The Sin of Selfishness

I recently heard of a woman who had been beaten by her husband. It was the third such occurrence for her, at the hands of the same man. Why? Why did she stay with him? Why did he beat her? These are questions I don't have the answers too.

How does a marriage go from posing for wonderful wedding photos to physical and emotional beatings? Another difficult question to answer.

It seems to me that the cause of most situations of abuse comes from someone not getting their way. That's called selfishness.

Another factor in violent behavior is self-control. If any of us gets pushed beyond the breaking point we will lash out - our defense mechanism. But what we are talking about here is an offensive attack!, not self-defense.

The root cause of all this is our sinful nature. WE want things to go OUR way. And when we don't get what we want we become angry.

But God became angry several times in the Bible. What about that? Good question. There are many instances where God got tired of a people's sinfulness that He wiped them out. He killed them all.

That's all because of our unrepentant sin. We ALL sin. God is just and a wrathful death awaits us all. Unless . . .

Unless we place our faith in Jesus. That simple, yet sometimes difficult act, saves us from God's wrath. Jesus took our future punishment upon Himself when He died on the cross.

Eternal life awaits those of us who chose Christ. Even the abuser has hope in Christ, through faith and a repentant heart. We ALL need to repent of our sins today to have hope for tomorrow.

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." -Psalm 147:3

"The righteous who walks in his integrity - blessed are his children after him!" - Proverbs 20:7

Pressure Relief

I was watching a video about tiny house plumbing this week. Yes, my life IS that exciting. The guy in the video was talking about pressure relief valves and why they are needed. I think I could use one!

The pressure in your home water system (if you have a well like me) varies between 40 and 60 pounds per square inch. That's normal.

Sometimes however pressure amounts can go higher. So high as a matter of fact that your system can explode and spew water everywhere. I'm no plumber but . . . that sounds bad.

That's why there are pressure relief valves. When the pressure gets too high the pressure relief valve lets the excess pressure escape until the system gets back to normal levels.

Sometimes I find that I am in need of a personal pressure relief valve. I might get upset watching the news or I see a Facebook post that makes me shake my head in disbelief. When I start to simmer it's nice to have my safety valve in perfect working order when it occurs.

I think the Holy Spirit is our spiritual relief valve. He calms us down when we get too hot. He steps in when life begins to go bad. He de-pressurizes any situation we might find ourselves in. OUR biggest problem is allowing Him access - listening to Him instead of ourselves, or Satan. Sadly, we usually do the latter.

Look at the world today. There's lots of pressure building up, everywhere it seems. Wouldn't it be nice if there was less tension in the world?

"6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

The next time you are in a stressful situation or find yourself about to explode, pray. Ask God for help. He has sent His Holy Spirit to help us. Let Him!

Holy Spirit - Francesca Battistelli

God Hates Me

Have you ever gotten the feeling that God doesn't like you? It sure can feel that way sometimes. Just ask Job, the Old Testament man of faith. His wife told Job to "Curse God and die" - Job 2:9. But can God actually hate us? The answer is both yes and no.

The Old testament is filled with examples of an angry God. But if we look at those examples we can soon see why God got angry. Our disobedience.

In Job's case God wasn't angry with Job. It just seemed that way when God allowed Satan to test Job. God actually loved God and was confident of Job's faithfulness. At the end of the Book of Job God actually rewards Job. God loved Job.

God does actually hate things. Proverbs . . .

"16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community." - Proverbs 6:16-19

If you have any of those characteristics in your makeup, life will not go well for you. But God loves His children and He rewards those who are faithful and obey Him.

"1See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" - 1 John 3:1

When Jesus was on the earth we can easily find examples of what HE hated. He overturned the money table in the synagogue. He also hated the religious leaders of the time. Why? Because they were hypocrites - professing faith but not showing it in their lives.

Hypocrisy is “the gap between public persona and private character. Hypocrisy is the failure to practice what you preach. Appearing outwardly righteous to others, while actually being full of uncleanness and self-indulgence—that’s the definition of hypocrisy.” - Kevin De Young

We can easily find reasons to think God hates us of is angry at us. Maybe He doesn't answer a particular prayer in a timely fashion or we are disobedient to His will in some area of our lives.

I believe that God does NOT hate us, but He can hate things ABOUT us. If you feel like God hates you or doesn't answer a particular prayer, chances are the problem is with you, not Him. Examine the prayer. Is it a righteous prayer in God's eyes? Or only ours?

"If we think God hates us, we don't know Him." - Dave Wager

Life can be frustrating at times, but if we are followers of Christ, if we truly believe in God and obey His commands, God will

“4You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. - Exodus 20:4-6

The key to God's unending love is . . . obedience. The question is, are we truly obedient?

Look, the best proof that God Loves us is in the death of His Son, Jesus. He died for us so that we might have life - eternal life! We can't earn a gift like that. There's nothing we can do get God's blessings. He gives them to us out of the abundance of His glorious grace. He does so, not because of who WE are but because of who HE is.

Television is full of hypocritical pastors. In the following video, watch one pastor (Matt Chandler) as he rebukes another (Steven Furtick) right to his face.  Worship is not about a church or an image its portrays. It is about, and for, God. Give HIM thanks and praise in ALL things. Amen.

God Is For God - Matt Chandler

Anger

There's not much that makes me angry anymore. Not since I made Jesus Lord of my life anyway. I get frustrated to be sure. Just turn on the news and you'll probably get frustrated too! Anger is a different emotion all together.

I remember punching Jimmy Fosbinder in the face once back in sixth grade. Does that count? Nah. That was just stupid kid stuff. The anger was okay to feel. I had been wronged. But the punching someone in the face part . . . yeah, that was stupid.

I'm really a pretty easy going guy . . . I guess. Although there have been a few times, since I have become a believer, that I have gotten a little mad at someone. Twice in eight years. That's not too bad is it?

Anger is an emotion. It's not one of the more politically correct, user-friendly emotions out there but it IS an emotion, given to us by God.

Most people think anger is bad but I'm not one of them. Like I said, anger is simply an emotion. What we DO with that anger . . . well, that's another story.

I don't know about you but I DO take some comfort in knowing that God Himself gets angry.

"9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command." - 1 Kings 11:9-10

Like Father, like Son . . .

"4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts," - Mark 3:4-5

As I was scrolling down through the posts on Facebook recently, I saw a post by one of my friends. After reading it and thinking about it I decided I didn't like his words very much and I began to get a little upset. I'll let you read it and see if you don't feel the same way.

"Every time I listen to Jeremy Camp's "Jesus Saves" song, I sing along but replace "saves" with "shaves" so while the song plays I keep having this image of clean shaven Jesus...he's got such a little baby face in my mind."

Some might say, "That's not so bad, Bob." I would reply with this. Is the post indignant? Is it irreverent? I think it is. To further explain where I am going with this I would like to offer you a word definition from the 1828 Webster Dictionary and I would like you to consider . . . Does this word fit the Facebook post?

BLAS''PHEMY, n. An indignity offered to God by words or writing; reproachful, contemptuous or irreverent words uttered impiously against Jehovah. Blasphemy is an injury offered to God, by denying that which is due and belonging to him, or attributing to him that which is not agreeable to his nature.

In Hebrew culture, when one is in mourning for the sins they have committed, they were to do the following:

"Therefore in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, to shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth." - Isaiah 22:12

I don't think Jesus would have ever shaved his head or beard in mourning for his sins . . . because He never committed any!! I know my friend probably wasn't thinking about what he was typing. I have made similar mistakes with the pen. But my friend is a youth pastor and really should watch what he says. Little pitchers have big ears.

This world, this country, has lost it's fear of God. It has turned it's back on the very God who created us in the first place. Scroll down through the Facebook posts and look at all of the OMG's. It has become a way of life . . . acceptable practice to use the name of the Lord, our God, in vain (3rd commandment). Even as a curse word! The only time we should be using the name Jesus Christ is when we are reading, praying, worshipping or evangelizing.

I know we live in America, where we have freedom of speech, but having that freedom does not excuse us from using it to the detriment of others, especially our God and King, Jesus. He deserves the highest amount of respect we can muster, and then, WAY more than even our tiny brains can offer. To use him as a punch-line of sorts disgusts me.

And so I will leave you with a description of Jesus. Not the baby-faced Jesus, or the pristine Jesus with the curly hair that hangs on a cross in so many of our churches today. Remember, He was beaten and bruised and He was, and is, a God who gets angry.

"11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords." - Revelation 19:11-16

That's my Jesus.

I get upset when people talk about God in demeaning ways. I get angry when people, and churches, put words in His mouth or "interpret" scriptures to line up with some political agenda. God's Word is God's Word.

"2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you." - Deuteronomy 4:2

We as a people need to show more respect for the God of the Universe. We need to get to the point where we tremble at the very mention of His Holy name. I encourage you to take a step today to correct someone when you hear them use the name of God in vain. Loving talk to someone who is making fun of our King. Our God is a very loving, patient God but He does get angry from time to time. We, as His children, must NEVER give Him a reason to do so.

Sissified, needy Jesus by Voddie Baucham