worry and anxiety will grip my life when…

worry and anxiety will grip my life when i begin to rely on anything other than GOD.

philippians 4.19 (gnt), and with all HIS abundant wealth through CHRIST JESUS, my GOD will supply all your needs.

and GOD not only cares and not only is HE willing but he has the abundant wealth.  HE has the funds, the money to meet my every need.

paul says GOD will supply all that you ever need.  GOD has promised to provide everything that i need, not everything that i desire.  in fact, no loving parent ever gives his child everything he desires.  you as a parent know better than they do what they need. 

and the same is true of GOD.  sometimes as a loving parent HE will say no.  sometimes as a loving parent HE won’t give us everything we ask.  but HE will give us what we need. 

listen to these words from a prayer at the end of proverbs in chapter 30.8-9 (lb).  give me neither poverty nor riches.  give me just enough to satisfy my needs.  the verse goes on to say, for if i grow rich i may become content without GOD and if i’m poor i may steal and thus insult GOD’s holy name.

the writer of this prayer was saying, “i understand myself.  LORD, i know if i have too much my temptation is to not trust YOU.  i want it to be enough in my life just to be content that you meet my need.” 

can you be content with that?  it’s hard in the culture in which we live and the county in which we live to be content with that.  i love what matt atkins says, “the problem with contentment is that i always want more of it.”  that’s a great statement.  we are a want more generation. 

just a thought from the front porch…

reminded that HE supplies our needs…

listen.  GOD wants you to ask daily not so HE can hear you beg but because we have short memories.  GOD wants us to be reminded that HE is the one who supplies our needs.

in the old testament, when the people of israel were wandering through the wilderness, GOD fed them every single day for forty years with something that the bible calls manna which literally translated means “what is it?”  so everyday, they would get up out of bed, walk outside and on the ground they would gather up what is it? to eat every day.  every breakfast – manna, every lunch – manna, every dinner – manna. 

and they got tired of it but every day – day in, day out like clockwork GOD was faithful to provide.  GOD did it that way so that every 24 hours they would have to trust GOD to meet their needs. 

what is your manna?  what is it that every 24 hours it drives you to say “GOD, i trust YOU.  i declare my dependence on YOU.” 

look at this… matthew 6.34 (msg), give your entire attention to what GOD is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  GOD will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. 

when the time comes…

i’m to seek GOD as the one who answers the needs of my life.  then we daily declare our dependence upon HIM.   

just a thought from the front porch…

day by day needs HE will supply…

now notice something.  two times in the space of six words GOD reminds us that this prayer, the LORD’s prayer is day by day.  HE says, give us today our daily bread.  notice it says, daily.

it’s the only time in the entire bible that this particular greek word is used.  in fact, this particular word baffled scholars and translators for a number of years because they couldn’t find any record of it in any of the ancient manuscripts, they couldn’t find it anywhere in classical secular greek literature.  it was nowhere to be found. 

until, in the 1940s when they discovered the dead sea scrolls where they discovered hundreds of fragments of the bible, they also discovered many secular writings.  and in those fragments was this word. 

now they discovered that this word was a word for a daily shopping list for that which was perishable and would only be good for today.  so what HE is showing is we are praying give us our daily rations.  not enough for tomorrow, not enough for next week.  but one day at a time. 

now this is hard for us to connect with this in our world because we not only have today’s food but tomorrow’s food and next week’s food setting in our freezer. 

listen, do we really need to buy toilet paper 48 rolls at a time?  well, if there’s ever a diarrhea epidemic you will be set! 

here’s the point.  in 21st century pinellas county daily bread is not much of a felt need.  it still comes from GOD and we shouldn’t take it for granted but there are other needs that we have that are more day to day. 

for some of you you have an emotional need that really is a day to day issue of whether or not you’re going to trust GOD. 

some of you are in a marriage relationship and for you right now the issue is not whether you will have food tomorrow.  the issue is can i trust GOD to keep my marriage together today.  for some it’s an issue of finances or it could be an addiction.  it’s probably not food that’s the day to day issue in your life.  but our need for GOD is still just as great. 

it reminds me of a prayer i read a while back.  “dear LORD, so far today i’m doing all right.  i’ve not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or self-indulgent.  i’ve not lied, complained, cursed, or eaten any chocolate.  i’ve not given into temptation and used my credit card once today.  but i’ll be getting out of bed in a minute and i think i’m going to need your help.”

there are issues in your life where day to day you have to trust GOD. 

just a thought from the front porch…

some barriers we have to asking GOD…

notice here in matthew 7 verse 11 (nlt), if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly FATHER give good gifts to those who ask him.  we are to ask GOD to meet the needs in our lives.

now there are some barriers that people have to asking GOD to meet their needs. 

one is that we are not really convinced that GOD could love us like that. 

you may have truly given your life to CHRIST.  you may be truly forgiven of your sins, but you still live in bondage to your past and with an overwhelming sense of guilt and condemnation. 

but GOD says to those who are in CHRIST JESUS there’s no condemnation.  and one of the things that satan will use in our life to keep us anxious and worried is he keeps playing old tapes from our past.  so to break satan’s hold you must actually believe that GOD loves you and HE cares about your needs, that HE’s interested in your life and that HE is your father and HE delights in you.

another barrier is our view of GOD, our view that GOD is kind of distant and occupied with the bigger things in life and HE doesn’t really care about the details of my life. 

or maybe even more seriously.  some of us are not really convinced that prayer really matters or changes things. 

we’re kind of self-sufficient so we try to solve every one of life’s problems on our own but then we can’t figure it out and we get desperate so we turn to GOD in prayer.  rather than prayer being our first response, it’s our last resort. 

just a thought from the front porch…

maybe that’s what you need…

i don’t know what your day is like but you might be feeling pretty desperate right now, and wondering how am i going to make it because of my inadequacy or my guilt within.  GOD says, “I know you better than anyone and I love you better than anyone and I’ve got a plan for your life.”  lean on that truth.  that’s a rock that we need in our lives.  GOD is our rock.  if you depend on anything else, anyone else and eventually they’ll feel like jell-o.  GOD’s the rock that we need. 

i’d encourage you to write down, GOD is bigger than… what?  what problem are you facing?  write it in. it’s your step of faith saying i realize i need to put this in perspective and realize GOD’s bigger than even that problem.  maybe you need to write, GOD’s bigger than me.  maybe you need to write, GOD’s bigger than some success that you just had in your life.  GOD is bigger. 

in the old testament, there’s a book by the name of job.  it’s a pretty long and depressing book for most of it.  at the beginning job has a lot of problems.  everything in his life falls apart.  the middle part of the book, the larger part of it, is job’s friends giving him bad advice about what to do about those problems.  it reminds us that friends don’t always give good advice. 

but at the end of the book job meets with GOD.  he’s been asking GOD all throughout the book, why is this happening to me?  and at the end of the book job meets with GOD and GOD never tells him why.  HE never answers his question.  GOD just comes and says, “listen job.  I want you to hear how great I am.”  and GOD tells him about HIS greatness.  and that was enough. 

that’s what job needed to hear.  that satisfied his heart.  in the end he didn’t so much need to hear the answer to his questions as he needed to meet the person of GOD and realize how great HE was.  how great HE is.  at the end it wasn’t so much getting the answer to why as seeing the who. 

and maybe that’s what you need – to realize GOD’s greatness.

just a thought from the front porch… 

too high expectations…

john mcinroe back a few years wrote a book about his life.  at one point in his life he was married to tatum o’neal.  now she responded to what he had written about her in a barbara walters’ interview. 

in the interview she talked about her life, growing up with her father ryan o’neal and the lack of love she felt there, the marriage to john, the wrong on both sides, the anger that was in that marriage.  but particularly she talked about her children toward the end of the interview.  she said this, “i have never known unconditional love.  i get it from them.  they are the purest human beings in the world.”

that’s a nice thought but the problem with that is she was setting herself up for another fall.  those kids can’t love her unconditionally any more than anybody else can in this world. 

if you’re looking to your children to give you perfect love so you can make it in this world you’re in big trouble.  because they’re just human beings like you and me.  and anytime we expect out of a human being what only GOD can give then there is incredible stress.  great weight on the relationship and a crash is on the way.

listen.  what need have you been expecting some other person to meet that only GOD can meet?   what need do you right now need to do a transfer and realize i’ve been asking them to meet a need that i  need to expect GOD to meet in my life. maybe it’s just the biggest need, the greatest most urgent need in your life right now.  whatever it is GOD can meet that need.  take it to HIM.  talk to HIM about it.  tell HIM about it.

just a thought from the front porch…

HE enjoys meeting the needs of HIS children…

we are looking here at the phrase in the LORD’s prayer, hallowed be YOUr name or honored be GOD’s name.  now we are looking a many of the different names in the bible of GOD and how each name corresponds to a need that we may have.

now when you think about honoring GOD’s name, don’t forget the one at the beginning of the LORD’s prayer.  our FATHER.  FATHER is one of GOD’s names.  one of the ways you and i honor GOD’s name is by acting like HE is our FATHER.

those of you who are parents.  suppose you’re driving home and one of your kids – let’s say they’re eight – you find your kid setting out on the street corner and they have a sign scrawled in crayon that says, “will work for food.” 

how would you feel as a parent, driving past that?  you’d stop and go, “what are you doing?!?”  and they’d look up at you and say, “you’ve taken care of me for eight years now.  i figure i’m on my own now.” 

that’s crazy.  you’d say, “get back in the house!  first of all you’re embarrassing me being out here.  and secondly, i want to take care of you.  it’s my job.  i like to take care of you.  i like to meet the needs in your life.  it’s what i’m supposed to do.”  

GOD enjoys meeting the needs of HIS children.  HE enjoys meeting your need.  HE desires to meet your need.  and you and i honor GOD’s name when we realize HE wants to be our FATHER and meet our needs. 

look at what the bible has to say about GOD’s heart towards us.  psalm 79.8 (tlb), let your tenderhearted mercies meet our needs.

did you know that GOD has a tender heart towards you?  and because of that tender heart, HE wants to meet the needs of your life. 

HE is our FATHER. 

the bible tells us in philippians 4.19 (nirv), GOD will meet all your needs. HE will meet them in keeping with HIS wonderful riches that come to you because you belong to CHRIST JESUS.

i have to admit, it doesn’t say HE will meet all of our greed.  but he will meet all of our needs.  everything we need in life, GOD will meet those needs.  that is HIS promise.  why does he do it?  because HE’s our FATHER.  because HE loves us.

just a thought from the front porch…

HE will meet my deepest needs…

we are looking at the LORD’s prayer and right after addressing GOD as FATHER JESUS says, first thing say honored be GOD’s name – right up there at the beginning.  before you even make all of your requests, recognize who GOD really is. 

now you might ask how does honoring GOD’s name make a difference in our everyday lives?  how does it bring peace in this stress filled life that we live?   

well GOD has hundreds of names in the bible.  and we are going to look at what happens when we recognize GOD’s name for what it really means.  what happens?  what does it mean?

honoring GOD’s name means i acknowledge that GOD is able to meet my deepest needs. 

now in studying the old testament you find that GOD has many different names and the amazing thing about GOD’s names is that for each of them there is a need in our lives.  we did a series on this  on the front porch. GOD’s names show us how HE can meet the deepest needs in our life. 

for instance, in the old testament, GOD has a name jehovah shalom which means “the LORD is peace.”  that name tells us what GOD wants to do in our lives.  that GOD wants to reduce my stress in life. 

JESUS talked about that in john 14.27 (ncv) when he said, MY peace i give you. I do not give it to you as the world does.  so don’t let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” 

now the difference between the world’s kind of peace and GOD’s peace is this.  the world’s peace is based on circumstances, on the circumstances that are good sometimes and bad others.  so some days you’re at peace and some days you’re in anxiety. 

but GOD’s peace is based on GOD’s character.  GOD’s peace is always there because his character never changes.  GOD’s name – jehovah shalom – reminds us that GOD wants to meet that need in our lives.

just a thought from the front porch… 

one of the greatest needs in your life…

one of the greatest needs in your life is to have the approval of your father.  even if your dad was an absolute jerk there’s still something inside of you that wanted to have that connection and you wished and longed for that even if it were painful or abusive.  you want that approval of your father.  but you may never get it, truthfully.  the truth is your father may be unable to give it because of his own hurts and pain.  or your father may have walked out of your life years and years ago.  or been in your life but totally detached and he’s not going to change.  or your father may have died. 

but there is a father who knows you intimately.  and loves you completely.  and accepts you unconditionally.  and wants you.  you can go to that FATHER for HIS approval and for HIS acceptance and for HIS advice and HE is your heavenly FATHER.  that FATHER – GOD – has seen every moment of your life.  HE watched you being formed in your mother’s womb.  HE watched you take your first breath.  HE watched every tear that’s fallen, every success you’ve had, every joy, every regret, every jealousy, every envy.  HE knows the good, the bad and the ugly about you and HE still loves you.  and HE wants you as HIS child.  and HE wants you connected not just created. 

unlike your earthly father HE understand you completely.  turn to HIM.  say, “FATHER, i’m coming home to YOU.”

maybe you’ve allowed the experiences of your human father to warp your view of your heavenly FATHER.  i urge you to trade your misconceptions for the truth today.  pray this prayer.  say “dear FATHER!  i want YOU to be my heavenly FATHER and i want to be YOUr child.  i want to be connected to YOU not just created by YOU.  so i ask YOU to accept me into YOUr family.  by faith i put my trust in YOU and YOUr SON, JESUS CHRIST.  thank YOU for sending JESUS to teach me about YOU.  thank YOU for being a caring, consistent, close FATHER.  i want to relax and i want to start trusting YOU today.  would YOU give me the inner peace that comes from knowing YOU?” 

(now you are able to truly pray as JESUS taught you to pray.  you now can say, our FATHER because HE now truly is your FATHER.)

“in YOUr name i pray.  amen.”

just a thought from the front porch…

a gift to give every day…

we have eaten the turkey been to the parade and now it is the celebration of giving.  but wisdom says there is something that we are to give every day.  james 3.17 (msg), real wisdom, GOD’s wisdom….is overflowing with mercy and blessings.

we are testing ourselves here on the porch at whether we are wise or not and we are asking ourselves some questions.  here is today’s.  do you minimize other’s mistakes?  if you do then you are wise. 

do you ever let people go or do you keep hounding their past mistakes?  do you never set them free even if they have asked for forgiveness?  “remember the time you did…”  you’re always holding on and bringing up the past for leverage.  that’s dumb.  if i’m wise, i won’t emphasize your mistakes.  i’ll be full of mercy.  i’ll give you what you need, not what you deserve.

there were these two guys at a convention with their wives. they hadn't seen each other for a long time so they sat in the lobby all night talking.  now they knew they would be in trouble with their wives but they just kept on talking.  finally they went back to their rooms.

the next morning they happened to see each other and the one asked, “what did your wife think?”  the other guy said, “well when i walked in the room my wife got all historical.”  don’t you mean hysterical.”  no historical.  she told me everything that i had ever done wrong. 

do you do that?  proverbs 17.9 (tlb) says, love forgets mistakes.  nagging about them parts even the best of friends. 

rick warren say, “you dom’t rub it in, you rub it out.”  listen, if i stumble and make a mistake, i don’t need you to judge me, i need you to encourage me.

what about when you’re home and somebody forgets something – forgets to fill the car with gas and you run out on the freeway, somebody forgets to bring the mail in, how do you handle that?  do you rub it in or do you rub it out? 

wisdom….is overflowing with mercy and blessings. blessings is kind actions, it’s something you do.  you don’t just show sympathy, you don’t just say, “i feel for you… you brought it on yourself.”  you do something about it.  you take action, it’s a kindness.  it’s being a doer of the word.  james 2.13 (msg), kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time. don’t judge.

if i’m wise i won’t point out your mistakes.

just a thought from the front porch…

sensitive to other people…

we are looking in the book of james in the new testament in the bible at what is a mature person. it says that a mature person is sensitive to people.  are you sensitive to people?

james 2.8 (niv), if you really keep the royal law found in scripture, “love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

a mature person is sensitive to people.  he doesn’t just see his own needs but he sees other people’s needs.  he understands their hurts.  he’s not just interested in himself.

kids when they’re immature, only see themselves, “i want this, i want that, i don’t care about anybody else.”  GOD says that love, being interested in others is a mark of maturity.

now james gets very specific. james 2.1-6, don’t show favoritism, don’t be a snob, don’t look down on people, don’t judge by appearance, don’t insult people, don’t exploit people.  so this test of maturity is love: how do you treat people.

the apostle paul in the new testament said, “i may win all kinds of people to the LORD, i may build great church buildings, i may be on television [well maybe he didn’t say that but you get the idea], i may give my money to the poor, but if i have not love, i’m as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal; it just doesn’t amount to much.

matthew 25, JESUS says, “at the judgment they will stand before the LORD and HE’ll say, ‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and in prison and you visited me.’  we’ll say, ‘when LORD, when did we do that?  when were you sick and we visited you?  when were you in prison and when were you thirsty and we gave you drink?’ 

verse 45 (msg), HE will answer them, “I’m telling the solemn truth: whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.”

now it is interesting to note that in the matthew 25 judgment the one thing we’ll be judged for is how we treated other people.  not how many bible verses we knew, how many times we were in church, not what great a reputation we had as CHRISTian leaders, but how we treated other people.

just a thought from the front porch…

GOD and rejection…

psalm 27.1 (tev), the LORD is my light and my salvation.  i will fear no one. 

HE is my salvation.  david knew that no matter what happened, GOD would always love him.  the bible says nothing can separate me from the love of GOD.  the bible says, I will never leave you nor forsake you.  it doesn't matter if somebody else rejects you, GOD won't.  GOD will always love you.  HE will always accept you. 

now your fear of rejection is based and rooted in two things.  one is the idea that we all need to be loved.  that's a fact.  we do.  we all desperately need massive doses of love in our life to be healthy individuals.  and GOD says, “i want to love you.”  GOD is love. 

you need to be loved.  that is a deep profound need that you have.  we all have that need to be loved. but what causes the fear of rejection is the false idea that we think that other people ought to be able to fully meet that need in our lives.  when you expect somebody else to meet all your need for love, you're asking for trouble.  you're setting yourself up for hurt.  you're setting yourself for the fear of rejection.  when you look to any other person besides GOD to meet all your love needs, they can't.  there is no human being alive that can meet all your needs.  there is no human being alive that can love you as completely and as fully as you need to be loved. there's just isn't and there never will be.  only GOD can do that.

one step in overcoming the fear of rejection is you've got to put GOD in first place because HE's the only one who can ultimately meet all your needs. 

does GOD ever use other people?  sure.  does GOD ever love us through other people?  of course.  does GOD want us to love others?  yes.  does HE want to use us as channels of love? absolutely. 

but, you will never have all your needs met by any person or group of people.  GOD never meant it to be that way.  they just don't have enough love.  human love is limited.  GOD’s love is unlimited, unconditional.  no matter how deep your need is, HE can fill it.  and HE never runs dry.  human beings run dry. 

just a thought from the front porch…

you're not a burden…

somebody wrote this in the la times opinion page, the editorial page.

it says, there is a lot of criticism of people who do not want to work especially if they collect welfare. most people prefer to work and that is fine but others may prefer to sit in the park, go to the beach or observe the wonders of nature.

now those who dislike working should not be penalized by depriving them of the benefits of our society. there is plenty for all. everybody does not feel the same way about working (now get this) some have built in feelings about it that makes it very unpleasant for them to work. especially when it is required.

now this could be looked upon as an handicap. we don't punish others with handicaps. our society provides for them and should do the same for those with a natural dislike for work.

why can't we live and let live with each to his own style.

folks, the bible says, you work so you're not a burden to other people.

do you remember the mayflower? they came to new world.? one of the mayflower rules was, if you don't work, you don't share in the meals. now where in the world did they get a radical idea like that?

try the bible. look at 2 thessalonians 3.10 (niv), if a man will not work, he shall not eat.  that is pretty strong. no work, no eat.

now notice, it doesn't say, if a man can't work. there are people who can't work and we legitimately need to support them. now folks, that is the churches responsibility not the government. to care for the needy and the poor and the homeless and those who need help.

this is not talking about those kind of people. it is talking about those people who are lazy, who don't want to work and folks, sometimes the worst thing you can do for somebody is to give them charity because it reinforces their laziness.

somebody who needs it, you ought to help them. the bible commands you to help them but it says, if a man will not work then there is no free lunch there are no loaves for loafers. that is what he is saying.

1 timothy 5.8 (niv), if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

those are pretty strong words. he says, if i don't take care of my family i'm worse than an infidel, an unbeliever. i have denied the faith. that is how important, GOD says work is.

it was HIS idea and HE says we do it to support the family.

just a thought from the front porch…

work is not a curse…

you see, GOD says I want you to work because you were created to work. then what is the curse? well in genesis chapter three where sin entered the earth, GOD then said that your work would be painful.

folks, work is not a curse, it is a blessing. the curse, the pain is the drudgery, the disappointment and all of the hardness of work, the discouragement that comes from work, the difficulty in work.

but work is GOD's idea and GOD wants to bless you through your job. we need to get a whole different understanding of that. not, well, i just work as a necessary evil. no work is GOD's idea.

JESUS said in john 5.17 (niv), my FATHER is always at HIS work to this very day, and I too am working.

GOD works, JESUS works. do you want to be like GOD and JESUS? that is the goal of the CHRISTian life. working is GODly.

we are also to work to supply our needs.

now that is the reason we usually think of. it supplies my needs, it meets the needs of my family, it keeps me from being a burden on others.

paul says in 2 thessalonians in the 3rd chapter, verses 7 and 8 (niv), we were not idle when we were with you...on the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

paul is saying, hey nobody can accuse me of being a freeloader. he says, i work hard for my money. i'm self-supporting. i'm not a parasite. i don't depend on hand-outs.

how many of you would agree that our society is full of freeloaders?

just a thought from the front porch…

HE will meet all my needs...

as a CHRISTian i live a life without limitation.

romans 8.32 (living bible), since HE did not spare even HIS own SON for us, but gave HIM up for us all, won't HE also surely give us everything else?

when GOD sent JESUS CHRIST to die for you on the cross, HE solved your biggest problem. everything else is minor by comparison. the verse here says, if GOD loves you enough to send JESUS CHRIST to die for you, don't you think HE loves you enough to pay your bills? don't you think HE loves you enough to take care of that problem you're facing with your kids? don't you think HE loves you enough to help you in any circumstance you're facing? if GOD paid the ultimate sacrifice by sending JESUS, everything else is small potatoes. it's insignificant.

fact: GOD will meet all my needs. we don't really believe that but GOD will meet all my needs! it may be emotional. it may be social. it may be financial. it may be spiritual. it may be physical. GOD wants to meet your needs. HE's promised it over and over again in scripture. HE has unlimited resources. my GOD shall supply all your needs according to HIS riches in glory. philippians 4.13 (nasb). all your needs!

psalm 84.11 (nkj), no good thing will HE withhold from those who walk uprightly. GOD wants to bless your life.

just a thought from the front porch…

I guarantee to meet your needs…

isaiah 50.8 (ncv) says, if you feed the hungry and take care of the needs of those who are troubled, then your light will shine in the dark and the LORD will always lead you and HE’ll satisfy your needs in dry land. and you’ll be like a spring that never runs dry.

listen, when you assume responsibility for the needs of hurting people around you,” GOD says, “I guarantee to meet your needs.” what a deal! GOD says, “when you take on the needs of other people around you, I guarantee that your needs will be met by me, GOD.” you can’t beat that. HE says, “I'll lead you, I'll bless you, I'll take care of your needs.”

proverbs 11:17 (nlt), your own soul is nourished when you are kind. GOD has promised many, many great benefits for kindness.

galatians 6.10 (ncv), says, whenever we have the opportunity [and, by the way, you’ve got it right now] to help anyone, we should do it. but we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers. who’s the family of believers? it’s your church family. the bible says be kind to everybody but give special attention to the family of believers who need your help.

who needs your kindness this week? susan kidd wrote this: “it happened years ago on one of those raw december days that make people wish they’d done their CHRISTmas shopping in july. snowflake winds whipped through the street, and hunched on a sidewalk bench sat an unshaven man. he wore a threadbare jacket and shoes with no socks. he’d folded a paper bag around his neck to keep out the biting wind. a shopper paused, saddened by the man. ‘such a pity,’ she thought. but there was really nothing she could do. while the shopper lingered there, a little girl, maybe 11 or 12, walked by and spotted the frostbitten figure on the bench. wrapped around the girl’s neck was a bright woolen scarf. she stopped beside the old man, unwrapped the wool scarf and draped it tenderly around his neck and walked away. the man rubbed the warm wool. then the shopper crept away, wishing that she had been the one to give the scarf. i was that shopper. and GOD taught me something that day. wherever i am, whatever i possess there is always something that i can give – a touch, a smile, a prayer, a kind word, even a scarf.”

will you grow in kindness?

just a thought from the front porch…

if you are aware then you can care…

now in the story that JESUS tells in luke 10, the good samaritan did some things that we need to do if we’re going to learn to be kinder, loving people. if you want to become a kinder person, a great lover...

you must first see the needs of people around you. kindness always begins with the eyes – the way you look, the way you see. it always begins with your vision, the way you observe things. if you’re not aware of needs, you can’t care about those needs.

the bible says in luke 10.33b (ms), when he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. notice when he saw. that is the starting point.

there are wounded people all over your world but you don’t just see it. why? one word – busyness. hurry is the death of kindness.

listen. if you’re going to learn to be a kinder person, you’ve got to slow down. you don’t see it unless you slow down.

let’s say you’re going to take a trip across country. you’re married, you’ve got a family, and you want them to see what your country is really like. you’ve got a lot of different opportunities for transportation. you could take the plane. that would get you to other side faster, but you won’t see much of the country. because the faster you go, the less you see.

you could take a train, which would be slower than a plane. you would see definitely a lot more because you’re going slower. on the other hand, if you took a car trip with your family, you’d go even slower than a train and you’d see even more. but if you really wanted to see the country, you’d walk. if you’d walk, you’d see more of your country than if you took a plane.

if you want to see it, you’ve got to slow down. the slower you go, the more you see.

the bible says this, look out for the good of others. 1 corinthians 10.24 (ncv). notice look out.

the first step to kindness is to ask GOD to give you SPIRITual radar, that you would be on the lookout for people in need around you who are hurting emotionally, SPIRITually, physically and in any other way. those who need help. those who need encouragement. those who need concern. those who need a hug or a pat on the back.

just a thought from the front porch…

love is a choice not a feeling...

the bible also says that love is a choice.

we choose to love, and we choose to not love. it’s a choice. the bible says in 1 corinthians 14.1 in the message paraphrase, go after a life of love as if your life depended on it because it does. go after means make a choice. decide. choose. we choose to love or to not love.

that destroys another myth that we have about love. we think love is uncontrollable. as if one day i'm just walking along and i'm instantly in love – no control over it. even the terminology we use is kind of accidental – i fell into love. like it’s a big ditch or something. i fell in love. “help! i’ve fallen in love, and i can’t get up!” as if i have no control over my choice to love or not love.

i can’t tell you how many times i’ve had men or women say to me, trying to justify a separation or divorce: i just don’t love him/her anymore. as if that's totally out of your control and now because you don’t love her that gives you the right to divorce her or leave her.

let’s be honest about this. love is a choice. you need to rephrase that: “i'm choosing not to love him any more.” because it is a choice, and you could choose to keep on loving even if they didn’t love you. that’s your choice. in fact, the truth is, acting in love when you don’t feel like it is actually a higher level of love than when you do feel like it.

it’s one thing to love when the flowers are in bloom and you’re on a honeymoon and things are going your way and you’ve got a lot of money to spend and things are going great. but the real test of love is when things are not going great in your life, when you’re out of money and when you’re sick and don’t feel good, the pressure is on and you’ve lost your job. you choose to love in spite of how you feel. that’s a higher level of love. loving in spite of your feelings. loving in spite of your emotions.

have any of you gotten up in the middle of the night with a kid that was sick? that’s love. have any of you ever been kind and patient with your mate when they were grumpy and grouchy? one guy was asked, “do you wake up grumpy in the morning?” he said, “no, i usually let her sleep.”

love is giving a person what they need, not what they deserve. that’s what GOD does. that’s how GOD loves you. GOD doesn’t give you what you deserve. if i got what i deserved from GOD, i wouldn’t even be here, and you wouldn’t even be alive either.

but GOD doesn’t give us what we deserve; HE gives us what we need. that’s called grace. that’s called love. love is giving to another person without any guarantee of getting anything back. if you’re doing it to get something back, that’s not love. love is committing to the well being of another person without any guarantees that they’re going to give back to you. that’s love. it’s a command, and it’s a choice. it is not a feeling.

just a thought from the front porch…

a time to pray...

FATHER, you’ve promised to meet all our needs. but we often get in a hurry and we get impatient and we come up with our own plans. we try to dig our own wells. you offer us free, unlimited living water but instead we try to make our own plans and dig our own wells instead of trusting YOU. JESUS, i have no doubt that many people here on the front porch are having their faith tested in one of these ways. i pray that in the test they will turn to YOU instead of turning away from YOU.

would you just pray this in your heart, your mind, to GOD. ”FATHER, thank YOU that YOU want to meet all my needs. forgive me for all those times i’ve tried to meet them in my own way, on my own timetable. i ask YOUR help with the stresses in my life. help me to turn to YOU instead of to others or other things. i want to look to YOU and not others to be my SAVIOR and my HELPER. i want to put my hope and confidence in YOU. help me to see that my disappointments are a part of YOUR loving plan in my life.

also, i ask for YOUR help in keeping the commitments that i’ve made to other people and especially the commitments that i’ve made to YOU. i’m choosing on this day to give YOU first place in my thoughts and in my money and in my time. from this day forward. and i thank YOU in advance for promising to meet all my needs here and for the rewards YOU have in store for me in heaven. thank YOU that these tests are not in vain. in JESUS’ name. amen.”

just a thought from the front porch…

who is on first?...

this is the most important test of all. you will have this one many, many times. the priorities test in life is “who will be first in my life?”

what will be first in my life? one of the great promises of the bible deals with this test. matthew 6.32&33 (new living translation), your heavenly FATHER already knows all your needs and HE will give you all you need from day to day if you live for HIM and make the kingdom of GOD your primary concern.

you have legitimate needs in your life. you have some financial needs. you have some emotional needs. you have some relational needs. you have some physical needs. you have some spiritual needs. they are legitimate and they are real. GOD has promised to meet every one of those needs if you put HIM first in every area of your life.

“i’ve got JESUS CHRIST as first place in my life.” saying that means nothing. it’s easy: “GOD’s number one in my life.” i could even wear a t-shirt “GOD is number one!” that means nothing. how do you know if GOD is really first priority in your life?

i ask myself three questions:

1. what do i think about the most? when i have free time what does my mind naturally wander toward? whatever you think about the most is what’s the most important thing in your life.

2. where does my money go first? the bible says, where your treasure is, your heart will be also. it determines your priorities. it reveals them.

3. how do i spend my time? that reveals the priorities in my life.

show me your checkbook stubs and show me your calendar and i’ll tell you what’s really first in your life. i don’t care what you say is number one, what you say you value, what you think is most important. the way you spend your time and the way you spend your money and what you think about most often is what’s really top in your life. that’s why in deuteronomy 14.23 (living bible) it says, the purpose of tithing is to teach us to put GOD first in every area of our life.

just a thought from the front porch…