A Godly Self-Esteem, Part 2

Let us reason together.

If you base your self-image and worth on what you do or how you behave, it will be damaged every time you make a mistake, sin, or fall short. However, if you base your self-worth on God's love, every act of repentance will be a reassurance of that love and help you understand how truly valuable you are. To do this, however, one must accept the fact that, as a human, anything other than sinful imperfection is impossible while on this earth, and everything we are and do that may be of worth is by His grace and power alone.

You are valuable enough for Him to sacrifice His beautiful, perfect, and infinite Son for your sake!!!

You are invaluable! Don't buy into the lie that you are not. That is called a lie and false humility. True humility comes from honesty and knowing the truth about who God is and who you are. Denying the worth that He has bestowed upon you is not an act of humility; it is an act of blatant disrespect towards God. It is an outright insult towards Him.

A closing thought: just as you are invaluable to Him, everyone else it too. Remember that Jesus came to save "whosoever" accepts Him. Likewise, you and I are able to do "good" only because of His grace. He uses other people to grow us, teach us, discipline us, and help us become of use for His kingdom. So, when you encounter someone in need that might seem undisciplined, sinful, disgusting, evil, "addicted," or "inferior," just remember that the only difference between you and that person is the influence that God chose to have on your life. Would you be that much different from that person if you had grown up in the same circumstances? No, you would not. If God had given you the same personality, upbringing, education, emotional disposition, etc., you probably would not be that different from this "inferior" individual.

It might very well be that He wants to use you to make that same difference on his or her life!!!

A Godly Self-Esteem, Part 1

The topic of self-esteem is sometimes shunned amongst Christians because of its seeming conflict with the concept of humility. However, self-esteem is very critical. A poor self-image can cripple you, robbing you of your ability to enjoy God, your relationships with others, your life, and your ability to fulfill God's will.

As a matter of fact, I would argue that a poor self-esteem is borderline blasphemy or sin. Why? For three reasons:

1. God made you in His image, and as such you are invaluable.
2. God clearly thinks that you are worth enough to sacrifice His Son for your sake.
3. If the spirit of God lives in you your worth in infinite because of His presence. If I filled a building with gold and sell it as a unit, its worth would be (at least) equal to its content. The same is true of everyone indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

Lets give credit to where credit is due. God said you are very valuable. You should recognize, accept, and agree with this. Otherwise, you would be disagreeing with God.

The difference between worldly and Godly self-esteem is where the self-esteem comes from and what it is based upon.

The world bases self-esteem mostly on performance, discipline, ability, or a character trait. As a Christian, this is inappropriate. It is imperative to understand that our value as people does not come from what we can do. Whatever our abilities may be, they are not our own. They were given to us by God, so our skills, abilities, and character are not a valid source of self-worth, self-esteem, or confidence; they are a source of thanksgiving and praise towards Him. God's love for you, Jesus' sacrifice, and His presence within you are the only valid source of self-esteem and much more powerful ones.

Worldly self-esteem could lead to a "better-thou" attitude. Godly self-esteem will always lead you to understanding that all people are equally valuable, there is no such thing as a "better" or "superior" person.

How to Forgive

"For if you forgive people their  trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them  go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless  and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment],  neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses." Matthew 6:14-15,  AMP

I was treated rudely today by someone  that I come into contact on a regular basis. This person reacted to something  that I said in a rude and condescending way that caused me to feel belittled  and insulted.

I was upset for approximately one  and a half hours, which means that I was not enjoying my life and my day  during that amount of time. I am tempted to say that it was a waste of  time, but this would not be true. This was not a waste of time because  I grew a little today; I learned about the importance of forgiving others  quickly and how to do it. This will help me in future instances where forgiveness  is needed.

Being angry at that person was  not productive, it did not help me in any way. I was consumed thinking  about myself and how the comment was inappropriate and wrong. It was not  until the Lord led me to start praying bout the situation and change my  focus from myself to Him, that progress could be made. The Lord lead me  to think about forgiving him and letting the offense go. This, however,  did not happen instantly.

The forgiveness process I went  through today was as follows:

1. Got Hurt
2. Got Angry
3. Starter praying about it
4. Experienced the presence of  God, his love, comfort, and healing.
5. Was able to forgive and let  go.

Hurts and offenses can help us  draw closer to God. As His healing presence ministers to us, we become  closer and more like Him. It is only after the wound has been healed by  Him that we can truly forgive and let go of the offense. If I had turned  to Him sooner, I would not have spent almost one hour and a half of my  day in emotional turmoil.

This is only an example of what  happened to me today. I have gone through this process before, with much  greater hurts and pains that I have experienced. In those instances, the  process took much longer than just a few minutes.

Regardless of the magnitude of  the pain or offense, ultimately there is only one way to truly forgive  someone. That way is to let God's love and his understanding flow through  us. As we draw closer to him, forgiving will become easier and easier.

What would happen if we lived,  walked, and had our being in his presence? How would it affect the way  we react to hurtful, offensive, or threatening situations?

enCOURAGE - Launch Announcement

It has become more and more evident  to me that encouragement is sorely needed. I have noticed this in my personal  life as well as other's.

I noticed that when I am encouraging  myself by reading scripture, listening to encouraging, inspiring, and motivational  material, well... I feel encouraged. Overall, my relationship with Christ  and walk is better, I lead a better life, get along with others better,  and I am of better service to the body of Christ and the lost.

When I do not take care of encouraging  myself, I quickly become depressed, negative, angry, tired, selfish, etc.

"If you have hope in the future,  you will have power in the present." John C. Maxwell

I have observed that some of the  most popular teacher and speakers out there focus mainly on encouraging  people. So, why are they so popular?

They are popular because they are  filling a great need of the people. People need encouragement, and they  are providing it.

However, a lot of this encouragement  is either biblically skewed or aimed at business people in the secular  world.

That is why I wanted to start the  enCOURAGE project, here at Every Day In Christ. The goal of the project  is to provide Encouraging, Faith-inducing, Hope-producing, Biblical, Christ-centered  material. This will not be a theology class or bible study, and is not  meant to replace your personal time of bible study and prayer!!! However,  it is meant to be focused on how great God is, and how great his  love for us is, and his mercy, and justice, and everyone of his infinite  characteristics.

It could be in the form of Bible  verses, videos, mp3's, quotes, articles, personal testimonials, pictures,  historical references, links, pdf's, or whatever other format may  inspire, encourage and uplift you, me and others. Hopefully, overtime,  we will amass a huge collection of Christian inspiration to suite everyone's  needs, and will become a one-stop-shop for healthy Christian encouragement!!

The idea is that you visit this  site often and go through the material on a regular basis, encouraging  yourself to grow closer to Christ and continue persevering in this race.  On the same note, I want you to go and find encouragement from any other  resources you can, and share it with us so we can enCOURAGE (give courage  to) one another.

Visit the enCOURAGE page and start  giving and receiving courage TODAY!!!

How to deal with Failure in a Productive and Encouraging Way, Part 3

I deal with failure regularly.

For example, I tend to respond  in an aggressive or mean way to certain situations, and I've been working  at changing this reaction for a more peaceful, and Christ-like, one.

This is a goal that has been given  to me by God, and is very biblical. It actually happened yesterday,  so it is fresh in my mind. However, by focusing on "improving"  rather than "mastering," I have been able to progressively improve  the way I respond to such events.

I did not handle the situation  perfectly yesterday. However, I also did not handle it like I would have  a year ago. Similarly, my failure rate at handling difficult situation  peacefully has been decreasing, which is a sign of improvement. There is  definitely room for progress, but progress has been made.

Little by little, I'll get to the  point where God and I are both satisfied with the way in which I respond  to these events, through perseverance.

Lord, help us understand that you  died at the cross for us, because we are sinful and imperfect. Help us  understand that we can trust in your sacrifice instead of trying to obtain  perfection. Help us see each failure as an opportunity to reach closer  to you, to receive more of your grace, to grow and learn.

Help us in our way to becoming  the men and women of God that you want us to be, to bless the world by  shining brightly for you. Help us to get back up, knowing that you are  leading us, helping us, and strengthening us. Help us enjoy the journey,  one day at a time, including the opportunities to get back up and try again.

How to deal with Failure in a Productive and Encouraging Way, Part 2

I use this process to analyze my failures:

1. Is this goal something that  God wants me to pursue?
This should always be the first  question. Goals and change should always be pursued following the leadership  of Christ. Otherwise, we could end up pursuing the wrong thing, and find  ourselves further away from God, and in deep trouble.
Your failure may very well be God  telling you that a change of goals is needed. What does the bible say about  your goal? Have you prayed about it?

2. Did I invest 100% of my efforts  and resources into it?
If the answer is "Yes,"  then there is a lack of knowledge and/or skill, so the next step would  be to ask someone for feedback and instruction. Maybe I am missing  a detail and need someone to show me what it is. Maybe I need more practice  at the specific thing and need to continue persevering and improving little  by little.

If the answer is "No"  then you have found the reason for the failure and now you have the chance  to try again, giving your 100%.

3. Is this a reasonable goal?
Goals need to be challenging and  force us to grow, but they also need to be humanly possible. A lot of people,  myself included, have unreasonable expectations of themselves. This is  very unhealthy. If you find yourself wanting to perform perfectly, or to  master a skill in an unreasonable amount of time, then the goal needs to  be modified.

If you wanted to become a concert  pianist, a lot of time and practice would be needed. This cannot be achieved  overnight. The same is true with any other skill. Instead of setting the  goal to "master" the skill or trait, set a goal to "improve" your performance by a specific amount.

4. Review the progress that  was made.
Look at how far you have come,  how much you have grown, what you have learned. Even though you might have  come short from the expected result, you still DID something, you LEARNED  something and, as you continue trying, it will become easier and easier,  until you finally achieve your goal.

If anything, at least you would  have discovered one way that does not work, so you'll know to avoid that  in the future.

5. Finally, it is important  to understand that regardless of the goals we set or the progress we make  either morally or physically, it will not help us achieve salvation. Salvation  only comes through Faith in Christ, nothing else. Earning salvation is  impossible. So, if you are saved, relax, take a deep breath, your eternity  is secure.

How to deal with Failure in a Productive and Encouraging Way, Part 1

"To those who by patient persistence  in well-doing [springing from piety] seek [unseen but sure] glory and honor  and [the eternal blessedness of] immortality, He will give eternal life" Romans 2:7, AMP

It is very important to have a  good method to understanding and dealing with failure. Otherwise, our sinful  nature will cause us to become discouraged, frustrated, and depressed when  we fail at any given task that we set ourselves out to achieve.

Whether it is to overcome sin,  master a character trait, learn a new skill, or accomplish a task, failure  can either empower you to continue learning and growing, or motivate you  to quit and depress you.

The first step in dealing with  failure in an uplifting and empowering way is understanding that failure  is an opportunity to grow and learn. If we do not learn from our mistakes,  only then have we truly failed.

The movie "Meet the Robinsons"  brings this point home in a great way. At one point during the movie the  main Character, a child genius who would grow to become a great leader  and inventor, fails at fixing a little device at the dinner table, in front  of a handful of people. Immediately after his failure, the small crowd  breaks out in cheers to celebrate this "great failure" of his.  People involved in the celebration then explain that failure is part of  the road towards success. They end the encouragement with the phrase "keep  moving forwards," and a food fight. The moral of the story is:

Every failure is an opportunity  to learn.
You get more than one chance  to succeed!
You can always try again!
So,
KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

Once you understand that failures  become opportunities. The next step is to analyze your failure in order  to improve on your results. Stay tuned, because I will share the process  I use to analyze my failures in tomorrow's post!!

The Way to a Great Life

Would you like to have a GREAT life?

I do too!

So I continually look to those that have lead great lives to learn from them. Several years ago I came across Zig Ziglar and have been learning from him ever since.

Zig is  a Christian motivational speaker who focuses on teaching people personal  success in all areas of life. I have read and listened to some of his books and, if you  noticed my blogroll, I also subscribe to his blog and podcasts.

A main theme that he emphasizes  through his teaching is the importance of helping others. If you listen  to him or read his books, you will inevitably come across this quote:

"You can have everything in  life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they  want." Zig Ziglar

Being focused on self will lead  you to being focused on what you want, what you have and, inevitably, what  you do NOT have. These things that you do not have will then become a priority,  because you are your own priority. Naturally, it will follow that you will  want to obtain these things.

Now, these things could be material,  such as money or cars and such, emotional, such as happiness or peace or  the benefits associated with relationships, or of a more intangible nature,  such as power or influence.

There is nothing wrong with any  of these. The problem is that, once you obtain these things, they will  soon become the norm, boring, and mundane. This will then lead you to a  different set of other "things" to obtain and, once you obtain  those, then another set, and another set. This will create a negative cycle  that will leave you unfulfilled, frustrated, and potentially addicted.

Today, I want to and suggest to  you that the way to a great life is being others-focused. I want  to encourage you to trust in Christ for your needs and focus on letting  him express his love and compassion to others through you!!

Video: Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle

Have you surrendered your  life to Christ?

Surrendering your life to Christ is not a one time event. We surrender our lives to him every time we decide to follow him instead of going our own way. And we have a faithful God that forgives us and receives us back with his arms wide open every time that we fail to surrender ourselves to Him and repent.

How Great is our God!!!



Lord, help us surrender our lives to you. Help us live lives that bring glory to you, let our every breath be an expression of worship and praise that pleases your heart and draws us, as well as others, closer to you!!!

Thank you for how amazing you are, and how great your love for us is!!!

Loving The Un-Lovable

Did you ever run into someone that truly disgusted you? Someone that you truly hated and could never possibly like, much less love? What about someone that you found highly uncomfortable to be around? Do you work with anyone like that? Are you married to someone like that?

If so, where is this difference? Where does it lie? We are all sinners, not because of what we do, because of WHO WE ARE! It is in our nature. Some of us, however, have learned to sin in a way that is more socially acceptable and have successfully deluded ourselves into thinking that we are somehow better than those people that sin in a way generally perceived as offensive or "evil."

I bathe every day, I shave two times a week, and I do not use foul language or indulge in drunkenness or drugs. I even go to church almost every week! Does this make me a better person than the dirty, drunken, homeless, smelly, thieving, lying, guy that asked you for money on the streets pretending that it was for food but potentially intending to buy more alcohol, tobacco, or drugs with it?

Just because I do not sin in the same way he does, or look better kept than him, or have addictions that are considered socially acceptable, it does not mean that I am better than he is.

As a matter of fact, the opposite is potentially true. The book "The Prodigal God" goes into great detail about this very subject. This book does an outstanding job at explaining this point by studying the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).

In this parable, even though the older, righteous, brother does everything right and properly, he does not make it into the "party." On the other hand, the materialistic, selfish, eating-with-pigs, younger brother repents and turns back. He is received with great joy and celebration while the righteous brother is left outside!!!

So what is the difference between these two brother?

The older brother was self-righteous; the younger was just selfish. The younger brother knew that what he was doing was wrong, and was able to repent when he finally came to his sense. The older brother didn't have the opportunity to repent because he believed that what he was doing was right, but it was not.

So, in a sense, we can say that God preferred to fellowship with the filthy, sinful, younger brother than with the self-righteous one.

Today I want to challenge you to inspect your prejudices. Do you think you are better than others, even if they are "addicted", "sinful", "disgusting", or even "evil" people? How does God think about them?

If you had a choice, which one of the two brothers would you rather be? Which one do you actually resemble the most? Keep in mind that neither of them was particularly "less sinful" than the other.

I encourage you to start thinking about others in the same way that God thinks about them. If you do not know how he sees them, ask Him. He will answer!!

Lord, thank you for your goodness and love. Help us extend mercy, compassion, and love to everyone we come into contact with. Help us see our prejudices and judgments, and help up look at others through your eyes, specially those people that we find particularly "sinful", disturbing, or disgusting. Help us be like you towards everyone.

Joy in the Presence of God

"You make known to me the path of life; in your  presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11, ESV

I have spoken before about walking in the  presence of God. The first time I was introduced to this concept, it was  through a book called "The Practice of the Presence of God."  The Wikipedia article on this book uses two quotes from the book to summarize, in a very effective way, the  general ideal of the concept.

"That he had always been governed by  love, without selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love  of GOD the end of all his actions, he had found reasons to be well satisfied  with his method. That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from  the ground for the love of GOD, seeking Him only, and nothing else, not  even His gifts."

"That in order to form a habit of conversing  with GOD continually, and referring all we do to Him; we must at first  apply to Him with some diligence: but that after a little care we should  find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty."

According to the Psalm quoted above, there  are two great benefits to developing this continual sense of the presence  of God. The first is the a sense of joy to accompany us through our days  here on earth. The second refers to the everlasting pleasures that we will  experience in Heaven. I think these benefits are enough motivation to pursue  this quality. However, I must admit that I have not applied the initial  diligence that Brother Lawrence mentioned in his book.

This psalm is definitely not the only place  in scripture that this concept appears. Similar concepts can be found at  other places that seem to imply the same sense of continual communication  and focus on Christ. Here are a few more:

"You keep him in perfect peace whose  mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah  26:3, ESV (emphasis added)

"Rejoice always, pray without  ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is  the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,  ESV (emphasis added)

"do not be anxious about anything,  but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let  your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6, ESV (emphasis  added)

Is there any other quality that the Christian  could pursue that is more important than maintaining open and continual  communication with his master?

Praying In Jesus' Name

I hear many prayers ended with the  staple phrase "In Jesus' name." Some of those prayers have been,  and continue to be, prayed by me, but what does it mean to pray in Jesus'  name?

"In that day you will ask nothing  of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my  name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:23-24, ESV

I have discovered that there are  certain kinds of prayers that God will not delay in answering. Other prayers,  however, seems to go unaddressed at best or rejected at worst. What kinds  of prayer cause the father to hasten to answer?

The answer to that question is  in what has become a popular prayer ending. When Jesus said "pray  in my name" what he was actually saying was, "pray according  to my character, heart, and will."

When our prayers match the will  of God for our lives, God will hasten to answer. When our prayers are faithless,  selfish, and shallow, his answer will be "NO."

A few years ago, I went through  and old testament survey class. In this particular class, the instructor  was talking about the incident of the golden calf in the wilderness and  idolatry. God used the class to deeply inspire me to find the idols in  my life. I asked the Lord to show me what those idols were and, within  24 hours, my prayer had been answered.

I didn't ask God for money, or  a nice car, or a perfect life. Those types of things are very secondary  to God. God is more concerned with our hearts than he is with our outward  circumstances. In fact, he will use those undesirable outward circumstances  to work on our hearts and draw us closer to Him.

My prayer focused on God's will  for my life, the condition of my heart, and my relationship with Him. THAT  is what matters to God the most. Health, material stuff, and comfort, are  all secondary and will follow with time, as a by product. Remember, "seek  first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these {material}  things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33, ESV (contextual clarification added).

So today, I want to challenge you  to look at your heart and the things you ask him for. Ask Him to help you  reach a closer level of intimacy with him. Ask Him for the things that  He thinks are important! Do this, always, with an attitude of thanksgiving,  reverence, and worship towards Him, and watch Him transform your life!!!

Little Foxes

"Catch the foxes for us, the  little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom"  Song of Solomon 2:12, ESV

Vineyards and wine are usually  meant to represent celebration and rejoicing in the bible. In this case,  Solomon's beloved is addressing him. Even though this passage is addressing  the marital relationship, I firmly believe that it can be applied to all  aspects of life, not just marriage and sex.

So vineyards, in that sense, represents  those things in life that are enjoyable. The foxes then represent things  that are unpleasant or undesirable. Now, there are a lot of things in life  that are unpleasant, but we can not "catch" (or control) a lot  of them. At this point in my life, it represents anger, frustration, intolerance,  fear, insecurities, and such. These qualities are destroying my vineyard  one day, one event, at a time, and that is NOT acceptable.

Are you OK with these little foxes  spoiling your life? Do you let them run wild and ruing your relationships,  your marriage, your job?

Men and women have to catch their  own foxes. However, in the context of marriage, note that Solomon's beloved  asked HIM to catch the foxes "for us." It is the husband's responsibility  to do the hunting in this case, for the sake of the marriage, but what  are we hunting?

"For we do not wrestle against  flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against  the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces  of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12, ESV

We are hunting demons! Those demons  that incite us towards selfishness, anger, pride, and every form of sin.  And how do we fight them? By reaching ever closer to Christ.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit,  and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians  3:17

Today I want to challenge you to  take a look at your heart. Do you see these forces at work within you?  Can you find any trace of selfishness, pride, anger, bitterness, or any  other form of sin there? If you are like everyone else I've ever met, you  would have answered yes to all those previous questions. If so, I encourage  you to reach out to God, ask Him for help in reaching ever closer to Him,  learning how to walk in his presence every day, in freedom!

Realistic Expectations - Closing Thought

What if, instead of "expecting" or "wanting" from people, we start expecting and wanting to express Christ to everyone, specially when they don't deserve it?

Realistic Expectations From Children

Everything we have discussed so far  regarding expectations certainly applies to our children. They are broken  and sinful human being, just like you and I, and they need the same amount  of grace and patience as everyone else. However, there are additional things  to keep in mind with these little ones.

Children do not understand right  and wrong the same way mature people do. And I am using the word "mature" carefully here, because there are some grown-ups that do not understand  this very well either, but that is a different post.

Similarly, they do not have the  same capacity for though, understanding, memory, forethought as we do,  so we need to keep this in mind during our day to day interactions with them.

It is a running joke in my house  that I need to learn how to deal with children. My wife is extremely gifted  in this area; I am not. A few months after we were first married, we were  keeping my newly "acquired" three year old nephew with us for  the weekend. After telling him repeatedly to not play around the house in the way he was, I got frustrated and decided to have a "teaching  moment" with him. So, I sat him down and proceeded to ask him, with  the full expectation to get an answer from him, "why he was choosing  to behave this way." I actually sat him down and asked him that, verbatim.

The child looked at me as if I  were from a different planet. He had no idea what I was talking about.  My wife busted out laughing at me!!! The truth is that the child did not  have the capacity to remember that I had told him not to do what he was  doing. He might focus on other things for a few minutes, but after a while  he would come back to the item of interest. This is natural, children of  that age have a short attention span and need constant repetition in order  to learn a specific behavior.

On the same note, children do not  understand the concept of danger. They do not know that cars or electricity  can kill them. They do not even know what death is. They have no concept of cost, or value, or money.

It is important to understand their  capacity so, when they do something that frightens or frustrates us,  we can respond to the situation out of our understanding, instead of personalizing  their actions as disobedience, neglect, carelessness, etc., and reacting in anger.

Understanding their limitations  and the developmental stages of children will allow you to set realistic  expectations for your child. And it will also allow you to help them grow,  learn, and discipline them in a more effective way. You will be able to  interpret what they do, or don't do, not as an act of rebellion, but as  a natural part of growing. Having realistic expectations will not also  help you be a better parent and teacher, but it will also allow you to have  a greater level of peace in your daily interaction with them.

When raising children, it is also  important to take into consideration their personalities, strengths, and  weaknesses in order to set realistic expectations for them. Every child  is different, so the expectation you set for each child should be different  as well.

Realistic Expectations from Yourself

After looking at the expectations  we have of everyone else, it is important to look at the expectations we  put on ourselves.

There are two different  groups of people, those that expect too much of themselves, and those that  are too lenient and expect too little of themselves. I fall in the group  that has unrealistically high expectations of oneself. I expect perfection  and, when I do not achieve it, I beat myself down. This is a very unhealthy  and self-destructive habit.

Neither of these groups are healthy,  and they both have their own risks and consequences. Therefore, it is important  to understand that we need to set reasonable expectations for ourselves.  No one can be uplifting and encouraging 100% of the time. Likewise, no  one can be peaceful and Christ-like at all times, or know exactly what  to say or do, but what about 80% of the time? or 70%?

I think  it is possible to get to the point where we are content 80% of the time,  or at peace, or joyful, or loving and accepting towards other, or humble,  or Christ-like. Naturally, we can not get to this point of our own accords,  we need God' grace, leadership, and strength to accomplish this. The good  new is that God does want us to get to this point.

The other 20% or 30% is where we  need God's grace in the form of forgiveness. It is those times that we  need to humble ourselves, ask God to help us do better, and thank him for  His sacrifice at the cross and his forgiveness. It is also at those points  that we are reminded of how much we need him, and we should learn to thank  him for keeping us humble. Remember Paul's thorn?

"So to keep me from becoming  conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn  was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me  from becoming conceited." 2 Corinthians 12:7, ESV

I do not believe God wants us to  achieve perfection during our stay here on earth. He did not believe this  was possible (Philippians 2:6, 1 John 1:8), but He does want us to go through  the sanctification process, even if it is for some partial level of improvement  (Hebrews 6:1). The times in life when we go through difficulties or fall  short are meant to draw us closer to Him, to help us build greater intimacy  with Him, to keep us humble so we can minister to others effectively and, when time comes, we will make it into that  promised land without pain, or tears, or hunger, or thirst (James 1:1-18).

Embrace the fact that you are a  sinful creature and you need his grace and forgiveness as much as anyone  else. Forgive others. Forgive yourself. Strive to live a life that is,  for the most part, free from bondage, free to love and be loved, full of  righteousness, self control, and the other aspects of Christian freedom.  All of these flowing from your intimacy and relationship with Christ, but  not necessarily a perfect life.

Realistic Expectations from your Spouse

God called my wife my "helper" (Genesis 2:18). What if what she is supposed to help me with is becoming  more like Christ by pointing out those aspects of my person that are NOT  like Him?

This does not necessarily make  me happy. It is painful and uncomfortable, but the results are well worth  the inconvenience. However, lets clarify a couple of points before we get  ahead of ourselves.

When I say "by pointing out",  I do not mean that she actually hands me, or reads, or even discusses a  list of every one of my flaws with me. Please do not do this to your spouse!!!  I mean that, through our every day interactions, my flaws, such as impatience,  selfishness, temper, come to the surface. The Holy Spirit will use these  instances to convict me and point out these sinful tendencies within me.  Note that I did not mention anything about my spouse pointing out anything  to me! These situations happen naturally when two (or more) sinful and  imperfect people spend extended amounts of time together.

In an ideal world, our spouses  would be nothing but kind, encouraging, serving, loving, and Christ-Like.  However, we can no more expect this of them as we can expect it of ourselves.  Therefore, I think it is wise to understand that they will hurt us, they  will do and say things that will get under our skins and, in the more unfortunate  instances, deeply hurt our hearts. It is important not to expect perfection  from our spouses, but expect that they will, however much they may love  us, behave in a way that is consistent with the sinful nature that we all  share.

Miscommunications, changes of plans,  bad days, are all natural things and we should learn to expect these things.  We need to start expecting that life is not all fun and games. On the other  hand, we should also focus on the fact that, when undesirable circumstances  arise, we will be able to resolve them quickly and keep moving forward.  If we focus on the "undesirables" too much, we will depress ourselves.

Once we understand this, and we  can look at our spouses, their words, and actions, through eyes of understanding  and compassion, our marital relationships will start becoming more  and more like Christ wants them to be.

What would happen if you were able  to express forgiveness, patience, and love to your spouse in the  way it is describe in 1 Corinthians 13? And what if, at the same time,  your spouse had the same attitude towards you? How much more enjoyable  would our lives with our life partners be?

Realistic Expectations From the Church

The church is made of broken people.  Those that form the church grew up in the world, and they share the same  brokenness, mindsets, attitudes, imperfections that the world has. If we  are to express love, understanding, patience, kindness, etc., to  the lost, how much more should we express these to our brothers and sisters  in Christ? We should learn to expect that, out of their brokenness, our  brothers and sisters in Christ will hurt us just as much as anyone in the  world might.

Now, let me clarify that I am not  talking about abusiveness here. If a Christian is purposely sinning and  hurting people, there is a much different dynamic at work and it needs  to be address through the discipline process that the bible outlines, but  that is a different topic. I am talking about every-day hurts and offenses  here.

What would happen if, instead of  expecting our brothers and sisters to behave according to our own definitions  (and expectation) of sinless perfection, we expect them to hurt us  every  once in a while and choose, beforehand, to express forgiveness to them?  What if we expected them to make the human mistakes that we are so eager  to forgive when we make them ourselves? What if we expected them to have  different opinions, mindsets, ways of thinking and understanding than we  do?

What would happen if every Christian  chose this attitude, instead of choosing to become offended and react out  of their own hurt and pain?

I think that we would experience  a much different church, a more relevant, tolerant, and understanding church,  a church that is much more appealing to the lost as well as the saved,  where members flock to in order to experience true, intimate, SAFE, fellowship.  I think we would see much more unity in the body, instead of church and  denominational splits every other week.

What are your expectations of your  fellow believers? What attitude do you choose to have towards your brothers  and sisters? What attitude do you think Jesus would have you choose towards  them?

Realistic Expectations From the World

What do you expect from the world  and others?

The bible is clear that we should  expect to be persecuted, but do we really have this expectation?

Why do we get so upset at the world  when they promote sinfulness? Why are we surprised at hearing the sin that  goes on in the world?

Let me add that sometimes we are,  hypocritically, surprised and even offended at the sins of the world; and  yet the church is doing the same things (i.e.: divorce, sexual immorality,  pornography, materialism, you name it). Why are we so surprised that lost  people behave like lost people?

We should learn to expect the world  to behave sinfully, idolizing everything and anything that they think might  satisfy that craving deep within all of us. This craving, that in Christians  should be satisfied by Jesus alone, leaves those that do not have Christ  feeling empty and running to anything to find satisfaction. We need to  learn, and make a habit of, seeing this as a deep rooted need that can  only be satisfied by Jesus. The same need that is in all of us, instead  of judging them for being "sinful" or doing things that you might  not do.

And this understanding needs to  be based on a sense of compassion towards them and thanksgiving towards  God. Thanksgiving because he chose to reveal himself to you and not to  them, yet. Out of this sense of compassion and thanksgiving, our hearts  should plea to God, in reverence and love, for him to have mercy on the  world and open their eyes and hearts so they may see that He is the answer  that they are looking for.

This is the compassionate and loving  attitude that we should have toward the world. When everything is said  and done, the world is really just as sinful as any saved Christian. The  only difference between the two is that God chose to extend his grace towards  the latter and not towards the earlier group.

If you had been born under the  same circumstances as they were, and God had not extended his saving grace  towards you, would you be that much different from them? Would you want  to be shown mercy and compassion instead of judgment and indifference?  How did Jesus treat the lost and hurt? Ask yourself these questions the  next time that you are confronted with something or someone that you find  offensive, and you will see your heart attitudes towards the lost change,  and you will find yourself able to love you enemies, those who hurt you  and persecute you, with greater ease.

Today, I challenge you to accept  those that do not have Christ in their lives as people, just like you or  I, who need Him, but do not have him and, therefore, do not know how to  satisfy that God-sized/shaped hole within their hearts.

Father, help us by like you towards  our enemies. Help us extend your love towards those that do not have you.  Help us see our own sinfulness and sinful nature more clearly, that we  may understand that any difference that there might between the Christians  and the lost is not because of our doing, but because you chose to be gracious  to us, reveal yourself to us, and make us new creatures. Let this revelation  change our heart towards you and those that hurt and offend us. Let it  produce humility and love in our hearts, that we might be more like Christ  and less like the judgmental Pharisees. Let us understand that our salvation  is your doing, and not our own, that we might boast in you and your grace,  and not on our accomplishments and strength, which are null. Thank you  for your amazing grace Lord, let us shine brightly for you, with unwavering  and unconditional love towards everyone, because we all need it. Let us  be transformed, by the renewing of our minds, and the way we look at, and  understand, the world.

President's Day - An Occasion to Worship Jesus

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Romans 13:1 ESV

Every authority in heaven and on earth is established by God, including our president. As such, it is my deep conviction that the person that holds this most influential position be treated with out-most respect. Whether you live in the USA, Argentina, China, or anywhere else in the world, I believe this should be your attitude towards whichever leaders God has chosen to place over you.

Sometimes I agree with the decisions taken by the president and some times I do not. However, on this President's day I wanted to address an issue that is close to my heart. Even though I do not always agree with our current president, I respect him and accept him as the authority that God has placed in my life. However, I have observed that some people, including Christians, do not do this. Instead they complain and insult him, and by doing so, the indirectly complain and insult God. After all, it was Him the one that chose him as a leader.

While in the wilderness, David was being pursued by Saul, who was trying to kill him. At this time, Saul was the King of Israel and, as such, David's King. At one instance, Saul ventures into a cave where David and his men were hiding. As Saul was relieving himself, David's men were encouraging him to take advantage of the situation and dispose of this despised tyrant. However tempted he might have been, David did not do this:

"And the men of David said to him, "Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, 'Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.'" Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. He said to his men, "The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed." "1 Samuel 24:4-6 ESV

The attitude that David shows is one of respect for the authority that God had bestowed onto the man Saul. It is an attitude of worship toward God and his decisions. God is fully capable of disposing of Saul whenever he deems it appropriate so, at this time, David chose to worship God by respecting His decision to anoint Saul as king and lord over him.

On this day and age, God has chosen Barack Obama as His anointed to lead this nation. As such, I hope that this President's day you bow your heart to Jesus and worship Him by accepting and respecting those that He chose to put in authority over you.

Thank you Lord for the Leadership of Mr. Barack Obama. I ask that you guide and lead Him according to your purposes. Guard and keep him against every force that wishes him evil and, above all else, bless him and his family with a deeper intimacy with you, a relationship with you that will touch every aspect of his life, including his position as leader of America.