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Inside-Out

We live in a world dominated by an orphan spirit. It teaches people to be defensive, self-reliant, self-sufficient. It militates against the vulnerability and dependence called for by Father God as we take on His kingdom values.

We have been trained by an orphan world that says we must prove ourselves capable. This is a religious lie. We are not built for independence. In fact, the moment we decide to kill our independence, admit our own incapability, give up and look to the Father, is the moment of our greatest victory.

Resolutions and commitments to change our behavior won’t work. Allowing God to change our heart – and the subsequent outworking of that change affecting our behavior – will transform us. Striving is the counterfeit of yielding. Religion attempts to transform us from the outside-in and does not work. The kingdom operates from the inside-out, and it does work, bringing about spiritual transformation.

In order to give up our self-reliance and yield to God’s work in our life we need to learn humility. The orphan spirit is rooted in pride and control. It is offended by the prospect of making ourselves vulnerable. Yet, humble people cannot be humiliated or offended, because their self-focus has vanished, swallowed up by their love for God, themselves and others.

Perfectionism and control tend to produce only shame and fear. But when we are justified by Christ’s perfection through faith in the finished work of the cross, He becomes our perfection. Suddenly, we are enough. We measure up. Slowly, our self-criticism and our judgment of others falls away, because we realize that everyone is significant.

Let’s get rid of our pride, because God resists the proud. Let’s choose to go low and God will lift us up. Let’s embrace the inside-out working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and look towards the glory that God desires to bring through His grace.

The teacher is always silent during the test keep going

 God got you , facts keep going 

Keep on going never give up

 Keep going with a smile 

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Believing the Best

The person who is close to God thinks positive, uplifting, edifying thoughts about other people as well as about himself and his own circumstances.

You exhort others with your words only after you have first had kind thoughts about that individual. Remember that whatever is in your heart will come out of your mouth (Matthew 12:34). Thoughts and words are containers or weapons for carrying creative or destructive power (Proverbs 18:21). This is why it is so important to do some “love thinking” on purpose.

I encourage you to send thoughts of love toward other people. Speak words of encouragement. Come alongside others and urge them to press forward in their spiritual life. Speak words that make others feel better and that encourage and strengthen them.

Everyone has enough problems already. We don’t need to add to their troubles by tearing them down. We can build up one another in love (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Love always believes the best of everyone (1 Corinthians 13:7).

We are living in obedience to the Word of God when our thoughts, actions, and attitudes line up with what it says.

God wants us to find our way back to him

There’s Got to Be More

Do you ever have the feeling that you are chasing something in life that won’t fully satisfy you? Pay attention to that feeling. It’s from God.

We’re not just talking about substance abuse issues, although drinking and pursuing other addictions are certainly ways of chasing something futile. But we’ve also known a lot of “good church people” who sit in a service every week—or who preach from a pulpit to those people—who feel themselves to be far from God. They’re “successful” or “put together” or “righteous” on the outside, but they’re missing God on the inside. They keep busy with religious practices and work, school, or family, but it just isn’t enough. They long for God to feel real to them.

That longing is the first spiritual awakening for all of us finding our way back to God: “There’s got to be more.”

When you long for a love that is deep and satisfying, when you want to give yourself to something that will truly make a difference, or when you seek answers to life’s most difficult questions, you are looking for God. You’ve really got two options: you can keep searching to fill these longings on your own, or you can look to the One who gave you those longings in the first place.

Our longing for real love goes all the way back to how the human race was made in the first place. God intended that we experience his love both directly from him and through others we relate to in a healthy way. What we long for, God doesn’t just have but actually God is. He is love and he pursues us with love.

We’ve heard it said that every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is really looking for God. If you are knocking on the door of some self-destructive behavior or relationship, you might actually have arrived at an important point in your journey back to God. Why? Because the disappointment you inevitably feel in cheap substitutes will make you wonder where you can find real love. Will you open yourself up to letting God fill your longing to love and be loved?

What do your activities this week suggest about what you think will satisfy you?

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Forgiveness frees you from anger

Forgiveness Frees Us from Anger 

Unforgiveness is holding a list in our heart demanding people to personally account to us for what they have done. Unforgiveness involves anger. Unforgiveness involves a desire for vengeance. Unforgiveness involves bitterness. We need to be willing to release the people in our hearts for their sins against us. Sometimes, Christians misunderstand the Scriptures that say that a person should repent when we rebuke them. These people say, “I will forgive when the offender repents.” There are other Scriptures, however, that require us to forgive regardless of the other person’s attitude.

Jesus said that we are to be like our Heavenly Father. He sends rain on people who are just and unjust. The Lord also makes the sunrise for the evil and the good alike. God is kind to everyone. Forgiveness should happen in our hearts whether people ask us to forgive them or not. Forgiveness is all about our hearts. This is where we are to release the people who hurt us. 

After all, we cannot ultimately forgive people for their sin before God. This is their debt to the Heavenly Judge. Only God can forgive people for their sins against Him. We are to release people from our personal vengeance. We cannot harbor bitterness in our hearts. Our attitude towards others should always be redemptive. 

In this way, forgiveness is actually empowering. It allows us to take control of what has been done to us, and it empowers us to release the offender. It frees us from our anger and a desire for vengeance. When we forgive, we free not only our offender but also ourselves. We can now walk in freedom from the negative emotions that held our hearts hostage. We are no longer responsible for vengeance. God is. When we forgive, we hand our offender over to God. 

When we forgive, we say that the individual no longer owes us anything. What the individual did against us is now a matter for them to settle with God. If the person repents, God will forgive this individual just like He forgave us. Since we no longer owe God for our sins, we cannot hold anyone else as our debtors. Now, it is for God to decide whether to bring vengeance on the person who hurt us. The Bible says that revenge belongs to Him. We can now walk in the freedom that He gave us to forgive and be forgiven.