Who Am I?

Who am I? Am I good? Am I bad? Can I be pleasing to God? When asking these questions, have you ever thought about what the usual criterions are that we use to determine who we are? 

Whenever determining who we are, sometimes we base our judgment off words from the past. Some might have come from pasts where different relationships have psychologically determined their fate by harshness. Maybe you are the one whose spouse has conveyed their hatred of you. Maybe you are the one whose parents have displayed their shame of you. Whatever the case, many individuals seem to be steered by what is or is not expected of them as a person. If we’re not careful, who we are can be determined by what is ingrained in us. 

Whenever determining who we are, sometimes we base our judgment off sins in the past. You know the sin I’m talking about - the one that immediately comes to mind while reading this. We know that all sin (Romans 3:23), but sometimes we feel that we have really sinned…that sin that makes us feel filthy, and horrible. Yes, sometimes we look at those awful sins in our past and if we’re not careful, who we are will be determined by these past sins. 

It seems we live in a world that is very superstitious.  No, you do not need to believe in witches and ghosts to be superstitious. Sometimes I think we humans base everything on chance: sometimes the cards are dealt in your favor, but usually, they’re not. The problem with us humans is that we too readily allow experiences to govern our lives. When we’re told who we need to be through abuse and harsh words, we willingly follow. When we give into temptation and really mess up here and there, then we are set to be sinners the rest of our lives. 

Thankfully, God doesn’t love, forgive and accept by chance. Jesus willingly gave up His life for filthy and worthless sinners. Jesus gave up His life to present us with, not fate or chance, but a choice of who we want to be. I am reminded of the words of Joshua when he said, “choose for yourselves today whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15, NASB). Like Joshua gave the choice to the children of Israel, so we have a choice of whom we will serve. 

Who am I? Well, the answer is up to each and every one of us. We cannot allow past experiences determine our fate. Instead, may all of us say, as Joshua himself said, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Who am I? I am a servant who follows God and His word…what about you?

The Christian & Thanksgiving

I love thanksgiving. The fellowship, joy, and great food makes this one of the greatest times of year. Since we are upon this holiday season, why don’t we talk about the idea of Thanksgiving and what we do around this time of year? 

Thanksgiving is a time of year when we come together as families and friends, and take one day to display our thanks. What about the Christian? Should we be thankful only once a year? No, we must “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4, NASB). Although I love setting aside this day to be thankful, we as Christians have a lot to be thankful for throughout our entire lives. God does not want us to be good and gracious individuals only one day out of 365. Let us rejoice always.

Thanksgiving is a time of year when families come together and feast on the fruits of their labors. What about the Christian? The Christian mustn’t look out and take care of only his family and friends. Instead, “Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.” (Philippians 4:5). There are many homeless, poor, sick, distressed, and lonely individuals around this time of year who could use some happiness. Let us, as Christians, reach out to them in any way we can and show them Christ! 

Thanksgiving is a time of year when we specifically pray to God Almighty a prayer of thanks for all the good and wonderful riches and health we have. What about the Christian? The problem is not what we are thankful for, but how we react to other, “less-inviting,” circumstances of life. We tend go back to our old worrying and complaining ways after this day of thanks comes and goes. Instead, in all circumstances, you must “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  (Philippians 4:6). God wants us to come to Him even when we have petitions and heartaches with thankfulness in our hearts for all He has done for us. After all, we as Christians have a lot to be thankful for. 

Perhaps these thoughts might help us during the busy holiday season, realizing that we are still Christians and need to act like one all year-round. One more point before we close must be made. If we do these things, “…the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7), and with this peace of mind, we definitely have a lot to be thankful for.

Christian Influence

In one way or another, we are all influential as human beings. We are surrounded by many loved ones, as well as hundreds, if not thousands of individuals around us every week. From the family, to the office, and even the grocery store, the number of people we can influence on a day to day basis seems limitless. 

The question Christians must ask themselves is, how must we influence? The sad fact of the matter is, there are many negative influences within the world, and if we are not careful, we can easily become one of those influences. 

In the book of Hebrews, the author gives this piece of advice, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7 NASB).  He wants the readers to imitate the faith of those who were influential in leading them (side note: he may talking about their elders, e.g. vs. 17 & 24). There seems to be two elements to their effective influence. 

The first element to their influence was that they “spoke the word of God to you”. As Christians, it is our responsibility to speak God’s word to others, so that they likewise, will have a strong faith. If we want to be effective influences, we must let God’s word shine in our speech. 

The second element to their influence was “conduct”.  In order to be influential in a godly perspective, there must be conduct incorporated with teaching. We cannot expect people to listen to the word of God from our mouths and obey, when they see the one speaking that same word disobeying God’s commands. If we want to be effective influences, we must let God’s word shine in our actions. 

Without these two actions incorporated together, our influence will weaken, and other souls will be influenced by our wickedness instead of our godliness. Let us speak God’s word without fear and never back down from doing so. More importantly, let us conduct ourselves in a manner worthy to be proclaiming His word. God’s word must shine in our speech, and our conduct. If we can accomplish this, who knows how many souls can be touched by God’s word through our influence.

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Perhaps you think you are a “good” person, but you’re conflicted with the realization that you see a lot of pain and sorrows of the world thrown at you. You have had your share of heartache and trials. Sometimes, or maybe, many times, things do not go your way. The question is, why do bad things happen to good people?

Jesus gives us the answer when He says, “…for He (our Father who is in heaven) causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45, NASB, emphasis mine). God does not have partiality between the righteous and those who are not, instead, God allows nature to take its course. The fact of life is that bad things happen to all people. Relationships will be torn apart, people will be laid-off at work, not everyone gets the job they want, aches, pains, injuries, and death will always come about as long as this earth stands, and the list could continue with all the negative things that come our way. All people have their high moments in life, and all have their low moments. 

The real question should not be, “why do bad things happen to good people?”, but, “what should we do when they happen?” What we do will determine whether we truly are that “good” person we think we are. During times of trials we should seek God’s wisdom in how we ought to react, knowing that these trials will only make us stronger (e.g. James 1:2-8). If, however, we blame and reject God for our trials and temptations, then we benefit nothing from them, except the realization that we are not that “good” person we thought ourselves to be. Do we truly want to be “good” people? If so, let me suggest these three simple steps during trials: first, instead of blaming God, let’s look to God for help; secondly, instead of focusing on the negative, let’s focus on the strength that can be gained through these experiences, and then thirdly, instead of rejecting God by our actions, let us turn to His word for wisdom and act upon what we find (e.g. James 1:22). If we can accomplish these three steps during times of trial then we know God is pleased with us, and in the end, that’s all that counts!

Why do bad things happen to good people? Perhaps the answer is so that we can prove we truly are good, even in the bad times, and become all the better because of them.

Poor Little Me...

“If I get the last words in, that’ll really show them who’s boss!”…“I’m not giving him the benefit of the doubt, he’s too far gone for that!”…“She doesn’t deserve my sympathy after what she did to me!”…“If I give them the cold shoulder then maybe they’ll understand how upset I really am!”  These thoughts are what I would like to distinguish as the “poor little me,” thoughts.  Many of us can probably say that we have had these thoughts from time to time. When someone hurts us, our automatic reaction is to hurt them back. I know this, because I have felt these “poor little me” thoughts many times in my life. 

But, is this what our Heavenly Father wants from us? Jesus said, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” (Luke 6:35, NASB). Our natural desire is to fight back during times of conflict, but Christ wants us to master that desire and act like Him. Do we want to be “sons of the Most High”? Do we want our reward to be great? If this is what we hope for, then we must set aside these “poor little me” thoughts and start thinking as Christ would.

Everyone faces conflicts in some shape or form, but the way we react to them is what sets us apart from regular people as “sons of the Most High”. When conflicts come our way, instead of thinking about the “poor little me” inside, let’s think about what our Lord would do. That means whenever I, or my loved ones are hurt, persecuted, reviled, or mistreated in any way…ANY WAY, I cannot take revenge, because in my revenge, all I prove is that I am like anyone else, and not a son of the Most High! Instead, when enduring any kind of conflict, let us give a smile instead of a cold-shoulder, a helping hand rather than a vengeful shove, and a tender, loving heart in place of a hateful one. So, next time we face the decision of revenge vs. compassion, let us make the right choice, and turn to the example of Christ.