Overcoming Mayhem Like Me with God’s Love
At the beginning of the year I blogged about Mayhem Like Me. The human condition we find ourselves in thanx to original sin and living in a fallen world. It’s true. We sin. Sometimes we out and out disobey God, aka transgress. But that is not the end of the story! We can be encouraged by the Love of God and as a result cause less mayhem in our lives and in the lives of the people around us. Before I elaborate, let’s watch another one of those clever Allstate commercials that crack me up so much:
As I pointed out at the first of the year, you are in Good Hands when you are in God’s Hands. That is the answer to Mayhem like me.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
This verse is often misapplied to mean that God won’t give you more in this life than you can handle. I believe what Paul is saying here is that when you are tempted, God provides a way out and the temptation is not so intense that you can’t escape it.
What is the best way to escape temptation? Apply a heavy dose of God’s Love. God has often spoken to me to, “never forget how much I love you.” For me (and I’m guessing for you too) when I start to think that God has forgotten me, and my patience in doing good is wearing thin, that’s when I get discouraged and start entertaining mayhem. Stuff that might be fun for a season, but ultimately can bring pain into my life and others around me.
How do you stay encouraged in God’s Love? Stay plugged into the vine. Spend time with Him and in His Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. As you listen to how much He loves you, and as you are reminded of all the wonderful things He has done for you, you can’t help but want to love Him back.
How do you love God back? Jesus explained more than once. It’s Love. Love God, Love People. When I teach Sunday School I tell the kids that if they forget everything else I tell them to remember one thing (which is two things). Love God. Love People. Jesus said in Matthew 22:35-40:
35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
37 And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus also said to His disciples in John 14, “if you love Me you will keep my commandments.”
That is impossible to do perfectly. If we could keep God’s commandments by ourselves, we wouldn’t need Jesus to save us in the first place. Thankfully, God DID send Jesus to rescue us from mayhem.
So the practice of keeping mayhem out of our lives is a simple one, yet a daily struggle to walk out. First we have to accept the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. Once we do that we receive God’s Spirit to dwell inside of us. God’s Spirit leads us into all truth which boils down to Love God, Love People. If we Love God we will keep His commands. If we love people we won’t steal from them, murder them, talk bad about them behind their backs and sleep with them outside of marriage. When we have moments of weakness and give in to temptation we can run to a loving God who will forgive us because He has already paid for our sins on the cross. As we apply God’s Love in our own hearts daily, we will be better able to resist when temptation comes knocking. I love the saying, “when the devil comes knocking, send Jesus to answer the door.” It’s with His strength that we fight the good fight.
Mayhem like me? Unfortunately yes at times. But thanx to God that He gives me the power to say no to mayhem and yes to His love! When someone else gives in to mayhem and it affects me, thanx to God’s love I can forgive and even help restore the damage done.
Mayhem may be with us until Jesus comes back, but if we will practice His love in our lives, and share it with others, there will be less mayhem and more of God’s Love. That’s how God’s Kingdom is come to Earth as it is in Heaven.
I Have a Dream
Originally posted at MikeShaw.tv
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. A dream that is clearly a Biblical principle. That men would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day I think it’s appropriate to listen again to that amazing speech given in August of 1963.
There are some that complain that the Bible condones slavery. Dr. King, being a preacher of God’s Word, knew that that couldn’t be further from the truth. Unfortunately slave traders and slave owners of the 18th and 19th Centuries did what they could to cloud the issue and attempt to justify their sin. They pointed to passages in the Bible that seem to approve of slavery, but left out some very important facts.
The most important is that the slavery that was allowed in Biblical times was indentured servitude. Back then if you went into debt and couldn’t repay, you became a slave to pay off the debt. Once the debt was paid, or at Jubilee, a slave was to be set free and debt free. Many servants liked the way their masters took care of them and chose to stay as Bond Servants. (just as God’s people are called to be His Bond Servants)
Meanwhile, Man Stealing was explicitly forbidden in the Law and was punishable by death:
Exodus 21:16
16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.
Any slave trader who tried to justify kidnapping people to sell them into slavery by using the Bible was adding to their list of sins.
Indeed it was a Christian that fought to end the slave trade in England. They made a movie about the life of William Wilberforce, “Amazing Grace.” The famous hymn of the same name was written by a former slave trader who later became a member of the clergy. The song conveys the amazing grace of God who can rescue even a slave trader from his horrible sins thanx to the sacrifice made on the cross by God’s only Son Jesus!
If you want to know God’s heart when it comes to prejudice you can look at Moses and his sister Miriam. In Numbers Chapter 12 we learn that Miriam and Aaron were upset at Moses because he had married an Ethiopian. God got upset and gave Miriam a taste of Leprosy:
Number 12:9-11
9 So the anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed. 10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. 11 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned.
Moses cried out to God to heal his sister and God answered, but only after Miriam stayed outside of camp for seven days. God says that man judges the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.. One of many great points that Martin Luther King, Jr. made in his speech was that man should see his fellow man as God sees him.
I have a dream that echos the dreams of Dr. King. That this nation will turn to Biblical principles. That God’s Word and Spirit would guide our individual words and actions. That lawmakers and those appointed in authority would look to God for guidance as they lead. And yes, that God would continue to bless America and that He would use His people to be salt and light always.
Mayhem Like Me
Originally posted at MikeShaw.tv
Like Me
I love the new Allstate commercials:
As I was pondering the new year, it occurred to me that my life has had a lot of self imposed mayhem in it. Everyone’s does, really. Ever since Adam and Eve decided to disobey God and mayhem entered the world. None of us can escape. There is none that searches after God, not one. Thanx to our fallen nature we fall short of God’s best. Also known as sin. You and I sin all kinds of different ways every day. We may mean well, but we just can’t hit the target. Then there are the times that we do what is wrong even when we know better.
Our Sins and transgressions have consequences. Mayhem. What’s worse is the people around us and their bad choices can bring mayhem into our lives! Gee. Thanx a lot. But, before we get all high minded, spiritual and self righteous about it, our sin and transgressions are bringing mayhem into the lives of people around us too. It really is unavoidable.
But wait. There IS good news! Jesus came so that we might have life, life more abundant, and God even takes the mayhem in our lives and brings good out of it for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes!
He also changes me and helps me to avoid sin and transgression!
Dealing with a little (or a lot) of mayhem? God has you covered. Now those are good hands!
Independence Day
Celebrate!
In the United States of America we celebrate our independence from tyranny and British rule. The Deceleration of Independence signed on July 4, 1776 was the birth of the greatest country the world has ever seen.
However, the freedom we enjoy had to be fought for. There were shooting wars with the British, the Germans, the Japanese and others that threatened the freedom that our founding fathers purchased with blood. There was the cold war with the USSR. We have the declared, and now undeclared, war against Al-Qaeda, or some would say Radical Islam.
Fact is, our freedoms, though free for us to enjoy, have been won and are maintained at a high cost. Brave men and women have died so we can eat our bratwurst in safety and in freedom.
Of course there is more to freedom. Those of us who have Jesus as our Lord and our Savior are reminded of a King who died for His subjects. Who gave everything He had so His children could have freedom. Freedom from sin. Freedom from condemnation. Freedom from God’s wrath that is to come.
The moment you believe in your heart that Jesus was the only son of God who died for your sins and on the third day rose from the dead, and you confess it with your mouth, you have freedom. You can’t earn it. You can’t be a good enough person. Jesus had to shed His blood so you that you might live.
Our freedom was bought with a high price. That is worth celebrating July 4th and every day!
Stars Really Do Sing
A Star is Born!
Scientists are discovering what God knew all along. Stars are musical. You could even say they sing. Gives new meaning to being a star.
Let’s start in Job 38. God is basically asking Job who he is to question God’s judgment. Starting in verse 3:
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone-7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
Read the whole thing. It’s very cool!
Did you notice verse 7?
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
The morning stars sing together? Really? Really!
I blogged about this a few years ago, but today I found an update. Scientists have now recorded some of the music that our Sun is “singing”
From the article:
Astronomers at the University of Sheffield have managed to record for the first time the eerie musical harmonies produced by the magnetic field in the outer atmosphere of the sun.
They found that huge magnetic loops that have been observed coiling away from the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere, known as coronal loops, vibrate like strings on a musical instrument.
I guess God knew what He was talking about.
When I was a kid in Sunday School and a lover of science, I still remember how my Sunday School teacher told me that the Bible talked about springs in the ocean. Springs that scientists were just discovering. Doctors know that laughter does do good like a medicine! Studies also show that prayer works.
You can trust God! And that is music to my ears.
Chris Norden Testimony
Chris Norden was on a hike with a local MeetUp Hiking Group. It was May 22, 2008, just about a year before this story was shot. It was a beautiful day and the group was having great fun climbing in the Catalina Mountains outside of Tucson. That’s when disaster struck. A gust of wind knocked Chris off balance and he fell 60 feet to his certain death! Chris called on the Lord, and well, we’ll let you hear the rest from Chris:
How Great a Love!
One of my favorite verses:
Psalm 103:11
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him”
Wow. That’s a lot of lovingkindness! Can you calculate such a great love? You can try, but the mind goes tilt. Here’s an illustration.
Let’s assume that the heavens are roughly 12 billion light years “high.” That’s about the distance to the farthest galaxies observed by telescopes. 12 billion is a huge number already, but 12 billion light years much much more so.
A light year is 186,000 miles light travels in a second times 60 seconds in a minute times 60 minutes in an hour times 24 hours in a day time 364 1/4 days in a year. That’s 186,000 x 60 x 60 x 24 x 364.25 = 5,853,643,200,000. But wait. That’s just ONE light year. Now we times that by 12,000,000,000. So, 5,853,643,200,000 x 12,000,000,000 =are you ready?
“roughly” 70,243,718,400,000,000,000,000
That’s in miles from here to the furthest galaxies. I don’t even know how you say that!
Or, how about this from Psalm 139:
17How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand
God is thinking PRECIOUS thoughts about YOU! Judging from the number of grains of sand on one beach, let alone all the beaches, I’d say you are on His mind CONSTANTLY!
Next time you are tempted to get down on yourself, or are tempted to think God doesn’t care, remember what God says. He is WITH YOU! and He LOVES YOU more than you can imagine.
He is risen!
Luke 24 (NASB)
The Resurrection
1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing;
5and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
6 “He is not here, but He has risen Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,
7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
8 And they remembered His words,
9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.
11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.
12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
The Road to Emmaus
13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.
15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.
16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.
17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”
19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,
20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.
21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.
22 “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,
23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.
24 “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”
25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther.
29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.
30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”
33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,
34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”
35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
Other Appearances
36 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.
38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish;
43 and He took it and ate it before them.
44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 “You are witnesses of these things.
49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple praising God.
Our God is Alive!
Here we are. Good Friday eve and the true and living God continues to demonstrate His power and His love. As we approach Easter we remember that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ willingly gave His life so we might have life and a relationship with Him.
The most amazing thing about Easter is, He didn’t stay dead! The tomb is EMPTY. He is risen! He is risen indeed! Now, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for the saints. If you believe in your heart that Jesus died for you and rose again, and you confess it with your mouth, the Bible says in Romans 10:9 & 10 that you are saved!
Jesus is praying for you. His ministry is active on the Earth. We received the most amazing e-mail this morning. Some of the specifics we can not share, but some we can. It was a prayer request. I don’t know what country they were righting from, but they are preaching to Muslims and Muslims are coming to Christ! They are praying for protection. Here is a part of the e-mail so you will know how to pray:
We would like to share with you that our Lord Jesus has given a burden and vision in our lives to REACHING SPECIFICALLY TO THE MUSLIMS BY HIS GOSPEL. Therefore, we have submitted our lives into His hands to be used according to His will and guidance in our lives. As we are continuously sharing & witnessing about Jesus to our Muslim neighbors, He is touching and speaking to their hearts. The Muslims are being open to The Gospel of Christ and being interested to know more about Him. Several of them surrendered their lives to Jesus and they are worshiping Him in Truth & Spirit. Praise His holy name!
The believers are living under the fatwa (threats) of fanatic Muslims, but our Living God has protecting them for His glory.
Humbly, we are requesting you please pray for God’s guidance and protection in our lives & specially for the believers . They are in great need of your kind prayers in their lives.
Please join your prayers with ours for protection for these servants of God who are risking their lives for the sake of others. That God would not only protect them, but bless them with His presence and power! That the ministry would grow and many many more hearts would receive eternal life through Jesus Christ!
Pray for the new believers. That they would be protected from those who would want to do them harm. That their precious faith would grow! That God would fill them with His peace and His strength.
Happy Easter! He is Risen indeed!
God's Wrath?
A very respected pastor has made a dire prediction. That many of the nations, and the worlds, cities will soon be infernos. Pastor David Wilkerson is quoted in a World Net Daily exclusive:
David Wilkerson, author of “The Cross and the Switchblade,” a book about his ministry to troubled New York street kids that was later made into a movie starring Pat Boone, tells readers of his blog this weekend that he is “compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message” about his prediction.
“An earth-shattering calamity is about to happen,” he writes. “It is going to be so frightening, we are all going to tremble – even the godliest among us.”
He is quoted later in the article saying that it will be God pouring out His wrath in judgment on sinful nations. This is where I feel compelled to interject. While I don’t disagree that some horrible disaster might be on the horizon, I do NOT believe it will be God’s wrath!
We live in a fallen world and we have an enemy. Satan and a third of the angels have been cast out of Heaven. Revelation 12:12 says:
12“For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
Yes, the devil is not happy. He hates you. You are made in God’s image. He wants to destroy God, but since he can’t, he’s after you and your testimony.
Now don’t get me wrong. God hates sin and He has, is, and will, deal with it. Just not the way some people think. First, God dealt with sin on the cross. He poured out His wrath on Jesus so He wouldn’t have to pour it out on you! If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior than the Bible says that you are redeemed from the curse of the law. That’s good news! That’s THE good news!
Abraham knew God and He knew God’s character. The LORD and a couple of His angels were on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham made a plea on Sodom’s behalf. You can read the whole thing in Genesis 18, but here’s a revealing snippet:
25“Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
26So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”
Abraham knew that God wouldn’t deal with the righteous unrighteously! God only found one righteous man in Sodom and he got Lot and his family out first before He destroyed the place. God’s character hasn’t changed.
After 911 many pastors said God was judging America for our sins. Same after Hurricane Katrina. Do you think there were 10 righteous believers in those planes that hit the twin towers? In the Pentagon? In New Orleans?
Prepare for hard times? Sure. It’s good to recognize the season and the times we are in. Blame God for it? No. I’m gonna blame our enemy and use uncertain times to tell people about a loving God who died for them so they don’t have to. A God who wants to make their future solid in Him.
Jesus said all of these things must come to pass. He is working out His plan. Jesus also said not to worry because He had overcome the world! We can overcome the world too, but only if we know Jesus; as Savior, as Lord and as a friend. I have no doubt that Pastor Wilkerson would agree. The bottom line to what I believe Pastor is saying is what Jesus is saying. Know God, make Him known and trust Him with your life no matter what.
