Same Difference

A friend of mine asked me to listen to a song recently, so I did. It wasn't my favorite kind of music (lots of screaming). But my usual criteria for song quality is 'what do the lyrics say?'

The song appears to be about our human nature to consume life. Words life 'greed,' 'wanting,' 'consuming,' and 'mine' appear in the opening verses. But then there was this line:

"The reflection I see doesn't look like the man I want to be."

Hmm. Is that repentance? Regret?

There comes a point in everyone's life when we must choose who we want to be. Do we continue with the life we have always lived? Or do we make a change and start fresh?

The song continues with more self-absorbed lines until this...

"What if I gave it all away, and shed the layers of the selfishness I hate? I want to be free but I'm so afraid that I am too far gone and I'm stuck with all the choices I have made."

And there it is. This is the point where the Gospel does its best work. This guy needs to read the Bible and learn the good news about Jesus.

In the Book of Luke we can find the story of a similar man - the thief on the cross. Here are HIS words as he reached the same point in life that this song writer did.

“Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” - Luke 23:40-41

This guy, a thief and murderer, recognized he was a sinner. He knew he was deserving of death. Yet Jesus saved him. Why?

Because God loves every one of us. And, no matter what we have done, if we wake up and recognize our sinful state and acknowledge that Jesus is the only way for us to be saved from our just punishment, WE WILL BE SAVED.

There are different types of songs out there is this world, just like there are different types of people. But there is only ONE Savior. And His name is Jesus.

Believe in God, receive His Holy Spirit, and be saved.

Finally, to quote the lyrics of another song...

"I was dead in my sin, separated from you,

I was lost, without hope, not a thing I could do

I needed a rescue, I found mercy in You.

Jesus, you are the door to salvation,

For all who believe, You made a way, you are The Way, Jesus."

You Made A Way - AIG VBS

The Fight Within

Jesus told us in the Book of Matthew that in the last days there would be "wars and rumors of wars." I believe Him. I also believe that we are living in those days right now. But I'm not here to write about the end times. I'm here to talk about war.

There are definitely wars going on right now. Ukraine vs Russia, Israel vs Hamas, Israel vs Hezbollah, Israel vs The Houthis, etc. There are currently 28 areas of conflict in our world right now, according to Global Conflict Tracker. Yes, there is an app for that.

But I'm not writing about any of those either. I'm writing about the war that wages inside each of us.

The band Switchfoot has a song called The War Inside. Here's some of the lyrics.

Yeah, it's where the fight begins

Yeah, underneath the skin

Beneath these hopes and where we've been

Every fight comes from the fight within

Isn't that true? Don't we wage war in and against ourselves? James wrote this about these wars thay wage inside each of us:

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?" - James 4:1

You got THAT right! Satan loves to push our buttons. And, yes, he knows our thoughts.

Most of the time we recognize these inward battles and can prepare for the attack. But Satan's most effective weapon is the sneak attack. That's when we open our mouths without thinking and blurt out something we later wish we wouldn't have said. James also had some words about that in his previous chapter. You can read it here.

And here's this gem from James in chapter one.

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," - James 1:19

Smart man, that James. So, why don't we listen to his words and learn from them?

Good question.

Army generals go to great lengths in their preparations for war. They plan, they accumulate supplies. And an army of soldiers behind them. It should be no different with us.

Our army is the church. Our supplies come from prayers and supplications to God. He provides us with everything we need through our training - reading The Bible.

The battle is real. It is for our very souls. It is being fought everywhere, but it starts within each of is and we must fight. To arms!

Global Conflict Tracker

The Abundant Heart

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." - Luke 6:45

And sometimes the heart uses words.

We all have people in our lives that speak and act hatefully. They speak lies and half-truths, deceiving those who they are supposed to love and help. And most of them are in Washington D.C.

But we DO have people in our lives that hurt us with their words. Why is that? Our opening verse for today tells us why. The "abundance of the heart" is speaking. The people who speak hate have hearts that are filled with it.

Hateful people also use other means to convey what's inside. Some choose their silence. Silence also speaks volumes. Some use weapons, some use their fists. Some use sexual assault. Whatever the weapon of choice is, they wield it without thought of others. Only themselves. Their heart speaks, inflicting wounds on the undeserving.

Do you remember that old saying that goes, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me." Yeah, well, that's a lie.

When Jesus spoke His "abundance of the heart" message it was to His disciples and those who had come to hear Him speak or to be healed. He told them not to judge others, but then went on to tell them HOW to judge others - with righteous judgement.

If someone sends us a nasty text, what are we to do? Reply in kind? No. Our first step, after we absorb the hurt, should be to pray. WE can't change them. But God can.

Next, we must exhibit some grace. Clearly, "the abundance of their heart" is not love. Give them some time to calm themselves, then speak or text. Tell them how YOU feel. What is the most abundant thing in OUR hearts? As Christians, it should be the fruit of the Spirit.

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control." - Galatians 5:22-23

Do WE exhibit those characteristics as a believer in Jesus Christ? We might have a cross around our necks and go to church but is our heart truly filled with God's love, with His Holy Spirit? If it is, then we cannot help but speak and act in love, in patience, in kindness.

Sayings

I used to have a web page dedicated to the misuse of the English language. You know, those little phrases that people use, but use them incorrectly. Our language is confusing enough without us adding new words to it. When people use words that don't exist they leave it us to determine what they meant. Sometimes meanings are easy to figure out. Other times, not so much.

Here is an example of what I am talking about. Have you ever heard someone use the word orientated? I say "word" but that's really incorrect. Orientated is NOT a word. Go ahead. Look it up. It's not in the dictionary. The correct word to use is oriented. But people still use orientated because they have always used it and apparently don't know any better.

Another phrase I have heard often is "I could care less." That's nice, but what I think they REALLY want to say is, "I COULDN'T care less." If we can care less that means we actually do care somewhat. But if we COULDN'T care less that's the absolute bottom in the world of caring.

I'm not a perfect user of the English language either. Just this morning I greeted someone in the hallway at work, "Good morning, Dawn." JUST a little redundant.

Then there are those times when whatever words we speak, even the correct ones, have no meaning at all. We can even have trouble finding the right words to say in times of extreme joy or sorrow.

"I'm speechless," someone might say. Well, if that were true, why did you SAY something? Isn't being speechless saying nothing? Speaking of speechlessness . . .

My friend at work has a son in the Air Force. She knew he was coming home on leave in the near future but wasn't expecting him to show up last night. SHE was speechless last night. She just kept looking over a her son . . . and smiling.

This week I have been experiencing the words of people wanting to express their sorrow over the impending death of my father. It's always an awkward time. Most are not wanting to cause any bad feelings. They don't want to cause any additional pain for us by saying the wrong thing. Most people tend to say nothing, even avoiding eye contact in hopes that a conversation won't start up. That's sad.

"I'm sorry," is always a good thing to say. But beyond that I have found that most sayings simply don't cut it. They don't cut it because they are sayings. They're just something people say because they have heard other people say it. However, I have found something that really works, in times of joy AND in times of sadness. No words need to be spoken at all, removing the potential awkwardness factor of most sayings. It is a simple hug.

Yesterday at work a friend of mine who knew that my father was dying came walking by my office, on her way to a meeting. When she saw me she stopped, reached out a hand and placed it on my arm and asked, "How's your dad?" I told her all that was going on. Her reply to all that I said contained no words. She just gave me a hug. That wordless message said everything that needed to be said.

I don't mean to pick on people and their not knowing what to say in certain life situations. But I think we as a people need to spend more time focusing on love and on others rather than focusing on OUR feelings and how WE might feel awkward.

I'd like to take you back to the basics of our faith - the greatest commandment. Read it and let it soak in for a moment.

"36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:36-40

The thing God wants us to do most is love. The messages we communicate to others should NOT be about SAYING things. It should be about demonstrating the love that Jesus Christ showed us on the cross. He said very little but what He did has echoed throughout this world for 2000 years.

Love God. Love others. Saying things only gets in the way.

Words by George Carlin