when you know then you do…

the last question you ask is, how do i feel right before i’m tempted?  in other words you need to know your emotional triggers that make you vulnerable.

some people are most vulnerable to temptation when they’re frustrated.  just so frustrated and don’t know what to do.  then they get tempted to do the wrong thing.  some people are tempted when they feel lonely.  that’s the way they respond.  some people feel tempted when they’re angry.  or when they’re bored.  or maybe you’re tempted when you can’t sleep at night.  and you get up and you turn on a channel you really don’t have any business watching. 

the point is once you determine how, where, when, why, and what’s the most typical pattern – and there is a pattern in your life, it’s a pattern and you need to be aware of it – then here’s step two.  plan to avoid it.

it’s not rocket science folks.  once you know the patterns that tend to cause you to give in to temptation then you plan to avoid those patterns.  once you know the triggers, then you set some boundaries in your life that keep you from those situations.  as i said, if you don’t want to get stung then you stay away from the bees. 

proverbs 4.26-27 (gnt) “plan carefully what you do… avoid evil and walk straight ahead.  don’t go one step off the right way.”  if you just keep your eyes focused, don’t get distracted. 

there was this man who in1974 was living in japan and he was working as a short-term missionary in nagasaki, japan.  he said, “i was teaching english at a church and i was staying in the home of the permanent missionaries there in nagasaki.  every night as i would go home to their home which was up on a hill i had to every night (it was the only way i could get there) walk straight through the center of nagasaki’s red light district.  knowing that every night there were full sized posters of nude women on either side of those narrow roads and call girls standing out there seductively dressed all the way through the red light district.  i just made a covenant with my eyes, ‘i’m not going to look to the right, i’m not going to look to the left, i’m going to keep my eyes focused straight on because i don’t even want to be distracted.  if it gets my attention it’s going to get me.’  so i sat boundaries.”  plan carefully what you do, avoid evil and walk straight ahead. 

just a thought from the front porch…

the starting point in facing 2012…

now james doesn’t just look at the mistake of planning without GOD he also gives the solution which is to include GOD in your goal setting.

james 4.15 (niv), instead you ought to say, “if it is the LORD’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

have you ever realized that even the best laid plans of mice and men often fall through?  there’s a thing called murphy’s law.  if things can go wrong, they will.  count on it!

life is just one big if.  right in the middle of life is if.  life is really pretty if-fy.  i don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, you don’t either.  i can make an educated guess but planning without GOD is presumptuous.

the starting point in facing the future is to say, “GOD, what do you want me to do?  what do you want me not to do?”  planning without GOD is presumptuous.

he says, we should preface all of our planning with the phrase, if the LORD wills. couldn’t that be a cliche?  of course.  you could trivialize it but he’s not saying that.  he’s saying that the whole attitude of our life should be “it’s up to GOD.  whatever HE wants me to do is what i want.”  it’s just a good reminder.

CHRISTians for hundreds of years used to write the initials d. v. at the end of their letters.  they’d sign their name and then write d. v..  they stood for the latin phrase, “DEO valente” – “LORD willing”.  james says that ought to be our response to life.  it’s ok to plan but include GOD in your plans and goal setting.

just a thought from the front porch…

being a practical atheist in 2012…

we are looking in james 4 about some of the mistakes that we can make about facing our future, facing 2012 and the first one is making plans without GOD.

there was an article in the reader’s digest by alexander saul:  “since i have spent well-nigh fifty years working on the history of the russian  revolution, in the process i’ve collected hundreds of personal testimonies, read hundreds of books, contributed eight volumes of my own.  but if i were asked today to formulate as precisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some sixty million russians, i could not put it more accurately than to repeat the phrase, ‘men have forgotten GOD.’ 

what is more if i were called upon to identify the principle trait of the entire twentieth century i would be unable to reflect anything more precise that this statement, ‘men have forgotten GOD.’”

this is what james 4.13-17 is talking about.  you can be a believer and forget GOD in your daily life.  i know a lot of people who love the LORD with all their heart but when it comes to planning their business or career or their school education they are practical atheists. 

it’s sad to meet someone who says, “i don’t believe in GOD.  i don’t believe HE exists.”  it’s sadder to find somebody who says, “i believe in GOD.  i believe HE exists” but then acts like HE doesn’t exist.  he or she doesn’t make any plans involving the LORD.  they just go off on their own as if it all depends on them.

you say, “i believe in GOD.”  then does HE have a say in your business?  “i don’t believe in mixing business and faith.”  listen, all business is GOD’s business if you’re a believer.  don’t plan without GOD.  that’s presumption.  planning without GOD is practical atheism.

just a thought from the front porch..

you can get in on that plan…

if i were to go out on the street and ask the average person this question, “what on earth am i here for?” they’d say, “i have no idea.”  i grow up, i go to school, i get a job, i make money, i retire, i die.  is that it?  is that all there is to life?  what on earth am i here for?

the bible makes it very clear that you’re not here by accident, that there is a purpose and a plan for your life.  even before you were born, GOD planned what you were going to do.  HE has a purpose for you.  you can get in on that plan or you can get outside of it.  HE won't force it on you.

ephesians 2.10 (niv), we are GOD’s workmanship, created in CHRIST JESUS to do good works which GOD prepared in advance for us to do.  GOD created us to do good works. 

the word in the bible for good works is called ministry or service.  ministry does not mean something a pastor does.  the bible says all of us are called to ministry.  it just means we’re to do good works. we’re to serve GOD, we’re to serve others.  GOD planned each of us to do this.  if you’re not doing it you're out of GOD’s plan.

JESUS told a story in matthew 25 of the talents and in it HE gives some life principles. 

one is the principle of ownership.  everything i have belongs to GOD.  i don't own anything.  the bible says, the earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof.  we just get to use it for 50, 60, 70 years and then we pass it on to somebody else.  it’s really kind of a rental. 

i’ve never seen a hearse with a u-haul behind it.  you didn’t bring it into the world, you’re not going to take it out of the world, you just get to use it while you’re here.  none of it really belongs to you, it belongs to GOD.  many things are being perverted but all that’s in the world belongs to GOD.  and GOD has entrusted us with property like the story of this man in matthew 25. 

just a thought from the front porch…

implement a plan...

another step in our getting nursed back to spiritual health is to implement a course of treatment.

now that you’ve found the root cause of your doubt and you’ve sought wisdom from GOD and others in how to deal with it, figure out what course of treatment you’re going to follow to fight the virus of doubt. if it has obtained a foothold through your mind and you have questions, don’t just let them be vague questions that kind of swirl around in your mind, generalized objections. you’ll never get answers that way. sit down, take a piece of paper, write a list: “these are my specific questions that i have about CHRISTianity.”

if doubt has gained a foothold through your emotions, you don’t want to go through life with some sort of pain from your past which is an impediment to fully experiencing the joy and adventure of knowing JESUS fully. you might seek out some help from a pastor or a CHRISTian counselor or someone who could help you resolve these issues from your past. get them out of the way so you can enjoy more fully the presence of GOD and not be riddled with doubts and uncertainties.

if it’s a question of your will. where are you holding back from GOD? if you only give GOD ninety percent of your heart then you’ve got ten percent of your heart for the doubts to come in. that’s where they will reside and fester and grow. you’ve got a choice to make. you can continue to pursue your own agenda and then deal with the kind of doubts that that agenda eventually raises and unsettledness in your relationship with GOD. or you can say, “to fully know GOD is the greatest pleasure i could have and i want to abandon my ways and fully follow GOD’s way.” that is the door that opens up to a faith that is vibrant and rich and strong and full of adventure.

if you’re not sure whether you’ve made the willful choice to follow JESUS CHRIST then now just say in a prayer, “GOD, i want to know for sure. i want to receive JESUS CHRIST as the forgiver of my sins and the LEADER of my life. i want to know HIM now, starting now, forever in heaven.”

then put it behind you.

just a thought from the front porch…

HE had/has a plan…

look at this here in genesis one. it’s striking. day 1, day 2, day 3… if GOD had wanted to HE could have snapped HIS fingers and everything would have come into existence all at once? but HE decided not to do it that way. HE decided first to do “this” and then to do “this” and so on.

light and darkness was on day 1 and the sun, moon and stars on day 4, so one of the questions people have always had about genesis is what kind of light was created on the first day. it wasn’t the sun, moon, and stars, was it? it was a different kind of light. what kind of light was it? i don’t know! i wasn’t there! but it was a light!

scientifically, those of you who know more about this than i do could talk about the physics of light and how in incredible ways we’re learning things about black holes and all those kinds of things that help us to understand that GOD could have created some kind of light that coalesced into the sun, the moon and the stars. HE set time up in incredible ways to do this.

day 2 the atmosphere, the firmament was created. day 3 the land, the seas were separated the plants, the trees. day 4 the sun, moon and stars which created not only light but also seasons and days and years. sea creatures and birds on day 5. land animals and mankind on day 6. on day 7 creation was completed and GOD rested.

here you have GOD’s to do list and HE spoke and it came into existence. light, sky, water, vegetation were done in order. plants “according to their kind” – that means all the families and kinds. those are all GOD-created. it’s incredible how organized GOD’s creation is. we can see it as we look at it.

definition of creation: an orderly unfolding of the mind and the purposes of GOD.

when we talk about a plan for your life, you and i can see in creation the purposes of GOD at work in the world today. there is order, there is progression. swordfish after oceans. eucalyptus trees before koala bears because they would have gotten hungry. but GOD made the trees first and then put koala bears in the trees so they could eat. the order of GOD’s creation literally shouts.

when we look at the seasons and orders and families and all that he did, it shouts! there’s a plan here. watch the plan how it fits in perfect order. look at the salmon, how GOD put an instinct in it to go up that river at all costs so that the species could survive. study a beehive. look at how just by instinct the bees work in perfect order. look at how cells divide. delve into the properties of light. there is a plan here. GOD is shouting it in every part of HIS creation. if there’s a plan in a beehive, don’t you think there’s a plan for your life? of course there is. and GOD has made sure that we know that.

jeremiah 29.11 (niv), I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope, plans to give you a future.

if you haven’t memorized that verse, my challenge to you is to memorize that verse. i can’t think of a better verse to remind me of the fact that the GOD who has a plan for all of creation, one of the reasons HE has a plan is because HE has a plan for my life.

just a thought from the front porch…

it’s all in the way you say it…

in confronting someone in love you plan when you’re going to talk to then, what you’re going to say to them and then you plan how you’re going to say it. this is also very important. proverbs 1218 (tev) says, thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword. wisely spoken words can heal. it’s all in the way you say it. if you say it thoughtlessly, it’s probably going to hurt them. but if you think it through and think how you’re going to say it and when and what you’re going to say, then that has the potential to heal them.

now there are some things that work for the best response. there are different ways to say it if you want the message to get through to the person you love.

first of all, you say it tactfully. proverbs 16.21 (tev) says, a wise mature person is known for his understanding. the more pleasant his words the more persuasive he is.

here’s the point: i’m never persuasive when i’m abrasive. if you want to get the message across, you don’t say it offensively. that will be received defensively. you don’t say it rudely, arrogantly, angrily, in frustration, in irritation, in annoyance. you don’t say it like that. you say it pleasantly. the more pleasant your words, the more persuasive you’ll be. you say it with tact. you let it come out but let it come out in a way that is pleasant and pleasing and positive.

just a thought from the front porch…

what are you going to say?…

another thing you do in confronting someone you love is to plan what you’re going to say. proverbs 25.11 (cev) says, the right word at the right time is like precious gold set in silver. if you’re going to plan what you’re going to say to this friend, you want to plan two things: you want to plan your introduction and you want to plan your illustrations.

now your introduction is very important. how you introduce a touchy subject will determine whether it’s going to be received well or whether it’s going to be rejected. in other words, if you want to talk about how the house needs to be cleaner, you wouldn’t start by saying, “the roaches are begging for raid!” or “this place is a pigsty.” or some other sarcastic remark. sarcasm never, ever, ever works. you choose the right introduction. how am i going to broach this subject?

then you need to have some good examples ready. for instance… have your illustrations ready. but you need to choose illustrations that that person understands, not just ones that you particularly like.

if you’ve never read anything about this, a good book is the language of love. it talks about seven different kinds of love languages. we all hear things differently. you need to choose the illustrations that are appropriate for the person you’re trying to deal with. plan what you’re going to say in advance.

just a thought from the front porch…

the timing is important……

when you plan to have a loving confrontation with your husband, your wife, a son, a daughter, a parent, a friend, a co-worker, a relative who’s kind of dysfunctional what you need to first of all, plan when you say it. proverbs 25.12 (ms) says, a wise friend’s kindly reprimand is like a gold ring slipped on your finger. if you’re wise, if you’re a wise friend, when you talk to your friend about a tough issue, you choose the right timing – a timely reprimand.

when you have a tough issue to deal with in a relationship, have you discovered that timing is everything? bringing up a tough thing: you don’t want to bring it up when they’re tired. you don’t want to bring it up when they’re under pressure. you don’t want to bring it up when they’re in a hurry. you may be ready to deal with the issue. you may be ready to unload. but they’re not ready to hear it.

columbia university did a study and discovered that more arguments occur right before dinner than any other time of day. that makes sense. we’re tired, we’re cranky, we have low blood sugar, we’re hungry. that’s not a good time to bring up a major issue – right before dinner. the point is this: you don’t ever drop a bomb. if you’re doing this in love, you think about the best timing for them, when they’re rested and when they’re ready to hear it.

just a thought from the front porch…

i planned, i grieved, i agonized...

this is foundational. we must hold to pure motives and show that we care before we speak the truth in love.

if you want to move out of grade-school loving and move into graduate-school loving, you’re going to have to learn this skill of how to confront issues in your relationship that are keeping you from being closer. if you want to move from superficial relationships and shallowness to deep, intimate, meaningful relationships, you’re going to have to learn how to confront issues that scare you to death. and you have to learn how to do it in love.

so once you have checked and corrected your motivation, you know you’re doing this because you genuinely care about the relationship or genuinely care about their better or good, then you plan your presentation.

you think through what you’re going to say before you say it. proverbs 16.23 (tev) says, intelligent people think before they speak. what they say then is more persuasive. if you want to be persuasive in a presentation, you must think through what you’re going to say in advance.

paul did this when he had some painful truths to present to people, his friends in corinth. he says this in 2 corinthians 2.4 (niv), i wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears. not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. paul says, i had some tough things i had to write to you about. but this wasn’t impulsive. i didn’t just sit down and blast off an e-mail.

have you discovered how dangerous an e-mail can be? you can vent real quickly, hit the button and it’s gone. and then you wish you could pull it back.

paul says, “no, i sat down and thought about this. i agonized. i wept. that’s how much i care about you. when i had to say some tough things that you didn’t want to hear, but you really need to hear because your life is messed up, i really thought about it. i planned, i grieved, i agonized.”

just a thought from the front porch…