Little Liars vs. Rescued Children

I am sure that you have seen this video. (If you can't see it, click here.) It's been all over the inter-webs. The mom and kid have been on Ellen. Celebrating what a cute little liar he is.

 

The premise of the clip is that this boy is flat out denying what he did. He is saying right to his mom that he didn't eat any sprinkles.  

After viewing it numerous times, I am reminded how much I resemble that young boy.  For how often do I sin right in front of the Law Giver and demand - DEMAND - that I have done nothing wrong.

Oh God. "Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips..." (Is. 40:31)

The amazing thing is that there are two sides to this story. For even though you and I sin numerous times (daily/hourly/minute-by-minute), our Father see's us as though we have never done anything wrong. In seeing us, He sees His Son. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." (2 Cor. 4:16)

What glorious truth. For we are the rescued children of God.
Honestly. That shakes me to the core.

Conviction AND Encouragement

The Bible study that I am attending is going through Paul's first letter to the church in Thessalonica.  This has been a great book.  Lots of discussion and encouragement from other guys in our group.

This morning, the verses that struck me were the following:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

I have been convicted lately of how I blow things out of proportion and I don't always see the good in things.  Here, God is convicting me again to be joyful - always, to prayer, and to be thankful for all things. When I read that, I don't see room to blow things out of proportion.

I am also convinced that God is the one working in me to produce those kinds of actions. For it IS God's will that this would be done in me. In you. Paul continues that thought of sanctification in verse 24 by saying that He who called us is faithful. He will do it.

I love how the Word does that. It brings to light both our own sin and the grace of Christ to cover it.

Thankful for Shoveling Snow and Hits on the Head

Where as a typical morning, upon waking, I would go out for a run.  The past couple of days this hasn't been the case.  We have been getting a bit of snow.  Not a lot, but enough to cover our driveway.

This morning wasn't really different from other mornings with snow, except for that fact that I was hit on the head by the Holy Spirit. 

 

Conviction is good for our hearts. 

My "normal" routine of shoveling, probably like yours, is to start at the edge of our garage and slowly make my way down to the street.  This morning was just that.  I started scooping off the inch or so of white powder and kept moving along.  I wasn't paying attention to much. Just enjoying the quiet of the morning.

Shoveling the driveway, of course, is just part of the routine.  There is our front walk, that leads to our front door and our sidewalk in front of our house.  And our neighbors house.  Bruce.

For some reason, Bruce doesn't like to shovel his sidewalk. Or driveway for some reason.  This morning while shoveling in front of Bruce's house, I started thinking, "Bruce never really thanks me for shoveling his driveway... I wonder why... Here I am, breaking my back, for what? For this?  Bruce needs to thank me for doing this service for him.  I mean, he has a snow-blower, why doesn't he use it. Here I am shoveling! Bruce, you need to thank me for all that I am doing for you."

 

Then he hit me. Not Bruce, but the Holy Spirit. It was like a 2x4 to the head.  

I immediately remembered a conversation that my son and I had a month or so ago.  We were talking about tithes and offerings.  Giving and then also receiving.  The one thing that I remember, my son saying was,

"We don't give to get. We give because we have been given much."

Boom. There it was.

What was I thinking? How horrible of me to think of giving to get.  I was immediatly convicted of not serving/loving my neighbor. I was cut to the case. God used the words of my son to bring me to my knees.

"Oh God, I am sorry. Please forgive me."

As I drove to work this morning, Bruce was out snow-blowing his driveway. We both exchanged waves. He's a good man. I am thankful for him and for the sidewalk that connects our two houses.

Never Stop Singing - For That is What You Were Made To Do

Truth be told, I don't have a pretty voice. I am not the crooner in our family. Nope, not a rock star when it comes to singing either.  I think I sound more like a medium sized dog attempting to carry a tune.  

For those who have heard me sing, you may be scratching your head and think that I just paid myself to much of a compliment.  No worries - I telling you what I hear in my own head when I sing.  Let's just say that people in front of me at church will turn around sometimes while we are singing.  They politely smile and nod and then slowly turn back to the front.  All as if to say "Someone needs to put that medium sized dog, attempting to carry a tune, out of his misery..."

Regardless, I sing. I like to sing.  Honestly, it makes me feel good.  
I decided to do a bit of research of singing and the benefits of it.  Interestingly enough, singing is good for you.  Many studies done over the years have focused on the health benefits of singing, and the evidence is pretty amazing. According to Professor Graham Welch, Director of Educational Research, University of Surrey, Roehampton, UK;

Singing releases endorphins into your system and makes you feel energized and uplifted. People who sing are healthier than people who don’t.
Singing gives the lungs a workout.
Singing tones abdominal and intercostal muscles and the diaphragm, and stimulates circulation.
Singing makes us breathe more deeply than many forms of strenuous exercise, so we take in more oxygen, improve aerobic capacity and experience a release of muscle tension as well. 

Others have said;
Singing can prolong life.
Singing lifts your mood.
Singing encourages blood circulation.
Singing drives away depression.
Singing means fewer doctor visits and fewer medications.
Singing drives away fear.
Singing improves your mood.
Singing releases the same feel-good brain chemicals as sex and chocolate.
Singing is an effective stress reliever and improves sleep.
Singing releases pain-relieving endorphins, helping you to forget that painful ________.
Singing improves posture.
Singing clears sinuses and respiratory tubes.
Singing tones your facial and stomach muscles.
Singing helps you find friends (well... most of the time...)
Singing strengthens concentration and memory.
Singing broadens expressive communication.
Singing adds a rich, more pleasant quality to speech. 
Singing is an ageless enjoyment – you are never too young or too old.

I would argue, that singing for purely exercise is missing what it was really intended to do.  Singing with a mission has the ability to do so much more than just a selfish exercise.
For in the realm of the heavens, singing, or worship rather has the ability to demolish cities - think of Jericho.
Singing brings one into a conversation with our Creator.
Singing gives us the ability to bring our petitions before the Father. Either alone or collectively.
Singing has the ability to teach us - helping us remember the actions of God and reminding us of the grace of God.
Singing helps us to put life into perspective - recognizing that our problems may not be as big as we think them to be.
Singing reminds us Who is on the Throne.
Singing helps us to be evangelistic. 
Singing helps us to pray.
Singing helps us remember the Great Wedding song that is yet to be sung on that great and glorious day.

Friends, let me remind you to sing.  Don't hold back.  The church, even the world, needs more men, women and children singing - worshiping Christ. Lift your voices today and all your days.

    And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
    “Great and amazing are your deeds,
        O Lord God the Almighty!
    Just and true are your ways,
        O King of the nations!
(Revelation 15:3)        

How Marriages Fall Apart

I found this great article on the Biblical Counseling Coalition blog titled 10 Ways that Satan Loves to Watch Marriages Fall Apart by Deepak Reju.  In it, Deepak encourages those of us who are married to be on guard for the devil.  Satan's intention is clear - to steal, kill and destroy.  Not just our life, but in every facet of our lives. Especially in our marriages.

Deepak explains that often times, the devil can sit back (in a sense) and not do anything with our marriages, because we are destroying them enough on our own.  He suggests 10 areas where marriages have difficulty.  See if any of these resonate with you:

Spouses live in the flesh and not in the Spirit.

    But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
    If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
(Galatians 5:16-26) 

No sex in marriage.

Couples who don’t have regular sex are allowing a barrier to come between them. No sex in marriage means the couples is less unified.

A husband is consumed by pornography.

    Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
(1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)

Lofty, sky-high expectations.

I’ve seen men crushed under the weight of their wives’ perfectionistic expectations. The husband says things like, “She expects me to be a holy man.” He constantly feels like a failure, and therefore has little to no incentive to actually work at the marriage. She beats him up (verbally, not physically) because (in the words of one spouse I counseled) “nothing else seems to work to get him to do anything.”  

Nuclear war.

No explanation needed.

Avoidance and withdrawal.

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
(Ephesians 4:26-27)

Hate speech.

How many times have we said something that we later regretted?  Oh be careful "little" tongue what you speak...

Weak boundaries.

Guys, know where the boundaries are and stick to them.  No flirting with friends or strangers.  No pictures of other ladies in your home gym or garage.  

Work - idolatry.

Where is your passion?  We all know that we could work more and harder, but not at the expense of our marriage.

Lying.   

All lying destroys.  Our marriages are not exempt from that truth.      Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
(Colossians 3:9-10)    

So men, women, guard your heart and you'll guard your marriage.  It's worth it. "But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45)

For the full article, click here.

Would you add any other "marriage-destroyers" to this list?
What do you and your spouse do to protect the covenant?