The Puzzle of Life

I was never into puzzles. My mom, on the other hand, enjoyed every kind of puzzle that came her way.

I’d have probably avoided puzzles forever had not my sister-in-law urged me to try “just one.” What took her a few hours, took me days, but once completed I had to admit I liked the challenge and the sense of accomplishment.

Thanks to her, I now have a closet full of jigsaw puzzles. She kindly sticks to my request for 300 pieces only, but here’s the best part. She works them first to make sure all the pieces are there. I like that!

Life often seems like a puzzle. Looking forward, I don’t know what pieces I’m missing. Looking backward, I can see how God has fitted all my pieces together, so far.

I’m facing some unexpected challenges and have been encouraging myself in the Lord. First, I asked myself, as David did, “Why am I downcast? Why am I uneasy?”  

It’s good to take time for self-reflection. But then what? I chose to follow David’s example. He said he would continue to put His hope in God and praise Him for the salvation of His presence.” (Psalm 42:5).  

It’s impossible to be both positive and negative at the same time. John 14:27 tells me, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” Letting something happen means we permit it, tolerate it, or allow it to happen.   

The opposite would be to “stop” it ---shut it down, terminate it, or, as some would say, “knock it off!” The thing is, it’s personal, and no one can do that for you but you!

I’m choosing to calm my heart and mind by focusing on Romans 8:28 and Philippians 4:6. Not only do I believe God can work all things together for my good, I believe I can pour out my heartfelt needs to Him. I also find joy in thanking Him for things He has already done!

My life may be a puzzle, but the One who gave it to me knows what the missing pieces are, where they need to go, and when. I’m choosing to hope and wait on Him.

Pixabay: Jigsaw Puzzle Game; OpenClipart-Vectors. 

Three Types of Temptation

“The devil made me do it.” That was a line made famous by Comedian Flip Wilson, but there’s nothing new about the blame game.

Way back in the Garden of Eden, when God confronted Adam and Eve about their disobedience, Adam blamed it on Eve, and Eve blamed it on the serpent. God knew the truth and punished all three of them (Genesis 3:8-24).

The blame game still doesn’t work. The truth is that personal desires tempt, lure, and entice us to evil (James 1:14).

There are endless variations, but three big temptations are: 1) the desires of the flesh, 2) the desires of the eyes, and 3) the pride of life (1 John 2:16).

What the Berean Standard Bible calls “desires,” the New King James Version calls “lust,” and the New Living Translation calls “craving.” No matter which version you choose, the idea is the same.

In our flesh, we crave things for physical pleasure. With our eyes, we see things and sometimes won’t rest until we get them. And it’s easy to take pride in our achievements and possessions.

Satan likes these three types of temptations. He tried them on Eve and Jesus with very different results.

Eve listened to what he said and responded to a craving for good fruit. She considered it very pleasant to look at, and thought it would be great to be wise! (Genesis 3:1-7)

Jesus, on the other hand, refused to be enticed by craving any food, even after fasting. Satan showed Him the kingdoms of this world and Jesus was unmoved. He also refused to take any pride in the fact that if He threw Himself off a pinnacle, angels would rescue Him. (Matthew 4:1-11)

Jesus refuted each of Satan’s temptations by saying, “It is written,” and quoting an appropriate scripture.

Have you been aware of any temptation in these areas?

Have any of them caused you to stray from your intent to live by God’s word?

If so, what have you done about it?

Remember I John 2:16-17:

. . . the desires of the flesh,

the desires of the eyes,

and the pride of life—

is not from the Father

 but from the world.

 

The world is passing away

 along with its desires,

but whoever does the will of God

 remains forever.

Pixabay: Logo, Penrose Triangle; ptra.

Your Roots Are Showing

Many people color their hair, and most are careful to touch up their roots. On a recent TV fashion show, a lovely blonde looked great until there was an overhead shot. Oh, those black roots! It was rather shocking.

I remember mom used to color her hair. One day my brother was giving us a tour of the town when he said, “Mom, when is your hair going to turn gray?” She laughed and said, “When I let it!”

We know roots are important. Without them, we would have no growing things, but we do need to nurture them. In a garden, they need good soil, water, and sunshine. But in our hair, touch-up color is needed at the roots to maintain a pleasant effect.

Now, let’s consider the roots of our personality. Some people can seem quite pious until they get careless and let their roots show. For example, Hebrews 12:15 cautions us to let no root of bitterness spring up to cause trouble and defile people.

There’s nothing pleasant about bitterness. It’s sour, harsh, acidic, and tart, and I don’t just mean on our taste buds. Our words can produce those effects, too.

But, if we become aware of a bitter root, there is a solution. Ephesians 4:31-32 says to get rid of bitterness and the harsh things it produces, and replace it with some positive things: First, choose to be kind, second be tenderhearted, and third, be forgiving toward each other.

Christ is our example, and in The Lord’s Prayer, He taught us to say, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Paul clarified that in Romans 13:8. We are to be indebted to no none, except to love them.

People who care about their spiritual life will pay attention to their roots. There’s an interesting line in Zechariah 4:10 about not despising the day of small things. The small thing there is a plumb line. It’s an unimpressive item, but mighty important to the foundation of a structure.

So, let’s not get careless. Let’s keep our spiritual roots pleasantly colored and healthy through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word, and prayer.  

Pixabay: Scissors, Cutting, Hair; Clker-Free-Vector-Im...

 

Nothing New

Solomon was so right when he said, “There is nothing new under the sun. What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

The Psalms were written centuries before Christ, and we are living centuries after, but the description of the wicked sounds like today’s news.

How about a few examples? Psalm 10 says the wicked consider God a non-essential. They don’t believe He sees, cares, or will call them into accountability (V. 4, 11, 13).

They scheme and catch the needy, ambush the innocent, watch for the helpless, and beat down the lowly even further (V. 2, 8, 9).

That explains their actions, but what about their words? Nothing new there either, just the old mouthfuls of cursing, deceit, violence, and malice (V. 7).

As New Testament believers, we are told to pray about everything. By doing that, we can find peace (Philippians 4:6).

But how do we pray? Do we say simple rote prayers and move on through our day? Or do we take time to read God’s word to learn His desires, then pour out our hearts to Him in all honesty?

Don’t get bogged down in Psalm 10. Move on to Psalm 11 where we find hope! God is righteous and loves justice (V. 7), We can take refuge in the LORD and trust that He is watching from His heavenly throne (V. 1, 4).

There may be nothing new under the sun, but the good news is that includes hope in God. His faithfulness endures to all generations, just like He established the earth and it endures (Psalm 119:90). Praise be to God!

Pixabay:

  

Life on Two Levels

On one level, from birth your heart pumps blood throughout your body. It does this without any input from you; however, that doesn’t mean you can’t take care of it. Smart pro-active people try to eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep.  

I agree with David who wrote I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). How could such wonderful life-giving systems as the heart and lungs, digestive organs, bones, joints, and muscles just have evolved?

I believe we were designed and created by God, along with the rest of the marvelous things in our Universe (Genesis One).

There’s another level of life called soul. This is often described as our mind, will, and emotions. Who can deny experiencing emotions of various kinds? Or the fact that we can think things through, and make decisions if we want to.

Smart pro-active people on this level live life as victors, not victims.

Jesus recognized two levels of life. He said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul… (Matthew 10:28).

When one of the thieves crucified with Jesus chose to believe in Him, Jesus said, “Today you will be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:39-43). He was speaking of the man’s spirit, since when their bodies died, they still had to be buried.

Caring for your soul is personal. No other human can know your inner thoughts and struggles. But scriptures remind us that God looks on the heart. (Consider 1 Samuel 16:7, 10-13, and Acts 1:12-26).

Here’s a scripture to pray if you would like to be right with God and are not sure what to say:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence; take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:10-12

Read the Bible for yourself each day. If you can’t read, listen to it on a Bible app. Also pray, which is just talking to God.

For care on the spiritual level, consider this: Order my steps by Your word; let no sin rule over me (Psalm 119:133).

Pixabay:

  

Why Knowledge is Not Enough

There was a day in my world when a high school diploma carried a lot of weight. These days, at the minimum, it’s more likely to be a Bachelor’s Degree (BA). Some people have earned several degrees, and that’s worthy of respect.

As the world turns, however, every culture and generation has classes of well-educated people. In Jesus’ time, it might have been the Pharisees and Herodians. I mention it because of Mark 12:13-17.

These two groups were asked to go together to test Jesus. Instead of saying, “We have a question for you,” they went on and on about what they knew about Him.

They said: 1) We know that You are honest, 2) You seek favor from no one, 3) You are impartial, and 4) You teach the way of God truthfully. Then, after their wordy introduction, they asked their pre-planned question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? (Mark 12:14)

As citizens under Roman rule, they knew not paying taxes was never an option! But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and knew they were testing Him. He asked for a denarius, then, holding the coin, He asked, “Whose image is this?” (Mark 12:15-16) “Caesar’s,” they said.

Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” That was an unexpected answer, and they marveled at Him (Mark 12:17).

Knowledge about Jesus is not enough. Why not?

    l. It must be mixed with faith in Him (Hebrews 4:2, 12:2) 

    2. Faith in Jesus gives us salvation and eternal life (John 3:16-18; Romans 10:13,)

    3. After that, knowledge becomes important to our spiritual growth (2 Peter 1:3-10) 

Faith, Salvation, and Spiritual Growth . . . where do you stand on this spiritual spectrum?

Just remember, your answer has eternal consequences (Hebrews 9:27-28).  

 Pixabay: Diploma, Academy; MarCuesBo.

 

Down But Not Out

Is there anyone who can say, “I’ve never felt hopeless, depressed, or extremely down? That’s when it’s important to be honest with God.

As a shepherd, David enjoyed the great outdoors. But once King Saul knew David was anointed to be king, he and his army pursued David with the intent to kill.

While fleeing for his life, David often ended up hiding in caves. In Psalm 143, he said dwelling in darkness made him feel God was hiding from him (v. 3). Yet by faith, he declared his trust in God and prayed for God to deliver him from his enemies (v. 8-9).

I remember a time of despair in college. I had always felt the presence of God in my daily Bible reading, but now the joy was gone. The words no longer came alive to me, but I kept on reading.

I would point to the scriptures and say, “Lord, I believe this though I don’t feel a thing.”

I can’t tell you when it happened, but I know at some point my despair was gone. I not only had the joy of the Lord but the issue causing my despair was resolved.

James said we show our faith by our actions (James 2:18). David did this by lifting his hands and asking God to hear and answer his prayers (v. 1, 6, 7). I did it by pointing to the scriptures and declaring, “I believe it, though I don’t feel it.”

Whether you want to call our acts perseverance or endurance, the point is both David and I fit the down but not out category.

Have do you act when spiritually or emotionally down? Do you tell yourself to hope in God?

Once again, David sets a fine example with some honest self-talk.

In Psalm 42:5 he says, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.”

The next time you’re “down,” tell yourself “I’m not out!” Then follow up with a personal declaration of faith in God.  

Pixabay: Stone, Red Sandstone; makamuki0.