SelahV Today

Words Worth Sharing

I copied the advice below from a facebook status.  Thought it worth sharing:

"This just in to the WMJC news desk. From ~ Bill Gates ~ This should be posted in every school or kid's bedroom. Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this!

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about eleven (11) Things They Did Not and Will Not Learn in School. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you think you are: So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HASN'T. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. *This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life*.

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF - that's for your own time.

Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one! So if you can read this... Thank a Teacher. If you can read this in English... Thank a Soldier! And for life and everything else you have... Thank your parents!!

Blogger's Curse

There are those who curse in words and gnaw on their own words forever, like a cow chews its cud.  Their curse has a reverberating effect and cause others who hear it to gnaw on those words and judge other words they may have spoken in the past.  The unsettled curse taints the reception of other words in the future.  One's curse gives birth to suspicion, to question, to deeper inspection.

My stepmother cursed me.  From the time she entered my five-year-old life, to the day I left home at sixteen, she told me I was "a lazy, good-for-nothing brat".  She said, "You'll never amount to nothing!"  "You're a hussy like your mother."  It took years for me to overcome some of the other curses she wrapped around my brain.

Recently, a respected individual in my faith accused me and all my brothers and sisters (of like faith), of lying and being bigoted toward a certain people group.  Some think this curse will all blow over and go away.  A few think that it was a well-deserved indictment for which we all should repent.

Here's the thing.

When a person (of world-wide reknown and influence), accuses a whole group of people (within earshot, or Twitter-shot, of his sphere of instructional authority), of mean-spirited bigotry bathed in lies, it is not likely that Believers who "hear" or are made "aware" of the curse will sit kindly by and nod their heads in agreement, or flick away the condemnation with apathetic ho-hums. Though some will turn the other cheek and move on, the curse will not settle anymore than a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow.

It is also likely that those within the "people group" will use the indictment to further their own agendas and cast their own unrelenting form of accusation upon us all who were being cursed with the scarlet letter from the reknowned and influencial.

"Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest." Proverbs 26:2

In other words, when someone condemns, the untruth will not settle down.  The curse will flutter in the wind and live on in the minds of others and flutter in their imaginations and obscure viewpoints again and again.

Because I blog and because I have on occasion voiced my opposition to another's words or views, I have been lied about, dumped on, maligned, accused, and criticized.  Goes with the territory of voicing one's opinion.  Not everyone will agree with you.  Oddly, in the nearly 2,000-plus posts I have written, I can count on one hand the people who have sent disparaging, meanspirited, accusatory emails:  One.  One person.  I can also count on one hand the ones who've logged on to bash me...one preacher of said emailer, and a handful of their cronies.

God has been good to me.  God has blessed me.  I am grateful.

For me, the lesson in the blogger's curse, is that we'd do well to guard our tongues in what we say about others--especially when speaking of the Bride of Christ. Personally, I have no animosity towards the "reknown and influencial" spokesman who let fly a curse upon me and my faith-group. I just lament the fact that this "curse" will not rest for a very long time.

Indeed, because it was spoken by such a person of influence, it will go down in the annals of history of my faith-group and will someday be ferreted out as a nugget that few even realize exists. "An undeserved curse does not come to rest."  There is a day of accounting for every word we utter.  Best we choose them wisely, don't you think?  selahV

For Other Related Posts:

WHEN THE DEVIL SPINS A TALE

WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS?

It's an anomaly.  A deviation from the norm.  Are you?

There are a lot of things in life that don't quite fit into the mold of what we are accustomed to seeing, tasting, and smelling.  They are just different--a break from our own norms.  However, the thing I hold pictured in my hand is really and truly an anomaly.  I've lived over 62 years and have seen thousands upon thousands of its kind and never, ever seen one like this.  Do you know what it is?  It kinda looks like a tiny red pumpkin, doesn't it? =>>>

Tidbit of Fictional Wisdom

I haven't written much on my blogs all week.  Haven't read much either.  And I don't normally read fiction--other than children's books.  However, three days of this week I took my granddaughters to the water park.  And after two days of sitting beneath the cabana for hours upon hours doing nothing but watch moms and dads race after their toddlers, and listen to tweens giggle and gaggle about the opposite gender, I decided to read a mystery by Mary Higgins Clark while my granddaughters slipped and slithered on slides, then dove and floated on the lazy river.  In Clark's book, there was this tiny little epigram I've heard through the years that popped out at me which I thought so true and worth sharing with ya'll:

"If you lay down with dogs, you can expect to get up with fleas."

I didn't lay down with any dogs lately, but on Monday I laid down in my hammock beneath my pecan trees and mused about life in general.  I got up with a tick that latched onto my stomach and took a nibble.  The thought of lyme's disease danced through my mind and at first it looked pretty nasty.  But after a couple of days with occasional dips in that heavily doctored chlorine water I spoke of earlier, the spot lightened and stopped itching.

If you find yourself feeling a bit irritated, annoyed, or have been bitten by something nasty, I'd say a trip to the water park would help clear your mind and lighten your load if you take along a mystery book and get away from the computer awhile.  It's best not to read stuff that bugs you; at least, it's that way for me.  I find that way I won't get bit by buggy-brained folks bent on fictionalizing every word a person writes in the blogosphere.  Seriously.  Sometimes folks are so consumed and paranoid about anyone who doesn't agree with them that suspicion reigns in their hearts and minds and they can't understand a word anyone writes without painting it every shade of a storm-ladened sky--very like the twists and turns and various plots Mary Higgins Clark creates with ease.  Life is indeed stranger than fiction sometimes, isn't it?  selahV

IF SUCH IS LOVE

I find it intriguing what some will say or write that is to be understood as truth cloaked in love.  Can a child sleep peacefully in arms of hate and anger?  Can life be found in a bottle filled with poison?  Is Christian mercy truly found in condemnation?  Is self-control arrested by words of strife and discord? 

If such words are love, love me not.

It is written that: "A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit." Proverbs 15:4. ESV

It makes me wonder.  If gentleness brings forth a firmly rooted tree that bears fruit, what does harshness bring forth?  Illness and death?  Indeed, as I consider it, harsh words do bring forth such.  To pervert gentle words, one must color them with unseemly, unkind things.  One must take the time to conjure up the opposite of all that is good and kind and charitable.  One can see how the perverseness of gentleness could break the spirit of another--if, that is--if the spirit of another is the goal and subject of this passage of proverbial warning.

I think, however, this slip of Solomon's wisdom goes deeper than that.  I think it is a sword that cuts both ways.

When a person is the deliverer of harsh rhetoric or criticism, that person is whose spirit is broken--crushed, perverted--is it not?  Their words have so little life within them, they can deliver no blossoms of peace, love, joy, patience, tolerance, kindness, indeed--gentleness.  With every harsh word a person writes or delivers, they blight their own tongue with boils filled with hypocrisy.  When the boil is popped it creates a cancerous venom that touches all who hear it, read it, agree with it, or acknowledge it.  Perverse words then poison the minds and hearts of others.  These "others', in turn, spread the venom as quickly and easily as does the blood cells flowing through the veins of one's leg bitten by a rattlesnake.

However...

when one takes another's venomous spew and returns it with gentle words of kindness and grace and peace, one cuts off the flow of the harsh and hateful.  Gentleness, soft answers, and grace are the scalpels one needs to halt the perverted words of others.   

It is really pitiful when a person has to resort to saying things they feel must be said to hurt another.  It's even more pitiful when one pretends to speak their truth in love.  What truth is found in such? what love?  Just the darkness of one's own spirit is revealed for all the world to see when one resorts to negative words to produce a result one deems as positive and productive.  Does the world need such baseless, pointless, unhelpful words?  I guess in the minds of some.  But not for me, I find myself praying all the harder for such clay vessels of hardened animosity.

May kindness and the true love of Christ penetrate their spirit.  May grace surround their souls and goodness pierce their hearts.  May wisdom break its rod against the drumbeat of their minds and produce a rhythm of thought-filled worthy prose and psalms to calm the spirit of man.  And may their tongues lose their taste for perverseness and find words to soothe the minds of children who drink milk instead of chewing meat.  May the Life of Christ pour forth in humility, abundance and grace.

A more charitable prayer I cannot think to pray. Can you? selahV

Rules? Who Needs Rules?

Someone hide the kids.  Cover their ears.  They are liable to get ideas from Congress.

I've been learning a lot about our country's lawmakers these days.  A lot of what I am learning is truly troublesome.  Leadership in Washington, D.C. is not concerned with rules according to one legislator in regards to the procedures of an unconstitutional health-care bill.

"There ain't no rules here, we're trying to accomplish something. . . .All this talk about rules. . . .When the deal goes down . . . we make 'em up as we go along."  Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings.

Some folks say Hastings has the credentials to make such a statement about the principles being used in Congress, too.  After all, it was Hastings who was impeached and removed from the bench as a federal judge in Florida, before being elected to the House, because his judgeship was tainted with bribery charges.  That in itself might give us pause.  But the greatest irony is that a lawmaker for our country finds no reason to abide by rules (and procedures) to make the laws of our land.  Something is truly wrong with that man's reasoning ability.  If Hastings is not an indication of why there is so much disrespect for parents, teachers and authority, then nothing is.  Floridians ought to be ashamed of themselves for keeping someone of this mentality in government.  Any kindergartner would tell you that you have to follow rules.

Without rules there is no order.  Anything goes.  Nothing is below the belt.  Bribery is acceptable.  Cheating is condoned.  Lying is permissible.  Truth is unnecessary.  Honesty is useless.  And integrity is nothing.  And ultimately?  Anarchy reigns.  selahV

BOUNDS OF LIBERTY, Where Are They In Christian Conversation?

 We all have rights.  I've heard a lot of chatter lately on the rights we have as American citizens.  The right to bear arms, the right to worship as we please, the right to reasonable expectation of privacy.  To me, no other personal right is so scarred and battered as the freedom of speech--the First Amendment.  With that heralded freedom, Americans have ripped, stomped, and burned the American flag.  Some have donned white hooded robes and marched down the Jewish community of Skokie, Illinois brandishing swastikas.  Many have stood in front of abortion clinics screaming, praying and begging women to let their babies live.  In turn, they are reviled and harrassed.

The freedom of speech is one of the most abused freedoms we Americans have.  Yet, to censor any speech, say some, would open the door to censor all.  As society tolerates more and more as simply exercising one's liberty to speak freely, many find it necessary to cover the ears and eyes of their children.  More and more Christians have had to accept foul and demeaning language in workplaces and public events.

As an internet blogger, I often have occasion to scratch my head in wonder at the critical words, condemnation, and impugning of another Christian brother or sister--all in the name of reproving, admonishing, or even bringing to light another's sin and call for repentance.  It is sad.  But sadder still, is the continual flow of negative rhetoric aimed at discrediting another's words, viewpoint, or beliefs.  As Christians we are held to a higher standard--but when does one Christian's failings, flaws and sins grant others to critique, judge and condemn?  Especially publicly--without restraint, without one iota of thought to the damage it does to their testimony (or another's), as an ambassador of Christ? as a minister of the gospel?  as a brother or sister?  What part of our own flesh is enticed to repeatedly fling accusations and taunts?

Dear Jesus, break our hearts.  Show us the error of our own ways.  Press upon our hearts the need to pray for our brothers and sisters of faith.  Help us be ever mindful that we do not speak or write in vacumns or private closets.  As we rejoice in our "considerable liberties" bestowed upon us by Your grace through Jesus Christ, help us "do so in the context of understanding of [our] mission on the earth".  selahV

A SLIPPERY SLOPE

It seemed like such fun!  I was envious of the little ones as they slipped and slid down the slope.  My son-in-law spread out a long strip of thick, black plastic.  He placed a sprinkler at the top portion of the plastic and turned on the water.  A friend poured a generous amount of baby shampoo to the stream of water, and the kiddos jumped headfirst, on their knees, piggyback and sideways.  They giggled and squealed and reveled in the moment.  It was hilarious watching them slither down the hill and trek back up to repeat the thrill.

I thought how great it was to be young.  I recalled the slopes I use to sled on when it snowed in Virginia.  I thought about the grassy slopes I'd roll down.  My brothers and I use to lie down, extend our arms out above our heads and race one another to the bottom of the hill.  We didn't mind the trip back up the incline so we could roll down again and again.  We'd also take cardboard boxes and make running leaps and use the boxes to slide down the dry grass and leaves that Autumn afforded us.  Hills and slopes can create grand experiences when ingenuity is used and a child is daring enough to plunge forward--ignoring the scrapes, scratches, and possibilities of broken bones.

However, what one can do in one's youth, may not be quite as sensible as one ages.  The limberness we had as children gives way to inflexible muscles and brittle bones.  We risk torn cartilage and wrenching sprains.  Our hearts may want to do what our bodies simply will not allow, and we know it takes a lot longer to heal and to mend.  We know this because experience has proven it to be so.  With age comes the wisdom of knowing a slippery slope can be a dangerous thing. 

The same is true of a person who slips into the temptation of dabbling with deceit and slander sprinkled in guile.  Sometimes the words used are like the shampoo--so slick, so seemingly sincere, but to the discerning heart, the words are recognized for the twisting falsehoods they are.  "He who hates pretends with his lips, but stores up deceit within himself.  When he speaks kindly, do not trust him, for seven abominations are in his heart.  Though his hatred covers itself with guile, his wickedness shall be shown openly before the assembly.  Whoever digs a pit [for another man's feet] shall fall into it himself, and he who rolls a stone [up a height to do mischief], it will return upon him." Proverbs 26:24-27  

I'd love to have jumped onto that slippery slope my son-in-law created for those toddlers.  But I knew better than to do anything more than photograph it for posterity.  selahV        

WHAT PATH ARE YOU ON?

In what direction are you headed?  Think about how you spent the majority of your time last week, yesterday, thus far today.  What does it say about your priorities?  Think about what you said this morning.  Think about what you've written this day.  Yesterday.  Did you glorify God in your conversation?  Did you glorify God in your actions?  Your thoughts?

"Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright.  Turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil."  Proverbs 4:26,27.

Will your path be followed by others?  Do you want others to follow your path?  Do you want your children and grandchildren to see the way you are headed?  Will it lead them unto righteousness?  selahV

Devotional guide: "FROM ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER.

EMAILERS, BLOGGERS, AND...ETHICAL FOOLS

I waded into a comment stream yesterday.  I simply couldn't help myself.  I wasn't much into the topic of the post, it being about Landmarkism (which is beyond my intellectual grasp and desire to debate).  The pebble in the middle of the stream (that attracted me) was an ongoing discussion about one commenter pasting into the bloghost's stream (for all intents and purposes of the reading audience) a private email he'd received from one of those debating Landmarkism.

Now, let's put the subject of the post, and the subject of the email aside.  Like I said, I'm not into that debate.

What captured my attention was that Christian folks were defending the use, implantation, reproduction and publishing, of someone's email messages as acceptable because they are the recipient's "private property".  Can you believe it?  I felt like I was watching a debate between Fox News pundits.  This flurry in the comment waters occurred because the bloghost had deleted the email portion of the commenter's comment.  And the bloghost took a step further and instructed that commenter, and any other commenter, to never ever paste a private email into his stream again to make a point.  To him it was a matter of ethical confidentiality and the act was "despicable".  But others didn't agree.

So, let's look at this from another angle: 

Suppose we focus on this blog for instance.  Let's say my post is about forgiveness.  And someone has written me an apology for being quite nasty to me.  And they are seeking reconciliation.  And later on, say a year later, I choose to take that person's vehemenent emails and the one with an apology (since it's my property) and post them for all the world to see to make a point in my blog-post on forgiveness.  Is that right of me?  Is that ethical?  Is that okay since it's my property?  Was the person who wrote it "a fool" for having written it with a reasonable expectation it would be kept confidential?  And even if that person is "a fool" to believe the email would be regarded as private and unpublishable, what does it say about the person (me, for instance), who receives it and chooses to use it to make a point?  Is there no moral obligation on another Christian's integrity to keep it private?

According to one blogger, "anyone who sends an email that could not be posted somewhere/anywhere is a fool."

"A fool".

One Christian sends another Christian an email.  Perhaps to share a prayer request.  Perhaps to ask an innocent question.  Perhaps to confess an attitude.  Perhaps to simply toss an idea off another.  And because of the age of computers and hi-tech advancements, he/she is a "fool" to write it and send it without accepting [in a state of approval] the fact that it will become public some day, "somewhere" on someone's blog, vlog, newspaper article, or book.

Dear friends, brothers and sisters, readers and lurkers, 

I truly believe that we have entered a very dangerous age in our faith when the rules, laws, regulations, values and actions of the secular world are to be used as the counter weights for Biblical principles, Christian values and moral integrity.  Our consciences have become hardened and our spirits calloused.  Our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees, not be patterned after them.  At least, that is what the Savior said.  Have mercy, Lord; have mercy.  selahV 

STUPID CHALLENGES AND ANTAGONISTIC BLATHERINGS

Some folks have nothing better to do in their lives than sit around thinking up ways to slap another's face with the proverbial white glove.  When they do not like someone, they do everything in their power to antagonize, goad, criticize and demonize.  Often they do so in the guise of critiquing a position, a policy or a rule of order.  And very often they are censured for being antagonistic, without regard for a rule of order or an agreed upon policy.  Some folks are more like satan with his wiles and deceit and promotional tactics of artificial light.  They come at you with juicy tidbits of half-truthes and innuendo, substantiated by hypothesis and virtuous illustrations and quotes.  Then they dump their antagonistic garbage in a heap and expect everyone to lap it up like it is a bowl of Grama's chicken soup for the soul.  Such contrived attempts at being spiritually mature may fool some folks in life, but it never fools God.

"The tongue of the wise utters knowledge rightly, but the mouth of [self-confident] fools pours out folly.  The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good." Proverbs 15:2,3.

Won't it be wonderful when the mighty trumpet blows and the Lord returns and we no longer have to be bothered by such nonsense and unproductive blatherings?  Won't it be glorious to sit in eternal heaven without one ounce of knowledge that the challengers of yesteryear ever existed?

Until then, we must be wary of wolves in a sheep's clothing, my friends.  Very wary indeed.  selahV 

LACK OF GRACE...LOSING IT BIT BY BIT

I've spent an undo amount of time the last few weeks absorbing the constant flow of dialog from Television pundits (on both sides) of the political spectrum.  I've read a few posts, but not a great deal of posts from SBC bloggers who voiced their opinions on the leadership of our country.  I've read far more blogs outside the realm of SBC Blogtown than inside.  I've read more secular newspapers than SBC printed pages (even though I have three Baptist papers I read), than I've read the entire year of this election.  More stuff has entered my head than I care to remember.  Dangerous, cancerous, viral "stuff". 

Why so dangerous?  Well, I've noticed that, for me, it has poisoned my spirit.  It has tarnished my heart.  And as I have read, commented, wrote and read, it was like a virus spreading throughout my mind.  A virus of negativity, of irritation, of nausea.  A virus hard to shake.  Even when I'd pray or read the Bible, it failed to truly penetrate the darkness surrounding me.

So how does "grace" figure into this post?  How do we lose grace bit by bit?

I think we lose it when we fail to unify around the principles of hope, faith, love and kindness.  I think we lose it when we fail to yield to the Spirit of God and, instead, invite the spirit of evil into our thought processes.  I think it happens when we take our eyes off Jesus and focus on the sins of others, the flaws of others and the weaknesses of others.  I think it happens when we fellowship more with the "world" and spend less time in fellowship with God.

Peppered throughout a few of my more irritated posts (most of which I have now deleted), were some attempts to inspire hope, encourage endurance, and focus on the only One who can help us in all our difficulties and trials.  It wasn't until I found heavy traffic to my site that I realized the greatest interest was to one in which I had addressed a certain blogger because of a conversation that ensued on another site regarding financial speculations.  For some reason, I began receiving tons of views on my post long after it had been published.  I went to the referring site which had linked me, and found a tiny chunk of one paragraph in which I'd been trying to expand upon how I felt on the issues of financial difficulties.

I didn't appreciate the depiction.  But then, we seldom like the perception others have of us when they disagree with us, do we? 

At first I decided to laugh it off and ignore it.  But the more traffic I received from that site, the more I pondered the residule effect my post may have had.  So, last nite in the wee hours of the morning, I unpublished my more opinionated posts of the recent campaign and election.  Who cares what I think, anyway?  What relevance does it have to eternity?  What blessing did it offer anyone?  Did I help anyone grow in grace through them? 

It's that simple, folks.  If we expect others to listen to us, we have to stop stepping on their toes.  If we want others to have respect for us, we must respect others.  God has given us so much grace.  He pours it out upon us, day after day, moment by moment.  But as long as we cling to the irritation we collect by reading another's sarcasm, bitterness and angst, the less grace we'll have to return to them in exchange.  The more we hoard the offenses, the more susceptible we become to offend.  We only increase the grace of God by extending it to others.  With each pride-filled attitude of superiority, we breed a virus.  And bit by bit our effectiveness to show His grace is eaten away.  Can we afford that in this time of fear and hopelessness?  Can others?  selahV

[© SelahV Today,hariette petersen, 2008]       

PASTORS IN THE AGE OF QUESTIONABLE INTEGRITY

Does integrity exist anymore?  Is everything we say worth repeating?  Is everything we do worth exemplifying?

We are living in an age of questionable integrity.  With the flick of a remote, our giant flat-screen TV's parade every sort of politician, teacher, priest, minister, every-day-person before us via live satellite filtration.  Sadly, the most negative of creatures is the norm of public myopic magnification and microscopic scrutiny.  As they are examined, vilified, impugned with innuendo, half-truths and out-right lies, the public has nibbled upon the appetizer of thinking that the whole pie is as poisoned as the waft of viral misinformation that's infected the air.  i.e., If one priest molests children, all priests are suspect; if one minister is unfaithful, all ministers are culpable; if one police officer abuses his power, all police officers are abusers.

Availed to us is the fact-checking methods of Google, on line Newspapers, internet encyclopedias and Biblical interpretations.  Yet, few people have time (or take time) to sit and get the information they need to make judgment upon the facts and evidence at hand.  Most people are satisfied to take the nibble and consider it truth.  Most people want to believe the worst of others.  Most people do not trust anyone anymore.  Why?  Our world lacks integrity.

"Integrity means unimpaired purity of heart," writes Oswald Chambers.  "Jesus Christ is not teaching ordinary integrity, but supernormal integrity, a likeness to our Father in heaven."  Studies on the Sermon of the Mount, 1960.   

Few people need exemplify this kind of integrity more than men who have the highest calling of God.  Pastors.  Ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I've heard and read from pastors who think that their flaws should be written off with the idea that they are only human:  They are just like us.  They are simply ordinary Christians standing on a higher geographical location on Sunday mornings than the folks in the pew.

I beg to differ.

I believe the men God calls to minister to His people are subject to the highest degree of integrity, the greater example of servanthood, the finest exhibit of spiritual fruit, and the noblest of intentions and motives.  I believe it behooves our ministers to be above reproach.  I believe God holds them accountable to this higher standard.   

My pastor once preached from Job and he said, "If you have integrity, nothing else matters; but if you don't have integrity, nothing else matters."  I can't remember if he quoted someone else.  I just scurried to remember the statement as I scribbled it down on my notes.  It plucked at my conscience and led me to post it by my computer.  I've often looked at that little epithet as I've written things, and read things on my monitor.  It begs me now to say, When we expect no better of ourselves, we get less than the best...and so does our Lord.

Christ has set the highest of examples:  Forgive as He forgave.  Give mercy as He gave mercy.  Endure as He endured.  Be submissive as He is submissive.  Show compassion as He showed compassion.  Sacrifice as He sacrificed.  And as we dwell in Him and yield to Him in us, He will pour forth the seeds of change we need implanted in this world to bear fruit worthy of His name. 

Never has the integrity of God's people been more examined and scrutinized than it is today.  Never have we needed men of God to give us the walking, talking visible pattern of integrity than we do today.  Never have we needed humility more defined, joy more expressed, and love more identifiably displayed.  We need our pastors to lead us by their Christ-filled examples.  We need them in our church hallways and hospital corridors.  We need them in the pulpits and counseling offices.  We need them in the vestibules of our lives--in our communities--in check-out lines and at restaurant tables, in sporting events.  We need them to be the salt and light Christ called them to be and feed us with the Word of God as never before.  We need their inspiration to hold our standards for Christ as our most valuable attribute and to live according to His teachings.

In an age of questionable integrity, we need pastors filled unquestionable integrity worthy of God's calling.  We don't need ordinary men doing ordinary things.  We don't need resume builders.  We don't need maneuvering politicians.  We don't need charismatic orators.  We don't need word-parsing bloggers and argumentive critics.  We need men willing to admit their mistakes without broad explanations.  We need men willing to bow more to the Lord than bend to the ways of culture and the world.  We need ordinary men doing extraordinary things that exemplify the "purity of heart" given them in Christ Jesus alone.  We need them, and the world needs them.  selahV

[© SelahV Today, hariette petersen, 2008]

I AM A "PIECE OF WORK"

There comes a time in most everyone's life that they judge themselves or assess the judgment of another.  They take stock of accomplishments, failures, mistakes and achievements.  And by some kind of mental measurement they place value on themselves.  They consider their worth.  To others and to Christ.

I can truthfully say that I weigh the criticism of others in my life.  I appreciate the honesty and forthrightness of someone who reproves, admonishes or warns me.  After all, Proverbs the book of James says we can look in the mirror and then walk away and not remember what we saw. (James 1:23-24)  We get a distorted view of ourselves at times.  Mama use to call it "being full of yourself."  So another's viewpoint can be quite helpful in how we understand the kind of impact we have on the world around us. 

The weight I place on what another thinks of me, or says to me carries ounce for ounce what is offered to me in a spirit of love, grace and gentleness.  Any critiques I receive laced with innuendo and meanspiritedness are immediately dismissed.  Any judgment I'm rendered that's powdered and smeared with sarcastic barbs is discarded with less consideration than yesterday's newspaper.

I've come to understand something in life.  No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone is not going to like you for having done so.  When you discover that you only receive the negative criticism from a source filled with venom, then you can rest in the peace of God with a clear conscience.  I think of my Savior so often when faced with counseling a person who is dealing with unwarranted criticism.  He is always Who I think of in times like these.  In His perfect, sinless condition, he was constantly questioned, accused and judged.  In all the good things He did on earth, he was plotted against, hated and despised.  In all His sermons and parables of truth, he was rejected and counted as worthless.

So why should I, a sinner saved by grace, expect the whole world to like me or agree with me?  The answer is I shouldn't.  And I don't.  I know I am "a piece of work".  I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  I am made in the image of God.  I am righteous in His sight.  And because I know my Savior gave His life in payment for me, I think that makes me rather special.  And you, too.  selahV

[© SelahV Today, 2008]

   

A MENTOR'S CHARACTER REVEALED

What do your words say about you?  What do your actions reveal about your character?  For me, each time I find myself feeling deeply frustrated or at wits end, I know it's time to sit back and reevaluate my walk with the Lord.  Not that we are some terrible person for losing our minds at times.  But character is revealed in a crisis.

My husband use to say, "The Christian you are today, is the Christian revealed when you meet with disaster or calamity tomorrow."

I have a friend who shared with me that she'd reconnected with some mentoring Christians she'd known years prior.  When she'd known them as a younger Christian, they had helped her to grow in the Lord so much.  She took their words and applied them to her walk.  She admired them for all they did as teachers and leaders in her former church.  For years later, many times, their teachings and character reminded her of the walk she must continue as a Christian.

But things have changed... [MORE...}    

daily IMPACT~~July 23, '08

BRACE YOURSELF...

"Character is the way we have grown to act with our hands and our feet, our eyes and our tongue, and the character we make always reveals the ruling disposition within."  Oswald Chambers, Our Brilliant Heritage, 1929

When my grandson, Ryan, broke his neck and back while riding on a motorcycle last year, he had to wear a brace for several weeks.  Prior to receiving the cumbersome brace, he could not move without extreme pain.  And had he moved without the brace, his chance of being paralyzed was a near certainty.  Ryan's accident was on a Friday afternoon and he was airlifted to Oklahoma City.  [more...}

dailyIMPACT July 22, '08

DON'T YOU JUST LOVE BEING CORRECTED?

Maybe not.

Have you found, as I, that most folks hate to be corrected?  They don't like others telling them where they go wrong and what they should do.  When faced with a choice between what man wants to do and what God wants him to do, quite often a man will follow the dictates of his own desires.  He justifies a critical spirit.  He compromises a truth.  He sugar-coats a bitter heart and white-washes sinful acts.  [FOR MORE...}

LIVING AND WALKING IN THE FLESH...Or Simply "Struttin' Your Stuff"

How often do you find yourself "struttin' your stuff"?  So often I find myself walking along, minding my own business, then someone crosses my path and "POOF!"  Up go my feathers of pride.

I am not one to pick an argument or create a disturbance.  I do not find pleasure in conflict; I avoid it whenever it is non-constructive or begins to become destructive.  I figure my opinion is not all that important in the scheme of things.  I believe opinions are for the most part begging for arguments--why else would we find such delight in offering them when no one has asked for them?  Such was the case in a recent post I wrote.  It was an opinion piece.  I really wasn't thinking about the folks that might disagree with me should they venture into my stream.  I was simply stating things as I saw them.

I am not one to shrink from the obvious assaults on my faith.  However, I believe Christians (and I am one) must be ever vigilant when addressing issues in a public forum.  We must do more than give lip-service to our Lord.  We must remember to put on the whole armor of God when we address society's ills and culture's sin.  Otherwise, it is very easy to trip over stumbling blocks of pride and fall into sin ourselves.  I believe most divides and bitterness in relationships begin with a "haughty spirit". 

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

A relationship is easily maimed and destroyed because we believe ourselves to be correct in all our assumptions.  We sometimes sit behind our monitors and get tiffed at every word we read that sits in opposition to our views, i.e. "haughty spirit".  The stumbling block is the opposition to our view.  The "fall" comes when we forge ahead on our pathway to address the opposition and trip over our own pride.  (After all, they are wrong and we are right.)  The angel of light, Satan, loves to play with our pride.  He thoroughly and completely delights in pitting Christians against Christians.  He loves to use us as extentions of his legs.  He abhors it when we apologize or repent.

Remember when Satan played with the Son of God? He took Jesus to the pinnacles of the earth and tempted Him to look at all He could have if He would but bow down and worship him.  Satan was poised to give (ha!) Jesus everything on earth if He would simply give in to the temptation of pride.  Had Jesus bit into that proverbial fruit, we would all be toast, my friends.  Oh that we could be as He and not fall prey to our flesh and haughty spirits.  Oh that we would truly fear God and seek Him in all our ways.  That we would so deeply abide in Him that our flesh would die without a struggle!

"To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech." Proverbs 8:13

Know why we hate arrogant folks?  Know why we see conceit so clearly?  Because our eyes are filled with beams.

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Proverbs 11:2

Why do we succumb to pride?  Why do we find ourselves not worse or better than anyone else when we seek to pick specks from another's eyes?  God is sanctifying us.  We Christians should rejoice when another points out our pride and arrogance.  For when they do, if we welcome that reproof, we will be humbled.  And with that humility comes wisdom.

"Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice."  Proverbs 13:10

Why do we quarrel (i.e. argue, debate, divide, and strive) with one another?  Pride.  No one enjoys being labeled arrogant, condescending, self-righteous, pride-filled and haughty.  No one likes to find themselves looking at the mirror of their soul when they see the faults in another.  But alas:  "A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor." Proverbs 29:23

As case and point, let me add this little quote from a person who recently succumbed to the flesh:

"I guess it's a great way of finding out how prideful and condescending you really are, when someone else comes in who may not even be as prideful and condescending as I really am in my heart, but simply has the audacity to disagree with me. I don't tend to respond to such humbly. It would be far better for me and people like ______, both for me to only speak the truth in love, turn a deaf ear to insults, and a constant knee in prayer for myself and them. But unless the Holy Spirit zaps me, that's never going to happen perfectly unless I'm acting in a movie (and maybe not even then)."

To me, this person is a Christian yielding almost immediately to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit within.  Can another with whom this person disagreed find the wisdom of falling prey to a haughty spirit and a pride-filled heart?  Possibly, but it may take a few more tumbles to bring about the humility.

[NOTE:  I wrote this post, because I, too, fell prey to the flesh and spoke with tongue-in-cheek witticism to BDW in my OBAMA post.   When I find another's words unbecoming and unseemly, it is my responsibility to respond as my friend, Byron, commented in my WOE UNTO YOU post:  "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."1 Peter 4:8.

Ah, charity!  Sweet charity.  Mercy.  Grace.  Gentleness.  Can you see how charity can cover the multitude of sins?  I do.  But that's another post.]  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

WHO CAN YOU TRUST?

Bigvai Volcy said, "Trust nobody and no one will ever betray you."

Can you imagine living your life like that?  Never trusting a single soul?  For fear of being betrayed?  Let down?

Frank Crane said, "You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough."

I wonder today, why is it we cannot trust people?  So often I've found that folks do not take what a person says and believe it to be what they really mean.  There was a time in history when a man's word was his contract.  A handshake was a valid agreement one could take to the bank.

Perhaps our world has become so untrustworthy is why we are suspicious of others.  Perhaps it is because we've been burned before. We don't trust the government because of corruption.  We don't trust law enforcement because of a few rogue cops.  We don't trust companies because of embezzlement in Enron.  We don't trust politicians because they promise what they cannot deliver.  The list is actually endless.  There are people we entrust our lives to every day.  Pharmacists.  Doctors.  Bankers.  Other drivers.  We are actually forced to trust others or we'll live in perpetual fear. 

Cardinal de Retz gives another explanation for distrust: "A man who doesn't trust himself can never truly trust anyone else."  Perhaps that is why we cannot trust others.  We cannot trust ourselves.  We know our weaknesses.  We know how vulnerable we are.  We know what we are prone to do and how we are prone to think.  And so when we meet someone, we put them in the same pod in which we live and grow.  And we base our trust in them on the trust we know is true in ourselves.  Another reason to become men and women of integrity, honesty and transparency.  Woe is me.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]  Don't forget to visit dailyIMPACT by SelahV for my devotional thought for today. 

THE BLAMELESS MAN

"Mark the blameless man and behold the upright, for there is a happy end for the man of peace." Psalm 37:37.

Oh that we could all be as men of peace.  Oh that our thoughts be pure, our hearts clear, our hands clean.  Oh that we could dwell on that which is pure, undefiled, good, and kind.  Oh that we could speak well of one another and seek peace and peace alone. 

Unfortunately, I've seen, in my lifetime, many a man accused, indicted, convicted and sentenced without once going to trial.  He's met his demise in the court of public opinion.  So many of our faithful Christian forefathers met their life's end at the hands of public opinion.  The greatest book in all the world was written by the saints who were slain and slaughtered for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They took a stand for what they knew was True.

Today folks take stands for what they think might be true.  They position themselves based on what they believe credible--often without full knowledge of all the facts.  They presume, assume and prejudge.  They assign guilt where none has been evidenced.

Every day we see so many people slain in the world, their reputations destroyed, their character questioned, their integrity maligned.  It goes without saying that this is not of God.  Yet, God is not moved by the falsehoods, the gossip, the talebearing.  He knows He is in control of even the wicked.

"I have seen a wicked man in great power and spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.  Yet he passed away, and behold, he was not; yes, I sought and inquired for him, but he could not be found." Psalm 37:35,36. [italics mine]

The wicked man will not last forever.  He may sprout and grow for a season.  But he will pass away.  People will remember that he once had great promise, and they will wonder what happened to him.  But he will be no more.

But for the blameless man...there is a happy end.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008] Don't forget to stop in at daily IMPACT for more of my devotional thoughts.

BACKBONES, JOINTS AND JOGGING

I went to the chiropractor a few weeks ago.  He turned me, cracked me and poked me.  When I left his office I had to prop pillows beneath my left leg and cram one behind the lumbar area of my back to keep my backbone from shifting back to the way it was before my chiro played it like a fiddle.  I've been sleeping in a recliner and keeping my legs in all kinds of positions when I type at the computer (boy could I use my grandsons' laptop) to keep it all aligned.

Every time I make a move, I hear a snap, pop, crackle in my back and feel a rumble tumble in my joints.  Don't know if that is good or bad.  It doesn't hurt when it makes that noise and as far as I can tell, no one can hear it but me.  So as long as I don't mind, I don't see that it will annoy anyone else.

Before I went to the Chiro, I kept tripping.  Whenever I walked, my left foot dragged.  I missed steps by, what felt like, three inches when I came down on my right foot.  It was weird.  Turned out my right leg was nearly an inch shorter than my left one.  That explained the pain in my knees when I stood for long lengths of time and my perpetual need to shift from one leg to the other and inability to stand on both at the same time.  It also explained why my brain sent signals to my feet to move and they moved according to my backbone's misalignment and not my brain's command.  Also weird.

What really excites me about getting my backbone all lined up, and keeping it all lined up, is I might be able to walk on my treadmill again.  I might be able to walk in the mall, around the neighborhood.  And maybe just maybe I'll be able to do it pain-free.  I still have pain, burning and pinprick sensations--but not nearly as bad as before.

It's a funny thing about backbones.  The way we sit,  how we stand, and where we lie down, all make a big difference in how we walk.  Some folks can't sit in hard chairs.  Some need soft beds.  Some folks don't need to be standing around all day in one place, shifting from one foot to the next.  Our positions---sitting, standing, lying down--all contribute to the diassembly and difficulties we have with our walk.

And just as we need to be careful of the positions we allow for our body, we need to be careful of where we allow our minds to wander.  Who are we sitting with, who are we standing by, who are we reclining with, who are we joining in a walk?  The situations we face in life are too vital and important to the Kingdom of God for us to be out of alignment with Him and His Word.  For it is written:

"Blessed is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather." Psalm 1:1.

Blessed is he who knows when to jog on by.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]   

TRUTH BE TOLD, THERE IS NO TRUTH BUT...

There is only one Truth.  ONE.  The whole truth and nothing but the truth is Jesus.  All areas of our truth are tainted by personal perspective.  Mine, yours and theirs.  I can write a statement and everyone will have their own idea of what that truth is.  Only Jesus is Truth.  He is THE Truth, the Way and the Life.

When we think we are so positioned in life to offer truth to the world, we must understand that the truth we offer is that which we know to be true.  And what we know to be true is not necessarily true.  For instance.  I knew from the news today that the Lawton school system was in lock-down over some threat.  Yet to tell someone else it was true based on my knowledge was something that was only true as far as my knowledge could attest.  There were other variables which needed to be confirmed before it would ever be established that the truth had been told by me or by the news media.

It happens every day.  A person is accused of something.  People believe it is true because someone they know to be a truthful person has told it.  Does it make it true because he told it?  No.  It only is true if it is proved true.  I read a comment someone sent to me regarding the truth of God's Word.  It's inerrancy to be precise, and the position held by the majority of my fellowship of faith believers.

I quote:

"The big problem is like you say…how do we know one from the other? Paul said to “Study…rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

We would agree the “word of truth” is the Bible. The question is: If it were ‘all’ true, why would we have to divide it? We have to divide the untruth from the truth."

WHAT?  This is the first time I've ever seen that scripture passage used to discredit the Truth of God's own Word. To "rightly divide the word of truth" does not mean that any of the Bible is untrue!  Correct me if I'm wrong, folks, but I believe that passage means being able to divide out the truth within the Scripture to meet a particular situation one is going through.  It does not mean the "Word" itself is at any time untrue.

As people attest to what they know of others in the public arena to be true from what they have learned of the public in the private arena, gives little light to the world as truth.  Unless the subject matter is totally spelled out in every way, from each and every perspective, with each and every thought that each and every person is having at the particular time that an event occurs, then the truth is only speculative at most and innuendo at least.

Again, I say...Jesus is the Truth.  We just attest to Him in His truth.  All else is subject to inspection, dissection and perception.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

 

WORDS WORTH READING

Yesterday I went to my friend's website and found a rather long post in which he explained his off-handed, completely innocent remark about Cornbread and Buttermilk in another site's comment stream.  When I began reading his post, I thought to myself how in the world does Cornbread and Buttermilk fit with the title of his post as he being accused of racism by another pastor.

My friend wove a personal experience of a man with a fond memory with an alcoholic father of whom he'd rarely had a fond memory.  He shared some poignant moments of his childhood and detailed a bit of he and his wife's New Year's food choices.  So, unsuspecting me, I thought this was going to be one of those food analogies he so often uses to make a point.  Low and behold, as I read on, I discovered that his words were used to paint him as a racist.  My heart sunk into the innermost parts of my being as I went to my friend's accuser's site and read what he had posted and the comment stream that followed.

I am writing this to let all my readers (some of you know the folks in question, some do not)know that the post written to smear my friend is pitiful.  It is sickening.  It goes beyond the realms of reason in a Christian community.  It does nothing to uplift Christ.  It adds to the swarm of flies seeking sustenance on rotting garbage.  I do not give you the sites for a reason.  It is not worth reading.  It is not worth the time anyone would take to read.

Since my son died, I've come to count time as the most valuable thing we are given on earth besides our relationship with Christ.  Time is what we use to benefit others, to so light the world with our Savior's light within us that He is manifested in all we do and say.  And words worth reading is all that we as Christians should be filling our minds.  We are charged to put on the whole armor of God.  We are charged to guard ourselves from what could lead us into a pathway designed by satan and marked by his evil intentions to destroy us and our witness in this world.

Since becoming a part of the blogging community I have witnessed repeated attempts to smear fellow Christians.  I have spoken out about this time and time again on the respective blogs as I've seen it occur.  Most of the time my words of admonishment and exhortation have been rebuked.  Indeed, I've been accused of being self-righteous, judgemental and ignorant.  I've also been on the receiving end of subtle carefully worded condescending remarks written to persuade folks to think I am unsincere, and in need of their correcting instruction.  Much of this the Lord has led me to treat as that of fools.

Today I am writing this to call all of you Prayer Warriors to seek the face of God.   Pray that these word-games designed to destroy brothers and sisters in Christ cease.  Pray that the self-righteous be brought to shame and repentance.  Pray that the Lord expose their inward sin and evil intentions for what it is.  Pray that they either change or are silenced.  Pray that the intervening Lord so use the righteous that they give Light in the darkness.  Pray that Believers add enough salt to the blogging community that every infectious cancerous word of bitterness burn through the writer's soul.  Pray that God break the bonds of sin so apparent to this world of ego-driven mania that all are humbled and seek His face.

Pray that Christ's discernment and wisdom be mine and apparent in all I write.  Pray that my words manifest the Lord and His goodness, mercy, patience, steadfast loving-kindness and gentleness.  Pray that my words pierce the darkness wherever it needs Light and shed light on whatever is impure.  Pray my friends.  Pray.   selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008] 

FILLING IN THE CRACKS

For years my husband collected crackle glass.  Crackle glass is some of the most beautiful pieces of art-glass made.  It's brilliance and sparkle come from the thousands of cracks throughout the piece.  We have every color of the rainbow in our collection.

Many pieces date back over 40 years.  And they are just as beautiful to behold as the day they were handblown and created in heated furnaces.  I have given some pieces away to friends who appreciate the beauty of the art form.  And I've sold a multitude of pieces.  It's not very utilitarian.  They are made to be viewed and appreciated and displayed.

The reason my husband fell in love with these treasures is their origin.  As it happens, the glass is the result of a mistake.  As we have been told, one day an artisan of artglass produced a piece and when it cooled, it crackled in hundreds of tiny cracks throughout the entire piece.  The artisan took the piece and immediately covered it with more molten glass.  When the layer of new glass covered the piece, it produced a work of art unseen before and unequaled in sparkling brilliance when held in the light.  One of the first books written on crackle glass was written by a collector who fell in love with the story of the birth of crackle glass.  She wrote that it reminded her of how we as Christians are covered in the blood of Christ.  He takes our broken lives and His blood covers us and when God looks upon us, He sees, not our imperfections, but the perfection of His Son blanketing our lives.

I've told this story to our grandchildren who gaze upon our glass collection displayed in an alcove high above our entertainment area in our living room.  They sit mesmerized at the beauty.  Like a Light upon a hilltop.  Just as my crackle glass beckons the eyes to look, to enjoy and to revel---our lives in Christ beckon others to see Him.    If we find ourselves recalling the cracks of our past lives, we might remember the crackle glass---how the artisan covers it, and fills those cracks with a new coat of color.  And then, may we rest in the Light we've been created to be through the power of God's Grace. 

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

For more of my devotional thoughts, be sure to visit dailyIMPACT.

TAKE YOUR FEET OFF THE TABLE

During dinner at my daughter's house the other day, my granddaughter didn't want to take her feet off the table.  She's three, mind you, and Haylee's chair is actually a tall stool from the kitchen counter.   Don't you think it's a natural temptation for a toddler to use the table as a footstool since her feet are right there and the table is so convenient?   Nevertheless, in her momma's house, feet are not allowed on the table, no matter what anyone thinks about the matter.  So her mom repeatedly instructed, "Take your feet down, Haylee or I'm going to take you to the den till you decide to obey mommy."

Well, that little stinker moved her tiny "clean" toes from the tabletop's edge and on down to the rim, but her feet were still visible and toes could be seen wiggling like little worms.  With pink pursed lips and mischievious brown eyes, she peered through long lashes seeking a bit of support.  Her nonchalant expression revealed she expectantly awaited her mom's reaction.  I almost laughed but knew it was neither time, nor appropriate to do so.

Haylee, being a very percocious and independent child, tests her mom on every issue from eating to dressing herself.  "Strong-willed" is what Dr. James Dobson calls it.  However unless a parent addresses the behavior early, a child could grow up to be a brat--or worse.   A strong-willed individual can develop a personality that gives her a sense of superiority.  That personality breeds a rationale of thinking that results in defiance of authority--that rules-of-order apply only to others--not her.

Rules are important.  They protect.  They keep order.  They correct and guide.  Unfortunately, some folks think rules are for others.  Detention halls are full of them.  And when they break a rule and are reprimanded for that rule, they become more defiant.  Prisons accomodate a group of them.  Often they accuse the authority over them of being the one at fault, rather than accepting their own actions as wrong or inexcusable.  Prosecutors prosecute them; lawyers defend them, and some of them end up back on the streets to repeatedly offend again.

Not all strong-willed folk commit serious crimes that land them in prisons.   Not all strong-willed folk break rules.  But the ones who find rules are for others and decide to break them, will eventually meet the consequence of their choices.

There were two men I read about recently who were very strong-willed individuals.  One chose to ignore rules, test the will of God and wound up wallowing in consequences befitting his disobedience and envious pride-filled nature.  Another one chose to trust himself to God and he wound up exiled, hounded and threatened to the point of even despairing of life.  Even so, he grew in maturity and strength.  He refused to exact vengeance, curse his offender and even blessed his adversary when he encountered him.

Saul turned to the godless for counsel and David turned to God.   Saul went mad and took his son with him into death at the hands of the Philistines.  David turned to God and became king of Israel.   One was wise and one was not.

Proverbs gives so much help for making decisions when faced with adversity and seeking wisdom in how to respond.  Yet, to me, the finest example is that of Jesus:  "Who when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously." 1 Peter 2:23.  Christ, innocent and pure, suffered and died to attone for the guilty and impure.  He said nothing.  He didn't call on the angels at His disposal.  He didn't rail, rant or rally troops to come to His defense.

We break rules, ignore rules and reject authority over us.  We stubbornly stand our ground and voice our objection from the housetops.  We compromise values, principles and enlist others to do the same.  We explain away our actions, defend our disobedient positions and refuse to alter our actions.  Is this the way we are to conduct ourselves as Christians?   Or should we take our feet off the table or be sent to the den till we decide to obey?  selahV

[copyrighted, hariette petersen, 2007]

AFFLICTION! WHAT A BLESSING!

Nothing makes me run to the Lord as much as affliction.   It causes me to search for nourishment beyond my predictable comfort zone.  It brings me to my knees begging for green pastures to still my soul.

Discouragement sends me straight to the Psalms.  Indecision has me searching the Proverbs.   Disillusionment sends me to Philippians.  Difficult people--especially Christian brothers and sisters--takes me to Ephesians for reading and meditation.  Heartache sends me to John and particularly Chapter 17.

Give me Jesus.

My heart is heavy tonite.  Folks I know have so many trials.  I face a few.  Complex issues loom before me.  Afflictions.  Some large, some small.  How we face these afflictions determines the light we show the world, the measure with which we encourage another, the glory our Savior receives.

"It is good for me that I am afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes."  Psalm 119:71.

Good to be afflicted?  That's what David says.  And I have to agree with him.  For it is through the afflictions I face in life that have be learn the wisdom of God through His Word.  It gives me insight into His statutes.

Invariably when I meditate upon God's word when I am afflicted with ridicule, misunderstanding, accusation or mistreatment, that I am sometimes the one at fault.  I've strayed from gentleness, tolerance, patience, love, kindness, goodness or joy.  I've sought peace but failed to strive for peace.  I've wanted consolation, yet failed to exhibit comfort to another.  I've wandered into the world and sought happiness and comfort from temporal pleasures.

"Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept Thy Word." Psalm 119:67.

When I search the scriptures for answers, I find answers.  When I hunger after righteousness, I am filled.  When draw close to God, He draws close to me.  When I focus on His statutes, lean on the Holy Spirit's guiding, He teaches me and revives my soul.  He strengthens me and gives me courage to meet the challenges before me.

"This is my comfort in my affliction; for Thy Word hath quickened me." Psalm 119:50

God's Word quickens me.  The part in me that was dead, in need of reviving, is resurrected and given freshness.  Hope.  Faith.  Steadfastness.  Perseverance.  God gives me that through the reading of His Word.  Reading and meditating upon His Word changes my entire perspective on things that seem impossible to endure.

Every day we are met with afflictions:  physical, emotional, spiritual.  The evil one is out to destroy us.  He seeks to discourage, deceive, accuse and discredit.  Without the Word of God and the entire armor of the Lord, we cannot make it through the temptations we face, the afflictions we meet.  Fellowship with the brethren is powerful.  Worship in vital.  Praise is necessary.  But the Word of God--especially if memorized--is the light in the realms of darkness, the sword in the battle of the flesh, the salt in the tasteless life of apathy.

"Quicken me, after Thy loving-kindness so shall I keep the testimony of Thy mouth." Psalm 119:88

Would you seek after God without the blows of life--the afflictions you meet?  Would you search out the Truth without the challenge of the enemy?  Would you hunger for the Lord without the deserts and wilderness experiences?  How long has it been since you talked with the Lord and cried all night for the lost of this world?  How long has it been since you spent more than ten minutes in prayer for the afflicted brethren you know?  How long has it been since you were afflicted, broken and quickened by the Spirit of God?  selahV

DIVISIONS MULTIPLIED CREATE MORE DIVISIONS

Why do folks want to create more division?  Why do folks say they aren't going to defend themselves to defend themselves?  Why do folks jump on every bandwagon of animosity they can hoist themselves upon and ride the train as far as it will go?

I know why the lost world does that--those without Jesus.  But I simply do not understand how folks can repeatedly, over and over and over again publically denounce a brother or sister in Christ.  I do not understand the reasoning behind it--the rationale--the motive--nor the glory it brings to our risen Lord.

It's one thing to stand for something and believe wholeheartedly that it is one's Christian responsibility to reprove someone.  I agree totally with that.  What I don't agree with is the drip, drip, drip of contentious remarks, the anger, the belaboring of a situation or circumstance.  I do not agree with publicly humiliating someone by flogging them repeatedly for the same offense with blog post after blog post after blog post.  I do not think it is funny to banish folks to other countries, or call them names like redneck, hillbilly and imbecile.

"Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.  For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple." Romans 16:17,18.

I am noting those who cause divisions and offenses.  And I am trying to avoid them because, indeed, their words and actions are contrary to the doctrine which I've learned.  Occasionally some come into my path and seek to engage me and I succumb to a weakness in my flesh which I am turning over to the Lord for empowerment.  I think I know why we are to avoid them.  It is because we cannot reason with them.  Our words are gnats in their face.  They don't read them and they don't hear them.  Therefore it is senseless on our part to dialog with them.  Even if you are not speaking to them, in blogland, they seem to think it is their privilege and right to correct you, admonish you, ridicule you and flog you at every turn.  Thus, we are wise to heed Paul's words in his letter to the Christians in Rome.

Again, I would say we need to pray all the more for the hearts of individuals with such antagonistic spirits.  The reason is because they can cause a brother to stumble and their flattering speech and smooth words can deceive the hearts of the simple.  It happens all the time, in every walk of life.  Words are written to condone a behavior that is scripturally denounced and warned against.  And people, rather than seeking truth and abiding in love and Christ, serve their own belly and satisfy their lust for recognition and approval of man.  So, my dear friends, it behooves us to do three things:

1.  "Note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned."

2.  "Avoid them."

3.  And pray unceasingly for them.

May God work His sanctifying power in us all and give us discernment in whose words to trust and examine.  May Jesus guide us in all kindly goodness, uprightness of heart, and trueness of life, that we may evidence the fruit of the Light and the Spirit.  selahV

[copyrighted, selahV Today, 2007]

IT'S NOT SO MUCH WHAT YOU SAY

AS HOW YOU SAY IT THAT MATTERS.

"Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned (as it were) with salt, [so that you may never be at a loss] to know how you ought to answer anyone [who puts a question to you]." Colossians 4:6--Amplified

Boy this one is a tough one.   At ALL times let your speech be gracious?  That eliminates what I call someone who cuts me off in traffic, I guess.  The Amplified version expands on that word gracious.  Pleasant, winsome.  I suppose that means to be cordial, polite and as Paul says, "not behaving unseemly".

When in a disagreement with a spouse (or anyone for that matter), I should make every effort to remain calm so my speech doesn't produce a sarcastic tone or condescending attitude.  Now that other little thing about "seasoned with salt", well that's something that gives healing I think.  And it means reproof based upon the knowledge of God and the precepts He has given us.  You know why I think the writer says "so that you may never be at a loss to know how you ought to answer"?

We need to know just how much salt we should use when we correct our children, relate to a spouse, communicate with a co-worker or family member.  A little salt goes a long way in a cup of soup, ya know?  So we aren't to overdue the salt in our speech--just season it.   Just a dash will do nicely.

I would even go so far as to suggest that this verse includes gossip and talebearing.  After all, how could my speech be gracious, pleasant, winsome, cordial, and polite if I'm talking about someone behind their back?  When you take the fact that our speech must AT ALL TIMES be gracious, it eliminates a lot of words, I'd say.

Ever discerning, our spirit must be.  Ever ready to give an answer and uncompromising when it comes to the Word of God.  Wholesome and kind and ever self-controlled.  Our speech should not be prone to emotional outbursts which lead to words spoken from a heart filled with irritation and pride.  And my final rule of thumb on my speech is do my words edify, encourage or comfort?  Are they pure and good and without malice?  If not, they are better left in my mouth.  selahV

DESIRABLE IMPACT

"Delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

DESIRES OF THE HEART.  Are they pure and undefiled?  Whiter than snow?  Do they draw upon the Lord's will for sustenance and direction?   Do you know the desires of your heart?

I sometimes wonder what mine are.  I wonder if I knew if they would honor God or dishonor Him.  I shudder to think what God sees in me when He looks upon my heart.  Every day I try to delight in Him.  I seek to praise Him with my actions and words.  Not as in, "praise the Lord!  Hallejuhah!"  No; I seek to praise Him and bring glory to Him by being obedient and faithful to His Word.

That is what I think of when I think of delighting in the Lord.  "I delight to do Your will, O my God; yes, Your law is within my heart."  Ps. 40:8

The desires of my heart I think are mostly made up of self-centered, self-satisfying attitudes and ambitions.  Take this blog, for instance.  I truly believe the Lord has given me the talent to write.  He has also given me a degree of discernment and the gift of encouragement.   SO....

With this blog and with DailyIMPACT, my aim is to encourage, inspire and comfort.  My hope is that all who read it will find some kernel of value to add to their lives and increase their love for one another, themselves and our Lord.  However...

...if I am truly honest, I have to confess I want to see lots of hits.  I look at my stats regularly--do you?  So how much of my good desire for this blog is offset by the self-centered desire?  Does my self-centered desire taint what I consider my God-given call to write?  It can.  It can cause me to be so consumed with my writing and my words that I get all puffed up and think I'm something that only God has allowed my writing to become.  After all, apart from Christ, I am nothing.  I can do nothing.

It can also cause me to seek words from His Word to rubberstamp some idea or inspirational thought I am trying to convey.  Tim Guthrie at SBC Today wrote a little post alluding to that thought just the other day.  Only Tim was talking about sermon preparation.  I think no matter what desires are in our hearts, none will be totally pure.  For as humans, we are impure and are prone to be tempted by things that take the desires within us and discolor them, taint them and render them useless.  Our righteousness is as filthy rags.  Our thoughts are not His thoughts.  And when we recognize this about ourselves, I think it makes it all the easier to understand why we should not boast in anything save the Savior and His attoning grace toward us.

And any good that we may think we are doing is not ours to credit to ourselves--but to Christ who makes all things possible.  All the more reason to acquire an attitude of humility, don't you think?

I have folks who comment and email me who say how much my words have meant to them--how encouraged they are by them.  And if I wasn't absolutely positive that my words are not my words, I would probably get a big head over the validation.  I'm amazed the Lord gives me any validation, knowing how susceptible I am to pride.  But He does.  And I am grateful.  For in my flesh, I am weak.  I suffer from an inferiority complex.  Words of affirmation fuel me and spur me "on toward love and good deeds".  "An encouraging word is like apples of gold."   Yet, the devil uses my thoughts of worthlessness to try and destroy my faith and my witness.  There are times when I've come very very close to crawling under a rock and forgetting about blogging altogether.  But the Lord will have someone say something that feeds my heart and strengthens my spirit.

It's sad when I think that I must look to humanity for validation, when all I need to consider is the Lord's sacrifice for me on the cross at Calvary.  His sacrifice says it all, doesn't it?  He loved me that much?  God sent Him to destroy sin and remove the sting of death...to save sinners such as I from the very self-centeredness I now confess to you.

Ah, the day will come when I am perfect.  The day will come when I no longer struggle with the flesh of my heart--but my heart will be His completely.   That is my heart's greatest desire today.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

TOO LATE NOW

...IT'S ALREADY OUT OF THE TUBE.

My granddaughter squeezed out entirely too much toothpaste from the tube one day.  Nothing to do but smear it on another brush for her sister and wash the rest down the drain.

Words are like toothpaste.  Once they are out--spoken or written, recorded and publicized--it's impossible to unspeak them, unwrite them, unrecord them or unpublicize them.

So what happens when we utter things we regret later?  What force do our words have when we regret having uttered them?

"...For out of the fullness, (the overflow, the super abundance) of the heart the mouth speaks." Jesus, Mt. 12:34.

YIKES.  Proverbs says, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."  And Jesus says "the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.  That tells me that when I speak, my heart speaks what I think.  And if on any given day, at any given moment, my words betray my heart with anger, pride, impatience or billigerence then I've definitely squeezed too much paste from the tube.  How very important it is to have a pure heart.  One in which Christ reigns supreme.  One in which the Holy Spirit has total control and the Fruit of His Spirit is bountiful.

"But I tell you, on the day of judgement men will have to give account for every idle word they speak."  Jesus, Mt. 12:36

The Amplified Bible emphasizes "idle word" to mean "inoperative, non-working".  So every word we speak or write that does not work to show Christ's love and character, is a word unworthy to be uttered.  It is simply inoperative, non-functioning in a Christian's witness.

I ponder further the toothpaste from my tube.

My choice of paste is SENSODYNE.  As I have aged, the pores in my teeth are more susceptible to hot, cold, and sweets.  Each has the propensity to cause discomfort and pain.  Sensodyne does some kind of magic to my teeth and provides a barrier of sorts to the cold, heat and sugar invasions.   I think God's word and putting on the whole armor of God is likened to my brand of toothpaste.  God's Word and spiritual armor, provides a fortress to my heart and tempations that could woo my desires into sin.  God's Word keeps my mind actively fortressed against the evil which would penetrate my ego, pride and emotions that would lead to sin.

But also, I think my conversation in life is like the toothpaste being squeezed from the tube.  Once the words are out, they can't be put back in.  The bell has been rung and the paste just needs to be applied to my teeth and with brush in hand, I must scrub the plaque from my teeth that could cause decay or bad breath.  I must be willing to spit the used paste from my mouth.  I must rinse away the scum and particles of uneaten food.  Then I rinse my mouth with the Living Water of Christ and move on in life with a bright fresh smile.

I'm on a journey.  I discover truths in my life by the intervention of the Holy Spirit, the Living Word and circumstances my Sovereign God places in my life.  What I fiercely defend as truth today, may not even raise an eyebrow in my mind tomorrow.  To get emotionally attached to any one thought produced in my heart apart from the Word of God is unhealthy.  It's leftover food particles which fail to be rinsed from my mouth.  It's plaque build-up that grabs hold of my mind and heart and stinks up my emotional responses and reactions to others.

As I rinse these things from my heart by admitting my sin, repenting of it and committing myself anew, I can smile without guilt or shame in my world.  My thoughts are insignificant in comparison to God's~~search me O God and see if there is any wicked way in me.  Oh that I could have the mind of Christ my Lord every waking moment of the day.

"For by your words you will be justified and acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned and sentenced." Jesus, Mt.12:34.  These words of my Lord, remind me how very important it is to own my words and to confess my sin before my brothers and repent of those things my Lord considers sin.

O that I did not have to wait another day for perfection!  Until then I can only brush, scrub and rinse regrets from my soul and thank God for His mercy and grace.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]