Doing is believing.

 Psalm 8 NIV84

For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Matthew 21:4-16 NKJV

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” 

And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants 

You have perfected praise’?”

Jesus quoted this Scripture to the Pharisees to claim to them that the Scriptures were being fulfilled before their eyes.  He did not quote the latter half of the verse referring to silencing His enemies (the Pharisees) but because they were experts on the Scripture they would have known what the latter half of the verse said.  Jesus was witnessing to them that he is the Messiah and that they are God's enemies.  But, the Pharisees didn't believe the miracles Jesus' performed were from God, so how could they believe He was from God?  Jesus said that anyone who obeys His words will know whether He comes from God or not.  How about you?  Do you want to know whether Jesus comes from God?

When I buy something and it doesn't work I need to check to see if I followed the directions.  Our lives are like that.  God's Word the Bible gives me the directions I need to know so that I can know God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.  Just reading the Bible however, without actually doing what it says to do, just puffs me up with pride, (the opposite of love).

But, reading and doing God's Word develops love in my heart.  Love for God.  And love for people.  When I help someone, like giving them a warm coat in the winter when they have none, or giving them food and schooling each day when they would otherwise go without... I am changed.  God changes me.  I feel a joy I've never known before.  The money I've spent on someone who needs it isn't a loss or expense. It's investing in them, investing in me, a gift given gratefully to God and investing in the joy we will all have in heaven.

So if you want to know Jesus, if you want to know if the Bible is true, then do what it says.  And Jesus will reveal Himself to you.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

   

Psalm 23  King James Version

   1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

   2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 

  3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
  4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
  5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
   6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

THE LORD is my abba, Father, my dada, my daddy.  I can depend on Him.  I depend on Him like a child depends on his earthly father.  I can put all things in His hands.  

He likes me.  

Not just anyone is my shepherd, The LORD is my Shepherd.  He knows everything.  He has the character to always do what is right and best for me regardless of what it costs Him.  He is in charge, He is the one I belong to.  I want to follow Him and suffer for Him if I must because I know that in the end it will be best for others and for me and I will develop a fellowship with Jesus that I can't develop any other way. Jesus will direct my steps... by obeying Him I will not be in want.

The Lord is my shepherd.  He will take care of me.  He will take care of my necessities.  He will guide me and he knows the way.  He is the Good Shepherd, He suffers condemnation so that His sheep will not have to suffer condemnation.

I will never lack any good thing.  I am like a tree planted by streams of water, whose leaf does not wither in drought.  God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, promise to give me everything I need.  I do not need to fear lacking anything at any time.  If I put God first, if I obey Him, all things I need will be given to me as well.  My primary source of worry - lack - has been taken care of by Jesus.

The Father is my Shepherd.  Shepherds love their sheep, at least this one does.  He loves and cares for me even when I am unaware of His work on my behalf.  He loves me when I am ungrateful, and when I thank Him.  Father, Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me when I did not deserve it.  Help me to love like You.  For the need of the other person.  Not just when I have loving feelings.

Lord, I love some people but I don't like them.  How do you do it?  Do you love in the hope of someday the other person loving You back?  Is that what it means to dig around the plant and give it fertilizer and if it still doesn't produce fruit then you cut it down?  Or do you have warm feelings toward those who seemingly reject Your love?

How can I be a better father to my sons?  What does it mean to be a better husband?  I want to be a husband like the husband in Alex Kendrick's "Fireproof."  I want to pursue my wife with my whole heart.  I want to take the "Love Dare".  I want to be a father like Alex Kendrick portrayed in "Courageous" - not a "good-enough" father but wholeheartedly devoted to You and and my wife and my children  Oh Lord, light a fire in me that burns in devotion for You, my wife and my children.  Lord, I want to take this "Resolution" from the movie "Courageous" seriously.  You are my Rock, I have none other but You.  Fill me anew with your Spirit, make me fully alive.  Would You be the focus of all my thoughts, all my dreams and all my aspirations.  Lord, I want to Love You, but I don't know how.  I want my heart and thoughts to be with You.  I want to have special conversations with You.  Would You speak with me the way You do with Dr. Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries?

Lord, I am proud.  Help me to humble myself before You.

Lord, I want to be willing to do anything for You.

Leading by following? through Prayer?

1 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. …   3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.  4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD … [Jehoshaphat prayed,] 12 “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” 13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD. 14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel … in the midst of the assembly.  15And he said, … “Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.  16 Tomorrow go down against them. …17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, 19 Then the Levites … stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high. ... Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”  21… He appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.” 22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.  23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. ... No one had escaped.  2 Chronicles 20:1 ... 24 (NKJV) 

But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.  Nehemiah 4:9, (NIV)

Jehoshaphat and Nehemiah depended upon on God through prayer to lead God's people through possible life threatening disaster. Jehoshaphat obeyed God by not fighting but setting the singers ahead of the army praising God.  Nehemiah did what God said by continuing God's work but posting a guard and being ready to fight.  It is important to remember that both of these leaders talked to and listened to God first before they led.  We lead by listening to and following God.  We listen by reading and meditating on Scripture and investing unhurried time in prayer. God is the leader, we are the followers.  Remember, you can't take anyone else any farther than you have allowed God to take you.

God's subtle tones of the sky by Jeremy McNaughton

How is it that giving money to those who need it makes me the happiest?

Where to run when there's a storm by my son Jeremy McNaughton

In 2009 the internet took my job away at the local newspaper where I worked.  God used this time to show me that my god was money, not Him.  I trusted money.  I could tell my money what I wanted it to do for me.  But I was not aware that money was my master.  I made my decisions based on money, not God's will.  I determined my limits by how much money I had, not by what God promised to supply.  But when neither my wife or I had a job, we were forced to depend on God.

And eventually, I felt free.

I trusted the One who provided for me because He loves me.  Money never made me feel loved.  When I trusted God to provide for my needs I felt like I had enough and if I didn't have enough I asked Him for what I needed and He always provided.  With money as my god I always wanted more and never felt I had enough.

What got us through the time without jobs, what gave us confidence that we could depend on God to supply our needs, was we were obeying God and depending on His promises.  

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (food, clothing and shelter) will be added unto you. - Jesus, Matthew 6:33

Jesus is the King of the kingdom.  We get our righteousness from Him as our Savior.  If we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior He says in the Bible that He will provide for our needs.  We believed that and Jesus back up His promise and kept us supplied with the money we needed.  We gave God back 10% of everything we earned at that time and we continued to support the people and programs we donated to before.

But beware!  If you give to get you will never be satisfied, it's just another form of greed.  But if you give money because you love the other person, you will be filled with joy and God will refill your empty hand so that you can give again.  That is fun!

And consider the additional blessings of considering the poor.

Blessed is he who considers the poor;

The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,

The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

And he will be blessed on the earth;

You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;

You will sustain him on his sickbed.  Psalms 41:1 - 3 (NKJV)

Will God really do all this?  Why don't you try Him and find out?

Did Jesus love His enemies?

In Jesus' day the Pharisees were politically powerful religious leaders.  Jesus called them hypocrites.  I don't think they liked that.  I used to think that the Pharisees were the Bad Guys, and that I was like Jesus, one of the Good Guys.  I also thought Jesus and I were against the Bad Guys.  (Later I learned that I was one of the Bad Guys, I was just like the Pharisees but didn't know it).  And I didn't know that Jesus is against "sin", not people.

Jesus cared about the Pharisees and told them He was the Christ, the Promised One they were waiting for.  He told them this while He hung from the cross, dying (and the Pharisees were mocking Him).  Jesus quoted the first line of Psalm 22, a Scripture that the Pharisees, who prided themselves on knowing the Scripture, would be familiar with. 

Matthew wrote:

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lamasabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46, NKJV).

Psalm 22, that Jesus was quoting, starts with:

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?  Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? (Psalm 22:1, NKJV).

Hundreds of years before it happened, Psalm 22 also described exactly what the Pharisees would do to Jesus and say about Him.  King David wrote:

They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22:18 NKJV).

But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.  All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, "He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!" (Psalm 22:6-8 NKJV)

Then Luke recorded what the Pharisees and Roman guards did to Jesus hundreds of years after Psalm 22 predicted their actions:

And they divided His garments and cast lots.  And the people stood looking on.  But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God." (Luke 23:32-35, NKJV)

Jesus cared enough about the people who were torturing Him and killing Him to reach out to them in a way they would understand.  He let them know "their Scripture" was being fulfilled before their very eyes.  He did this even though He knew that not many Pharisees would believe Him.

This was predicted in Habakkuk 1:5, NKJV:

"Look among the nations and watch - Be utterly astounded!  For I will work a work in your days, Which you would not believe, though it were told you."

And in Acts 13:41, NKJV it was reiterated:

"Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish!  For I work a work in your days,  A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you."

(The Bible records that at least one Pharisee, Nicodemus, believed Jesus.  Nicodemus helped take Jesus down from the cross and bury Him after He died).

Jesus gave all that He is and proved that He loves everyone.  And that includes you.  The only question that remains is... what are you going to do with His love and forgiveness for you?

You can actively reject Him.  In which case you will die in your sins.  And then you will face Jesus, whose love and forgiveness you rejected, and He will, with His nail scarred hand, point you to the only place left for you... the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his demons.

You could ignore Him, make no decision for Him, and live your life independent of Him.  The problem with that plan is that "no answer" is the "answer no".  This would be passively rejecting Him.

You could claim you didn't know what to do.  But you've read too much to claim that.

Or, you could accept His love and forgiveness, give Him rightful control of your life every day and start a relationship and an adventure with the One Who loves you unconditionally and completely.  There will be opposition from satan and other people, to be sure.  But, Jesus has overcome the world, and you and the family of believers (the Church) will face every obstacle with Jesus by our side, and Jesus will be fighting for us.

God gives each of us the choice - to reject, ignore or accept - His free offer of eternal life with Him.  What will you choose?

Are the bad guys winning?

13 “You have said harsh things against me,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’
14 “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?
15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.’”
16 Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.
17 “They will be mine, ” says the LORD Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.  

18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. (Malachi 3:13-18 NIV84)

Do you ever feel like the bad guys are winning?  That you try to do what God says to do and things only get harder while the people that curse God seem to have all the money, all the luck, all the fun?  Take heart!  The story of history has not yet been completed.

God says that "you will again see the distinction... between those who serve God and those who do not."  God says in this passage that the righteous will be spared and will be his treasured possession.

Elsewhere in the Bible God says that you will not envy the wicked when you consider their end.  They will be cast away from God's presence forever, while those that love and serve God will enjoy His love forever.

So why does God allow the wicked to seemingly thrive?  God loves sinners.  Which is good news because I and you and everyone has sinned.  He wants everyone to repent and turn to His love.  And it is His kindness that leads us to repentance.  That's why He is kind to the ungodly.  But He will not wait forever.  He said, Today is the day of salvation. Today, if you hear His voice do not harden your heart.  Now is the accepted time.  So if you don't yet know Jesus, He is calling you right now.  Repent and invite Him into your heart today.  Tomorrow is uncertain, you really only have right now to decide, so choose the One who loves you and forgives you when you turn away from sin.

And if you love and follow Jesus do not be discouraged by the trials you have.  Jesus is changing us into His likeness.  God is treating us like sons and daughters when He disciplines us in love even though at the time it is painful.  If we persevere God will bless us with a heart that loves like Jesus loves.  And we will be loved by Him and love Him and love others and be loved by them... forever.

What's your goal?

In managing ourselves traditional goal setting and accountability goes something like what follows:

• If you want to be more effective take some time and think of what you want.  

• If you want to be even more effective make sure what you want is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). 

• If you want to be still more effective write down your SMART goal. 

• If you want the greatest chance of success, give a copy of your SMART goal to a trusted friend and give them permission to hold you accountable for doing what you said you want to do. Give them permission to ask you the tough questions necessary to get at the real reason for your success or failure at working toward your goal.

This is a great plan but how could it be better?  Steven Covey asks in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: What if the ladder you are climbing is against the wrong wall?  Applied to this essay: Why wouldn't I want what I want?

If we lead ourselves, we are limited by our own finite intelligence, knowledge, wisdom,experiences and resources.  We can learn from others, and that would multiply what we have available to work with, but in the end even the largest group of people is finite.  What we need is someone to lead us who knows the way.  Someone who has experienced all the joys and all the trouble that we have and yet in all ways has been successful.  We need someone who knows the end from the beginning, who knows the grand scheme of history and the future and knows our personal, meaningful purpose in it.

That someone, I suggest, is Jesus.  He knows your pain.  He has in all ways been tempted as we are but is without sin.  He knows everything.  He is the Author of history; past present and future.   And He designed you and your meaningful, personal role to play in His story.  And He loves you enough to have died to purchase forgiveness for your sins.  He will tell you the best "wall" to lean against and the best "ladder" to climb.  So ask Him.  He said, you will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart.  So seek Him today, He is waiting for you.

Shouldn’t there be more to this Christian life? Sometimes I don’t even feel like I’m God’s child!

 The Bible says we are saved by faith and faith alone.  But, it has been said, it is a faith that does not come alone.  Faith is trust.  If someone tells me to do something, and I trust them, I do it.  If I don’t do it, then why didn’t I do it?  I suggest it is because I didn’t trust them.  If I don’t trust them I don’t have faith in them.  So faith or trust implies obedience and obedience implies faith or trust.  If I have one I have the other.  If I don’t have one I don’t have the other.  If I say I have faith (which can’t be seen), and I don’t have obedience (which can be seen), I am deceived.  Can I show you my faith by my refusal to obey Jesus? Or, can I show you my faith by my obedience to Jesus?

What does this mean practically?  Simply that if I believe I am going to heaven to be with Jesus because I made a decision to follow Him, or prayed a prayer that I believe in Him, or had an emotional experience AND at the same time my life is not gradually (or rapidly) radically changing from doing what I selfishly want to do, to doing what Jesus wants me to do, I need to do a reality check.  

Jesus said that reality is, “My sheep hear my voice and they follow Me.”  Now, I fail every day to perfectly follow Jesus.  But, I do sense an increasing dependence on, allegiance to, and obedience to, the One who gave up His life to give me mine.  Not that I can directly do this on my own.  My obedience grows with the help of, and amid an intimate love relationship with, God the Father and His Son Jesus through God the Holy Spirit. 

How do I develop an intimate love relationship with God?  Again, Jesus showed the way when He said, “My sheep hear my voice and they follow Me.”  To hear His voice I first need to learn to recognize His voice.  I do that by getting alone with Him and reading the Bible and obeying what I read.  If I obey what I read God will entrust me with more of His truth.  If I just read and don’t obey I deceive myself into thinking I am a follower of Jesus when I am not.  I also need to talk to Him and listen to Him through prayer.  What I “hear” God saying will never contradict the Bible.  If it does, even in the smallest way, it is not God speaking.

Then as I talk, listen, read, and obey I develop an intimate love relationship with the One who loved me first and loves me most.  And as I sense His love, my love for Him grows and my obedience to Him grows.  And I gain great assurance that I am God’s child, that He is my Father and that we are one in purpose. 

There is an old hymn that says it all, “Trust and obey, because there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.”

Forgiving can be Tough

I can have a hard time forgiving some people.  I think they don’t deserve it.  And I want justice done.  I want them to feel the pain they have caused me.  And I think I’m right.

Forgiving someone doesn't mean everything is okay.  It doesn't mean that there are no consequences for the offending person.  They are still responsible for what they have done; they still may need to apologize to you, pay restitution or even go to jail.

But, when I forgive I give up the right of revenge.  I choose not to retaliate.  I don’t “get even.”   “Vengeance is Mine” God said, “I will avenge, I will repay.”  When God does the vengeance it is with a spirit of helping; helping you, the situation and even the person in the wrong.  When I seek vengeance it is with a spirit to hurt; to hurt the one who wronged me.  And I end up making things worse, especially for me.

I don’t realize it at the time, but when I hold on to a hurt, I am a slave to that hurt.  I constantly relive the pain of the offense.  I plot my revenge even if I would never act on it.  I am consumed and controlled by the offender and my desire for their pain.  But, if I release the right of revenge, God also releases me from revenge’s control.  Jesus said, if you do not forgive other men’s sins against you, God will not forgive your sins.  But, if you forgive others, He will forgive you.

When I release the right of revenge I am free, free to receive God’s love and give it back to Him and others.

I wish I could say that just knowing this has eliminated unforgiveness in my life… it hasn’t.  And obviously that is not God’s fault… it’s mine.  Some of my unforgiveness is just a habit.  It’s become a root of bitterness that I am now asking God in prayer to help me root out.  I am now also asking Him to help me to have a desire to be free more than to have a desire to avenge.

I hope to update you later on my progress.  I ask you keep me accountable because it is a whole lot easier to write about following Jesus than it is to actually follow Him.  My biggest enemy I have learned is myself.  It’s not so much that I need to know what to do; it’s that I need to do what I know. 

Thank you for reading.  If you have struggles and/or successes or anything on your mind you would like to share or anything you want to pray about please feel free to comment.

How does God Turn Pain into Joy?

Pain, hurt, abandonment, betrayal.  Have you been there?  Our God, Jesus, has been there too.  He is familiar with all the suffering that we experience because He became a man and experienced it personally.

But more than to empathize he came to bring mercy, justice, forgiveness, and peace.  Mercy because He saw we could not save ourselves from our sin and chose to save us Himself.  Justice because He suffered in our place to pay what we owed God for our evil attitudes and actions.  Forgiveness because with His own blood He entered Heaven and purchased our forgiveness.  Peace because the war is over, God has reconciled Man to Himself, which was God's planned design before the foundation of the world.

Jesus knows your pain perfectly.  He's experienced it.  But He has also overcome it.  When we put our trust in Him to forgive our wrong attitudes and actions He gives us His Spirit and enables us to forgive others and ourselves.  Healing may come slowly.  And the affects of sin may last longer than we want them to last.

But Jesus' Spirit lives within us, comforting us and telling us the truth about Him and ourselves and others.  The truth about Him is that God loves us unconditionally and always wants the best for us regardless of what it costs Him.  The truth about ourselves is that we are now new creations in Jesus, fully holy and righteous.  And the truth about others is that they are either already brothers and sisters in Christ or we have the privilege of leading them to the One who gave His life for them and us.

Jesus does not let my pain go to waste.  He has used it to help others in pain.  And by helping others through their pain I have found His joy and it has made the past pain worth it!

Freedom to Choose

Someone I know and love told me that she was taught that God knows which people will be saved and which ones will be sent to hell.  So she professes that if she is to be saved she will be saved, if she is not to be saved she won’t be saved, and there’s nothing she can do about it.  She claims to have no personal responsibility for deciding whether to follow Jesus or not.

She had an Afghan dog that could jump very high.  So high in fact that she had to put a leash on him because he could jump over the high fence in her back yard.  He would then be gone for days and in danger of getting hit by cars.  I said to her, “You know that if you put him outside without a leash he will jump the fence right?”  She said “yes.”  “Because you know what he will do, does that mean you want him to jump the fence and get hurt?  Or, that you are forcing him to jump the fence?”  She said “no.”  “If you know what your dog will do if given a free choice, how much more does an infinitely wise, all-knowing God know what we as people, His creation, will do given a free choice?  But that does not mean He has decided what we will do or forces us to do it,” I concluded.

God said that he wants no one to perish but all to turn away from sin; He wants each one of us to turn to the love and life and meaning found only in Jesus.  But, Jesus also said that no one seeks Him on their own initiative.  So, God gives us circumstances and relationships to try to influence our decision; to help us to learn that sin harms and His love benefits; and to come to seek Him and to trust His character.  God loves us first and he desires our love in return.  He enables us to choose Him if we want to choose Him.  But he leaves the decision up to us.  Love cannot be forced.  Love is always the choice of a free will.

You may be reading this wondering if God loves you, if God wants you in heaven with Him.  Jesus willingly took the punishment for your sins and mine so that we could spend forever with Him in heaven and with all who love Him.  Freely choose Him today.  Accept His death as full payment to God for your sins.  Let Him lead you today.  He will fill your life with other people who love Him and love you and take you on an adventure you cannot imagine.

I wasn't a "Cheerful" giver

Much of the time I have the wrong attitude about giving.  I give out guilt or compulsion, out of a feeling of "I have to, it's expected."  I feel bad before, during and after the giving.  It's a bad experience.  I had read in the Bible that God loves a cheerful giver.  I wondered what that meant.  Cheerful has the same root word as "hilarious".  I knew I wasn't feeling that when I gave.  I asked God to make me a hilarious giver.

Our friends needed some money and so I asked God if my wife and I could give with "hilarity."  We gave them some money and we felt great.  We were so happy that God was providing what they needed, that their needs were being met and that God had graciously allowed my wife and me to be a part of this miracle.  Jesus said, "Give and it will be given back to you. Pressed down, shaken together and running over into your lap."  It wasn't money that was given back to us.  It was something far more valuable.  We were given "Joy", a heart filled with "Hilarity."

I have long since forgotten about the money I spent on myself that year.  But I will always remember how God had mercy on me and filled me with "Hilarity" simply because I asked Him to enable me to do what He desired.

Why doesn't God want me to have fun?

Before I met Jesus I sometimes thought that God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and Christians were BORING!!!  For example, if a man and woman who were not married wanted to be intimate, why would God want to stop them?  Love is good right?  They're not hurting anyone so what's the problem?  Why doesn't God want people to have fun?

The Bible says sin definitely is fun.  God says in the Bible that you can "...enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time" (Hebrews 11:25b NIV84).  The fun doesn't last, however.  And the fun ultimately results in separation from God and his love forever.  Why?  Sin always hurts God or people or both.  And it always hurts ourselves.  God jealously loves us and He wants nothing to hurt us.  That's why He gave us the Bible.  In it are His commands and principles for us to live by so that we can know how not to hurt God, others, and ourselves.  And how to truly love and do good.  But knowing that is not enough.  We need a heart transplant.  We need our spirits made alive.  Jesus says He will give us a heart of flesh for a heart of stone.  Jesus said he will make our dead spirits alive like His.  He said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

For Jesus to change us we need to believe that He is and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.  Then we need to agree with Him (confess) that we have hurt Him, others and ourselves and that with His help we will try to never sin again (repentance).  Then we need to trust Him, that His death on the cross paid the full debt we owed God (faith).  Then ask Jesus to fill you with His Holy Spirit.  We then need to tell others about the wonderful thing God has done for us.  And repent if we sin again.

Now that I have a relationship with Jesus my life has never been more of a fun adventure.  The more I obey Him the more fulfilling it is.  I found out that satan's "fun" was only a worthless imitation of the joy that Jesus freely gives.  Life with Jesus also has been more difficult in other ways.  Satan attacks my mind more now.   But now I have Jesus living inside me through the power of the Holy Spirit and He guides me and encourages me, He protects me and provides for me.  And, He helps me write about Him in this blog.

I hope you will choose Jesus over sin.  You will never regret it.

What if love is our purpose?

[Jesus said,] 

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.   

The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.  So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.    

But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.    

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.  The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 

“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’    

“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 

“‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.  For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.  And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’"  (Matthew 25: 14-30, NIV84).

Jesus said in this parable that each servant was given resources in proportion to his ability to use them.  To one he gave five talents of silver (a talent of silver was worth about $360,000).  To another he gave two talents of silver.  And to another he gave one talent of silver.

This passage is many times interpreted as talking about developing your skills to the best of your ability.  And so, the word "talent" is being used today, not as a measure of a weight of silver, but a measure of skill.  Could it be that Jesus was talking about something much more valuable than skills?  Could He be talking about  loving others as God loves us?

If the ability to love is really the theme of this parable then how could the parable be interpreted?

We could say the man who was given five talents of silver had the ability to love "many" people.  He immediately went to work interacting with others and using the means his Master gave him to love and help them.  And the Master rewarded him.

The man who was given two talents of silver had the ability to love "some" people.  He too, immediately went out and interacted with others, and using his Master's means, he loved and helped them.  And the Master rewarded him.

The man who was entrusted with one talent of silver had the ability to love "one" person.  He did not go out and interact with another, to love and help them.  He buried the Master's means of loving and helping others and loved and helped no one.  Because of the reference of putting the money on deposit with the bankers in the parable, I can imagine Jesus asking  the man "Why didn't you let my "means of loving and helping" at least be used by others, if you yourself weren't going to use it?"  And Jesus will cast him away from His presence.

When I surrendered to Jesus I read this parable.  I didn't know if I was a one, two or five talent person.  I prayed for God to make me a five or a two, but if I was a one, I asked that He help me to use my talent and not bury it.  God has been gracious to me and helped me to love other people.  What about you?  To truly love you need Jesus in you, loving the other person through you.  To do that you need to ask Him to forgive your sins, and surrender your life to His leadership, and ask to receive His Spirit so that you can do good.  You will start a journey with Him that He has designed just for you.

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” —  but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV84)