beginning a second trip to find people who might listen and respond to the message of Jesus the Christ.


“…..we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony. It is an important city in that part of Macedonia. We stayed there several days.”(Acts 16:12)

Several days. What can be accomplished in a mere ‘several days’?

I’ll tell you the most recent thing.

It started when this little band of mission minded, sold-out-to-Jesus, born-again sons of God traveled to Philippi and stayed a few days. Paul ministered there and some years later wrote a letter to those same people.

That letter is the book of Phillipians in our Bible.

And that letter has brought me more encouragement than I can recall….these being just a few.

“…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”(1:6)

“…this is my (Paul’s) prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best..”(1:9-10)

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus”(2:4,5)

“…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.(2:12,13)

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord..”(3:8)

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection..Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me….Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal ”(3:10,12,14)

“…. our citizenship is in heaven…He will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. ”(3:20,21)




“ Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer …. present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable

—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—
put it into practice.

And the God of peace will be with you. (4:4-9)

Thank you my brother Paul…for going to Phillipi and staying for ‘several days’….for getting acquainted with those people to whom you later wrote this letter. I can’t tell you have many times I’ve read it and been encouraged by your words…by knowing that even you struggled, by hearing how you dealt with difficulty, from your admonishments to rejoice, to pray, to think on excellent things…

You could never have known the results…you certainly didn’t see them.

Disagreements....

Why is it easier to disagree in anger? Why can we not just agree to disagree and move on?

It seems to me that anger is often a tool in the enemy’s hand….a genuine emotion that is twisted and used against us.

I wish I could say I never enter there. I wish every conflict I face could be dealt with without anger being a factor. But, I’m not there….

It is not true that conflict can always be avoided. It is not required of us to be the doormat for someone who disagrees with us, but conflict can be worked out, and God can and will continue to work out His will.


“ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company..”(Acts 15:37-39)

There is a lot of applicable lessons in this situation recorded in scripture. Disagreements happen even in the most ‘spiritual’ of us. We are all in an imperfect state, there was only One Who had no faultiness in His Personality.

We may disagree and disagree passionately. But we must not disagree on the purpose before us. To re-present Jesus Christ to anyone we can influence.

You may do that differently than I do.

And God is ok with that…It’s His work anyway, remember?

Choosing...

Choosing…

There is an Indiana Jones movie line that is repeated often around our house. “He chose poorly…” The greedy villain was choosing which vessel might be the 'holy grail' and looked over the wooden cup, choosing instead a very ornate gold one.

He chose poorly.

I thought about that while studying the characters of the “Hall of Faith” of Hebrews 11. Moses chose well.


“ By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. He chose a hard life with God's people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin…”(Hebrews 11:24-25 The Message)

It sure didn’t look like a good choice. I’m quite sure it made absolutely no sense to the woman who had taken him from the river to the king’s palace and raised him as a prince of Egypt. I bet she had a fit…and I bet the royal family was quite insulted.

But Moses chose to seek God.

Lord, help me not to choose poorly. Help me to see the opportunities to sin for what they are, help me to see past the pleasure of that moment, and choose to seek You with an undivided heart.

I’m sure Moses has no regrets about his choices. I want to have no regrets about mine….

Unclear...

Unclear…

I don’t like the unclear. I like it plain as day. I don’t like surprises, I like knowing what is ahead, what to expect…and I like understanding the who, what, when, where, and why of it.

I’ve studied the eleventh chapter of Hebrews recently, and again looked at the portraits hanging in the ‘hall of faith’ we are shown there.

“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”(Hebrews 11:17-19)

There is a song I like to sing that calls on this event. The lyrics are ‘There he stood upon that hill, Abraham with knife in hand, was poised to kill….but God, in all Your sovereignty, had bigger plans, and just in time, You brought a lamb. Cause You were there, You were there, in the midst of the unclear. You were there, you were there….always. You were there when obedience seemed to not make sense. You were there. You were always there.”

I find it incredible that Abraham intended to obey at such great length. Killing a son who was promised, the son who would supposedly be the beginning of a great lineage..multitudes of heirs to be born in the future. It just didn’t make sense.

Abraham figured God would just over-rule a dead Isaac, and make him alive again. God could certainly do that…HAS done that.

The lyrics of that song haunt me and accuse me. In the midst of the unclear, am I obedient? When obedience doesn’t make sense, do I obey anyway?

Will my picture ever hang in a hall of faith?

I hope I don’t have to be tested to find out……

Fake...

Fake…

I have some things that are not ‘real’. Lots of costume jewelry, some imitation furs, lots of cut glass.

….fake diamonds, fake mink, fake crystal.

It doesn’t matter to me that they are imitation. They are just as pretty.

I am pickier about some things. I don’t like fake leather. If you know me very well, you know I’m an original bag-lady. I like handbags, and I want ‘real’. Don’t give me some fake leather, I know the difference.

I heard a challenge via a radio message in my vehicle today that caused me to pause and consider my taste in authenticity.

I had just been shopping for a handbag I thought I wanted…til I felt of it and found it to be made of something called pvc. (..I think that must be plastic…)

I didn’t buy what I thought I wanted because it wasn’t ‘real’

I like leather. Real leather. Soft leather. Certainly not plastic.

The radio speaker challenged me about the authenticity of something else….my professed faith.

He said it is easy to fake religious convictions. Just learn the language, wear the clothes, and go to the right places. You’ll blend right in.

I want authentic leather in my handbags.

And I want to be authentic in the professions I make.

Lord, help me walk the talk….cause if you don’t, I’m sure to be faking it.

Help me, Father, to “do my best, fill my mind and help me to meditate on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Help me put into practice what I have learned..” (Phillipians 4:8- The Message)

Exercise...

Exercise….

This time of year we hear a lot about exercise. There are dozens of infomercials about exercise equipment that will supposedly make exercise easier or more effective.

There are commercials for pills to swallow or concoctions to drink….

But the bottom line is, exercise is work. It takes on purpose, disciplined activity. Strenuous activity. No pain, no gain. (….or should I say loss?)

In my morning quiet time reading from The Message I came across this passage….


“Now pass on this counsel to the Christians there, and you'll be a good servant of Jesus.
Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God--no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.” (1 Timothy 4:6-8)

Like staying clear of those machines that make promises as big as the price tags on them, I am instructed to be wise about my spirituality.

I can’t buy something and sit it in a room of my house and my body automatically be in better physical shape.

Neither can I buy a Bible, or a case of them….and automatically be in better spiritual condition.

Going to a church building won’t do it.

Only exercising the muscles of my heart and mind with the Word of God will make my spiritual condition more vibrant and healthy.

Exercise daily. In His Word.

And don’t wait till January 1st. Begin right now. This minute.

Don’t make a goal that is unattainable. Don’t set yourself up to fail.

One verse that conveys a message of truth from Him is better than reading several chapters.

Read, ask Him to speak to you thru the printed page.

And expect to hear Him….He is faithful.