JUDGING OTHERS HURTS US

WHEN THE SPIRIT CONVICTS

NOTICE WHEN your spiritual life is getting out of balance. The thing is quite painful when your spiritual life is out of whack and God reveals it to you. God gets your attention. Then He shows you where you are acting like a hypocrite. The sting of that knowledge awakens you to the inner damage it is causing to your spirit. The way you react to this knowledge shows you your heart.

It reveals what matters to you. 

Though it may take some time, once we know there is a problem, our inner person is motivated to face this error and deal with it. People and circumstances can easily get us off track enough to where we don't see the error of our ways. Something comes up and we begin to notice that we're off-kilter, which arrests our attention.

We start to pay attention.

The Holy Spirit reveals this to us, gently but firmly. Should we ignore the Spirit's prompting, further distancing from God will be the result. Darkness may come in. The joy in our hearts most likely will lessen. Frustration and discouragement builds as greater levels of bitterness and resentment increases. This deflates us as it hardens our spiritual awareness. 

We have stalled out. 

This can go on for quite some time, but it doesn't have to. You can blame God for your problems, for the spiritual distancing, lethargy, and dispiriting deadness. That's not the truth, and definitely not where the problem originated. It's not really God's problem.

This is our problem.

I recently had one of those situations. My self-righteous side passed judgment on an elderly woman who was out of line. She was using the force of her will to dominate another elderly person. She was behaving improperly, but so was I when I criticized her to someone else. The Spirit of God took me to task. That night, I knew in my heart that what I had said about her should not have been said.

I felt the pain of it in my heart. 

A deep sadness came over me. I acknowledged, apologized, and sorrowed. I sensed a great need to pray spiritual life for the woman I had criticized. She needs a relationship with Jesus. I now did what I should have done in the first place. She needs love and she needs tenderness. I had been offended by her words and actions. I felt justified in speaking about her "without mercy." That is not God's way, and it shouldn't be my way either. 

I took it up with my heavenly Father. 

After I confessed to God and asked Him to help me, the light came in. This activated compassion in me. God is love. God calls us to love the difficult people in our lives. His conviction of our wrong-mindedness about a person or thing causes a stop. We know we have to put a lid on it. We are compelled to extend grace to that person.

We follow God's leading. 

The "stop" effects a re-thinking of the thing in light of the Spirit of God. We are given the ability to make right, to turn in a new direction, and to seek His face. The darkness leaves and the light comes on. Pride leaves and a humble spirit is released. Joy returns, re-imagined and reawakened.

God is at work in us. He is bringing many sons and daughters to glory. We get to be a part of what He is doing.

Praises.

. . .

Photo by Ben White, Unsplash 

 

JESUS AS BREAD IN LIFE

Think About It

Bread is common to experience in most cultures, both past and present. My grandmother, my mother, myself, and my daughter all were known to make homemade bread. The yeast in the bread gives the pungent taste to the dough and pleasant smell as it bakes. 

In third grade I memorized the verse, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." It was the first verse in a little red booklet of verses. I was on the top bunk and my little sister was on the bottom bunk. I taught it to her, then we recited it together. We said the verse many nights before we said our prayers. I wondered at its meaning. Somehow I knew it was an important concept.

Scripture mentions bread in many passages besides the Last Supper. Some are well known.

"Give us this day our daily bread." We ask God for our daily sustenance. Spiritual sustenance, physical sustenance, God's enabling for the day; the bread is like manna in the desert. We are given what we need.

"Cast your bread upon waters." We share what God gives. The bread multiplies. It becomes spiritual nourishment to many. Freely received, freely given.

"I am the bread of life." Jesus is the bread of life. He is the source of our spiritual sustenance. He gives to us what we need for the day. He is the supplier. We are the receiver.

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)

Jesus is the bread of life. Let's expand on the thought. Our daily supply for what we need is found in Jesus. What an astounding realization. Dwell on the thought for a moment. He is all that and more. I'm thinking of the many ways Jesus meets my needs, day after day; be they emotional, physical, relational, spiritual, or financial. I depend on His sustenance. Just wow!

These Covid-19 months have been hard for everybody everywhere. I've listened to the stories of family and friends. One elderly widow said how she got up, couldn't see any purpose in the day ahead of her. She didn't bother to get dressed for the day. After all, she couldn't go out, and no one could come to visit her. So she went back to bed. Isolation is not natural for us.

Jesus understands. He is with us even when we are all alone. I get discouraged. I get lonely. I live like a hermit except for the occasional family visitor. Jesus holds my hand as we walk through it together. He gives comfort and strength. He is bread in new ways not experienced before 2020. I depend on Him to meet my emotional needs and to provide my spiritual filling. We need Him all the more when our access to human contact is limited.

Every experience in life teaches us something more. I call this the power of more. We are empowered by the things we know for sure. I know God is with me. I know Jesus will give me my daily bread. I know there is life in what He gives which will last me as long as needed. I know I am here for a purpose; one that has positive repercussions.  I also know I can't do life well without Jesus.

Application

• A - Accept the Bread of Life  
• B - Believe on Jesus Christ as your Savior. 
• C - Confess your sins; Cherish Christ's life in you. 

We have been given everything we need in Jesus Christ. When you pray the Lord's prayer, think through what you are saying to God. Pray each phrase and meditate on its meaning. This prayer impacts every aspect of life. Jesus is pleased when we want Him. He expects us to rest in Him. He is the lifter of our souls even during a pandemic.

The Lord's Prayer aka Our Father:

• "This is how you should pray: 
• 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, 
• Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
• Give us this day our daily bread.
• Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
• And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'" 
• Amen
  

(Matthew 6:9-13)

*** 

Photo by Dominda Perera, Unsplash 

 

 

KEEP ON KEEPING ON

Dunrobin Castle, Scotland

Christian life is one of progressive spiritual awareness.

 

What in your life needs God’s help ? 

Prayer and planning are powerful tools that help us. We ask for God to guide us as we heal, strengthen, and restore. Maybe we need to release something or someone to His care. Movement forward takes a willingness on our part.

Change what is in your ability to change. Invite God to help you and to go through it with you. Healing of hurts or whatever the issue when addressed through God’s loving intervention prevents you from being filled with resentful bitterness and keeps you from remaining in a wounded state.

I think it’s much like carrying a burden that weighs you down but is unseen by others. Most don’t know what wounds you bear, but God does. He knows your internal suffering and your worries and fears.

One of the nice thing about a relationship with God is He knows us through and through. He knows our concerns and what we bear. When God goes before us He enters the battle to help us overcome and to set us free.

 

The battle belongs to the Lord.

We may not like the imagery but for me it is like a fortress that protects a castle. God is our protector and helper. God never leaves us or forsakes us. We may not be aware of His presence all the time but that’s intentional. He wants us to grow strong in our faith.

We learn to trust through our faith, not by our sight. I’ve had some scary situations where I was in need and I called on God. I was all alone and afraid. I made it out okay. He got me through the difficulty by providing what I needed at just the right time. It was in answer to my prayers.

Deep growth comes according to God’s timetable and our willingness to deal with our struggles. I wouldn’t want you to think it’s easy to move forward for it’s not. Healing and change come in layers. I encourage you to trust God in every situation. Call on Him and He will be found.

Keep moving forward and never stop.
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Photo by Colin Horn, Unsplash

HOPE FOR BETTER DAYS AHEAD

OFFER HOPE to the HURTING and ABUSED

We must acknowledge people's pain while also offering hope for better days ahead. We have a platform for doing so when our own lives have been scarred by hurtful experiences, we are dealing with it, and moving forward in our recovery and healing. This gives validity to our message of hope. I know about this.

I've lived it. I can speak to it. I identify with the angst. I want to help: wherever, whomever, whatever.  I mean it, through and through.

I once had a student who I had concerns for. I was wondering if she was being sexually abused. I didn't know what to look for other than the obvious signs. I asked a special education teacher for advice. She gave me some specifics and then shared a story about a speaker in the field that had impacted her.

The speaker was a survivor of horrible abuse. She said that no one ever told her that it was wrong the way she was being treated, not her teachers, school personnel, or knowledgeable people. It was hurtful that no one validated her, even after it was known. That was the takeaway my teacher friend gained. 

Her comments stayed with me. Hope is the first step toward healing. I think we bear responsibility in offering solidarity in the healing journey. This can be of great benefit to all. Glad for everyone who adds to this poignant conversation. We can validate, encourage, and help. Compassion is where it starts, and ends.

Let's live it together.

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For more, visit my author site at nlbrumbaugh.com.
Have a blessed day.

The Best Way To Do Life

Godly Wisdom Speaks

He has showed you, O man, what is good. 

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

            Micah 6:8

This is the life verse of a friend of mine. She is a spiritual mentor to me and is the mother of a friend from my youth. Not only is she a godly woman of depth and character, she is a professional woman in the real estate business. We have spent many long hours together. Her speech is full of wisdom and grace. I learn from her every time I am in her presence.

When she was interviewed by the local paper in regard to her work, she shared Micah 6:8 as the guiding principle for her work ethic. I thought it bold of her to do so. "To act justly and to love mercy" are words to live by; and she lives them. My friend trusts in God and follows his principles.

In a dog-eat-dog world, it is nice to have a friend who follows God's ways instead of the man's ways. Part of this is loving well. I have seen her love complete strangers while on the job. She amazes me. God's ways are pure in motive. He gives that purity of thought to those attuned to his ways. I think it a good way to live life.

Make no mistake, this is the best way to do life.

The Need to be Wanted -- Part 2

A universal need in all people is the need to be wanted. Performance often masquerades as acceptance when the outcome is equated with a perception of being wanted. The desire to be wanted for who you are is something most humans crave and expect. And why not? Everyone should be wanted and deserves to be wanted.

A conflicted message from others will cause them to ask a telling question of themselves, when their sense of ‘being wanted’ is in doubt. “Does that person ‘want,’ ‘like’ or ‘love’ me for who I am? Or do they ‘want,’ ‘like,’ or ‘love’ me for what I do, look like, provide, or financially support?”

Bottom line, people want to be wanted for who they are, period.

Relational structures as in family, professional, or intimate, that withhold acceptance until it is earned, that insinuate acceptance is conditional--that portray a person’s value is arbitrary, granted more to some and less to others--create an unhealthy tension within its ‘perceived’ lesser-valued and lesser-wanted members. Thoughtless, unkind words and actions that attack a person’s vulnerable, inward sense of self can deftly destroy the recipient’s self-image. These negatives, comment by comment, erode fragile personhood and imply ‘you’re not-good-enough’ conceptual beliefs about self.

To meet this very deep need within the self, to know they are wanted, loved, and valued, can cause the emotionally injured to go to extreme lengths to find it. Even then, it may not deliver. People devoid of nurturing love or positive human bonding, having been denied the basic components of meaning, value, and self-worth, squirm under a self-imposed deficit outlook. The negative perception remains until they are able to see it for what it is. Then they are able to work at undoing the damage by repairing their leaky love tank and deficit self-perceptions. They can rewire their negative self-talk. Progress is made when these individuals are able to accept, receive, and sustain love without doubt, suspicion, or fear. Emotional traumas heal slowly, but they do heal.

But first, one must want it.

 You can heal, become whole, and thrive. It takes time, intention, and focus. God helps us in this. He gives us grace. Burdens are lifted. Troubles are remediated. Life is given. Repentance is our responsibility. God gives us what we need when we need it. It is important to humble ourselves before the Lord. We won't have spiritual healing unless we desire God with our will and being. He is not fooled by false supplication. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Entreat your heavenly Father and He will draw near to you.
 
  It keeps getting better and better from that point on. You are loved, wanted, and cherished by the God of the universe. He takes a personal interest in you. Trust him with your life. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He saves sinners. Redeems lives. Mends hearts. Sets people free.