Weighing What We Say

For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance...For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:8-10

I think you know what I'm talking about today. I mean, everyone's experienced words that hurt.

One way or the other, as either the hearer or the speaker, we know that words can hurt and even destroy things that are so precious to us.

Now, what if you've been through this meat grinder? What if your heart just feels shred-

ded by certain people close to you-husband, wife, business partner, son, daughter, mother, father, or friend? If this is you, I know you're asking, That person could say the right things to me, but how do I know if I can believe them?

Well, let me first say that there is hope, and I'll break it down into four categories.

First, behind the words, you want to see some real heartfelt regret over what was said. I hate that I said that. It was horrible to say that. There needs to be some mourning, some regret, over what has been said and done.

Second, this regret should lead to some repentance. I'm not going to say that anymore. This is a turning that leads away from further pain, misery, and division, even leading to rejoicing.

Third, you want to see a true realignment of the heart. I'm not just talking about the person who hurt you; I'm talking about your heart too, because it was your heart that got hurt. This means that we allow God to realign our hearts afresh, to restore them and set them free from the place of pain.

Fourth, look for the rationale behind the rhetoric. What's the reason behind the actions? Is there zeal? Is there fear of doing it again? How deep is the desire? Do they have indignation, a deep anger, toward what they did, motivating them and moving them to change?

Look for these things that display an attitude that says, We've been avengers for the wrong for far too long. Let's be avengers for the right now; let's defend what's right. When you see these things in both yourself and the person who hurt you, you're ready to start restoring the relationship.

Prayer Lord God,

You know what has been said to me and how terribly it hurts. But You also see how important that relationship is, and how important that person is to me. Please heal my heart, and heal my relationship, too!

Amen

Lest Something Worse Befall Thee

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise...Therefore let no one boast in men. 1 Corinthians 3:18,21

Listen to the warning! The sirens are blaring, danger is all around, and if we are not careful then we will fall into the trap.

Paul delivers his warning to us, Let no one deceive himself. This warning is about becoming wise in this age. I'll tell you plainly, the wisdom of this age is all about how to be successful in the world's eyes. It's about how to climb the corporate ladder; manipulate circumstances for your benefit; dress to look young, beautiful, and powerful; and have the most toys at the end of the day.

The wisdom of this world could also have little to do with material possessions, instead seeking to be exalted in the eyes of the world, accomplishing things that the world esteemshumanitarian aid, promotion of the environment, peace at any cost, animal rights, etc.

But like a good teacher, Paul does not leave us with only a warning, continuing on to give us the key to understand the warning. He says, Let no one boast in men.

Truth be told, there is nothing wrong with money (only the love of it), business success, being beautiful, humanitarian aid, stewarding the environment, peace, or preventing the extinction of animal species. The problem is that God has better answers for these problems than man does, yet we persist in the wisdom of man instead of seeking God for His answers. The problem is that the wisdom of man asserts, I can do it by myself; I don't need God, while the truth is that God calls us to a relationship where He walks with us hand in hand through life.

This is the life Adam had in the Garden before he fell, and it is the life God invites us to now. What problems do you face? What issues do you see in society around you? Now, what are you going to do about them?

Whatever you do, forsake your own wisdom and the wisdom of this world. Instead, ask God for His plan, and then invite Him to help you as you use His wisdom to solve the world's problems.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for giving me the Spirit of Wisdom! I renounce the wisdom of this world, knowing that it is foolishness. I cannot do life without You, so please help me and give me Your wisdom for every problem that I face!

Amen

Holiness Up Close and Personal

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim...And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!' Isaiah 6:1-3

Imagine with me a beautiful throne. How big is it? How many steps lead up to it? Is it made of gold or fine, polished wood? What precious stones are set in it? Does it have cushions? Do you have the picture? Good. What you are imagining actually exists, and you carry it with you at all times-it is the throne of your life.

What's most amazing about this throne is that you get to determine who or what sits on it. You can sit there, ruling over your own life. Or you can abdicate it to the government, hoping that they will fix your problems. Or you can lift up your job onto that exalted place, trusting that your job will always take care of you.

Friends, family, our spouse, possessions, relationships, intellect, the environment, and an infinite list of other things can all take their place on the throne of our life. We can even let our throne remain empty and try to live in a complete vacuum of authority. But you know what? No matter who is on our throne, God is always on His throne, and His throne is higher than ours.

This is really good news for us, because it means that there is always someone in control whom we can trust. When chaos reigns in our nation or when divisions cancel out leadership, God is still on His throne.

It is when we turn the throne of our life over to God, which really comes down to trust, trusting that He will be a good King and lead our life in a good and fulfilling direction, that is when we begin to live the holy life that God desires. That is when we begin to stand on the Rock of Jesus Christ so that we cannot be shaken no matter what circumstances swirl around us.

The security we find in Jesus' lordship over our lives leads us to happiness. In fact, without that holiness unto the Lord, we cannot find happiness to the degree that God wants us to experience it.

Give your life over to God today. Let Him lead you on the path to holy happiness.

Prayer Lord God,

I need some security and strength right now. Everything in the world is getting shaken right now except for You. Come and take the throne of my life right now and lead me on Your paths of peace!

Amen

Extra, Extra

But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift. 2 Corinthians 8:16-19

What kind of person are you?

Are you the kind of person who needs to be recognized for good things you do? Or are you the kind of person who will give generously even if no one will ever know what you did?

This is an important question for us to ask ourselves, because it gives us a solid gut check where our money and generosity is concerned.

In our verses today, Paul tells the Corinthian church about two men who have a good reputation in the churches throughout an entire region. We know the name of one of these men-Titusbut the other man remains nameless to this day.

Nameless. Anonymous. Yet he gave. He carried. He demonstrated that he was trustworthy and responsible with both the gospel and with the generous gifts of money that the churches collected in order to provide for other churches in need. This man had his heart right-the gospel owned his heart and money didn't.

Can you say the same? If there's any question in your heart, any catch when I ask you, then you have your answer.

But if money and recognition still have a hold on you, there is hope. There's hope because the uncomfortable truth is that it's not that you can't give generously without telling people about it or getting your name put somewhere on a building-it's that you won't. The problem isn't your ability, it's your will.

In this Christian life, we know it's never about our will, but God's will, right? And God demonstrated His will by giving generously of His very life so that our need for salvation would be abundantly met in Him.

The real question we need to ask ourselves is, now that we've received God's generous gift, will we neglect to do the same in giving to Him?

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for giving generously to me everything that I have. I'm sorry for any way that I have held back from You in my giving! Please change my heart until I give generously in the same way that You have given generously to me!

Amen

Jonah-Jacked

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. Jonah 3:10

Do you know how to escape judgment? There's only one way, so you have to get this answer right.

The only way to escape judgment is repentance. Unfortunately, for most of us, repen-

tance is a big theological word that has a vague meaning at best. Let's break it down so that we can all understand this vital action.

Repentance at its most basic level means to change your mind, to alter the way you think. Or, you might want to say it this way-to altar the way you think. You need to put your old way of thinking on the altar and offer it up to God so that He can transform your mind and give you His way of thinking.

We cannot any longer think that sin is okay. We cannot flirt with the things of the world, pursuing relationships outside of marriage, friends with benefits, or giving away the affections of our hearts to someone besides our spouse. We cannot find our identity in Nordstrom's or put our hope for salvation in the government.

Nor can we sit around lazy at home failing to make a contribution to the kingdom in this world. We cannot assume that someone else will reach our friends, neighbors, and coworkers while we remain silent.

These are all part of our old way of thinking that needs to be sacrificed to God for the sake of His purposes in our lives. This is the old life from which we need to repent.

And having repented-having changed our mind about these things, recognizing our responsibility to live as children of God who are building our Father's kingdom-we must take action. Repentance is more than just turning from wrong action; it is embracing right action.

What right actions do you need to take today? Start with pursuing your family to build relationships with them and disciple them into faith in Jesus. Continue with living out your faith for all your friends, neighbors, and coworkers to see, taking every chance you have to call them to faith as well.

Jesus died to save us from judgment. All it takes for us to receive the benefit of His sacrifice is to change our mind about God, and to embrace the salvation He offers.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for dying to take the punishment for my sins! I repent now from my old ways of thinking and ask You to fill me with Your thoughts! Please give me boldness to not just think differently, but to also act differently as I represent you wherever I go.

Amen

Welcome to Corinth

Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:6-8

You hear a lot of complaints about leadership these days.

Protests cry out against corporate leadership. Pundits and polls cry out against political leadership. And I know by my emails every week that there are quite a few individuals who have issues with church leadership, too.

As a culture, we are obviously looking for new leadership, and I can tell you today that the only leadership that can help us is godly leadership. The Apostle Paul tells us what that looks like in 1 Corinthians, giving us several attributes of godly leadership.

First, he says that godly leadership is called by God. It isn't elected. It's not nominated by men. It's chosen by God. You only have to go as far as Samuel when he went to anoint a new king to replace Saul to find out why. He looked at David's seven older brothers, thinking, Surely this is the one! with every one of them because of their size and strength. But God said, Keep going, for man looks at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart. When God chooses the leader, He chooses according to something we cannot see-the heart.

Second, godly leadership comes with authority. This was missing in Corinth, where everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes, but a lot of us have a problem with authority, too. If I'm preaching and I tell you to write down a point I'm making, there are people in the room who refuse to do it. They say, Who are you to tell me what to do? That's a problem with authority!

Third, godly leadership is all about God's purpose. Paul didn't want to go to Corinth, but God blocked every other path and Paul delighted to follow God. Godly leadership, by definition, has to lead the way that God directs, and therefore must always be asking, God, how do you want to use me? Where do you want to take us?

This is godly leadership-from God, following God, and with authority to direct. Check your heart today. When you see godly leadership, do you have a problem following?

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for godly leadership in this world! I want my heart to be right before You so that I have no problems following the people You call to leadership in my life. Please set me straight so that I can know that I'm following You!

Amen

Knowing God's Plan

His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. Isaiah 11:3-4

They were about to be surrounded. They knew it was coming, and there wasn't any hope to be found.

Living in a powerful nation like America, we maybe have a hard time identifying with the people of Israel in this story. The Assyrian army was coming, a brutal force known for ripping open pregnant woman and throwing children to their death from city walls. They did not simply defeat a people and subjugate them to slavery; no, they ruthlessly destroyed the nations they conquered.

No one had ever beaten them before, and now they had their sights set on Israel.

We know the history of Israel, that God had delivered them against all odds many times before. They knew their history, too, but faith in the God of your history is a lot harder when it demands that you take action.

God saw His people in that moment and knew they needed Him. They needed a fresh encouragement that He was still their God and would be faithful to them. Isaiah the prophet delivered the message, There is someone coming from God who will not be like the rulers of the world that surround us. He will not make decisions based on what He sees with His eyes or hears with His ears, but He will judge the lowly by what is right and just.

The promise was that God saw their need. He knew their desperation, and He did something about it.

What are you desperate for right now? You may not be surrounded by an army, but perhaps you feel surrounded by something else. Is debt sharpening its sword against you? Are you in despair that your marriage is falling apart or your children are walking away from the Lord? Does sickness threaten your life?

First, know that we do not always see our circumstances the way God does (He does not judge by the way things appear). Second, know that God has a plan to save you.

Trusting God in your circumstances is an act of worship! Turn to Him and ask for Him to deliver you.

Prayer Lord God,

I am desperate for You right now! No one but You can save me from what I am facing. Please give me wisdom to change my circumstances, help me to see things the way You do, and deliver me!

Amen