The green-eyed monster

By John Stallings




A number of years ago I saw the movie Amadeus. Though I could hardly stand some of characters, I was captivated by the story & brilliance of the actors. I could easily see why the movie was an Academy Award winner.

The story revolved around the musical genius Mozart, & a man named Antonio Salieri, a court musician to Austria’s King. Salieri was envious of the rich talents of young Mozart; talents he fell far short of. Though he could compose music it was not great music; consequently he was consumed with envy of Mozart’s talents. This led him to scheme & plot against Mozart at every turn.

He stole Mozart’s compositions, bribed Mozart’s servants & informed the King about Mozart’s indiscretions. Salieri’s envy eventually drove him to insanity. The movie ends with Salieri cursing God for denying him the talent which He gave Mozart. The story line shows what happens when a good man like Salieri is filled with & finally destroyed by envy.


ENVY IS A LARGE SUBJECT IN THE BIBLE

Envy is listed as one of the lusts of the flesh in Gal.5:21.When envy is compared to anger & wrath, it’s so ghastly that the question is raised, “who is able to stand before envy?” Though envy is a huge sin, it’s possible to be envious of anything; the ability to hit a baseball, score a basket, or water-ski. You can envy someone’s intelligence, wisdom, knowledge, & ability to talk or pray in public. You can envy another persons possessions, spouse, money, children, family, job or career. I heard a preacher say once that an envious person can be envious of the very “shine on your shoes.”

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the New Testament defines envy as “The feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others.”

Envy is a sin to which few people confess, but where sins are concerned, envy is one of the most subtle, & ugly of them all. Webster defines envy as; “A chagrin or discontent at the excellence or good fortune of another.”

In other words, envy is feeling bad about another person doing well. When our neighbor gets a five bedroom house & we are upset because we only have four, that’s envy. Eventually the envious person will end up hating the person who is the object of their envy.

When someone you envy gets into trouble, it’s hard to suppress a feeling of satisfaction. The face of envy is never attractive. It is among some of the most debasing & degenerate sins that ever characterized sinful men mentioned in Romans chapter one (Rom.1:29.) In the Bible, envy is always in the worst of company.

PRAY TELL WHERE IS THE GRATIFICATION IN ENVY?

Envy is unique. Other sins are terribly destructive, but they at least have a few thrills & gratification, in the early stages.

Does envy, even for a New York minute, ever make you feel better? As far as I can see, we gain nothing from envy. All you get from it is endless self-torment, yet its appetite is ravenous & ever increasing. The wise man said envy is “the rottenness of the bones.” Bone Cancer. (Prov.14:30.)

The awful bite of envy packs a double-whammy; for it causes you not only feel bad because of someone else’s good fortune, at the same time it causes you to devalue your own good gifts. Isn’t that horrendous? A person may be faithful church-goer, & live a good life yet harbor enough envy in his heart to destroy him. Almost everyone has had a little smidgen of envy at some time or another.

For example, I can hear another preacher who is outstanding, & if I’m envious, my first tendency is to think of myself as a very unskillful preacher. What I forget is-- that preacher didn’t steal his gifts from me. I’m just as good (or bad) a preacher as I ever was. That preacher hasn’t done one thing to devalue, or diminish my preaching. But the old devil envy has robbed me of the ability to appreciate what I have, & who I am in God.

Yet with this thing called envy, you meet someone you think might have more gifts & skills than you, you start to see yourself as having fewer gifts. Such is the awesome power of envy to distort our thinking processes.

BUT YOU HAVEN’T HEARD THE WORST ABOUT ENVY

Just feeling bad because you don’t have something that the other person has isn’t the worst part. The worst part, the most tragic part is; you wish the other person didn’t have what they have so you wouldn’t have to suffer your “imaginary disadvantage.”


Jesus knew how harmful envy could be. Not only is He God, he was schooled in the Hebrew religion & its many illustrations of the destructive power of envy. The Bible abounds with examples of unchecked envy & its dire consequences. Envy has a very high mortality rate.

· The very first murder, the killing of Abel by his brother Cain, was sparked by envy.

· The 10th commandment is about envy-“You shall not covet.” If we’re not careful, envy will cause us to break the 8th commandment, “You shall not steal.”

· Envy is the big factor in the story Jesus told about the laborers in the vineyard, in Matt. 20. Look at the story. The owner of the vineyard, at the end of the day paid all the workers the same though some came early & some came later in the day. The workers who worked hard all day felt it wasn’t fair to be paid the same as the ones who only worked a short time. However, the owner reminded them that he hadn’t defrauded them in any way. They were paid what was agreed upon. The owner went on to say, “Why are you envious because I am generous?”

· The same thing was happening in the story of the prodigal son. The older brother said, “It isn’t fair for you to welcome this wayward brother home with a big party when I’ve stayed home all these years & worked hard. You never gave a party in my honor.”

· Joseph’s brothers were “moved with envy”& hated him so much they couldn’t speak a kind word to him, & finally they sold him into Egyptian slavery.

· The religious leaders were motivated by envy when they lead the Jews to crucify the Son of God. Matt. 27:18.

· Rachel envied Leah because she was barren & Leah had children. Gen.30:1.

· The Philistines were envious of Isaac because of his large flocks & many servants. Gen. 26:14.

· James says envy is devilish. James 3:15.

· Envy can make the righteous to be unhappy. Psalm. 73:3.

One thing is for certain. We will never be able to find contentment in this life if we compare ourselves to others because there’ll always be things that won’t seem fair. Envy makes it impossible to be happy with another person’s good fortune, & is a traveling companion to depression.

Just a question or two;

· Is it possible that sometimes our envy springs from a feeling of insecurity about our own worth?

· If you truly felt good about yourself, would you always be comparing yourself to others?


· If we were secure in your own sense of worth, would we worry so much about other people’s accomplishments or good fortunes?


· Is it possible that whenever we are envious or jealous of another person’s talent, it’s because we haven’t fully recognized our own gifts?

Our efforts to bolster our self-esteem at the expense of someone we envy do us more harm than good.

Going back to the story of the workers in the vineyard, I used to wonder why the owner of the vineyard didn’t pay the workers who worked all day first, then send them away. After that, he could have paid anyone what he wanted to with no repercussion. The hardest workers would never have known the difference. One day I saw that if that had been the case, the story would have lost its teaching power. Now we have a marvelous story, -- not of life being fair, --- but of how the grace of God works.

Jesus is giving very valuable teaching that God really doesn’t love some people more than others because they are more “religious”, or attend the “right” church, or have the “correct belief.”

Do you remember the commercial that said, “We make money the old fashioned way, we earn it?” Some folk think God operates this way, but He doesn’t. It might be old fashioned but it’s not what Jesus taught & lived.

SOME PEOPLE WANT TO BE ENVIED

This is often seen among children who brag about their summer vacations & exciting trip so that the other children will be envious of them. It’s not only kids who seek this psychological fulfillment, for many adults also want to be objects of envy.

Advertisers & merchants have discovered that one way to sell a product is to create envy among those who don’t have it, i.e. $353,590 Rolls Royce’s, & $274,900 + Lamborghini’s. The same principle works with cloths, houses & furniture.

Let’s be very clear; according to Gods Word, all envy is sinful & destructive & makes one worthy of God’s judgment. Also, to purposely create or seek to generate envy is as great as the envy itself. To buy or practice conspicuous consumption, merely to generate envy of those around us, also makes one worthy of God’s judgment. If you & I indulge in such things we are living a life of sin in the eyes of God. Paul plainly tells us in Gal.5:21…. if we do such things, we will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Eccl 4:4 says, and I saw that all the labor & all the achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

The good news is that God loves all people equally in spite of the unfair way it sometimes looks. When we are envious, it means that we have lost the vision of what God is really up to. When you look at Gods blessings toward you with one eye & with the other eye try to keep track of other people’s blessings, you soon become incapable of recognizing any blessings in your life at all. You start to become a score-keeper rather than one who knows that everyone, even those you think don’t deserve it, are wonderfully & infinitely loved by God.

What can we do about envy? We of course must overcome it. But how do we accomplish that? Here are some helpful thoughts.


1. WE MUST SEEK TO BECOME MORE CHRISTLIKE.

As we become more Christ like we will leave behind this & other sins that are so deadly to our soul. Envy is born in hate & cured in Love. 1 Cor.13:4. If we want to overcome envy we have to use the tools of the Holy Spirit, as well as Bible reading, worship, Bible study& the fellowship of other believers.

2. WE MUST STOP LOOKING AT OTHERS & INSTEAD LOOK WITHIN OURSELVES.

There’s a little song we used to sing called, count your blessings name them one by one, & it will surprise you what the Lord has done. That’s what we have to do. Instead of looking at the goods & talents God has given to our neighbor, we ought to look at what God has given us. We must not forget the benefits we enjoy.

3. WE MUST LEARN TO BE CONTENT WITH THE GOODS & OPPORTUNITIES GOD HAS GIVEN TO US.

We need to stay acutely aware of the fact that God has called us to serve joyfully in the place where He has put us. Paul said… I have learned to be content, which presupposes that he didn’t always possess contentment. He learned contentment as he walked with Christ, & we can too.

4. WE MUST RE- EXAMINE OUR GOALS & PRIORITIES.

If you find yourself generating envy, maybe the problem is wrong goals & priorities. Don’t forget, the goal of our lives isn’t to see how many things we can acquire, but to do the work of God & lay up treasures in heaven. We aren’t called to constantly examine the lives of others & compare ourselves, but to live lives of service.


5. WE MUST KEEP REMEMBERING WE ARE ALL PART OF THE SAME BODY. MY RIGHT ARM HAS NEVER BEEN ENVIOUS OF MY LEFT ARM.

Paul said in Romans 12:15-16 that we should weep with those who weep & rejoice with those that rejoice. That leaves no room for envy to operate.

· BEWARE OF ENVY.


· BEWARE-- BECAUSE ENVY IS DESTRUCTIVE.



· BEWARE --BECAUSE ENVY CAN LEAD TO DESTRUCTION, IN HELL!



· BEWARE BECAUSE UNCHECKED, ENVY CAN ALIENATE A PERSON FROM GOD, AS WELL AS HIS FELLOWMAN.


“WHEREFORE LAYING ASIDE ALL MALICE & ALL GUILE, & ALL HYPOCRISIES, & ENVINGS & ALL EVIL SPEAKING, AS NEWBORN BABES, DESIRE THE SINCERE MILK OF THE WORD THAT YE MAY GROW THEREBY, IF YE HAVE TASTED THAT THE LORD IS GRACIOUS. --- 1 PETER 2: 1-2


Blessings,


John

Get up---get over it--get on with it

By John Stallings


I love the story of the old farmer who was riding down the road in his horse & buggy when a car came up over the hill hitting him head-on & knocking him, his horse & dog in the ditch.

A few months later he was in court suing the driver of the car that hit him for damages.

The attorney for the man who hit the farmer was cross examining him & asked, “Sir, did you not tell the officer on the scene of the accident, “I’m feeling very well thank you?” “Yes I did tell the officer that” the man said, “but, let me tell you the whole story.” “No” the attorney said, “just answer the question, did you or did you not tell the officer on the scene, “I’m feeling very well thank you?”

“Yes” the man said, “I did tell the officer on the scene, I’m feeling very well thank you, but….The attorney breaking in asked, “How can you be in this courtroom asking for a personal injury settlement for this accident when you clearly told the officer on the scene that you were feeling very well?”

The farmer said, “Sir, if you’ll let me explain I think I can clear this up for you. I was driving my horse & buggy along with my dog sitting at my side when this man came over the hill & hit us destroying my buggy & throwing me in the ditch on one side of the road, & my horse & dog in the ditch on the other side of the road.

The officer you refer to came up, walked up to my horse, saw his legs were broken & shot him. Then he saw my dog was almost dead & shot him. Then he walked over to me & asked, “How are you feeling, whereupon I answered, I’m feeling very well thank you.”

Have you ever been in a ditch, bruised cut & bleeding but still trying to keep up appearances, telling people—“ I’m doing very well thank you?” You were putting on a facade that you were well when you weren’t well at all.

In John 5:6 & following, there’s the familiar story of Jesus’ encounter with the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda. This man had been lying beside the pool 38 years. Some people who’ll read this message weren’t on earth 38 years ago. Others, like me, will remember what was happening back then but we must confess it was a long time ago. If this were you, you’d have been paralyzed since 1970.

38 years ago Richard Nixon was president of the US.
38 years ago the lunar spacecraft Apollo 13 was almost a catastrophe.
38 years ago National Guardsmen fired into crowd at Kent state killing four antiwar demonstrators.
38 years ago a powerful earthquake killed 50,000 in Peru.
38 years ago an antiwar rally was held at Valley Forge Pennsylvania, attended by John Kerry, Jane Fonda & Donald Sutherland.
38 years ago the Baltimore Orioles won the World Series.
38 years ago “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou is published.
38 years ago “The long and winding Road” becomes the Beatles last Number 1 song in the US.

38 years is a long time to be lying around a pool waiting to be healed of lameness.

JESUS NEVER CRITICIZED THIS MAN

As you well know Jesus could get rough with people but He never takes a critical tone with this paralyzed man. I know the Bible doesn’t give us all the details because if it did, it would be so big it would take a boxcar to carry it. But if ever a man could have been raked over the coals it was this man.

“38 years? You mean you’ve been here for 38 years? My, my, man; what’s the matter with you? Your life has passed you by. You may as well forget about it. There’s no way you can tell me you want a life!” But Jesus has no criticism for this man who seems to us to be motivationally challenged.

I’m doing more of a critique of him than Jesus did. I’ve heard preachers call him lazy & many other things, but not Jesus. You & I look at those 38 years & scratch our heads & say, “Well you must be used to it by now, & anyway, after all those years you’ll never really change.”

But let’s be real here. How long have we struggled with the same old problems? How long have we let our fears dominate us? Some of us if we’re totally honest will have to admit we’re still wrestling with the same fears, the same hang-ups & the same doubts we had fifty years ago. We have cut deep grooves into our psyches & behavior patterns & maybe we’ve acquiesced just as truly as this man at the pool. Maybe we’ve even given up on ever changing certain things in our lives because of the sheer amount of time they’ve been with us.

This story is different because it gives us a time-frame & shows us that even long-standing problems aren’t beyond the miracle touch of Jesus.

JESUS ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTION BUT GOT THE WRONG ANSWER.

One thing we see in the narrative is that this lame man doesn’t ask Jesus for help. As a matter fact he doesn’t even know who Jesus is.

We don’t know why Jesus chose this man particularly, but we do know one of His great characteristics was compassion. Jesus asked him if he wanted to be made whole, but the question was ignored. The man started complaining that when the waters were troubled there was no one to help him get into the pool. He blamed others for his condition. Like those who are always blaming other people, he was living in the land of Excusiopolis near the River of De’Nial.

Jesus obviously could see that the man was lame but notice; He didn’t ask the man if he wanted to get up & walk.-- “Do you want to walk,” would have seemed to be the right question but instead Jesus asked another question; Wilt thou be made whole?” Again, the lame man didn’t give Jesus an immediate answer. He didn’t quickly respond, “Yes sir, Jesus, that’s what I need. I need to be made whole.” No, the man started telling Jesus how hard it was with no one to help him to get into the pool & be healed.

HE WAS A PERPETUAL VICTIM

Every time he would try to get into the pool when the waters were troubled, someone would step in front of him to thwart his progress.

“Victimization.” There’s a word we’ve all become familiar with over the last few years. This happens when a person sees themselves as a victim of society, or a victim of their upbringing. They will often use the analogy, “Life has dealt me a lousy hand of cards.” The following are dead giveaways to tell if an individual is a “victim;”

· Victims endlessly repeat how they’ve been mistreated.
· Victims live in the fantasy that life should be fair.
· Victims don’t forgive for they see forgiveness as weakness.
· Victims have little or no close relationships because they can’t trust other people.
· The cry of the perpetual victim is, “It’s not my fault.”

HEALTHY PEOPLE DON’T MAKE EXCUSES

The question Jesus asked, you’d think would be asked by a modern mental health professional. Jesus, knowing all things, understood that there might be reasons the man wanted to remain as he was. After all, to be made whole is an awesome responsibility. To be made whole would sweep away all the excuses that a person had accumulated in life for not being productive. This man may have been enjoying bad health for 38 years. This may sound strange to you but for this man to be made whole would mean that he loses a cushy profession, begging. Horror of horrors, this man might mess around & get so healthy he’ll have to find a job.

As a matter of fact, even today street beggars can make a rather nice living. In some foreign countries, people will actually cripple their own children so they will be more effective begging on the streets.

I read about one young man who was so determined not to be drafted & serve in the Armed Services that he went down & had all his teeth pulled; disqualifying him from service. When Selective Service called him in for a physical, they found he had flat-feet & couldn’t serve anyway.

Another way to put it; getting this man up & walking would be like asking people of our day to get off Welfare. I’ve heard that we now have second & third generations of Welfare families. This isn’t said as a put-down to people who actually need help.

There are even parents who want their child to be slightly sick or to suffer from some imagined illness because they can then get pity & attention for themselves as well as the child. There’s even a name for such a malady; Munchhausen’s by Proxy. [MBPS]This is the name given to parents, usually a mother who uses one or more of her children to get constant medical attention as well as playing on the sympathy of caring people.

I once knew a lady who gave her only son an imaginary heart problem for reasons of getting sympathy. This doesn’t even take into account the ways in which she & her husband always played sick. I once came close to telling her, “cheer up sister, you’ll soon be dead.”

Because as her pastor I wanted to know the truth, we asked the Doctor & he paid us the professional courtesy of telling us that her child had a sound heart. But the mother persisted in the self-delusion that her little boy was sick. There are children on record who’ve undergone dozens of unnecessary surgeries trying to find some phantom illness suggested by the primary care-giver.

As for this lady, there was sickness involved here but not the sort she had in mind.

Jesus gave the lame man three instructions; Rise, - take up your bed, - and walk. There was a call to action from Jesus, telling the man to do something he was convinced he couldn’t do. Let’s look at Jesus’ first command;

1. GET-UP!

In essence Jesus was telling the man he’d been lying on his mat long enough.

I heard the story of a man who woke up one morning & as he sleepily lay there in his bed he asked God, “Lord what wonderful things do you have for me today? What roads will I travel, who will I meet today & what am I going to be able to accomplish for you on this great & glorious new day you’ve so graciously given to me?”

Then God answered, “Well, the first thing we’ve got to do is get you out of this bed.” That’s true of all of us is it not? We may have all kinds of grandiose visions, dreams & great intentions but none of it will happen as long as we lay in bed.

What kind of mat are you lying on?

Are you lying on the mat of resentment?
Are you an anger-invalid?
Are you regret cripple?
Are you on the mat of fear of rejection?

When Jesus restored Simon Peter, he gave him something to do. He said, “Peter, feed my sheep. Get going in your ministry.”

I love Ephesians 5:14. In that verse, Paul says to the people,
· Awake thou that sleepest,
· Rise from the dead,
· And Christ shall give you light.

Some people say, “Lord give me some light & I’ll wake up & rise from my deadness.” But the instructions are, -- awake, -- rise from the dead, & then--- Christ will give us light.

We want God to give us a victory while we’re lying at the pool, then when all His strength & power comes in, we’ll get up & start moving. But it doesn’t work that way. We have to get up first. It’s true with me & probably you also, that we’re weaker at the point of action than any other place. The talking is relatively easy & the dreaming is not all that difficult but it’s the getting up to execute the plan of action where we often falter.

James 4:8 says---Draw nigh to God & He’ll draw nigh to you.

Psalms tells us God inhabits the praises of His people. That presupposes that there have to be some praises first, then God will get in the Praise.

Have you ever noticed that faith in the Bible is always a verb? It’s always something someone did. As far as I’m aware, there’s only one verse in the Bible that tells us in words what faith is & that’s Hebrews 11:1. Everywhere else in that famous faith chapter, faith is an action. By faith Noah built an Ark. By faith Moses led God’s people out of Egyptian bondage. By faith Abraham went out looking for a city whose builder was God.

Isn’t it interesting, though elementary, that we don’t receive strength in our physical bodies by resting? A fighter doesn’t say, “I’ve got a big fight coming up so I guess I’ll go to bed for a few weeks & rest up & marshal up all my strength for the big fight.” No! If the fighter or any sports practitioner wants to be at his peak strength, he realizes he/she must get out & put their bodies through a grueling set of strength building exercises & that’s how the strength comes. We get strength as we extend strength.

Jesus told the man first to get-up, & then He said,

2. GET OVER IT.

“Take up your mat…..” Jesus wanted to man to start carrying the thing that had been carrying him. Jesus was getting through to this man that this wasn’t the final chapter of his life. He was going to leave this pool & never look back. He wasn’t going to write a book about cripple ness or go on a tour & tell people how it felt to be crippled. He was going to walk “in newness of life.”

Jesus didn’t want this lame man after he was healed to trade one mat for another mat. People in the drug rehab business will sometimes get folk off one drug & get them hooked on another one. Or they’ll get off the drug & their “new mat” will be co-dependence on a person. Are you on a “medication mat? Are you one a “food mat?” We need to be careful when we get off our mat that we don’t end up on another mat.

Some people get delivered from one mat but then their treatment becomes their new illness. Their new mat. Jesus told this man to carry his mat away. I think the mentoring programs can be indispensable but they can also become destructive if the mentor doesn’t know when to let the protege’ graduate so that they’ll not always be leaning on them. The idea is to stand up on our own two feet.

IT’S IMPORTANT FOR A RECOVERING PERSON TO PARTNER WITH SOMEONE WHO WANTS THEM OFF THEIR MAT.

There are some people who’re as good as gold but they love to cater to people & in order to do it they will need to keep that person dependant on them. The ministry of “helps” is a wonderful ministry but it shouldn’t be coupled with enabling. The person needing deliverance does need support & understanding but the last thing they need is someone who has an investment in keeping them helpless.

Even former president Gerald Ford admitted late in his life that for years when his wife Betty was leaning on drugs & alcohol, he was functioning as an enabler for her, not realizing it. That’s why many times the person who lives with an addicted person needs help as bad as the hooked person does, & often doesn’t even realize it. All they know is that they love the person & to them, [at least until they know better,] they should be catering to there needs.

I don’t mean this in an uncompassionate way, because I’ve struggled with my weight almost all my life, & I understand the battle. But I’ve often wondered how the profoundly obese people, I’m talking about the ones who weigh from six to twelve hundred pounds. I wonder who in the world brings these people all that food. It’s an undeniable fact that someone, probably an enabler, gets out & rustles up the grub to keep that person eating.

I also have wondered why the obese persons don’t wake up at, oh, I don’t know, say a thousand pounds, & think, “hey, I’m getting huge here. Next they’ll have to take aerial pictures of me,” rather than wait until it takes a fork-lift to get them out of their house. But I digress.

Let me say something else here about enablers. I’m thinking more now about people who have problems that are sins rather than weaknesses. Let’s say a person has a problem having temper tantrums, cursing fits or engages in verbally abusing people. The people who are close to an individual like that need to realize that at some point they become a participator in the sin even though they themselves don’t engage in it.

A person participates in the sin of another when they praise, dismiss as unimportant, or laugh at the behavior. They can also participate in the sin of another by helping them conceal the problem by silence, by partially partaking with them in their sin, by aggravating the person’s problem, or by defending the behavior, or even in sympathizing with the person in their wrong behavior.

If you’ve ever dealt with people in groups of any size you know that problem people aren’t all that hard to deal with, because you can at least identify who they are. The real problem many times is good, honest, & conscientious people who support the problem person, catering to them instead of refusing to accept their wrong behavior & demanding that they shape up.

One of the earmarks of a real friend is that they’ll demand the best we have in us & they won’t laugh at or minimize shabby behavior.

In Romans 1:32, Paul talks about people who have pleasure in those who do evil deeds all the time knowing the conduct will bring eventually bring down the judgment of God.


Then Jesus gave this lame man a third command;

3. WALK

Jesus isn’t going to let this man continue in his –mat-mentality. He’s telling the man, --“Get on with it. Get on with life.” Walking is synonymous with going somewhere. If you’re not going anywhere, why do you need to walk? Jesus was saying, “Let’s close this chapter & open a new one. Let’s go somewhere. Let’s move away from the pool.”

Nothing happened to the man until he got up & put his mat on his shoulder, and then Jesus made him whole.

Do you remember the ten lepers who asked Jesus for healing? Usually Jesus would lay hands on a sick individual or at least say a prayer over them but in this case, Jesus did none of those things. He just told them to go show themselves to the priest & as they WALKED, they were healed.

Some of us have been on a mat of sameness, or comfort so long maybe we’re not sure we can survive anywhere else. Jesus wants us to get up & get out of our comfort zone & change our lives.
Jesus wanted the lame man to walk away from the problem that had him bound for 38 years.

Our Christian life is called a WALK in scripture. Paul tells us in Romans 6:4,

Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism unto death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should WALK in newness of life.

He also tells us in Ephesians 5 that we should ….WALK in love, and that we also….WALK circumspectly, not as fools but as wise…

John tells us in 1 John 1:7,--But if we WALK in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with the other…..

Are you languishing away on some mat, at some pool thinking life has passed you by? If so, let the story of the man at the pool of Bethesda speak to you. Jesus is the same yesterday, today & forever & He will help you rise & walk away from the things that have you bound.

We used to sing an old song;

GOT ANY RIVERS, YOU THINK ARE UNCROSSABLE,
GOT ANY MOUNTIANS YOU CAN’T TUNNEL THROUGH.
GOD SPECILIZES IN THINGS THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE,
AND HE WILL DO WHAT NO OTHER POWER CAN DO.

Blessings,

John

Consequences of kicking God out of public schools

By John Stallings

In a case the police called shocking, six girls attacked another 16 year old girl & beat her severely just so they could video tape it & post it on the Internet.

On March 30, 2008, the victim, 16 year old Victoria Lindsay was lured to a home in Lakeland Florida & when she arrived two girls, school mates of hers, started yelling at her, one girl began to beat her & slammed her against the wall until she fell unconscious.

When she awoke on the couch there were six girls in total beating on her & video taping it all.

According to police, all the girls attacking the victim, Victoria Lindsay, were laughing & urging each other on, & two boys were standing guard outside the house.

All eight of those involved have been charged with battery & false imprisonment.

After the attack three of the teenagers forced the victim into a car & drove her to another location which adds the charge of kidnapping to the crime.

The 16 year old victim of the attack suffered a concussion as well as damage to her left eye & ear.

Polk county Sheriff Grady Wilder describes the attack as “shocking’, saying, “I’ve never seen anything like it….this is outrageous behavior & raw brutality.”

The attackers were described as cheerleaders, & at one point, one of them is heard to say, “There are only 17 seconds left; make it good.”

The young victim was heard pleading to have just one girl beat her but they refused to relent & said --“all of us are going to beat you.” I heard her mother & father interviewed & the father said he couldn’t bring himself to watch the video. The mother said she didn’t think her daughter would ever be able to get over the incident emotionally.

This type of brutality has become almost common place in America & has gotten so bad in recent years; some schools have had to install metal detectors to try to curb the violence.

What we see happening is the end result of an education system that has effectively eliminated God from the classroom. When that happened, generations of young people began to be indoctrinated with The Theory of Evolution, as though as it were Science.

It’s interesting, if not ironic that I went through the ninth & tenth grades in Lakeland. That would have been in 1954-55. I can remember a woman teacher we had in English class & at least once a week, as I recall, before class started she’d take out her Bible, read a bit & then she’d expound on the scriptures like a Bible teacher. We didn’t think anything was amiss & everyone accepted it as part of our educational process.

No one ever complained as far as I know, & certainly in those days we never had anything remotely akin to the violence that took place in Lakeland the other day.

Psalm 119:130 says, --The entrance of thy Word giveth light.......

This means that everywhere God's Word goes, things light up, & every place from which His word is removed, things go dark.

School children are being told they are nothing special—they are just animals that have evolved from some primitive form of life over the millions of years.

The more society as a whole thinks this way the more people will act consistently with what they’ve been taught. If life isn’t special then it has no value. If there’s no God, & thus no absolute authority, then anyone can decide right & wrong for themselves.

Most people, even the “wise” educators still can’t make the connection; -- that dating from the time when prayer & Bible reading were ejected from our classrooms, our schools began to slowly morph into hellish war zones.

When you mix the deadly evolution teaching with the absence of any spiritual emphasis, & an outright anti-God attitude in the schools, you then start to concoct a witch’s brew of hopelessness & life devoid of any purpose.

Romans 1:21-24

….Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened, professing themselves to be wise they became fools. And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image like corruptible man, and birds & four-footed animals & creeping things, wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lust of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves.

Recently the following prayer was making the rounds on the Internet written by a school kid. If I had a name I’d gladly give credit;

Now I sit me down in school,
Where praying is against the rule,
For this great nation under God,
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow,
Becomes a federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple orange or green,
That’s no offense, it’s a freedom scene.
The law’s specific, it’s precise,
Prayers said alouds a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall,
I might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence I must meditate,
God’s name’s prohibited by the state.

We’re allowed to cuss & dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, our tongues & cheeks.
They’ve outlawed guns but first the Bible,
To quote it here would make me liable.

We elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the “unwed daddy,” our Senior King.
It’s inappropriate to teach right from wrong,
We’re taught such judgments don’t belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft vampires & totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments aren’t allowed,
No Word of God must reach this crowd.

Its scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns a school’s a mess.
So Lord this silent plea I make,
Should I be shot, -- my soul please take.

Imagine a public school teacher telling his/her students, “For the next few weeks you’re all going to become Christians.” Imagine that students had to wear crosses, memorize Christian prayers & recite them, memorize Christian concepts of the Eucharist & celebrate them, fast during lent & chant “Jesus is the Messiah.”

How long do you think it would take for the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] to file a lawsuit? A week? A day? A minute? As we’ve seen many times it would be immediate & very expensive for the school district which, when it lost would be forced to pay huge legal fees to the ACLU.

In 2000, a seventh grade teacher in California’s Byron Union School District, about fifty miles east of San Francisco forced her seventh-grade students to become Muslims for three weeks. Students had to wear a star & crescent, memorize Muslim prayers, verses & the five pillars of faith, fast during lunch period as if it were Ramahan, chant “Allah Akbar!” and play a dice game called “jihad,” which was defined for students as a “struggle against aggression.” What did the ACLU have to say about this? Nothing. Not a peep. Christian parents were outraged & filed a lawsuit federal court against the school with the assistance of the Thomas Moore Law Center.

The judge dismissed the case saying. “Well this was a typical educational program. The activities were not overtly religious, that would raise any “establishment cause concerns.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that dismissal in a “non-published opinion.”

The obvious question would be; are we a better & safer country because we’ve kicked God & His Ten Commandments out of our schools as well as the Market Place of America?

I don’t think so. It seems we can’t build jails fast enough. Jails aren’t the real answer; the real answer is realizing we’re in a spiritual battle. Until we invite God back into our homes, schools & government we’re fighting a losing battle. Christianity stops crime & violence because it addresses the real problem; the heart.

If we don’t get a heart change we don’t stop crime. It now depends on what God will do with America because He’s still in charge of the nations.

Psalm 47:8 says;

God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.

WHAT CAN I DO FOR AMERICA?

1. PRAY FOR AMERICA
2. REPENT
3. SPEAK OUT

2 CHRONICLES 7:14

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Blessings,


JAS

"Behind the seens"-The Dollars behind the Dogma of "Global warming"

By John Stallings

……avoid profane & vain babblings, & the oppositions of science, falsely so-called. --- 1 Timothy 6:20



If I had written this blog a couple of weeks ago, I could have quoted from a northern newspaper, “More snow covers North America at the present moment than has since 1966.”

As a matter of fact, some weather experts believe there was more snow covering North America during that general time than has ever been present since weather records have been kept.

Some of these good folk who’re still digging out of the snow are probably lamenting; “where is global warming we need it?” We have friends & relatives in these areas & I pray they get at least a day & a half of Spring before the heat hits them.

With all this in mind, isn’t it amazing that former American Vice President Al Gore recently won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in “Global Warming,” & an Oscar for his movie on the same subject, “An inconvenient truth.”?

Certainly I’m not a scientist & no expert on the subject of global climate change. But I’ve done as I encourage others to do, research the matter for themselves. Because I’m not a scientist & don’t have a particular leaning toward science, I wouldn’t be wasting your time & my efforts to address this subject unless I felt there was a higher, biblical point to be made.

Is the Earth warming? Probably so. I could also ask, “Does a squirrel have a climbing gear?” But how relevant is that? Herein lies the rub; I believe global climate change is a cyclical phenomenon, & not, what the global warming crowd believes, i.e. – “the idea that the earth heats up & cools off is attributable to man’s presence on earth.” That conundrum is core of the issue as I understand it.

The so-called idea of global warming stems from alarmism, has become a worldwide nuisance, is attempting to re-direct the Church’s primary focus, & most importantly it seeks to change the subject from the real issue of importance, i.e. world wide moral bankruptcy. Not to mention the fact that we’re approaching the slippery slops of worldwide financial disaster & this could push us over.

I believe we should do all possible within the bounds of reason to keep Spaceship Earth clean & in good shape & be proper stewards of the planet God has so richly and graciously endowed us with. My position isn’t one of being uncaring or playing fast & loose with our beautiful green planet & treating it as if it’s indestructible. Let no one take away from this article the idea that it’s fine to be slobs & spread our refuse to the four winds.

The Rule of Universality is called for here; i.e.—“What if everyone did it?”

I also believe we should keep our bodies as clean as possible & keep the chicken bones and cheeseburger wrappers swept out of our vehicles. But that doesn’t say we should brush our teeth until our gums bleed or be so obsessed with germs that we wash our hands one-hundred times a day, or worse, -- invite the government in to get involved in our personal hygiene.

I believe the Bible is the final authority on everything. The Word of God is clear; that He made the Earth for His crowning creature, man. Listen to Genesis 1: 28;

……And God said unto them be fruitful & multiply & replenish the earth & subdue it & have dominion over the fish of the sea & over the fowl of the air & over everything that moveth upon the earth.

This being true, man can’t be the unwelcome villain in the “global warming” brouhaha, intruding in a place where he was never meant to be & spoiling its pristine beauty.

Listen to Psalm 24:1-2;

The earth is the Lords & the fullness thereof; the world & they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas & established it upon the floods.

Listen to Genesis 8:22;

While the earth remaineth, seedtime & harvest & cold & heat & summer & winter & day & night shall not cease.

The lion’s share of the global warming scare springs out of humanistic thinking which wants us to bow down & worship material creation. This relegates man to the bottom rung of the ladder, rather than understanding the rank we have on the Earth God created for us and placed us on.

These “high priests” of global climate change want us to bow down before their “God-Mother Earth.” Their “science so-called” which is a selective group of distorted facts are being used to persuade us to “do whatever it takes” to save the Earth. Before we sign on for “whatever it takes,” we’d better use our heads for something besides a hat-rack.

School children are being shown Al Gore’s film, indoctrinated & made to believe that if we don’t radically change our lifestyles we’ll soon be dead & the earth will be a burned out smoldering mass. Even the Disney film Happy Feet used cute little animated penguins to teach kids how humans are endangering the Earth & its wildlife.

The famous picture of the Polar bear & her cub standing on a small piece of melting ice with nowhere to go was taken by Amanda Bird, who when the picture left her hands didn’t know it was going to be used as a propaganda piece. The picture, used by Al Gore in his movie expressed the concern that the bears had reached a dead-end. In truth they weren’t that far from land & Polar bears are good swimmers. Not only that, the picture was taken in August, a time when Ar tic ice is normally melting.

Far be it from me to deign to tell Mr. Gore what to do but it would seem to me his considerable gifts could have been put to better use if he’d gotten upset about the Islamic terrorist who’ve pledged to slit all our throats pretty soon if they aren’t stopped, rather than wander out into the misty moonlight over something that even by his own predictions isn’t coming all that quickly.

If we elect a president like Mr. Gore, who can get excited about global warming but seems to yawn at the idea that we’re a nation at war, God save the Republic.

If the terrorists take one good sized American city off the map with a dirty bomb, and that’s their stated objective, then life as we’ve known it in America disappears forever. Moreover, as far as I can discern, every expert in the field tells us it’s not a matter of if this will happen but when it will happen.

You’ll pardon me if “global warming” isn’t in my hierarchy of urgent concerns at this particular moment. If I’m going to be forced to take a leap of faith & believe experts, I think I’m safer believing the terrorism experts; after all, the Islamic terrorists are wreaking havoc all over the world & we have the avowed future intentions of these monsters on video tape.

While we’re praying, let’s pray about this;--

If, God forbid, there is ever a nuclear exchange between nations & it spreads, we will no longer have to worry about global warming, the Earth will be plunged into a new ICE AGE, [Nuclear Winter] but we won’t be around to freeze.

Some church leaders have signed the Evangelical Climate [ECI] Initiative which has identified global warming as a spiritual issue & urges the United States government to limit greenhouse emissions. They also espouse America’s signing of the KYOTO TREATY for the sake of the world’s poor. Many liberal ministers decades ago were also, sad to say, duped by “so-call scientists” into believing in the error of Darwinism & consequently went wobbly & compromised the biblical record of creation.

THE WEATHER CHANNEL

Man-made global warming isn’t science, its propaganda. However people who don’t buy into it are treated in many quarters as if they’re “flat-earth” believers & “Holocaust deniers.” Heidi Cullen, the Weather Channel’s climatologist actually suggested that any broadcaster who didn’t except the man-made global warming hypothesis be branded as someone who doesn’t care about the planet or our children.

The Weather Channel is consistently misleading people, especially on its series “It could happen tomorrow.” Recently they had as a guest, a so-called expert on global warming who got beside himself & said the following;

“When we’ve finally gotten serious about global warming, when the impacts are hitting us in a full worldwide scramble to minimize the damage, we should have war crimes trials for these b------s, [skeptics on global warming] some sort of climate Nuremberg.”

Sounds like he’s ready to start lobbing off heads, doesn’t it?

People in any public position who doubt the veracity of man -made global climate change & dare to express it are subjected to scorn, contempt, censorship, intimidation, & vilification.

SOMETHING MORE SINISTER IS HAPPENING HERE

As in almost everything else, “Follow the money” in this debate. The global warming industry is a multi-million dollar enterprise employing thousands of people who all have a vested interested in providing desired results to keep the money streams flowing. Researchers who don’t buy into it have little hope of receiving grant money or maintaining any standing in the academic community.

Financial damage could be inflicted on America if we go full-bore into responding to this global warming hoax. Experts predict if we gave full compliance to the KYOTO ACCORDS or any such proposals made by the likes of Al Gore, it would cost the global community over 550 trillion dollars & it would cost the U.S. about 352 billion almost immediately. For starters, Americans would be hit with 35 cents per gallon of gasoline. That would be on top of the over three dollars we’re now paying.

I’m not naively suggesting that man has had absolutely no impact on the planet. But how long has it been since you heard there are more trees on the planet than at anytime in history, because we’ve long since been proactive in planting them?

The man-made global warming issue is essentially being used to promote socialism & to justify more & more government meddling in our private lives. It is also blatant anti-Americanism. It proposes to soldier on until we are so hobbled with all sorts of ecological no-no’s that we can no longer be a robust society leading the world in all things technological.

Perhaps the most recognized body creating worldwide panic about global warming is The United Nations Panel on climate change. Just the name should tell us this isn’t a group of scientists but rather a political body. The attitude of many of the political activists for man-made climate change is usually one of anger. Ask yourself; aren’t bitter, angry & hostile people usually folk connected up to a weak cause?

All Humanistic dogma parades under a banner professing to love humanity but the upshot is that it in the final analysis it degrades humanity. Tragically, global warming is being used to block vital progress in developing countries where the poorest people languish in need of the kind of development global warming decries.

After all [they say,] “we can’t have the “Great Satan,” the United States, used any longer as a template for other emerging countries.” Don’t forget these people believe first & foremost that humans-- far from being God’s creatures given dominion over the Earth are really the criminals in the story.

Let’s keep one thing in mind; the jury is still out on global warming & is spite of all the hype by liberal politicians, the liberal media & radical Hollywood, it hasn’t as yet been proven that greenhouse emissions are the cause of global warming.
From my perspective the following things are true about the global climate change;

a. The earth has always had warming & cooling cycles. What we are seeing is within natural bounds.
b. These changes aren’t so large that they should create worldwide hysteria.
c. We can’t do anything to significantly change this situation.
d. These global changes far & away aren’t the most serious threat to man’s existence on earth.
e. Global warming as we’ve come to know it doesn’t exist & trillions of dollars are being spent & unjustified fears are being fostered with no real scientific justification.

But lest you think I don’t subscribe to any sort of global warming in our future, let me ease your mind about that. The type of global warming I firmly believe in, & Al Gore & his followers had better do some research on is as follows, & is given to us in scintillating detail in the bible.

GLOBAL WARMING--COMING SOON TO THIS PLANET.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Seeing all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?—2 Peter 3: 9-12

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold the tabernacle of God is with men; and He will dwell with them and they shall be His people and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And He that sat upon the throne said, behold I will make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. ---Revelation 21:1-5

But imagine the effect Al Gore could have on this sin-cursed dying world if He’d research the real global warming issue & begin using his fantastic fortune to travel the world in his private jet warning the nations of the real warming that is coming to this Earth.

Paul says in Romans 8:22;

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together now…….

Let’s not forget what will happen after Christ comes back & renovates this Earth with fire. Let Peter continue to teach us;

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Wherefore beloved seeing that ye look for such things be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless.

2 Peter 3:13-14

WHILE WE SHOULD TAKE CARE TO MAINTAIN EVERY GIFT GOD HAS GIVEN US, OUR EMPHASIS SHOULD BE TAKING THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD.

Paul said,

For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ & Him crucified. 1 Cor. 2:2

Jesus didn’t admonish us to get caught up in social programs to save planet earth. But rather He said;

But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8

Blessings,

John

God's last name isn't damn!

By John Stallings



I didn’t believe Bill Clinton when he said he smoked marijuana but didn’t inhale; neither do I believe Sen. Barack Obama when he claimed he was unaware of the incendiary, racist anti-American sermons of his pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

It stretches credibility for me to believe that the Sunday after 9/11 when this nation was shaken to its core & multitudes that rarely go to church crowded into places of worship across America to mourn, Barack Obama decided to skip church.

I was born at night but not last night.

But to be fair, I also have to blame our liberal media who should be fair & balanced, for not having found this story long ago. I mean, look what happened in 2000, when George Bush stopped by Bob Jones University to give a standard stump speech during his bid for the presidency. That was one single moment but the media had a “conniption fit,” while 20 years in Obama’s church life is explained away when his “crazy uncle” married him & baptized his children too.

All of us make mistakes & that includes the Rev. Wright & most of us apologize when we transgress, except those who obviously feel an apology would so diminish them they can’t get it out. But it seems to me that Rev. Wright is sticking by his abominable rhetoric because as far as I know he has offered no apology.

Forgiveness in my mind is automatic in one sense, especially for the believer, but in another sense its greatest work hasn’t come to fruition until an apology has been made by whoever needs to make it.

Forrest Gump’s statement comes to mind; “I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is.” If Forrest could figure that out certainly you & I are smart enough to know by the tone of a person’s voice when they are speaking minus Christian love.

But the good Senator Obama has thrown his granny under the bus & now it seems he’s put Rev.Wright there also, likening him to a “crazy uncle.” Clearly in his attempt to deflect from Wrights anti-American rantings Obama stepped in another hole about the race issue.

Rule number rule one for public figures, -- when you’re in a hole, stop digging.

The Rev. Wright may have enough degrees to be called Dr. Fahrenheit but his statements are among the most uneducated ones I’ve ever heard.

It’s immaterial to me if he preached hateful things often or only occasionally. It doesn’t take much language like that to do real damage. Rat poison is 95% wheat & other tasty products rats like, & only about 5% poison. If that wasn’t the case no rat would eat it & I hear they gobble it down.

I’ll guarantee you if you told your wife you didn’t like the way she cooked & kept house just one time, you’d find out how much damage can be done with one statement like that over a twenty year period.

Before I leave the Rev. Wright, I’d like to humbly suggest some words he could use in the future if he wants to offset the damage he’s done.

INSTEAD OF – “GOD ----- AMERICA,” WHY NOT LEAD US ALL IN THESE WORDS THAT ACTUALLY COMPRISE A PRAYER PUT TO MUSIC BY IRVING BERLIN, THE YEAR I WAS BORN;

“While the storm clouds gather across the sea,
Let us pledge allegiance to a land that’s free.
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer,

GOD BLESS AMERICA,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her, and guide her,
Thru the night with a light from above,
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
GOD BLESS AMERICA, MY HOME SWEET HOME.”

Notice the second line of that prayer’s chorus; “Stand beside her.” America certainly isn’t perfect but in reality she’s us. She needs we, her loyal citizens to “be supportive & prayerful-- “& guide her through the night with a light from above.” That “light from above” invokes God’s concern for the affairs of our great nation. “Through the night”-- represents the dark night of terrorist’s attacks & an avowed enemy who prays & works for America’ destruction. “My home sweet home” reminds us that we do have an awesome homeland & those who hate us are only jealous of “what God hath wrought.”

But the purpose of this blog isn’t to discuss Obama, nor really for that matter the right honorable Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I want to discuss the power of words & the taking of the Lord’s name in vain.

First- -- the power of words.

In the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey, there’s a variety of crane that tends to cackle a lot. I guess it’s in their DNA to do it, like we humans yawn without really planning to.

All that noise gets attention from eagles, one of their natural enemies & they just swoop down & grab one up for a tasty meal. The experienced cranes have found a way around this & they will pick up a rock large enough to fill their mouths thus preventing them from cackling & becoming an easy lunch for an eagle.

Isn’t it strange that mankind has been able to split the atom, walk on the moon, construct enough WMD to destroy this world many times over, yet can’t seem to control an opening in the front of the human head called a mouth & the little small piece of muscle tissue that lives there?

Alex Dunlap has written a tract entitled- Ten reasons why I swear, the purpose of which is to show us how foolish swearing is. Here are the reasons he gives;

1. It indicates how clearly my mind works.
2. It’s a fine mark of my manliness.
3. It shows my awesome self-control.
4. It pleases my mother so much.
5. It makes me such good company & such a brilliant conservationists.
6. It leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind about my good breading.
7. It impresses folk that I have more than an ordinary education.
8. It’s an unmistakable mark of culture & refinement.
9. It allows me to fit in with people of culture & refinement.
10. It’s my way of honoring God who says; Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.
The Third Commandment deals with much more than filthy words. This commandment deals with the profane use of God’s Holy Name. God’s Name is Holy & isn’t to be used unless it’s in connection with His praise or His proclamation. But sadly it seems that God’s name has become nothing more in many quarters than a curse word to be thrown around at will.

Profanity is defines as, “Characterized by irreverence for God, impious, base, a profane act or utterance.”

Profane speech is typically language that involves taking God’s name in vain, vile or vulgar, viciously degrading to others, and/or gutter in nature. The Bible regulates man’s speech. [Ex.20:7, Jas.3:10, Matt. 12:36, 37.

A little girl was attending Sunday School for the very first time & as she heard the Christmas story she blurted out; “why did they name that sweet baby a swear word?” It was the first time she’d ever heard His name used outside of a curse.

We’re literally surrounded by profanity. Did you know in one year’s time prime-time T.V shows 8,333 acts of violence, 14,313 incidents of sex & 23,566 uses of profanity? Words that were once banned are now heard about once every five minutes on prime-time T.V, sitcoms.

Many movies that are now considered family oriented contain vile, filthy & cheap language. There’s a movement in America to promote filthy speech. According to an article appearing in the Rocky Mountain News, September 8, 2001, by Diana West, the major television networks NBC, ABC & CBS have a pledge: “According to a front-page report in The New York Times, the networks’ solution to restore their endangered audience is this, to put more dirty words on the air.” This isn’t a joke, it’s a movement.

Most stand-up comics would be speechless if all profanity were kept out of their routines. The goal seems to be lower & lower levels of degrading language to the point of wallowing in the mud.

1. GOD”S NAME IS A VENERABLE NAME. [Sacred, Holy, worthy of respect.]

There are many names given in the Bible but let’s concentrate on just 2.

1. LORD---When you see this name in the Bible it’s the English rendering of the word “Jehovah.” It describes God as the self-existence eternal One. It’s the name “I AM.” He revealed Himself the Moses in EX.3:14. This name is used to declare God’s nature that is unchanging & eternal. Mal.3:6—James 1:17. In the Bible Jehovah is coupled with other words to form compound names for God which reveal more about His nature & his attributes.

Some are;

A. Jehovah- Jireh- “The Lord will provide”—Gen.22:14
B. Jehovah-Nissi—“The Lord is my banner.”—Ex.17:15
C. Jehovah-Shalom—“The Lord is peace.---Judges 6:24
D. Jehovah Shammah—The Lord is there---Ez.48:35
E. Jehovah Tsebaoth—The Lord of Hosts”—1 Sam.1:3
F. Jehovah-Rohi—“The Lord is my Shepard”—Psa.23:1

2. GOD—Elohim—refers to the One Supreme, faithful triune God. This is the most common word for God in the Bible, being used over 2,000 times. In fact when God stepped out of eternity to reveal Himself to us that’s the Name He chose; a name depicting Him as the Strong, faithful dependable God.

Other names for God in the Old Testament are, El-God, El-Shadday-God Almighty & Adonai—Lord.

It’s interesting that one of the first lines in The Lord’s Prayer is, “Hallowed be thy name.”
We should also keep in mind that included in the words we are forbidden by God to use are words that curse & degrade man. While I’ve never taken the Lord’s Name in vain, I’m sure that during unguarded moments I’ve put people in the “spiritual burn unit” with my words. For that I greave & have repented & will do so by God’s grace each time I miss the mark. Listen to James 3:9;

Therewith bless we God even the Father; and therewith we curse men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Pastor James goes on to further explain in verses 10-12 that when a person uses speech to blaspheme God or degrade man, he is showing the corrupt nature of his own heart. Listen;

Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing & cursing. My brethren these things ought not so to be.
Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water & bitter? Can a fig tree my brethren bear olive berries? either a vine, or figs? So can no fountain both yield both salt water & fresh?

I was thinking about something recently. I’m not saying that George Bush has been perfect & I’ve certainly had my differences with him & have said so publically. But I’ve watched the news & stayed abreast of current events about as much as anyone in the last eight years, & I can’t remember ever having heard Bush say a negative thing about anyone. Maybe you can enlighten me here but I just haven’t heard it. I’ve heard him chide the Congress for their laxity but to be frank there have been times I’ve felt he should have said more. But never have I heard the man engage in a personal attack against anyone & that’s more than I can say for most politicians.

I’m just saying that the fact that hardly anyone will say good things publicly for the president nowadays is as much a comment on us as a nation as it is on the man. One man's opinion.

I heard Brother Andrew speak for the first time just recently. I don’t know much about the man other than he’s legendary all over the world for his missionary work & his writings. The statement he made that stuck with me was in reference to a conversation he had with a devout Muslim recently. The Muslim man said, “You Christians aren’t doing a very good job of following Jesus & you need to get back to your book,” meaning the Bible.

Brother Andrew agreed with the man’s statement. Then the Muslim man said, “We Muslims aren’t doing a very good job of following Muhammad either. We need to get back to our book.” He of course spoke of The Quran. Brother Andrew continued, [of course he was now speaking to his audience, not the Muslim man,] “We’d better pray they don’t start following Muhammad more closely if they do there’ll be a blood-bath all over the world.”

Then brother Andrew asked the man what he felt the Muslims wanted as a people, whereupon the Muslim man answered, “We want someone to tell us who God is.” Think about that statement. In the final analysis they are hungering to know about the real God of heaven & in all probability wondering deep in their souls if they’ve found the right one. We of course know the answer to that. The thought struck me that we in America who are acquainted with the true & living God should be doing a better job of educating people as to who our God really is.

Of course the first thing we must do is stop using God’s name so casually & began to ascribe worth & honor to His name in every way possible. We will all stand before God & give account for the ways in which we’ve used His Name. When we make promises & vows to God then turn around & do the opposite we’re misusing His Name. The person who uses God’s Name in vain can never be fully right with God & in a position for His blessings until that sin is repented of.

I heard about a foul-mouthed old miner who after he was saved had to retrain his mules. It seems after he cleaned up his speech the animals weren’t able to understand a command he gave them.

One day a farmer was late getting home & his wife asked him why it took as long. His reply was, “Well I picked up the preacher down the road & after that moment those horses couldn’t understand a thing I said.”

God’s plan for His people is for us to guard our tongues in everything we say, especially when we use His name.

Years ago a missionary to the Orient witnessed a 20 year old native approach a heathen idol, kneel down, pull out a knife & cut his tongue out. Within minutes the young man had collapsed in a pool of his own blood & died at the idols feet.

God wouldn’t be glorified in our doing such a foolish thing, but He does want our tongues consecrated wholly to His worship, His adoration & His glorification.

I love The Gaither’s song,

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there’s just something about that name.
Master, Savior Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all heaven & earth proclaim,
King’s & kingdoms shall all pass away,

But there’s something about that name.

How are we using our tongue?

REMEMBER, GOD’S LAST NAME IS NOT DAMN!


BLESSINGS,

John

DEATH IN THE POT

By John Stallings

…..Oh thou man of God, there is death in the pot…… 2 Kings 4:40


There was a famine in the land. Food was hard to find. Elisha was the master of a group of young prophets. As he traveled with them the time came for them to eat & he told them to put a pot on the fire.

They did have faith because even though there was a famine they believed God was able to provide something for them to eat.

In the mean time they went looking for food. I think what they had in mind was a nice vegetable stew. One of the young men found a wild vine & shredded the gourds from the vine into the pot. A mystery stew or “Gourd Goulash” was concocted & when it was done the prophets prepared to eat, not knowing that one chef was getting ready to accidentally kill a bunch of preachers.

The food seethed into a stew & as the young men begin to chow down, one by one they realized something was wrong & they spit out the stew shouting, “Master, there is death in the pot.” Thank God they had the good sense to immediately reject the poisonous food & spit it out without apology. They just couldn’t get it past their gums. Elisha found some meal & threw it into the pot & suddenly Poison Porridge became a Succulent Stew. Now we’re talking a blue ribbon dish worthy of Martha Stewart, perfectly seasoned with not a hint of a bitter aftertaste. All the harm was removed & they could eat it. The meal offering was a type of Christ & it was put in the pot to cancel the damage done by the false, death-dealing vine.

Certainly we can see a spiritual parallel here to our day & time. Elisha & his students were in need because of a famine. In spite of the gospel that is constantly being beamed out through television, radio, shortwave, cyberspace, books, Cd's, DVDs, etc. there’s a famine of the Word of God in America & people are spiritually dying.

THE YOUNG PROPHET WHO PICKED THE POISON GOURD WAS SINCERE-- BUT SINCERELY WRONG.

I don’t want to be too hard on this young man because the mistake he made in choosing the gourd was, as far as we know an honest mistake. He wasn’t a very good botanist & was probably even a worse cook. However he didn’t hire on as a cook but was helping as best he could. He was just lacking in discernment about what could & couldn’t be eaten.

If anything gives me concern these days, it’s the fact that in spite of the tidal wave of spiritual resources & knowledge available in this nation, a large segment of the population has a huge deficit of spiritual depth & discernment. When we think about where the nation stands at present, it’s obvious what the next national election could mean to all of us.

It gives us pause when we consider the prospects of an extreme liberal politician entering the Oval office, standing against just about everything we stand for as Christians.

Thought I’ve always kept this blog a place where folk can come & be edified by the Word of God, anyone who’s ever read my jottings know where I stand on Billary.

BUT—WHAT’S IN THE OBAMA POT???

Obama’s pastor of twenty years, Jeremiah Wright, has been on my radar screen long before I ever heard of Obama.

I won’t belabor the point here & put you through a morbid re-visitation of what Wright is all about, but suffice to say, to call Wright a radical is like saying the Pacific ocean is a little damp. I hear that he retired last month & to be frank I don’t know if it’s because the IRS is investigating his church because of some of his over the top rantings, venturing deeply into the realm of politics. Sounds about “Wright.” Obviously the man is a lightening rod.

As I’m sure some of you have, I’ve recently listened to & read from various disgusting excerpts of Rev. [“God---America!”& that middle word isn’t bless] Wright, Obama’s pastor says that America’s “chickens are coming home to roost.” My problem with this man is not simply that he is a radical though well-meaning black pastor. My problem with him is that he’s a nut & the more Obama tries to deny this, the worse it gets. He readily confesses that he took the title of his book, - "The audacity of hope” from a Wright lecture.

There can be no doubt that some keys to Obama’s success are his education, diction, charisma, & sense of decency. To many who lack discernment there’s a “what’s not to like” quality about the man.

But there are several basic concerns with Obama;

1. He’s wet behind the political ears. He’s done nothing that I know of,- of importance in his career but use flowery words that mean nothing. We don’t know what his “change” really means.
2. Obama is the most liberal or “far left” person in Congress & that includes Ted Kennedy & John Kerry.
3. He seems to believe the press about himself, for example that he just might be the political “messiah.”
4. He will surrender in Iraq & remove our army immediately, which will bring untold chaos & bloodshed if not outright genocide.

5. He also openly says that if elected president he’ll all but end our military superiority in the world, scale down our nuclear prowess & have Americans depending on hope instead of the kind of military might that has kept us safe during the last sixty-plus years of the nuclear age. He would never allow nuclear weapons to be used for any purpose at any time.

6. Obama is a “foggy man,” meaning we know little about him. Too little.

7. Obama’s church, Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, started Trumpet Newsmagazine in 1982. Each year the magazine gives awards in various categories. Last year they gave the Dr. Jeremiah Wright award to Louis Farrakhan saying “he truly epitomizes greatness.” Farrakhan’s history is a rancid stew of lies & turning history on its ear.

· Obama voted against banning partial birth abortion.
· He voted no on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions.
· Supports affirmative action in Colleges & Government.
· In 2001 he questioned harsh penalties for drug dealing.
· Says he’ll deal with street level drug dealing as a minimum wage affair.
· Admitted marijuana use in high school & college.
· He’s willing to meet with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jung IL & Mahmoud Ahmaadinejad.
· Among his first goals after being elected would be to have a conference with all Muslim nations.
· Opposed the Patriot Act
· First bill he signed that was passed was campaign finance reform.
· Voted no on prohibiting law suits against gun manufacturers.
· Supports universal health care.
· Voted yes on providing habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees.
· Supports granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
· Supports extending welfare to illegal immigrants.
· Voted NO on making English the official language of the USA.
· Voted yes on comprehensive immigrant reform.
· Voted yes on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security.
· Wants to make the minimum wage a “living wage.”
· Voted with Democratic Party 96% of 251 votes.
· Is a big believer in separation of church & state.
· Opposed to any efforts to Privatize Social Security & instead supports increasing the amount of tax paid.
· Voted NO on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax.
· Voted NO on repealing the “death tax.”
· He is ranked as the MOST LIBERAL SENATOR in the Senate today & that takes some doing.

This tidal wave could very well undermine the very foundations of this great country.

Just yesterday Eliot Spitzer, the governor of New York resigned in disgrace after being caught having dealings with a prostitution ring during a period of over ten years. The call girl he hired for $4,300 per “date” was not much older than his oldest daughter. The man was either viciously self-destructive or pathologically arrogant believing he wouldn’t get caught.

The irony of it was that the reformist Gov. Spitzer campaigned for the office with a strong morality message & was in the process of enacting a new felony statute to punish human trafficking.

“Hypocrisy, thy name is Spitzer.”

I read somewhere that Spitzer’s name was even being mentioned in conjunction with a run for the White House at some point down the road. When we see how corrupt people in high places can be, it underscores the fact that Americans need to be extremely discerning in the months ahead. Certainly “there’s death in our political pot.”

The good news is Christ is still the answer to all of man’s problems & He remains the only antidote for the deadly toxins that abound in our society. My heart goes out to Spitzer’s wife & three precious daughters. Will you join me in prayer for him that he will find forgiveness, redemption & a new life through Jesus Christ?

Discernment pops up everywhere in the Bible. Proverbs 27:7 states, -The full soul loathes the honeycomb but to the hungry soul every bitter things is sweet. We’d better get some spiritual discernment quick in America because there’s death in the political pot we’re about to dip in to.

Notice in the story that the prophets were so hungry they probably would have eaten bitter soup. The problem with this stew wasn’t just bitterness, it was deadly poisonous. There was truly death in the pot. [I’ve eaten a few poison Tacos in my time, & guzzled a few glasses of poison Tea down around the Mexican border, but that’s another story] The pot had to be healed & the meal Elisha added to it caused a miracle.

WE HAVE TOO MANY ENTRY-LEVEL CHRISTIANS WHO STAY THAT WAY.

In some of the flat mid-western states after a strong thunderstorm on a hot summer day, a site may appear that looks like a huge body of inviting water to swim in & even drink from & be refreshed. But as we step in we suddenly realize that though it may look like an ocean of water, it’s only an inch deep. In the same way, we may appear to be deep Christians but if we’ve lived our lives for self-only, we’ll be a mere mirage of maturity. When people get close to us they’ll perceive the illusion—Width-without-depth.

Let’s analyze what’s happening in America. In many churches, deep-level Bible teaching opportunities & discipleship classes have just about disappeared & we’ve gone for one big Sunday morning worship service. People love it & the attendance is doing quite well, thank you very much. Other services have fallen through the cracks except that big service. People are coming in droves. Things are exciting & people like it. The music is lively, the sound is neat, & there are cool spotlights, quality dramas, need-oriented preaching & magnificent musicals.

Morale is up. Attendance is up. Excitement is up. But is Godliness up? Is Christlikeness up? Is there any maturity in evidence or do we just have larger & larger audiences coming to watch the performance? Are people as concerned as they ought to be about real Christian commitment?

Are people just “coming to see the show?” Are we just letting people breeze through the church that aren’t really letting their religion cramp their style? Are people picking & choosing what appeals to them & letting the rest alone? Are the people our churches are producing a shallow but happy lot?

Am I against that one big Sunday morning service? A thousands times no! As an evangelist, [with a lot of miles on him] frankly, speaking from the natural, I’m happy when we can sing & preach only once on Sunday morning & go kick off our shoes for the rest of the day. The problem is we’re producing shallow Christians. We’re producing a “spiritual river” that’s a mile wide & an inch deep & entry-level Christians who’re not growing.

The writer of Hebrews said; Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go on unto perfection……..Heb. 6:1

My concern is that we have so democratized & lowered the threshold for salvation enabling everybody to call themselves a Christian, that we now have many who’ve never been truly converted. Peter was saved but Jesus told him when he was converted he’d strengthen the brethren. Luke 22:32.

A young single evangelist friend of mine told me about dating a girl who actually pressured him to have sex with her. When he explained to her it was wrong to have sex outside of marriage she responded by saying, “that’s what’s wrong with a church like yours. At our church we can do anything we want to do & God forgives us.”

I don’t think for a moment that her pastor preached that message; at least I certainly don’t want to believe it. I don’t know if the young woman picked that up by not having a keen listening ear to the message being preached, or if the message was preached with such lack of conviction it came across as compromising.

For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 2 Cor.14:8

I think it significant that Elisha’s young prophets, though they may not have been proficient chefs, had the discernment to quickly recognize that the stew meant death if eaten & promptly spit it out.

I’m not exalting one church denomination above another here but may God help us to have discernment to recognize false teaching when we hear it & not get caught up in it to the damnation of our eternal souls. Listen to Paul’s words;

Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils….1 Timothy 4:1

A man equipped with a diver’s suit & all the necessary equipment, slipped below the surface of the sea & plummeted into the murky depths below with a small ship waiting for him above. All at once the diver got a message through his radio from the ship above him saying, “Come quick, the ship is sinking.” The story may be a little silly but the diver is supposed to be the one we would expect to be in distress & the ship is there to haul him up in case of an emergency. But in this story the diver is fine but the ship is sinking. That diver isn’t going to be much help to the ship.

We often see this dynamic; the individual, who ordinarily would be the one needing to be strengthened & supported, is doing just fine. In fact the individual is stronger than those above him who’re in leadership. This of course isn’t always true but in some cases the person, the institution, the school or church that sits atop the hierarchy is the one that’s sinking. Isn’t that what we’ve just seen in the case of Governor Spitzer of New York?

We should respect those whom God has placed in leadership because of their position, but not to the point of blind adherence, when we see them veering off from what we know to be the true & right path.


Notice how Elisha’s story ends. Not with a group of preachers rubbing their stomachs & rolling in pain; but with them talking with one another about how great was their God who can turn poison into porridge. God can bless in spite of our blunders.

In the world we’re living in, there are many false vines that, though they look good & healthy bring death. Often we don’t see the death-dealing quality at first blush.

Have you ever heard a politician or preacher say things that bothered you on a deep level? I know I have. Dear friend we have to know the difference between the deadly vines & the True Vine.

If a television minister or a politician tells us something that is opposite to what Jesus says we must be able to say;

Let God be true and every man a liar.

Unfortunately, many Christians aren’t good at discerning because they don’t know their Bible. But the good news is I believe a revival of Bible teaching is coming in short order. Maybe this disturbing political situation will wake the Church up & once again pulpits from coast to coast will go back to teaching the Word of God.

All kinds of things will get people through the doors of our churches but it’s only God’s Word that will change an individual’s mind-set, values & life-style.

But though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Gal.1:8-9.

Blessings,

John

MONSTERS FROM INNER SPACE

By John Stallings

One of the sayings of Christ that used to baffle me was;

There is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him those are they that defile the man. Mark 7:15

I pondered this statement for quite some time before finding the simple answer. My thinking was; --- surely we know that ingesting strong drink, inhaling tobacco smoke, eating too much of the wrong foods, ingesting poisonous things, or breathing air laden with pollutants are the things that defile us. But Jesus is saying it’s just the opposite; the things that go into a man aren’t what defile him, but rather the things that come out of him. How strange, until you get the revelation.

One day I was in a grocery store & God used a very simple object to reach my simple mind. He said, “Why don’t you go ask the man in the veggie department to wrap you up a half pound of malice?Then go by & ask the butcher to wrap you up a couple of pounds of hate. Check in the drug department & buy some fear, envy, lust & maybe some hypocrisy. Then on your way out pick up some fraud & deceit & maybe a sack of anxiety.”

It was like a light-bulb was turned on in my mind. That store didn’t carry those articles. Fear, murder, adultery, lies, envy, malice & hypocrisy aren’t concocted by the pharmaceutical industry and don’t roll down the conveyor belts of any manufacturer. These things aren’t even resident in the hearts of the brute animals of the jungle. They can’t be found in the hearts of cats & dogs & birds or the fish that swim the murky depths of the sea. The only creator of these monsters is the darkened, fallen, sinful heart of man.

1. WORRY & ANXIETY ARE MONSTERS FROM INNER SPACE.

We think that somehow worry comes to us from the outside but in truth worry is something we do, not something done to us. That’s why Jesus commands us not to do it. Matt.6:26-27---33-34.

I heard about a man who worried so much it gave him an ulcer. He hired a man to do his worrying for him & paid him $100,000. One day he was telling a friend about what he’d done & the friend asked “how in the world can you afford to pay someone that much money to do your worrying?” He answered, “I don’t know, I’m letting him worry about that.”

Wouldn’t it be great if we could pay someone to do our worrying for us?

Back in the sixties I read a book by Dale Carnegie called “How to stop worrying & start living.” It’s an excellent book, & among other things, he gives a four-step rule for dealing with worry.

Carnegie tells in the forward of his book that in the mid-nineteen thirties, not long after the great depression ended, he realized how prevalent worry was among professional men & saw that worry was actually killing people. He looked through libraries to find books on the subject but couldn’t find any so he wrote his book on worry.

As far as I know Carnegie wasn’t a Christian but he includes many passages of scripture in his book so it’s obvious that he found as others have that the Word of God is the definitive book on worry & anxiety.

Philippians 4:7 says;

Don’t be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer & petition with thanksgiving present your requests to the lord.

This is a command of God. From start to finish the Bible tell us plainly not to worry, presents us cases where people have been worried & then shows us how they came out of it with God’s help.

Mental health experts say more than half of our hospital beds are filled with people suffering the effects of worry. Mental distress can cause headaches, arthritis, cystitis, colitis, backaches, ulcers, depression, digestive disorders, & even death. When we add to that the mental fatigue of nights without sleep & days without peace we get a glimpse of the havoc worry plays in destroying the quality & quantity of life.

The mortality rate of worry is astounding. Worry is bad for us because it has no nutritional value for the body or for the soul. Some people try not to let anything happen to them that they haven’t worried about well in advance. They have raised worry to an art form. God never intended that the people He created & saved should hang between certainty & doubt, filled with anxiety over so many things.

It’s been said that the average person’s worries break down like this;

40% about things that never happen
30% about the past that can’t be changed
12% about inaccurate criticism from other people
10% about health which gets worse because of worry
8% about real problems we have to face

Someone said, “When you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure nine of them will fall into the ditch before they reach you.”

If you’re a close observer, you can look at a person & see worry on their countenance. It makes them look haggard & bends the body over choking the creative life out of them. Worry is serious business. You can almost feel sorry for them & feel like saying, “There, there, things will be alright.” But God says, “No! Repent! Stop this way of life.” Worry is a radical kind of unbelief & it drives the dagger of slander into the ribs of God’s integrity.

When we worry we take the imagination that’s supposed to see God in everything & misuse it by conjuring up things that have no redeeming value. When we hear a voice telling us how bad things are going to be, we can be certain we’re not hearing God’s voice. It’s not God’s voice because God doesn’t dwell in the nightmare, “never- never” world of Apocalypse Now.

I’m going to say something now that will shock you; worry, real hard-core worry is worse than drug addiction. It’s worse than other sinful behaviors & monsters that are also born in the shadows of our inner-space. Why-you say? Worry is worse because worry is actually the father & progenitor of many of these heinous monsters such as drug & alcohol addiction.

Worry can cause a person to get into drugs & alcohol in order to drown out the pain it brings. It can cause people to lash out at everybody & alienate friends. Worry has many bad “monster cousins” that slip right into our lives when worry opens the door. Worry has a close friend called anger. Worry has a close traveling companion called self-pity. Many people go into adulterous affairs because they are feeling sorry for themselves & tell themselves their flesh needs a little pampering. It all started with worry & anxiety, and then slipped into self-pity.

Worriers have a subtle way of dumping on others. They transfer their worry to other people so innocently if you blink you’ll miss it. After the worrier leaves others can’t figure out why they’re now in depression. It’s because the worrier always sees the dark side & bring their troubles in, spreading them all around. Sometimes worry even masquerades as “prayer concerns.”

Before we make the decision to dump on others we need to remember that it takes eight positive thoughts to cancel or cover one negative thought. That’s why God is so serious about our mental attitudes. He doesn’t suggest that we don’t worry & fret, He absolutely forbids His children to worry & fret about anything.

Longstanding anxieties & worries arise out of a lifestyle in which we’ve forgotten God & His wonderful provisions for us. I wish I knew a gentler way of saying that. I don’t want to come off pompous here because I’ve had to fight worry in my life like fighting the demons of hell. But I can tell you that in those times when I’ve allowed worry to climb into the saddle, it’s been times when I wasn’t bringing God into the equation. Doesn’t that ring true with you?

If the Bible commands me to “be anxious for nothing” & the Bible commands me to “fear not,” I can be sure that it’s within my power to stop it. I can choose to believe God’s presence is with me & in His presence fear & anxiety are swallowed up. There’s no twelve step formula to be free from worry. We are freed from worry by our fellowship & relationship of trust with the living God.

Have you ever noticed when reading the Psalms; you’re overhearing a man talk to his God? He’s not telling the church or his friends, he’s talking to his God. The Psalmist is clear about how he feels. Sometimes he wants people dead, their wife widows, & their children orphans. He comes out of it but that’s because he went to God with it. Have you talked to God lately in real honesty? He can handle it. Don’t pretend you’re not worried, angry or upset, but take it to God in prayer & let Him know your true feelings.
Watch out now because I’m going to throw you a hanging–curve ball.

GOD DOESN’T ACTUALLY TELL US NOT TO WORRY!

If God were to say, --Be anxious for nothing---he’d actually be dooming us to certain worry. God would never tell us not to worry. The way we’re physiologically made-up, a command -not to worry-would assure us that we’d worry. We’d worry so much that if we ran out of something to worry about that would worry us. Telling us not to worry would be like walking into a dark room & trying to throw the darkness out. No! What do we do in a dark room? We turn on a light.

God doesn’t say – “be anxious for nothing, try to get your mind off of it.” God doesn’t say— “Be anxious for nothing, attack worry with everything you have in you.”

What does God say? He says---Be anxious for nothing—pray! God doesn’t leave us without a plan, but says—Be anxious for nothing BUT in everything by prayer & supplication make your requests known unto the Lord.

Don’t try to come against worry; you’ll lose just like you would if you cursed the darkness. Instead, turn your attention to God & let your requests be made known to Him…..in everything by prayer & supplication---turn to God & let Him know exactly what the cause of your worry is….let your requests be made known. Fully uncover it to God.

In Luke 24:17 & following, The Risen Christ joined Himself to two men as they walked toward a town called Emmaus. Jesus started asking the men questions about what their problem was. He said, in essence, “What’s bugging you guys?” Jesus wanted them to spill out their requests & needs to Him. After they told Him their problems of disappointment & disillusionment, then Jesus started to minister to them. Do you realize the risen Lord wouldn’t deal with their problems until they poured out their hearts to Him? God doesn’t ask questions for information. He already knows everything. He asks questions to get us to talk to Him.—let your requests be made known. Give it all to God!

Don’t just come crashing in asking God for things before you remember His goodness to you in the past…..With thanksgiving let your requests be made known. Forget not all His benefits.

Then we have a wonderful promise. ……The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts & minds through Jesus Christ. ---Phil.4:7

Rather than dumping my gloom on people, I can just tell it all to Jesus & he’ll give me peace that’s incomprehensible. What a promise!

Take your tomorrows that don’t yet exist, take the person & the thing that is giving you cause to worry & fret & just give them all to God.

Whatever your tomorrows hold for you, your spouse, your children & your children’s children, put all of it in God’s hands.

The peace of God will keep you, will garrison you round about as you live for Him Who lives in you. It’s true for all of us! Praise His name!

Blessings,

John