Wait for the best

Remember, most temptations are a shortcut that Satan wants you to take. ~Johnny Hunt

I read this quote this morning. Every time we make a lessor choice, it is because we take the easy way out. I often do that with food. I come home from work and I am starving, absolutely starving. But instead of waiting for a healthy dinner, I eat one snack and then another snack and then one more snack. By the time dinner rolls around, the healthy choice does not even look so good because I am filled with the lessor choices.

Think about areas of your life when you took the "shortcut." You did not want to wait for the best. And to top it all off, Satan condemns you and tells you how pitiful you are after you make that choice! Jesus said that "he did not come to condemn but to give us an abundant life." When you are condemned, that is not the voice of the Heavenly Father. Even though you made the wrong choice, he will not condemn but the Holy Spirit will gently convict you that you made the wrong choice. That is the voice of the Father.

Be intentional today to take the path, even though painful, to abundant life. If it's a shortcut, steer clear.

Do you fear the person getting more likes?

“The Lord was with David, so he was successful in everything. Saul saw how successful David was and became even more afraid of him. But all the people in Israel and Judah loved David because he was out among them and led them into battle.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭18:14-16‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Saul was the appointed king of Israel. And yet David was becoming more and more the people's choice. It is the equivalent of David getting a 100 times more "likes" than Saul ever dreamed of. I can see this happening in every walk of life.

In my job, there are always going to be people that are more "highly favored." There are teachers at my school that are more talented and more incredible. I really teach at a school where almost every teacher is pretty amazing. However, I have set my mind against needing the accolades and attention at my school. I know that it is a slippery slope to try to be teacher of the year for my sake and my glory. I only desire the Lord's attention and affirmation. But trust me, you have to set your heart to do this.

In the Facebook and Instagram world, there are countless online businesses that are competing for the limited amount of dollars. A precious friend of mine, Michelle Myers is the owner of a three wildly successful online businesses. I can't count the number of times, I have read her posts and they point every single reader to the Lord. But she has purposed in her mind that she is not trying to gain the love of the people. She is trying to gain the attention of one person and Him alone. A long time ago, she decided that she would not "fear" the person that is getting more likes.

In families and friend groups, we "fear" that person that is doing better and getting more attention. What a dangerous thing that the enemy pulls you into to. If you don't get a grip, look where it leads...

“But Saul threw his spear at Jonathan and tried to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father wanted very much to kill David.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭20:33‬ ‭ERV‬‬

In whatever area of your life, if you see a tendency to be jealous of another person because they are more well liked and are getting the fame that you so desperately crave, draw a line in the sand today.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4-5‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Love your enemy today

““I’m telling you to love your enemies and do good to them. Lend to people without expecting to get anything back. If you do this, you will have a great reward. You will be children of the Most High God. Yes, because God is good even to the people who are full of sin and not thankful. Give love and mercy the same as your Father gives love and mercy.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:35-36‬ ‭ERV‬‬

If you happen to like rewards, love your enemy today...be really good to them. Lend to someone who cannot pay you back. Yes, this is the opposite of the world's way but "do not conform to the world."

If you wonder how much to love your enemy and bless your enemy, consider what God did for you. God gave his Son for you and for me when we were His enemies.

Intentionally, find someone today that you can't stand and think of a way to bless them. Pray for them. You will start looking a lot more like Christ-which is the whole idea, right?

How to get rest for our weary souls

“God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:12‬ ‭ERV‬‬

My dream come true would be for someone to say that I am kind, humble, gentle and patient. I think that many times my qualities are confrontative, know-it-all, impatient(because I'm always in a hurry) and just plain opposite of those qualities. And you know what...I better not say that "this is just the way I am" and wear it like a badge. This is not an option in my life and in your life. It is spoken as a command and not a suggestion.

More than a command, it is wisdom. Listen to what Jesus said about these qualities.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:29‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Learn from Him. Jesus is gentle and humble and "You will find rest for your soul." Did you hear that? When we read the verse, we really want the first part about rest for our weary souls. We want to get rid of our yoke. But the second part holds the secret to accomplishing this. Learn from Christ. Allow God to make you more Christ-like. When we are gentle and lowly in our hearts, then and only then will we find rest for our souls.

If I Don't Have Love, I'm Nothing

“I may speak in different languages, whether human or even of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am only a noisy bell or a ringing cymbal. I may have the gift of prophecy, I may understand all secrets and know everything there is to know, and I may have faith so great that I can move mountains. But even with all this, if I don’t have love, I am nothing. I may give away everything I have to help others, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing all this if I don’t have love.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:1-3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Get ready to be burned. I am. Constantly by these scriptures. Do you have times when you think you are pretty hot stuff? Maybe you teach a Sunday class. Heck, maybe you have an entire ministry to teach online. Maybe you donated your time and money last week to a good cause. Maybe you even tithe every month. Maybe you pray everyday, twice a day. Maybe you read your Bible a lot.

But here is what God says about that.

"But even with all this, if I don’t have love, I am nothing. "

"I may give away everything I have to help others, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing all this if I don’t have love.”
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It gets even more humbling. It describes what love looks like.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4-7‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Lord, if I don't serve and give out of a heart with love, I'm just a clanging bell and annoying cymbal. And if I don't love even the difficult person in my life on their worst day, I really don't resemble Jesus at all. I look like everyone else. Gracious, show me how to look just like you, Jesus.

Ask God First

“The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do. Joshua agreed to make peace with them. He agreed to let them live. The leaders of Israel agreed with this promise of Joshua.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭9:14-15‬ ‭ERV‬‬

This story is our story. Here's what happened. The children of Israel were demolishing every enemy in sight. They were victorious on all fronts. The surrounding enemies saw their impending defeat. One city, Gibeon, had a great idea.

“The people from the city of Gibeon heard about the way Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭9:3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

“Then they went to the camp of the Israelites. This camp was near Gilgal. The men went to Joshua and said to him, “We have traveled from a faraway country. We want to make a peace agreement with you.” The men of Israel said to these Hivite men, “Maybe you are trying to trick us. Maybe you live near us. We cannot make a peace agreement with you until we know where you are from.”

The men answered, “We are your servants. We have come from a faraway country. We came because we heard of the great power of the Lord your God. We heard about what he has done and about everything he did in Egypt.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭9:6-7, 9‬ ‭ERV‬‬

This city pretended to be from far away and they ended up making a very valuable peace treaty with the Israelites. From then on, Israel was bound by their promise to spend their time and money and men to defend this city. Huge waste of resources. God had no intention of them protecting this city every time they needed help. How did they get entangled with this burden? "They did not ask the Lord what to do."

How often do we burden ourselves with a new car payment, a more expensive house payment or a credit card bill to be burdened with? Huge waste of our resources. In hindsight, we should have asked the Lord if this was the right decision for this time and place.

This is a tricky statement. We also make promises to help someone or mentor someone or be a part of a committee that meets often. We get hooked by this one statement..." We came because we heard of the great power." We are flattered and we accept. And then we are burdened by keeping that commitment...for a long time.

Keep in mind that God sometimes plans for you to purchase that house or that car and definitely mentor that friend or be on that committee. The key here is did we ask Him ahead of time if this is part of His plan? I have a pet peeve to bring up here. Sometimes people read this blog and assume that they are too busy and assume that God does not want you to commit and they always say no. God did not give me free time so I can sit on the couch and watch TV. Do not have a fear of committing to something.

But in the case of Gibeon, they should not have saddled themselves with this extra burden. God intended them to become a nation that lends and does not borrow. He intended on them to bring salvation through Jesus. But He has specific plans for them just like He has specific plans for each of us. This particular city should have been demolished and not preserved. Do not be deceived by the neighboring temptations that surround you and ask you to commit your time and money. Ask God first.

Set up an Altar

“Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he found a large stone to be the proof of this agreement. He put the stone under the oak tree near the Lord ’S Holy Tent. Then Joshua said to all the people, “This stone will help you remember what we said today. This stone was here when the Lord was speaking to us today. So this stone will be something that helps you remember what happened today. The stone will be a witness against you. It will stop you from turning against your God.””
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭24:26-27‬ ‭

I really like what Joshua did. He set up a stone. Moses taught him how to do this. On first glance, it seems wrong to build altars. However, you will set up altars, one way or another. We all set up reminders of the things we worship.

I think this is why I write about the things I read in the Bible. It "helps me remember what happened today." It " stops me from turning against God."

Read your Bible everyday! You Version has tons of choices. After you read a few verses, write down what you learned. It helps cement the wisdom that God showed you. Your future will be different depending on which choice you made...what did you decide to worship today?