Jesus

4 Biblical Paradoxes That Represent Profound Truths

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

I am often perplexed when it comes to the truths found in the Bible. It’s hard for us humans to fathom the nature of God and His ways. 

When I’m feeling frustrated about my lack of understanding, I’ll often remember that God tells us:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways (Isa: 55:8).

Reading this verse usually makes me feel better about myself, as I once again realize this profound truth: that there is a God, and I am not Him.

I believe that there are certain holy truths that we’re not meant to fully grasp. We can try all we want, but our brains are just not capable of understanding the ways of a God who created and maintains the entire universe.

That being said, following are some of the most notable paradoxes that we find in the Bible. These aren’t contradictions as skeptics would like to call them, but rather dual truths that we can’t fully explain.

I can’t take credit for coming up with these. Although anyone could read through the Bible and discover them for themselves, I came across these on a recent message from Dr. Michael Youssef called, “How Does Our Attitude Affect Our Joy?”.

So let’s dig in.

Jesus is fully God, yet fully man.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (Col. 2:9).

[God] was manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16a).

Christianity is the only religion I know of where its deity actually came to earth to live with mankind. In all the other religions of the world, the creator is a distant being who is untouchable and unknowable to its adherents.

Not so with the living Jesus. He was born in a lowly manger among animals. He didn’t perch Himself on a throne and order His subjects to bow at His feet. 

Rather, He submitted Himself to the will of the Father and died a gruesome, tortuous death to secure salvation to those who would choose to believe in Him. 

In this way, Jesus became as much human as you or I, yet remained as much God as the Father is. 

Difficult to explain? Yes. But also true.

The Bible is written by human beings, but every word is authored by the Holy Spirit.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16).

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21).

And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever (Isa. 30:8).

God wanted us to have His preserved, written word. But rather than just personally hand it to us, He purposely used man to help write it down. 

Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, around 40 authors over about 1500 years recorded God’s words. Although each book of the Bible contains elements of the individual who wrote it, each is ultimately written by the divine Author as He saw fit. 

Just look at the four gospels that give the account of Jesus’s life. Each author tailored his book to a different audience with a somewhat different focus, yet each tells the story of Jesus without contradicting the other gospels.

Every other book of the Bible is the same. They tell God’s story and the redemption of mankind while allowing the individual authors to insert a little of their own personalities into the manuscripts.

So—authored by God, written by man.

God eternally secures the believer’s salvation, yet we are commanded to obey Him.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand (John 10:28).

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30).

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life (John 5:24).

The “once save, always saved” debate is alive and well in the church today. Yet God’s word stresses the point that once we accept Christ, our destiny is sealed. 

Some would ask if obedience to God is necessary to maintain our salvation. 

However, it’s not a matter of obeying God to remain saved and hold on to our eternal inheritance. Rather, Christians willingly choose to obey God because He sacrificed His son for our salvation.

God expressed His love for us first, even when we weren’t worthy of it. Consequently, we love and honor Him in return by following His commandments. 

Even though we may sin after becoming a Christian, this doesn’t negate our salvation.

Instead, our confidence in our eternal destiny gives us hope that even when we make mistakes, God still loves us and will welcome us home when the time comes.

God is sovereign in dealing in the affairs of His children, yet He responds to our prayers.

He does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” (Dan. 4:35b).

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (James 5:16b).

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).

This paradox is particularly difficult for me. How can God control the entire workings of the universe and, at the same time, allow us to have influence over individual events in our lives through prayer?

It’s easy to tell ourselves that God’s will will prevail no matter what. While this is true, it is important to understand that our prayers play a crucial role in shaping our lives and those around us. 

Yes, this is difficult to grasp. But it is an important doctrine of our faith and represents God’s willingness to allow us to impact our world.

The important thing to remember about these paradoxes, and any others we find in the Bible, is that they shouldn’t shake our faith in a good, loving, all-powerful God. 

Instead, we should focus on the fact that God’s nature and power are so far beyond our comprehension, we can never hope to fully understand them on this side of Heaven. 

That’s where faith comes in. And faith “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

Does God Really Want the Best for Us?

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment 
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:6-8).

Why would a God who paid such a high price for us not want anything but the best for us?

It’s hard for me to wrap my head around how much God truly loves us humans. In the busyness of our everyday lives, it’s easy to forget that He created us to love us, because God IS love (1 John 4:8).

The above verse in Romans shows us just how much God adores His creation. He knew we were weak and sinful, and yet He still allowed Jesus to die a painful, lowly death on a cross so that we could live forever with Him.

He redeemed us to show us His love and kindness, knowing that we had no way to repay Him for what He had done for us. This is true love, the kind of love that earthly parents show toward their own children. 

Just like human parents, God’s love burns fiercely for us—so much so that He will do everything within the bounds of His will to allow us to be with Him and commune with Him for eternity.

With all that being said, how could we possibly doubt that our loving heavenly Father would not want the best for us? 

Good and loving parents want their children to thrive and succeed, even to the point of doing better than they themselves. 

God is no different from the human parents He populated the earth with. He loves His creation and wants us to do well, to succeed, and to be happy and prosper.

Before we go any further, it’s important to understand that this doesn’t mean everything is going to go our way all the time. As long as we’re in these earthly bodies, we’re going to have difficult times and tough challenges in our lives.

We’re not always going to be on top of the world with no worries or concerns.

And it definitely doesn’t mean that just because you’re a Christian, you should automatically be wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. 

For some of us, it may certainly mean that. But for the average Christ-follower, God’s provision probably won’t look like a huge mansion accompanied by a garage full of expensive cars. 

However, Matthew 7:11 tells us:

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

God wants to take care of us and lavish us with worthwhile gifts. After all, we’re His children and He loves us. But I’ve heard it said many times (and you probably have, too) that God is much more interested in our character than our comfort.

Our Father’s desire is to build us up on the inside, not just satisfy all our external needs. He can and will do that as well, but His ultimate concern is to see us grow in Christ and become more like our Savior.

In desperate times of struggle, it’s difficult to see how any good can come out of our trials. But we can rest assured that everything we go through in life is working together for our good (Rom. 8:28). 

Our challenges probably won’t be pleasant at the time, but we can be confident that God is looking out for us and has everything under control. There’s nothing that surprises Him or falls outside His realm of knowledge.

If we love God and strive to honor and obey Him, we know that He’s working behind the scenes to bless us and turn things for the better, no matter what we’re facing. 

God sent His innocent Son to suffer an excruciating death on our behalf. We only need to look at the evidence and we can conclude that God truly wants only the best for His children.

These are words that I need to take to heart every day. Too often I forget that my Father cherishes me and wants me to get fulfillment out of my life in Christ. 

Dare I say that He even wants me to enjoy life? Yes, I believe that He does. And He wants the exact same thing for you, too.

Jesus Wants to Be Our Everything

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Like many people, I’m guilty of accepting Christ as my savior years ago, then basically forgetting about Him as the years pass. I don’t mean that I’ve completely abandoned Christ. Rather, I’m confident and secure in my salvation, but I don’t look to Jesus and His presence in my everyday life.

I’m glad that I’m going to Heaven. It’s great knowing that I will live for eternity with God, worshipping Him and living in paradise with other believers, including the people I’ve cared about most in this life. 

But I don’t think that we were saved to simply “live life.” We weren’t supposed to just say, “OK, now my eternity is secured. Thanks for that, Jesus,” and just go on about our merry way, with little or no thought about Him. 

Jesus is, of course, our salvation, our connection to God the Father whom He sent to earth in human form to die for us. 

But if that’s all that we think of Jesus as, then we’re missing out on who He really is and can be in our lives. 

Because He’s our Savior, our lifeline to the Father, He represents God to us. And I don’t believe that that’s all God wants for us.

It’s also about accepting and nurturing a deep relationship with Jesus, letting Him into our lives and letting Him truly be a friend—just like we would anybody else.

He wants to walk us through life, to be by our side through all the ups and downs as we rely on Him to get us through the next challenge.

After all, God promises to never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). We can count on His loving devotion to see us through the hard times. 

There are many examples in Scripture where Jesus reminds of His willingness to comfort us:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28).

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me (John 14:1).

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

It’s not that we have to “choose” Jesus over God—Jesus IS God. 

Rather, we’re taking advantage of our esteemed position in Christ to have unfiltered access to God, allowing His love, comfort, and wisdom to have full effect in our lives. 

What this means is that, because of Jesus, I can come boldly to God with all my needs, wants, and even my complaints (Heb. 4:16).

He wants to be my everything. All I have to do is keep letting Him be a vital part of my life every day. 

When I consistently do this, I’ll be on my way to living the rewarding, fulfilling life that God wants me to experience.

My Approach to Worship Shifted As I Got Older—And Not For the Better

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

I’ve recently realized that my approach to worshipping God has changed over the years since I became a Christian. 

When I was first saved, it was all about God and what Jesus had done for me on the cross. I was so grateful that I had been redeemed that I was happy just to give God the praise that He deserves. I read the Bible faithfully, soaking in its truths and learning more about God every time I read. 

I don’t believe I had any real thoughts about what my worship or Bible reading would do for me. Maybe I did think about it, but if so, these thoughts weren’t very profound. I just wanted to worship and serve God. I wasn’t really concerned about my own welfare. 

Part of this may be from the fact that I was only 15 when I accepted Christ, and didn’t have any real concerns about money or my livelihood. At any rate, I remember those early years of my Christian walk as pure and innocent. 

There were times when I strayed away and didn’t follow God closely, but I don’t remember my approach to Him ever being, “What can You do for me?”

All that changed, however, as I graduated college and became an adult. My focus gradually shifted from serving God to being served by God. I viewed my relationship with Him as a means to better my life. 

I began reading the Bible in search of verses and passages that promised how God would take care of my needs. While there is certainly nothing wrong with standing on the promises of God, my approach to Bible reading became a search for truths that would help me get what I wanted. 

I looked for passages that told me in essence, “If you do this, then God will bless you.” Or, “This is what you need to do to earn God’s favor.”

And without realizing it, that has been my focus for the better part of the last three decades. Although I’ve worshipped God over the years, it hasn’t always been with a pure heart. 

Sometimes consciously, sometimes not, I’ve had an ulterior motive. In the back of my mind, I’ve thought, “Well, if I can worship God in the right way and please Him, He’ll bless me, and my life will be better. I’ll have more money, more happiness, and a better quality of life.”

I regret that I’ve lived my life like this for so long. I’ve missed out on being able to worship God purely and simply, without the thought of “How is this going to help me?” For far too long, I’ve thought of God in terms of a genie who, if I rubbed the right way, would give me blessings and a more enjoyable life. 

While it’s true that God wants to bless His children, His desire is that we worship Him for who He is—not for what He can do for us. 

Even though I realize that type of worship is wrong and sinful, it’s hard to break out of that habit. Too many times over the years, I’ve heard that “God is waiting to bless you,” and “You deserve all that God has for you.” 

I long to have the pure approach to worship I had when I first accepted Christ. The cares of life have largely choked out my desire to simply serve God and bring Him glory through worship. There’s so much in the way now—concerns about money, health, relationships, career. The list goes on and on. 

Even though the few concerns I had as a teenager may have seemed significant at the time, I didn’t have the weight of decades of life hanging on me.

Maybe that’s all too philosophical and just an excuse for not putting God first in my life. I need to get back to basics and take inventory of what God has already done for me—and not just focus on what I want Him to do. 

Worshipping God should be in response to His glory and greatness, not about His potential to fulfill my wishes. The sooner I can come to terms with that, the better off I’ll be.

Pray More Effectively With These 10 Verses

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Prayer is how we communicate with our Creator. It is our lifeline to God. Without it, we human beings would be lost in our own little world, with no connection to the only One who can help us. 

We all want our prayers answered. That leads us to the question: Is there a way to make sure our prayers are answered in the way we want them?

Let me be very clear—the answer to that question is NO. There is no way to ensure that we will get everything we ask of God. 

Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us the “secret” to having our prayers answered. That would be counterintuitive and make God into some sort of magical genie.

Instead, He lays out several principles for us to follow to ensure our prayers are in accordance with His will. Following them will help us pray the way He wants us to so that we ask for the things that are best for us and and for His kingdom.

With that in mind, here are several verses that show us how to pray and what to do to make sure our prayers are effective.

John 14:13

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Our prayers should be crafted so that we bring glory to Jesus in our lives. After all, that’s what being a Christian is all about—recognizing Christ as our Savior and leading others to Him.

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

In the original Greek, these verses convey the idea that we should keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking—never giving up on our quest to connect with God and receive His blessings. If we do, our prayers will begin to come in line with God, and we’ll see positive results from them.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

When our true joy is found in worshipping God and giving Him the glory He deserves, He draws nearer to us. He loves to give us good things, and it brings Him joy to bless us.

Mark 11:24-25

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

There is quite a bit to unpack in these verses, so I encourage you to take time to read the entire passage for context. 

Here, Jesus tells us to believe, and not doubt, that God will give us what we ask for—provided that it is in line with His will.

We must also be sure to forgive others for anything we may have been holding against them. Otherwise, we risk God himself not forgiving us.

Matthew 18:19

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

Heed these important words from Jesus. Find a prayer partner to agree with you, whether it’s your spouse, another family member, or a friend. 

Doing so not only puts you in line with God, you’ll also feel better knowing that your burden is shared by someone else.

James 1:6-7

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.

Along with having faith, we must be sure not to doubt that God will give us good things. As mentioned earlier, He wants to bless us and will not hold His blessings back if we place our trust in Him. His word promises us that.

John 15:7

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Abide means to remain, reside, or dwell in a place. If we remain in Jesus, seek to know Him better, and keep His words in our heart—our thoughts and desires will line up with His. Then we’ll get the things we ask God for.

Matthew 21:22

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

This is yet another important verse that shows us the importance of faith in our prayer life. Faith forms the foundation of our Christian walk. Without it, our prayer life will be fruitless and empty.

Psalm 66:18

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

Repent of your sin and confess it to God. Continued sinning maintains a stronghold on us and blocks God from hearing us. 

To ensure that our prayers don’t bounce off the ceiling, we have to renounce sin and ask the Holy Spirit to help us live sin-free. Keep the channel open between you and God to make sure He responds to your prayers.

1 Peter 3:7

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Men, God commands us to honor our wives. She is our equal, and we are called not only to protect her, but to take time to listen to her needs and concerns. If we don’t, we risk missing out on the blessing of answered prayer. 

You’ll find many nuggets of wisdom in the Bible regarding prayer. If you spend some time searching them out, you’ll discover that God gives us abundant information on how we should use prayer to connect with Him and enrich our lives. 

How Should a Christian Respond to a “Woke” Person?

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

If you watch the news or read popular news sites or blogs, it’s evident that the Christian viewpoint is in the minority these days. 

Everywhere you turn, we see alternative and “woke” lifestyles prevailing. Most certainly, there are many more people involved in these behaviors than there were in previous years.

I believe many faith-filled believers in Christ are simply silent on the social issues facing us today. They would rather not speak up and face ridicule from others who are perhaps more vocal and adamant in their beliefs. I hate to admit it, but I often fall into this category myself. 

It is more important now than ever for Christians to make our beliefs and feelings known, as many of the individuals caught up in alternative (and often sinful) lifestyles are doing nothing more than experimenting because it is the popular thing to do. 

They may not have made a definitive choice to fully embrace the lifestyle they’re “trying out.”

If these people were to hear the truth from a believer who is armed with biblical knowledge, they could very well accept Christ into their lives and make positive life changes in the right direction.

So, how do we go about relating to others who are living a lifestyle that is perhaps so radically different from our own? These people could be our acquaintances, coworkers, or even our own family members.

First of all, we should pray for them. Ask God to show them the truth that’s only found in the Bible. Pray that God would bring others (including yourself) into their path who can lead them to repentance and a relationship with Christ.

Then, when we encounter someone who is obviously living a sinful lifestyle and who needs the love and acceptance of Jesus, the first thing we need to do is approach them with love. 

We’re all sinners and have all fallen short in God’s eyes. They haven’t committed sin that is any worse in His eyes than we haven’t also committed. 

The only difference is that we, as Christians, have accepted Jesus into our lives, repented of our sins, and asked for forgiveness.

Without showing the lost genuine love and care, it is doubtful that your words will have any meaningful impact on them.

If you have a more-than-passing relationship with someone, and if the circumstances are right, you might ask them how their relationship with God is. 

You may get any of several types of answers to your question. 

They may answer that they don’t believe in God, or that God is our Creator but isn’t involved in our everyday lives. Or, they may give you the new-age answer that God is a part of everything, including us human beings and even inanimate objects. 

It’s then up to you to explain how God created us, but that the human race fell to sin and now lives in a broken world. 

The most important part is to convey that Jesus died and was raised from the dead to bring us into a right relationship with God again. His suffering, death, and resurrection were necessary to pay the penalty for our sin.

Depending on your relationship with the person and how the conversation proceeds, you may be able to ask them if they’re ready to turn from their sins and make Jesus Lord of their life.

Or, you may sense that that’s as far as you’re getting with them during this interaction and just accept the fact that you’ve planted a seed that will hopefully come up later on.

Pray that God will put someone else in their lives to water the seed and watch it begin to sprout.

I believe that it is of the utmost importance that when you talk to people about the gospel that they understand that Jesus (as well as you) accepts them just the way they are. 

Tell them that they don’t have to be perfect for Jesus to be Lord of their life. They just have to turn everything over to Him and let Him take the reins of their life.

Once they do, he will prompt them to make changes in their lives as they surrender their will to His. Sometimes that happens immediately, and sometimes it takes a while.

As Christians, it is our responsibility to show the world the love of Jesus. 

We may not see immediate fruit from our efforts, but rest assured, planting seeds of love and hope in a lost person’s life is the first step toward their eventual acceptance of Christ.

What We Learn About Jesus From the Adulterous Woman

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

The story about Jesus and the woman who was caught in adultery is the perfect example of how He saves those who trust in Him.

In John 8:3, the story begins with Jesus teaching in the temple as He often did. The scribes and Pharisees, the Jewish leaders of the day, brought a woman to him who had been found in the very act of adultery. Their plan was to catch Jesus caught in a trap to lessen His impact and influence with the people.

With the woman in front of them, the religious leaders referenced the law, which states that she was to be stoned for her sin. They then asked Jesus what He had to say about the matter.

After a pause and their continued questioning, during which Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger, He stood up and said simply, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her (verse 7).”

Upon hearing Jesus’s statement, the leaders slowly began to walk away.

When He was left alone with the woman, Jesus asked her, “Has no one condemned you? (verse 10)”. The woman replies that no one has. 

He then delivers these words to her, a dagger in the heart of religion: “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

This story has been told and retold for 2000 years. Besides His obvious forgiveness of the woman, is there anything else we should take away from the story?

We can also see John’s account as a living example of exactly what Jesus does for the sinner when they accept Him as Savior.

Under the guidelines of the Mosaic law, this woman would have died for her act, as no doubt many surely had over the centuries.

If you notice carefully, Jesus didn’t tell the religious leaders not to stone her—that would have been contrary to the law. 

What he did say made them stop and think. Whoever was without sin should throw the first stone. Of course, no one has ever not sinned, so none of the men were so bold as to step up first and cast a stone at her. In defeat, they merely walked away. 

The woman was left standing there in shock and gratitude. Then Jesus tells her that He doesn’t condemn her—the same thing He tells us when we come to Him in our sin. He simply forgives us and tells us to stop sinning. 

That’s how He perfectly fulfills the law, defeats death, and saves us from our sin. Jesus gives us a second chance. Rather than our lives ending in death and separation when we mess up, He offers us a new life and a new beginning. 

The woman in the story surely felt relieved and hopeful at Jesus’s words. She had the opportunity at a fresh start, just like we do when we put our trust and hope in Jesus. 

We don’t have to fear the law’s penalty because of our actions. We have the assurance that we can spend an eternity with God because Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected.

Take Him up on the offer of a new life today, and put sin and death behind you.

The Art of Practicing Forgiveness

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

As human beings, perhaps one of the hardest things for us to do is forgive those we perceive as having wronged us. 

We naturally want to hold onto a grudge, wrongfully thinking that somehow that we are “getting back” at that person.

In reality, this does nothing but create a bitter core within us and keep us from experiencing true joy and freedom from those negative feelings. 

Author Marianne Williamson is quoted as saying:

Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

When we hold on to that root of bitterness, it festers in our hearts, and we relive the offending event over and over, sometimes multiple times every day. 

It eats at us, and we can’t get the negative feelings off our hearts and out of our minds.

We should listen to God when He tells us to forgive. Ephesians 4:32 instructs us to:

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Mark 11:25 tells us that we should forgive others so that God can forgive us:

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

God doesn’t want us to forgive others so that we can just sweep all our feelings under the rug. He knows that harboring unforgiveness will only hurt us and keep us from experiencing true joy in our lives. 

When we forgive others and let go of all those negative feelings, we can begin to experience the life that God has intended for us. 

We can’t have true joy and peace in our hearts when we’re focusing on the hurts that others have inflicted on us. 

Even if we forgive someone for how they mistreated or wronged us, we may still bring that thought to mind from time to time.

However, if we have forgiven that person,  we won’t dwell on those thoughts. When they do come to mind, they can be quickly dismissed because we are no longer holding onto hard-hearted feelings toward that individual.

We let all that go when we forgive them, realizing that God has forgiven us of our many sins.

Jesus even says that we should forgive others multiple times. When Peter asks Him how many times we should forgive someone—even as many as seven times—Jesus replies:

I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Matt. 18:22 (ESV)

Following Jesus’s example will help us experience more joy and have a more God-focused spirit to love others, understanding that we all make mistakes.

Realizing that we’re forgiven ourselves, and that we should offer this same grace toward the people in our lives, should motivate us to forgive and live in peace and harmony with others.

How to Cultivate a Prayer Life in a Busy World

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

I used to have a peculiar belief about prayer. I thought that every prayer had to begin with, “Dear God/Lord,” and end in “In Jesus’s name…Amen.”

To me, it just wasn’t a prayer if it didn’t contain these necessary components.

It was as if the prayer was null and void without them—it wasn’t a real prayer with an opening, middle, and closing.

This belief has lasted well into my adult years. Even though in recent years I have come to realize that a prayer can be as simple as, “Help me Lord!”, there is still part of me that wants to hang on to that type of structured prayer.

I mention this to say that prayer doesn’t have to be a rigid practice that we can only do on in private.

Of course, there is a time and place for those prayers. Matthew 6:6 tells us:

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

We should all make time to be still before God, speaking to Him and listening quietly for His response.

But during the day, when we’re at work, school, or taking care of other responsibilities, we don’t always have access to a private place where we can fall on our knees before God.

In these instances, it’s perfectly fine to pray right where you are in the midst of your day. That may be while driving down the road, sitting in a meeting, or preparing dinner for your family.

God is a big God, with a big, loving heart. And He understands our needs as well as our limitations. 

If all we can do is utter a few words to God asking for help and thanking Him for His answer, I believe He’s OK with that.

I’m sure that back in biblical times, many prayers were uttered during the workday while trying to wrangle a team of oxen in the field.

I bet even Jesus prayed to His father while crafting furniture in His workshop.

The point is that God wants us to have a relationship with Him.  We are encouraged to:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. 

James 4:8a

There are two fantastic ways to draw closer to God. One is by reading the Word every day. The other is by talking to Him on a regular basis.

Even though we live a much faster, busier, and more hectic life than our ancestors did, we can still make time to commune with God.

We just have to be intentional about it. Make it a priority to talk to God during your day. 

When you get a break at work, thank Him for the sunshine (or the rain, if you like rainy days). 

Thank Him for the job that He has provided you with to pay your bills. Ask him for inspiration and guidance to get you through the rest of your day.

Say a quick prayer for your family, friends, or coworkers. Ask God to bless them and show them His love. 

Soon, you’ll find yourself interacting more and more with God throughout each day. You’ll feel closer to Him and more in tune with His leading in your life.

Plus, you’re likely to experience more of His peace and contentment, and we could all use more of that.

Do You Have Idols in Your Life?

/ Clay D. / Leave a comment

Idolatry. We run up against this sin every day because we are tempted to worship at the altar of things and famous people rather than the God who created everything in the world.

Idolatry can go by another name that’s more common to us—materialism.

You probably don’t think of yourself as an idol worshiper, but you very well could be. 

No, you most likely don’t have small wooden or stone figurines sitting around your house that you bow down to and offer up prayers to.

But there may very well be other things in your life that play a similar role. It could be money, your career, your car, your house, your status in the community, or even something else.

You may give these things prime space in your life while knocking God out of the top spot of importance.

Even if you don’t realize it, these idols can influence your daily behavior, causing you to pursue them while putting your reverence and service to God on the back burner.

For example, if you spend 60 or 70 hours a week working, and you don’t feel like doing anything else when you’re not at work, then your career may be your idol. 

If you’re so hung up on getting ahead in life because of the status that will bring, you most likely have put God in second place (or lower) in your life.

If you put in extra hours at work just so you can drive a car with a fancy name plate, your career may be your idol (not that there’s anything wrong with driving a nice car).

To be able to wear designer clothes just for the sale of the label is a form of idolatry (once again, not that there’s inherently wrong with designer clothes.

Sports could be your idol. If you never miss playing golf on the weekend and something just feels off if you don’t get to hit the links, you may have misplaced priorities.

In short, if there’s anything in your life that’s more important to you than God and the opportunities you have to spend quiet time alone with Him, it’s most likely an idol.

If you have teenagers, you may have noticed that the walls of their rooms are covered with posters of famous teen-age heartthrobs or musicians. 

It is these images that your kids are looking at first thing in the morning and are the last thing they see at night.

I should know. When I was 14 or 15, almost every square inch of my bedroom wall was covered with pictures of heavy metal bands I had cut out of Circus or Hit Parader magazine. 

Even though my mom probably cringed every time she went in my room, I don’t remember her ever saying anything to me about it. 

After I accepted Jesus into my life, I gradually realized that these weren’t images I wanted on my walls anymore. They slowly came down as my relationship with God grew.

However, we as parents may need to say something to our kids about the icons they look up to. 

Whether it’s sports figures, musicians, or actors, these famous people may be making it hard to place God at the front and center of their lives. 

Let’s face it, if there’s a scantily clad woman on your son’s wall, that’s what his attention is going to be on—not God. 

How often have you ever seen a teenager’s room with a rendering of Jesus hanging on the wall? I’d say these instances are few and far between.

Yet, Jesus is who we (and our kids) need to idolize. He died a horrible, painful death by one the worst methods of torture and execution that has ever come out of the evil heart of man. 

He did that so that we could stand spotless before the Father, washed clean of our sin, as He took all our sin upon Himself. 

His resurrection and conquering of the grave was the final straw, so to speak, as He was the firstfruits of us believers who will live eternally with Him.

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing personal against LeBron James, Bradley Cooper, or Justin Bieber—but have they ever done anything personal for you or your children? 

They’re idolized because of what they have accomplished in their chosen fields, not necessarily what they have done to help humanity.

I believe that we as parents need to set the proper examples for our children by placing our priorities in the right places. 

We need to honor God and put Him first place in our homes. 

If discussions of bedroom posters come up, we should have heart-to-heart talks with our kids and help them understand how hanging a particular image on their wall is a form of idolatry.

But we need to go further than that. We can’t just sit back and expect our kids not to follow the examples we set for them. 

God should be honored in our households, whether that’s through a prominent display of a family Bible or an artist’s rendition of Christ. 

What our kids see us doing will have an even greater impact on our families, as children tend to pick up habits from watching their parents, in contrast to the appropriate advice their parents try to impart to them.

It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. To raise up the next generation of leaders whose hearts are in the right place—honoring God— we have to do the hard work of setting the right example for our children.

Who’s in?