"Vomit"

"As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly."  Proverbs 26:11

This verse is pretty graphic.  It certainly paints a picture-- not a very pleasant one.  We all know what vomit is.  It is matter that has been regurgitated and ejected from the stomach.  For some reason what was eaten, or drank, did not settle well in the stomach and the body took care of it by getting it out.

The bigger picture that the verse is painting is one that shows how repulsive it is for us to continue to go back to the same sins over and over again.  It didn't "agree" with our spirits to begin with, and it won't again.  For you to continue to go back to your "folly" (sin) is degrading to the person God created you to be. 

God has called you to live an abundant life.  Not a life of bondage continually returning to those things that pull you further down and away from Him.  But I have good news, you don't have to be like a fool.  You don't have to keep returning to the same pit of "vomit".  You can live in victory.  You can live in abundance of peace, joy and grace.  How?  Through Jesus.  He overcame the power of sin.  He got the victory over those things that would keep you going back and forth to old sinful habits and practices.  He provides you His power and strength to resist and to stand firm and overcome.  Through Him you are more than a conqueror over those things that would entice you to return to them. 

Don't give in!  Don't go back!  Don't return to those old habits, old ways and old sins!  Don't be like a dog returning to his own vomit.  Be the wise, victorious, overcoming person that you are through Jesus.

Have a great day.  Going back again to those sins that have had you in bondage in the past is like a dog returning to its vomit.  

"Choose Joy"

"....the joy of the Lord is your strength."  Nehemiah 8:10

God has given us a free will to choose how we want to live life.  If you want to live it as a Scrooge, a "sourpuss", disagreeable, complaining, always agitated and aggravated, just downright mean and nasty, then He will let you choose that.  But that isn't His will for your life.  His will is that you have abundant life. 

Abundant life includes a life of joy.  It isn't a life of happiness as some believe.  Happiness is based on what is happening around you.  If things are going well, if everybody likes you, if there are no problems, if you have everything you want, then you are happy.  But when things go wrong, when your world falls apart, when people come against you, when others forsake you, when you are lacking, in need and in want, then you are unhappy.  Happiness is based on the "physical" surroundings. 

Joy on the other hand, is rooted in the "spirit".  It is not governed by what is happening around you.  It is the very nature and character of God.  It is constant.  It remains during the bad times, hardships, times of want and need, when your world looks like it is ending.  Joy is not a "fair weather friend".  It won't abandon you when you are going through difficulties-- unlike happiness which will.  Does that mean you won't experience some pain, or grief, or frustration, or confusion when things are going badly? No, but joy, again unlike happiness, won't let the situation destroy you.      

Do you have the Lord's joy in your life?  You can.  It is a gift.  (Everything we receive from the Lord is a gift-- it is unmerited and unearned.)  It is part of the "abundant life package" that God wants you to have.  But, as with any gift, you are not obligated to receive it.  You choose to receive it or not.  God is not going to force it upon you.  He could, but He won't because of who He is.  He is love.  Love never forces itself; it allows you the right and freedom to choose. 

What is your choice for life?  To be a sad, mean person, complaining and full of self-pity when things go wrong?  Or will you choose to live in God's gift of abundant life and enjoy His sustaining strength that comes through joy even when things are at their worst?

Have a great day.  You have the free will to choose how you want to spend your life.    

For further reading:
John 10:10
Galatians 5:22
1 John 4:8

"Heart Or Mind?"

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."  Psalm 139:14

"That my soul knoweth right well."  The Psalmist knew some things about God on a personal level.  "For I am".  He knew that it was God who had made him.  It was God who formed him in his mother's womb.  He knew that God loved him, cared for him, and had compassion on him.  He knew that God had not made a mistake when He made him.  "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." 

These things that he knew about God, he knew in his inner most being.  "My soul knoweth right well".  He did not just have a "head knowledge" of God.  He didn't have a knowledge based on someone else's testimony of God.  He knew it personally in the deepest recesses of his heart.

Sadly, the majority of people only have a head knowledge, an educated understanding, what they have read in a book or what someone else has told them about God.  "Head knowledge" is never enough.  You have to have a "heart knowledge".  You have to know in your heart.  You have to have a relationship with Him that is deep rooted in your heart. 

Even the devils "believe" that God is who He is.  But their belief does them no good.  It is with the heart that man believes, and that heart belief makes him righteous. 

What do you know about God really isn't the right question.  The question is, "Do you know Him?"  But that too still isn't the right question.  The right question is, "Do you know Him with your heart/soul/innermost being?" 

Have a great day.  Do you know the Lord in your heart or only in your mind?

For further reading:
Romans 10:9,10
James 2:19 

 

"I Won't If"

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"  Jeremiah 17:9

How many times have you given into some besetting sin or habit that you know you should not be doing?  It may not be some "big" thing, but it still makes you feel bad and brings guilt along with it.  Each time you did it you have repented and asked God for forgiveness.  Each time you have told Him, and yourself, that you will never do it again.  But you do it again anyway. 

When this happens and we are confessing it to the Lord, we can't make the statement to Him that we will never do it again.  As much as we may not want to do it, as much as we plan on not doing it again, as much as we may even be sincere in our desire and statement not to do it, we can't say it with total honesty because of our own hearts. 

We may believe we won't do it again because of shear will power and determination not to, but the fact is that our hearts are desperately wicked.  They will deceive us.  They will make us think that we won't but yet we will. 

The only true profession that we can make about this has to include an "if". 

I won't do it again if, I seek first the Kingdom of God.
I won't do it again if, I stay in constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
I won't do it again if, I continue to follow the Lord in each thing I do, each thought, each action.
I won't do it again if, I submit myself continually to Jesus' Lordship over my life.
I won't do it again if, I will be led by the Holy Spirit.
I won't do it again if, I keep my mind renewed with God's Word.
I won't do it again if, I humble myself before the mighty hand of God.
I won't do it again if, I remain in the position of a living sacrifice.
I won't do it again if, I will listen to and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.
I won't do it again if, I will rest upon His strength and power.

Because of my desperately wicked heart, which is out to destroy me, I can't keep such a vow, no matter how much I desire to, in and of myself.  I have to have the Lord's help.  I have to walk in His grace, strength and power.  It is as I truly realize that I can do all things through Christ and invoke His help that then my vow and desire not to do certain things is fulfilled. 

Have a great day.  I may say I won't do it again, but that is only if I stay close to the Lord and follow Him.   
 

"It's Just A Thing"

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."  1 Peter 5:17

 My dad has this saying that he uses when things go wrong, when something breaks down, when something tears up, or a situation arises, and something needs to be repaired.  The saying-- "It's just a thing."

When a situation like I have described arises, my dad is responsible and takes care of the problem by fixing what he can but does it with the attitude of "it is just a thing".  Meaning that problems in life happen.  Meaning that you shouldn't be so consumed with the problem.  Meaning that it will be all right, don't worry so much about it.

There are many things and problems that arise in our life that we need to basically have this same attitude about--"it's just a thing".  We need to treat those things which are "minor" as "just a thing".  We don't need to turn a "mole hill into a mountain".  We need to stop letting that "thing" cause us so much grief, worry and frustration.  We need to stop letting it steal our joy and rob us of our peace.  We need to stop letting it have so much power over us-- over our attitude, over our emotions, etc.  After all, it is just a thing.  It is a temporary thing that won't last forever.  It is a thing that is subject to failure.  It may even breakdown again, or many times.  It is subject to change. 

You and I need to treat more things in life like they are "just a thing".  You are worrying over something you have no control over.  You are upset with something you can't prevent from happening.  All your worrying and fretting isn't going to change it. You are striving over something that will work itself out eventually anyway.  Loosen up.  Learn to cast your care upon the Lord.  Ask Him to help you to look at things from a proper perspective.  Ask Him to help you see what really is major and merits your attention, and what is "just a thing".

Have a great day.  Stop worrying over something that is "just a thing".