Always be humble and gentle

Ephesians 4:2 (NLT)

2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

These are great words when it comes to relationships with others. We should be humble and gentle towards one another; for arrogance and harshness will create bitterness in any relationship. Allow room for one another’s faults out of love for each another. When we humbly correct a fault we win over the person to show them our concern for their care.

Time printed a photograph of the back of Washington Redskins quarterback Jeff George (his helmet off, revealing a big, white-skinned bald spot) sitting on the bench flanked by two African-American teammates, each with a supportive hand on his shoulder.

The caption read, "What counts most in creating a successful team is not how compatible its players are, but how they deal with incompatibility."  ["We Illustrated," Time (11-18-02)]

There are differences in each of us, both physical and mental. We have different thoughts, different objectives and different goals. We must however learn to put the differences aside so that we may show love towards each other. We can start this process by being humble and gentle with each other and allow for each other’s faults.

Become last to be first

Mark 9:35 (NKJV)

35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

Christ explains to His disciples those who are considered the greatest are the people who put aside themselves to serve God and place the needs of others first.

It is the desire for God which is the most fundamental appetite of all, and it is an appetite we can never eliminate. We may seek to disown it, but it will not go away. If we deny that it is there, we shall in fact only divert it to some other object or range of objects. And that will mean that we invest some creature or creatures with the full burden of our need for God, a burden which no creature can carry. —Friar and author Simon Tugwell, The Beatitudes

The above words point to the fact that when we place ourselves first, we tend to invest in things other than God to meet our needs. In making ourselves first, we make ourselves last with God. When we surrender to God and perform His will then we make ourselves last and become first priority with God.

Worship in spirit and truth

John 4:24 (NKJV)

24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

It is required of all that worship God that they worship him in spirit and in truth. We must depend upon God's Spirit for strength and assistance, laying our souls under his influences and operations; we must devote our own spirits to, and employ them in, the service of God, must worship him with fixedness of thought and a flame of affection, with all that is within us. [Matthew Henry Commentary]

I was riding the crowded subway in New York City. Every 10 to 15 seconds or so, someone behind me shouted unintelligible words. The first time, I ignored them. After several outbursts, however, I turned around to see that they were coming from a disheveled man behind me.

Sitting fairly close to him was a woman reading a newspaper. As I watched, he reached out, touched her knee, and quickly brought his hand back. Not getting any response, he did it again a few seconds later. It seemed like a game a small child might play; each time, his face showed that he was pretending not to have touched her. No one said anything, but those sitting near him exchanged nervous glances and began to inch away.

I was caught off guard by what happened next. The woman put down her paper and looked at the man. I expected her to rebuke him. Instead, she politely engaged the man in conversation. "Do you know where your stop is?"

He nodded that he did.

"Do you need any help getting to where you need to go?"

He shook his head no.

I don't know what motivated this woman to treat a stranger on the subway with such kindness. But the way she asked these questions showed that she was genuinely concerned for his welfare. She chose to respond to him as a real person with real needs, not just as an annoyance on her commute.

The incident reminded me of how the Apostle Paul saw people: "We regard no one from a worldly point of view" (2 Cor. 5:16). Many people on that subway car including me had looked at the man from a human point of view. In contrast, the woman who spoke to him reflected the perspective Paul described. She addressed him as a person who had inherent worth. [Chuck Broughton, "Reflecting God's Nature," Discipleship Journal (Jan/Feb 2003), pp. 35-36]

Let others praise you

Proverbs 27:2 (NIV)

2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.

We must do that which is commendable, for which even strangers may praise us. Our light must shine before men, and we must do good works that may be seen, though we must not do them on purpose that they may be seen. Let our own works be such as will praise us, even in the gates, Phil. 4:8. 2. When we have done it we must not commend ourselves, for that is an evidence of pride, folly, and self-love, and a great lessening to a man's reputation. [Matthew Henry Commentary]

"We're an overconfident species," contends New York Times columnist David Brooks. Brooks calls it a "magnification of the self," and he believes this glut of self-esteem is especially rampant in the United States. To back up these claims, Brooks cites an array of statistics, studies, and observations:

When pollsters ask people from around the world to rate themselves on different traits, Americans usually supply the most positive self-ratings.

Although American students do not perform well on global math tests, they are among the world leaders in having self-confidence about their math abilities.

Compared to college students from 30 years ago, today's college students are much more likely to agree with statements such as "I am easy to like."

94 percent of college professors believe they have above-average teaching skills.

70 percent of high school students surveyed claim they have above-average leadership skills, and only 2 percent are below average.

Brooks observes that a few decades ago it would have been unthinkable for a baseball player to celebrate himself in the batter's box after hitting a home run. Today it is routine.

Similarly, pop singers wouldn't have composed songs about their own greatness; now those songs dominate the charts.

The number of high school seniors who believed that they were "a very important person": in the 1950s—12 percent; in the 1990s—80 percent.

According to Brooks, American men are especially susceptible to the perils of overconfidence. Men unintentionally drown twice as often as women (because men have great faith in their swimming ability, especially after drinking).

"In short," Brooks concludes, "there's abundant evidence to suggest that we have shifted a bit from a culture that emphasized self-effacement—I'm not better than anybody else, but nobody is better than me—to a culture that emphasizes self-expansion." [David Brooks, "The Modesty Manifesto," The New York Times (3-21-11)]

Humble yourself

James 4:10 (NKJV)

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Jesus taught in the book of Matthew that those who humble themselves shall be exalted. Here James reminds us to humble ourselves before God and God Himself will lift you up. Matthew Henry wrote, “God will revive the spirit of the humble (Isa. 57:15), He will hear the desire of the humble (Ps. 10:17), and he will at last life them up to glory. Before honour is humility. The highest honour in heaven will be the reward of the greatest humility on earth.”

Here's some good news: if you're like most people, you're way above average—at almost everything. Psychologists call this the state of "illusory superiority." (It's also called "The Lake Wobegone Effect," from Garrison Keillor's fictional Minnesota town where "all the children are above average.") It simply means that we tend to inflate our positive qualities and abilities, especially in comparison to other people.

Numerous research studies have revealed this tendency to overestimate ourselves. For instance, when researches asked a million high school students how well they got along with their peers, none of the students rated themselves below average. As a matter of fact, 60 percent of students believed they were in the top 10 percent; 25 percent rated themselves in the top one percent. You'd think college professors might have more self-insight, but they were just as biased about their abilities. Two percent rated themselves below average; 10 percent were average and 63 were above average; while 25 percent rated themselves as truly exceptional.

Of course this is statistically impossible. One researcher summarized the data this way: "It's the great contradiction: the average person believes he is a better person than the average person." Christian psychologist Mark McMinn contends that the "Lake Wobegone Effect" reveals our pride. He writes, "One of the clearest conclusions of social science research is that we are proud. We think better of ourselves than we really are, we see our faults in faint black and white rather than in vivid color, and we assume the worst in others while assuming the best in ourselves."  [Matt Woodley, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; sources: "Study: Self-Images Often Erroneously Inflate," ABC News (11-9-05); Mark McMinn, Why Sin Matters (Tyndale, 2004), pp. 69-71]

We all really do have a hard time in admitting our mistakes, our weaknesses and our faults. Yet God has told us that humility leads to honor and that He will support us even when we fail. If we can just learn to truly humble ourselves before God then we would be able to let go of many of our problems.

God will grant you wisdom

James 1:5 (NLT)

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

Here is something in answer to every discouraging turn of the mind, when we go to God, under a sense of our own weakness and folly, to ask for wisdom. He to whom we are sent, we are sure, has it to give: and he is of a giving disposition, inclined to bestow this upon those who ask. Nor is there any fear of his favours being limited to some in this case, so as to exclude others, or any humble petitioning soul; for he gives to all men. [Matthew Henry Commentary]

In his book The Many Faces of Evil, author John Feinberg tells the story of when his wife, Pat, was diagnosed with Huntington's Chorea—a genetically-transmitted disease that causes deterioration in the brain, thus causing deterioration of physical and psychological abilities. John and Pat were not only concerned about the future of her health, but the health of their children. If one parent has the gene that causes Huntington's, children of that parent have a 50-50 chance of suffering from the same disease. What was also troubling to John was that they had no warning that Huntington's was a possibility for Pat—and they should have been warned. Soon after the diagnosis, they requested a copy of Pat's mother's medical chart to see if there was any family history of the disease, and Pat's mother had suffered from Huntington's unbeknownst to the family. Feinberg was angry, realizing this diagnosis came five years before he met his wife. It could have altered everything! But Feinberg writes of his realization that the hidden knowledge was a gift of grace from God:

For twenty years that information had been there, and at any time we could have found it out. Why, then, did God not give it to us until 1987?

As I wrestled with that question, I began to see his love and concern for us. God kept it hidden because he wanted me to marry Pat, who is a wonderful wife. My life would be impoverished without her, and I would have missed the blessings of being married to her had I known earlier.

God wanted our three sons to be born. Each is a blessing and a treasure, but we would have missed that had we known earlier. And God knew that we needed to be in a community of brothers and sisters in Christ at church and at the seminary who would love us and care for us at this darkest hour.

And so he withheld that information, not because he accidentally overlooked giving it to us, and not because he is an uncaring God who delights in seeing his children suffer. He withheld it as a sign of his great care for us. There is never a good time to receive such news, but God knew that this was exactly the right time. [John S. Feinberg, The Many Faces of Evil (Crossway Books, 2004), pp. 464-465]

We often wrestle with the issues we face in our life. The Lord is faithful in seeing us through to an answer. He provides us wisdom to see our life for what it is. John Feinberg was distraught over the diagnosis of his wife, but God showed him the beautiful blessings John would have missed out on had things been any different.

Effective prayer

Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT)

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

In these verses Jesus gave us the basis of effective prayer – Keep on seeking and Keep on asking. Ask we seek and ask for the answers to prayers the door will be opened until we find the appropriate response.

In her book Holy the Firm, Annie Dillard writes of attending a small church with some 20 people:

The minister is a Congregationalist and wears a white shirt. The man knows God. Once, in the middle of the long pastoral prayer of intercession for the whole world for the gift of wisdom to its leaders, for hope and mercy to the grieving and pained, succor to the oppressed, and God's grace to all in the middle of this he stopped and burst out, "Lord, we bring you these same petitions every week." After a shocked pause, he continued reading the prayer. Because of this, I like him very much. [Annie Dillard, Holy the Firm (HarperCollins, 1999)]

Above we find the minister being honest in his prayer. The same basic prayer had been offered week after week. The desire was there for an answer, but an answer wasn’t coming in the manner everyone wanted. So in his desperation he called out to God, “Lord we bring you these same petitions every week.”  The minister was still asking and still seeking for a response. Be assured God is listening and God is working on the response. Sometimes the response just doesn’t come in the time constraint we have placed upon God.

Be sure your sin will find you out

Galatians 6:7-8 (NLT)

7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

We should not deceive ourselves for our sins will leave a trail that can be seen by God. What we do has consequences in our life either for good or evil. Those who try to satisfy their sinful nature will reap the consequences associated with the actions of their sin. Those who try to please God through the Holy Spirit will harvest lasting goodness.

"Be sure your sin will find you out," Numbers 32:23 tells us. But in the case of this story, we could also say "Be sure your Cheetos will find you out." During the early morning hours of January 6, 2013, county deputies were called to the Cassatt Country Store in Cassatt, South Carolina to investigate a burglary. The deputies determined that someone had broken into the store and stolen beer, cigarettes, snack foods, and energy drinks. The burglar only stole $160 worth of goods, but caused about $2,500 in damages.

The store manager, Howard "Buck" Buckholz, said, "He knocked out our front door, he knocked out the beer cooler, and stole beer, cigarettes, Slim Jims, and in his haste, he punctured two or three bags of Cheetos." That was the burglar's undoing. Buckholz said, "Cheetos were all over the parking lot, at the place where he parked his car, and at the residence." The police followed the trail of cheesy dust right to the house where the burglar was staying with a friend. As investigators approached the front door of the home, they observed more fresh Cheetos on the front porch. Buckholz added, "He was very easy to catch. It was a very quick deal."  [Kevin Dolak, "Trail of Cheetos Leads to Store Robber," ABC News (1-19-13)]

After watching many crime shows over the years, it is obvious people are never as clever as they think they are; for they always leave behind a piece of evidence that will eventually be found. I remember in one show a thief left behind his wallet, which led police straight to him. And if we are so easily found out by man then we cannot deceive God who is all knowing.

Tested Faith

James 1:2-3 (NLT)

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

We must not sink into a sad and disconsolate frame of mind, which would make us faint under our trials; but must endeavour to keep our spirits dilated and enlarged, the better to take in a true sense of our case, and with greater advantage to set ourselves to make the best of it. Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles; but Christianity teaches them to be joyful, because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God. In them we are conformable to Christ our head, and they become marks of our adoption. By suffering in the ways of righteousness, we are serving the interests of our Lord's kingdom among men, and edifying the body of Christ; and our trials will brighten our graces now and our crown at last. [Matthew Henry Commentary]

On that tragic morning of September 11, 2001, The Brooklyn Tabernacle lost four of its members. One victim was a police officer. The officer's funeral was held at the church building, and Rudy Giuliani, then mayor of New York City, had been asked to share a few thoughts. In his book You Were Made for More, Jim Cymbala, pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle, records what the mayor shared with the audience that morning:

"You know people, I've learned something through all this. Let me see if I can express it to you. When everybody was fleeing that building, and the cops and the firefighters and the EMS people were heading up into it, do you think any of them said, 'I wonder how many blacks are up there for us to save? I wonder what percentage are whites up here? How many Jews are there? Let's see—are these people making $400,000 a year, or $24,000, or—?'

"No, when you're saving lives, they're all precious. And that's how we're supposed to live all the time. How would you want the cops to treat you if you were on the seventy-fifth floor that day? Would you want them to say, 'Excuse me, but I've got to get the bosses out first'? Not exactly.

"I confess I haven't always lived this way. But I'm convinced that God wants us to do it. He wants us to value every human life the way he does."

The words of the mayor moved everyone who had gathered that day for the funeral. Cymbala concludes:

"I sat there thinking, My goodness, the mayor is preaching a truth that has eluded so many of our churches throughout New York and the country! He may have stood for other policies that I could not agree with, but on that day, he was right on the mark. The truth of what he said penetrated my heart.

The world you and I live in is falling apart before our eyes. We are God's only representatives on the planet and simply cannot take time to pick and choose who needs help. They all need help. They all need the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. They all need to be rescued from the horror of an eternity apart from God. [Jim Cymbala, You Were Made for More (Zondervan, 2008), pp. 94-96]

A disciple of Christ

John 8:31-32 (NIV)

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Those whom Christ sets free are free indeed. It is because of the love, mercy and grace of Christ that they are free from the penalties of sin and no other reason. Their hearts will be filled with the truth and the truth will guide them free from sin.

In the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as King Arthur and his knights seek the Holy Grail, they come to a bridge that spans an abyss of eternal peril. A bridge keeper allows people to cross this bridge only if they can answer three questions. Get one wrong, and you're tossed into the pit.

Lancelot is the first tested. The keeper asks him, "What is your name?" Lancelot answers.

"What is your quest?"

Lancelot answers, "To seek the Holy Grail."

"What is your favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Right," says the bridge keeper, "off you go." Lancelot crosses the bridge, amazed this was so easy.

The second knight similarly states his name and quest. But the third question is now, "What is the capital of Assyria?"

"I don't know that."

The knight is hurled, screaming, into the abyss.

The third knight, Sir Galahad, is nervous as he's asked his name and quest, but he answers correctly.

"What is your favorite color?"

Sir Galahad panics. "Blue…no, yellow--Aaaaahhhh," he screams as he is hurled into the pit.

Finally, the king steps up. "What is your name?"

"Arthur, King of the Britains."

"What is your quest?"

"To seek the Holy Grail."

"What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?"

"What do you mean," asks Arthur, "an African or European swallow?"

"What? I don't know that," answers the bridge keeper, who immediately is launched into the abyss. Arthur and his followers thereafter cross the bridge unhindered.

Many people's idea of the gospel is that some day we'll get to the bridge to paradise and be asked, "Why should you be allowed to cross?" As long as we answer correctly, we make it across. Answer wrongly, and we're cast into the abyss. The gospel is redefined to be the announcement of the minimal entrance requirements for getting into heaven….

Jesus never said, "Now I'm going to tell you what you need to say to get into heaven when you die." Jesus' good news is we no longer have to live in the guilt, failure, and impotence of our own strength. The transforming presence and power of God is available through Christ right here, right now. To live in that power, you must become his disciple.  [John Ortberg, "True (and False) Transformation," Leadership (Summer 2002), pp.101-102]

1 John 4:20-21 (NIV)

1 John 4:20-21 (NIV)

20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

As a basis to Christianity we profess to love God. God through Christ tells us to love those around us. Therefore how can a Christian profess to love God who cannot be seen and yet not love those in need who can be see?

A young lady named Sally took a seminary class taught by Professor Smith, who was known for his elaborate object lessons. One day Sally walked into class to find a large target placed on the wall, with several darts resting on a nearby table. Professor Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone they disliked or someone who had made them angry—and he would allow them to throw darts at the person's picture.

Sally's friend (on her right), drew a picture of another woman who had stolen her boyfriend. Another friend (on her left), drew a picture of his younger brother. Sally drew a picture of Professor Smith, putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing pimples on his face! She was quite pleased at the overall effect she'd achieved.

The class lined up and began throwing darts amidst much laughter. Some of the students threw with such force that they ripped apart their targets. But Sally, looking forward to her turn, was filled with disappointment when Professor Smith asked the students to return to their seats so he could begin his lecture. As Sally fumed about missing her chance to throw the darts, the professor began removing the target from the wall.

Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus. A hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled image of their Savior—holes and jagged marks covered his face. His eyes were virtually pierced out.

Professor Smith said only these words, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Knowing The Bible

Genesis 7 (1-5) NKJV

1 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” 5 And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.

Genesis 7 is an account of the world being destroyed by a great flood The Lord sent upon the earth. The rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights. The flood waters covered the earth for one hundred and fifty day days. Mountains were covered so they could not be seen. Every living thing that lived upon the face of the ground was destroyed expect that which was on the ark with Noah.

All the words of The Bible are important for they tell a story. These stories benefit us in different ways from knowing historical facts, understanding life and even seeing how great people failed. The Bible offers hope, grace and mercy that come with salvation from The Lord. So it important to read and know what is in The Bible.

One common error people make about the great flood deals with the animals that were upon the ark. I have seen children’s books with this error and it is repeated by word as fact. The error is that many believe only one pair of animals were taken on the ark. In fact The Bible tells us there was one pair of unclean animals and seven pairs of clean animals. The clean animals were good for man, while the unclean animals were not. In having more clean animals God ensured the animals good for man would survive.

I mention this point because there are times when science comes in conflict with religion. People will ask, what happened to the dinosaurs and science will give an explanation. Here in Genesis 7 we may have also found an explanation. There was only one pair of each of type of dinosaurs. Because of the flood the earth’s climate would have changed and it’s very possible these animals did not survive. So in reality there are times science and religion can co-exist. I just know The Bible says God did it and however it was done; it was done by God.

Genesis 6 (1-2) NKJ - The faith of Noah

Genesis 6 (1-2) NKJ

1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.

In the verses above we find that man has begun to multiply across the earth. There has been a blending of people; those from the linage of Seth and those from the linage of Cain. The men took wives based on their appearance and not of their hearts. The remainder of Genesis Chapter 6 is about God taking notice of man’s depravity and thinking about man’s destruction to remove them from sin. Yet a man named Noah found favor in God’s eyes.

Genesis 6:13-17 says, And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.  Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.

When Noah heard these words he was most likely puzzled, but verse 22 tells us that Noah did all God commanded him. First there had never been floodwaters. Genesis 2:6 tells us that a mist us to come up from the ground to water the earth. No one had seen rain. No one had ever needed a boat. Man had never been destroyed in any great manner. Yet Noah believed God and acted on faith.

It was a big task to build a boat of the nature described. It took years and years of labor. It took resources to obtain the materials needed. Yet Noah did the work on faith with the help of his children and without complaint. Noah didn’t even question how all the animals would get on board.

If God asked you to take on a project that seemed crazy, impossible and unheard of; would you step forward to do the work even if it took years? We have to remember if God calls us to do something; God will be behind us to see that the work is done and our needs are met.

Genesis 5 (28-31) - Easing the burdens of life

Genesis 5  (28-31) New King James Version

28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.” 30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.

Lamech's complaint of the calamitous state of human life. By the entrance of sin, and the entail of the curse for sin, our condition has become very miserable: our whole life is spent in labour, and our time filled up with continual toil. God having cursed the ground, it is as much as some can do, with the utmost care and pains, to fetch a hard livelihood out of it. He speaks as one fatigued with the business of this life, and grudging that so many thoughts and precious minutes, which otherwise might have been much better employed, are unavoidably spent for the support of the body. [Matthew Henry Commentary]

Lamech is a 7^th generation descendant of Adam and is from the linage of Cain. God had banished Cain for killing Cain’s brother Able and had been told the land would not easily yield to him in his enjoyment of farming. Generations later Lamech continues to feel the effects of sin caused by his ancestor Cain. For he says, “Our whole life is spent in labour, and our time filled up with continual toil. God having cursed the ground, it is as much as some can do, with the utmost care and pains, to fetch a hard livelihood out of it.”

A good life means different things to different people. However, your definition of the good live may include things in common with many of others. You may want your life to be stress free. You may want a life that is not filled with difficult labor and struggles. This is normal and the expectation of many. Nobody likes to struggle through life.

Unfortunately the thought of a difficult life may be what stops many people from enjoying the life they have been given. The thought of all the difficult work that is ahead, working through the resistance and overcoming hurdles is enough to make people want to give up and they haven’t even begun the real task of life. It’s like being drained of all your energy just as you get ready to run a marathon. Before you even hear the starting gun the thought of running 26.2 miles scares you and tires you out so mentally you walk away from the race.

We all have heard the term; if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Accepting life if difficult comes with the responsibility of accepting that you can bring change to your life.  The Bible tells us to give praise to The Lord for He is good to us. Colossians 3:15 says, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

Only you can let The Lord into your life to ease the struggles and burdens of life. Start the day with praise and thanksgiving for all you have. Focus on the positive and let go of the negative. Ask God for guidance and let Him make the paths of your life burden free.

Genesis 4 (23-24 ) New King James Version - Blame shifter

Genesis 4 (23-24 ) New King James Version

23 Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Lamech was a descendant of Cain who had killed his brother Able. God took away Cain’s ability to till the ground and banished him from his home. Cain feared for his life because of his actions. God in His mercy placed a mark on Cain saying, “Whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold.” In the verses above we see Lamech claiming this privilege and stating there shall be a seventy-sevenfold avengence.

During the process of counseling someone on problems in their marriage, most of the issues will be about the other spouse. Seldom does a person stop to think how they may be a part of the destruction of the relationship.

Even if they were asked to give a percentage of the problems attributed to the spouse and a percentage attributed to them; the largest percentage would be attributed to the spouse. If you wanted to talk about their problems you would find them shifting blame back to the spouse.

I have written on blame before. Typically we want to blame someone else other than ourselves for the problems we are facing. Adam blamed God for his sin. Eve blamed the serpent for hers. And that problem still continues today. We don’t want the responsibility so we blame someone else.

Above Lamech was not accepting responsibility for his actions of killing another person. Instead he wanted to claim God’s mercy stating if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold then he should be avenged seventy-sevenfold.  Lamech was making a false assumption that because God had spared Cain he too was justified. Instead the reprieve of Cain and the patience God exercised towards Cain caused Lamech to harden his heard in sinful ways.

As conflict arises in your life this week take a moment to assess the problem. It doesn’t matter if the conflict is at home, work or with friends.  Ask yourself, what portion of the pie am I responsible for? Then ask how you plan to address your own part of the pie. Take responsibility and stop shifting the blame.

Genesis 3 (9-13) New King James Version - Choices and blame

Genesis 3 (9-13) New King James Version

9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Adam and Eve knew they were not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; yet they chose to do so. They made a choice knowing there was a severe consequence that went along with their choice. Santa used the same lie with Adam and Eve he had formerly used with himself; I can become God. Adam and Eve bought into the lie and fell from grace just as Satan had bought into his own lie and fell from grace.

Every day in life we face choices. Most of those choices have consequences, either good or bad, that come as a result of the actions we take. When we make a choice, we are the one deciding if the consequence seems more valuable that the action. Sometimes we choose unwisely and find the consequence was not worth the value we initially believed. We find ourselves wanting to hide from that choice, but it has already been made.

Adam and Eve attempted to hide their choice from God. They thought they could hide in the garden and God would not know what they had done. Yet Adam gave himself away by saying he was naked, which was something he had never been aware of before. God then asked Adam, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

Look at Adam’s response. Instead of accepting responsibility for his own actions he says, “The woman whom You (God) gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree.” In other words it’s not my fault God you put me with this woman. It’s because of her I made that choice. You can’t blame me I’m just a victim.

Then we see Eve’s response, “The serpent deceived me.”  Eve has fallen into the same trap as Adam. Instead of taking responsibility for her actions she places the blame on the serpent. I can only wonder what would have happened if Adam and Eve accepted responsibility for their bad choice and had asked God for forgiveness.

Remember this in your daily interactions with others. Try not to shift blame to others when clearly the choice was yours. Accept responsibility for your actions and ask for forgiveness in order to make things right. 

Genesis 2 (15-17) New King James Version: Two trees - death or life

Genesis 2 (15-17) New King James Version

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

These verses show God placing man in the garden to tend and keep it as a good steward. We also see God’s authority over man in that God gave him specific orders. Two trees had been pointed out in Genesis chapter 2: 1) The tree of life, 2) the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From these two trees man was told never to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for it would bring an end to his days of life.

God calls us all to a purpose in life, but God also gives us the freedom to make choices. Above Adam was told not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but no conditions were placed on the tree of life, which had also been pointed out.

You see God was allowing Adam a choice to obey Him or disobey him. One tree brought sin and death, while the other tree brought eternal life. God gave Adam a command He hoped Adam would obey, but the choice was still there for Adam to do as he pleased.

God has laid out a plan in front of us for eternal life with Him in heaven. It is a gift we can choose to receive or reject. Many reject God’s plan by just ignoring what God has done for us. If you haven’t asked for God’s free gift of eternal life, choose now before it is too late.

Creation of Man

Genesis 1 (26-27) New King James Version

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis is the beginning of all things. In these verses we are told God formed man in His own likeness and that likeness included male and female. The male displayed what we consider male traits and the female displayed what we consider female traits; yet male and female were in possession of all God’s traits.

God’s creation of the world was excellent; a masterpiece given to the people to rule and have dominion over.  The essences of man, male and female, were created from God’s own image. People possessed God’s emotions, God’s feelings, God’s characteristics whether they were male or female. The male held more of the qualities of what we consider masculine, while the female held more of the qualities we consider feminine; yet they both held all the emotions, feelings and characteristics of God in differing proportions in alignment with their physical form. This does not make man greater than woman; nor woman greater than man. Instead they are partners being able to bring the fullness of God together.

In a way God made people godlike in that they had dominion over their world. They would be able to create and shape from it as they wished. They were given intelligence greater than instinct so they could make their own decisions and control outcomes. It seemed to be a perfect world; yet, because they were only imagines of God they were also open to failures of their choosing.

We do not understand what God did in putting His creation in place. Some things were not made to be known to man. We shall see that even the little that was made known became a pedestal for man to fall from the perfection and grace of the world.