Where Do You Go For Guidance

A woman once told me of a party where they were going to have a psychic for part of the entertainment.  She was supposed to read palms and tell fortunes, that sort of thing.  However, the at the last minute something came up and the psychic had to cancel.  It seems like the psychic would have seen it coming and been better prepared.

There is a big industry centered around giving out advice.  From licensed therapists Dear Abby to friends or family, there are a lot of people ready to dispense advise.

Now most of the people dispensing the advice are well meaning.  They just don't have the perspective to really help.  They are limited by there own experiences and their understanding of your circumstances.  In Romans, the Apostle Paul tells us this.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Gods will for us is always better than what we can come up with on our own.  It is better than the advice of others.  For starters, God knows us better than we know ourselves.

Take a Break

It's Spring and for many of the schools we are starting Spring Break week.  It's good to take a break now and then to recharge and let our brains and our bodies catch up with the rest of our lives.  Take a look at Jesus' words in the Gospel of Mark:

Mark 6:30-32  The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”  So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 

Taking a break isn't always easy.  Our days get filled and unless we make a conscious effort to carve out rest time, there will be none left to take.

This isn't easy.  If you read the 6th chapter of Mark you will see that Jesus did not go take a rest.  The people followed him, he ended up teaching them and feeding 5000 of them with five loaves of bread and two fish.  So if you find that many people are pulling on you and trying to eat at your time, you are in good company. 

Our taking a break is important to God.  He knows hat we only have so much energy and at some point our efforts become less.  It's important enough that remembering the Sabbath is  listed in the ten commandments.

Have you ever used a cordless drill when the battery is just about dead?  The battery turns the motor slowly and as you wish that it would drive the last screw or drill the last hole.  It just isn't happening. 
Sometimes we need to recharge our batteries,  Take a break.

Stop Talking and Listen

Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path

I was watching a police drama one night on TV.  The detectives were going through a building where a crime had occurred.  Their flashlights are pointing here and there. I find myself wondering, why they don't turn on some lights.  There surely would be lights in this building.  Find the switch and turn them on.  I suppose the darkness adds suspense.  I just find it frustrating.

Similarly, God's word can be a light to our path. But if we don't take time to listen to God, we are like the detectives stumbling around in the dark.


You ever have a conversation with a prattler.  You just can't get a word in as they fill the every inch of space.  

When we prattle at God, and fill the entire prayer time with our wants, we cut off the opportunity for God to speak into our lives and light our path.

What Cannot be Lost

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

It's easy to lose things isn't it.  How much time do you spend each week looking for car keys, a pen, a book... you name it.  It's most frustrating when we are SURE where we left it, only it isn't there.

We try to find security in the things of this world that we think cannot be lost, but that is not where true security lies.

The City of Detroit recently filed for bankruptcy.  There are many people who are owed money by the city.  Who will get paid and how much is very much still up in the air.  There are people who had sold goods and services to the city thinking that payment was secure.  There are retirees that spent years working for the city thinking a government pension was secure.  Nothing in this world is truly secure.

Focus Focus Focus

Deuteronomy 32:1-2 - Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb

We are easily distracted.  There are many things pulling on us for our attention.  Finding that quiet time to be still before God, to give an ear to God, can be difficult if not impossible.


There are many things vying for our attention.  It may be that many of them are good and necessary, but even good things can be a distraction.

Everything that we do has an opportunity cost.  If we are doing this then we can't be doing that.  Pretty soon our time is so chopped up that we don't make an opportunity to spend time with God.  So what things do you do that take priority over spending time with God?

By Design or By Default

Imagine a football game without end zones.  What if scores happened in areas of the field that were ever changing and unknown to the players?

Whether you set goals or not, God has a purpose for our lives.  We will go through life by design or by default.  As it says in the book of Psalms

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. (Psalm 138:8 )

So god is already setting goals, the real question is will we head in the direction that God is calling us.  WHat goals has God set for you?

Clones Need Not Apply

If God wanted us all to be the same He wouldn't need seven billion of us, he could have stopped at one.  The world tries to shape us and mold us into a pattern of the world, but God calls us to be different.



Standing apart in a world that tries to shape us is difficult.  We are bombarded daily by popular values and the political correctness.  So how do we stand out?

In 1 John, we are warned about the ways of the world.

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

So what's the trick.  How do we fight the current?  How do we live in the world, not become shaped by the world and still function?  Any idea?  The comment section is open.

Be Courageous

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Most people dislike confrontations.  While it has become fashionable to post bold comments on facebook or twitter, face to face is another matter.  

Reconciliation can be difficult, but have courage.

Taking the first step towards reconciliation is an example of a high risk - high reward activity.  It is definitely high risk.  You are in conflict with the person already and you are giving them the opportunity to turn you down.  So making the effort takes courage.

It is also a chance at high reward.  Conflict costs a heavy toll, and even if you are turned down, at least you know that you've done your part.

Blessed are the Peacemakers

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God."

Reconciliation can only begin when someone takes the first step.

As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everybody.  So why is reconciliation so difficult?  Pride, hurt feelings, a sense of entitlement and a bit of guilt all rolled up in one.

It's like the Dr. Seuss story of the Zax.  An eastbound Zax encounters a westbound Zax and neither will move out of the other's way.  So there they stand as the world goes by around them.  How often are we like that?  Hung up on our dignity and our rights and unwilling to make a small step to solve the problem.

They Will Know We Are Christians...

Here are the only three uses of the word "Christian" in the Bible.

Acts 11:26 -  and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Acts 26:28 - Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

1 Peter 4:16 - However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

What it means to be a Christian is different to different people.

Christian has different meanings.  Moral has different meanings.  Scripture clearly defines the word disciple.

There is an old hymn that says, "And they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love.  Yes they will know we are Christians by our love."

Wouldn't it be amazing if it were true.  What if all Christians loved so extravagantly that they seemed different.  What if nonbelievers said, "That person must be a Christian, look how they love".  

Can You Recognize a Disciple

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." - John 13:34

When you look across a crowd do the Christians stand out.  Christians are commanded to love one another as extravagantly as Jesus loved His disciples.

Jesus loved the world so much that He was willing to die for us.  Often that is not the impression that we give the world.  What can Christians do differently to express Jesus'love to the world?

I Can Handle It.

There is a great lie that we like to tell ourselves.  When we face a truth, a rule that we know we should live by, but we are going to break it anyway.  The great lie is "I can handle it."  We know that people shouldn't drive after a couple of drinks or while texting, "But I can handle it." We know that we should avoid shady business dealings, "But I can handle it." The list is very long and we all say the lie to ourselves sometimes.  We either under anticipate the problem, over anticipate our own resolve or just make an excuse.

The first chapter of James reminds us that we need to do more than listen to the Word, we need to put it into practice.

James 1: 22-25, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Why is it so easy to believe the lies that we tell ourselves, when if someone else told us the same lie, we would never buy in?

Angry Christians

There are a lot of angry people in the world and many of them are Christians.  In the book of Ephesians, King Solomon warns us to control our anger.

Ephesians 4: 25-27 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,  and do not give the devil a foothold.

Why are we so angry?  Why do we expect nonbelievers to behave like believers?  How can we both stand up for what we know is right and still show the joy of the Lord through us?