Category: Theology

Exodus 16 – Three Solutions to Chronic Complaining

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In Exodus 16, Israel was delivered from Egypt and crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. Israel was on the other side of the Red Sea, but there was a problem – the people were hungry, angry and discontent – they started to murmur and complain and ventured into dangerous territory.

Today, complaining has become a part of ‘normal’ daily conversation. Many people see complaining as a natural thing that we are just supposed to do. It would seem that if you aren’t complaining then you’re considered an anomaly. Being complaint-free is almost considered a virtue because it’s so rare to encounter people who never complain.

However, we learn in Exodus 16 and other places throughout scripture (Philippians 2:14, Ephesians 4:29, James 5:9, Numbers 11, 1 Corinthians 10:10) that complaining is evil. And the reasons are obvious.

When we complain, we are ungrateful. There is a lack of graciousness or thankfulness that we are simply alive. Second, complaining is not from the Lord; complaining is from Satan. Satan tempts us to complain, but let’s not fall for the temptation and open the door to the devil. Complaining and being discontent is simply bait.

The second thing that’s worth mentioning is that complaining and pride are linked. People who complain have a pride problem. Pride is dangerous – and complaining is simply a byproduct of pride.

If you have the habit of complaining I suggest three things:

First, go to God and ask for forgiveness. Repent if you’re a complainer and close any demonic spiritual doors that you’ve opened as a result of complaining.

Second, thank Him for all that you have. Be grateful. The opposite of complaining is gratitude. Creating a gratitude list is a powerful way to keep a complaint-free life. It’s difficult to complain when you’re examining the blessings in your life. Everyone I know (including myself) that’s created a gratitude list has been immensely blessed by it.

The third thing that I’ll suggest is to get a complaint bracelet. Sometimes it’s easier to conquer an undesirable habit by becoming aware of it. Some people simply aren’t aware of how much they actually complain. The complaint bracelet should be somewhat difficult to remove – wear it on your arm, and switch arms every time you complain. You’ll become more mindful of your thought life. I’ve done this before in the past, and it works.

Lessons in the Water

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I see parables everywhere.  While picking fruit in a grocery store, I may think about how each fruit represents a certain personality type and then laugh when I view the lemons.  As I’m driving home, I may envision how the road symbolically applies to my journey of life, and then sigh when I realize I have to make a U-Turn.  Or when I drive by the many gorgeous lakes in the beautiful, Pacific Northwest, I see lessons in the water. Below are a few lessons I couldn’t help but notice in the water.

We will never see the ocean if we refuse to lose sight of the shore:

There are so many possibilities that are beyond our minds but within our reach.  All we have to do is step out of our comfort zones.  The shore is the place where we feel comfortable and secure in our life, and we anchor ourselves there for security.  There is more to life than the shore, but we will never know what is out there if we are too afraid to leave our comfort zones.  If you want to see the ocean then we have to have enough faith to leave the shore.

If the water gets choppy, “fear not.”

In the biblical account of Mark, chapter four, the disciples of Jesus were afraid for their lives when a storm approached the boat.  They thought that they would perish, and Jesus told them very simply “Fear Not.”  Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind died down, and it was completely calm.

Storms will come, and if we are consumed by fear and worry we won’t be proactive when they come, we will only be reactive. When storms come, have faith and allow Yeshua to take control.

Even when you feel like you’re drifting, there is a still a destination planned for you.

Nature takes its course with the waves.  It directs messages in bottles, pieces of driftwood, and old FedEx packages to land eventually.  Even when we feel like we aren’t doing anything at all, our life is still going somewhere.  Drifting takes us to a destination… but… if we want to take control of our destination, we must direct the sails.

When a boat runs ashore, the sea has spoken.

Everyone on the water gets sanded on the beach every once in a while.  The secret to success is to get back into the water with your faith, without fear, adjust your sails, and raise your anchor.  The sea may speak, but it doesn’t have to have the last word.

People-pleasing is a Bad Idea

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Galatians 1:10 – For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:10 is clear: No one can please everybody.

Each person is going to like aspects and parts of you while disliking parts of you. It’s very rarely that you’ll find someone that likes all of you, and if you do, then you should just marry that person. With that said, different people will want you to behave in a different way – people will have their unique version of who they think you are at your best – this may differ widely. You can’t be who everyone else wants you to be, or even who one particular person wants you to be. Sometimes you can’t even be the person you want to be because that might even be a bad idea.

So here is what I suggest, be the person God wants you to be.

People-pleasing is vanity. It’s like grasping for the wind. It’s a miserable existence to live your life trying to please people. However, trying to live a life that is pleasing to God is far from miserable. People pleasing produces anxiety and fear – discontent and frustration, but God-pleasing produces peace, courage and clarity.

Most of us are guilty of trying to please people. Throughout the Bible, we see men of God attempting to please others. King Saul is a good example. Saul lost the kingdom because he was so focused on pleasing those around him. God gave the kingdom to David, who wasn’t a people-pleaser, but was instead a man after God’s own heart.

I know what it’s like to fall into the trap of wanting to please someone. My life got much easier, far more peaceful and focused once I stopped caring what people thought, and cared more about what God thought. When you can get free of the opinions of others, it’s incredibly liberating. I thank God that He is so merciful and has warned us against people-pleasing.

There are two simple truths that you need to remember:

First, you can’t control what other people think about you. Focus on what God thinks about you. Is God pleased with you? That’s what matters. If God is pleased with you then you are on the right track – His opinion is the only opinion that’s important.

Second, understand that your self-worth isn’t dependent or contingent on someone’s opinion. Your self-worth must be rooted in Christ, and Christ alone. Usually, at the heart of people-pleasing, there is a self-esteem issue or a confidence-conflict. This is something that many of us struggle with. The enemy is a thief, and one of the things that he attempts to steal is our confidence. When you lack confidence and have low self-esteem, it’s easier to fall into the trap of people-pleasing.

Remember how much Yeshua loves you, so root your sense of self-worth in His love. Know that God loves you, and that is all that matters.

Put your trust in God, seek to please Him and put your trust in Him alone.

Your Home Is Your Sacred Space

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After creating a prayer closet in my former home, I realized two things. First, I realized that I should have carved out the space sooner. Second, I realized that I wanted the peaceful energy that was in my closet to permeate the rest of my house. I stopped praying in just one space and now make it a point to pray, sing, and worship all over my home – the bedroom, the living room, the kitchen – I want my whole house to feel like shalom…. not just the prayer closet.

I do think it’s wise to have a sacred space.

It’s comforting to have a sacred space, and there is power in spiritual ritual and discipline. It’s beautiful and calming to enter a familiar, light space and know exactly why you’re there. But I also think we need to remember to bless our entire house, and speak God’s love and goodness into each room.

I think that we shouldn’t have A sacred space, but rather our homes should be THE sacred space where we’re overwhelmed by an atmosphere of love and peace.

One of the easiest ways to consecrate your home is to incorporate consecration into your home cleaning routine. Before you clean a room, pray over it, consecrate it, and bless it.

Incorporate consecration into your cooking and meal prep – when you walk into the kitchen, bless the room and pray that good, healthy, delicious meals would come from the kitchen. One of my favorite verses for the kitchen is Exodus 23:25.

You can do something similar with your living and recreational areas – ask God to make them places where good memories are created – spaces of love and laughter.

Your home can and should be a sacred space.

Tikkun Olam and Heart Renewal

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There is an interesting concept in Judaism called Tikkun Olam, which is synonymous with social action and the pursuit of justice. Tikkun Olam means ‘World Repair’ and it’s the idea that your actions, the things that you do have the capacity to repair the world – a world that’s been broken by sin.

However, what we need more than world repair is Heart Repair.

You can’t have world repair without heart repair. It’s out of the abundance of the heart that evil comes. Yeshua said For out of the heart come evil thoughts–murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

King David understood the reality of heart repair and asked God in the Psalms to create in him a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit in him. David understood that if he was going to live a life that pleased God he needed a new heart. I believe that God gave David what he requested and answered his prayer, which is why we also read that David was a man after God’s own heart, because when your heart is clean, you seek His heart.

Thankfully, God is not just a God of repair, but He is a God of renewal because the world needs more than just repair – it needs to be renewed. Repairing the world simply won’t work because we ultimately need a new world altogether. In the New Testament, the disciple John records the future and says this:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.

The earth is so defiled and degraded; it’s beyond repair. This is not to say that God can’t repair the earth, because He is God, after all, He can repair anything. However, in the future, God is going to create something new.

It’s encouraging to know that we serve a God of renewal. Until our new world comes, we need heart renewal, and in the meanwhile, as we ask God to renew our hearts we can hold on to the promise of Yeshua, who said “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Recognizing the Voice of God

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You need to be able to recognize God’s voice so that you don’t confuse it with the enemy’s voice. When you don’t know God’s voice, the possibility for deception is there. You might think that what you hear in your heart, mind, or from other people is from God, when it’s not. Being able to hear and recognize His voice and distinguish between His voice and Satan’s is imperative.

God’s voice has distinct characteristics based on His nature. God is a God of love, order, clarity, encouragement – these are all characteristics of God portrayed in His voice. So, while Satan condemns, God convicts. The enemy discourages, God encourages – the enemy confuses, God clarifies. When you understand the character of God and the Word of God, you’ll recognize His voice. His voice is gentle, beautiful, confirming and brings about peace in your spirit. God doesn’t bring anxiety and fear.

Some people think that hearing God’s voice means hearing the audible voice of God. There are plenty of people waiting to hear God’s voice, assuming that it will thunder from heaven (and it can) – but because it hasn’t, they assume that God has never spoken to them. But God speaks in more than one way.

God can speak to us through other people.

He often speaks to us through His word.

He speaks to us in a still, small voice – sometimes it’s just a whisper in the heart.

God can even speak through music. I once asked God a question when I was a little kid and He immediately answered me through a song that was playing on the radio. I was so surprised and delighted I never forgot that moment. God speaks to us in numerous ways, so listen for His Voice.

3 Simple Ways to Become a Better Christian

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God loves you where you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay there. He doesn’t want you to stand still, stuck in time – He wants you to be better, know better, and choose better. God wants us to become more and more like Him. Below are just three things we need to do if we want to look more like Christ, and less like ourselves.

  1. Pray – Christians without prayer are like fish without water. Prayer isn’t an option on the Christian journey – it’s a necessity. Prayer brings us closer to God and His Will for our lives.
  2. Trust – This sounds so simple, and yet it’s so hard, and it’s so necessary. Peace comes when we remove trust in others, ourselves, and the things around us, and trust in Him. God has asked us repeatedly throughout scripture to trust Him.
  3. CHOOSE to be faithful, Godly, and filled with love – Life is full of choices. We can choose blessings or cursings, and God wants us to choose blessings! Make the right choice, daily.

How to “Put on” Christ

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People usually make a snap judgment about you based on the clothes that you wear. Have you ever wondered what your clothing says about you?

Quite a few scientific studies have researched how clothing influences our perception. In one study, researchers asked 300 people to look at a man in a made-to-measure suit and then in a less expensive suit. Of course, people judged the man in the bespoke suit more favorably. Our impressions of others doesn’t stop with men in fancy suits. Even teachers make assumptions about a child’s academic ability based on their clothing.

Clothes don’t just shape what other people think about us; they even shape what we think about ourselves. A team of scientists discovered that when people dress to impress, they enhance their cognitive abilities. Dressing in fancy clothing makes a person think differently. It makes a person feel powerful, which changes their mental processes.

Romans 13:14 doesn’t tell us to dress up in formalwear, but it does tell us to wear Christ.

We talk a lot about walking with Christ, communing with Christ, loving Christ, following Christ, but we rarely discuss “Putting ON Christ.” What does it mean to wear Christ?

The Greek word used for ‘put on’ or ‘wear’ is the word endyō, which means to sink into something, and put it on as one wears clothes. According to Strong’s definition, this word can be literal or figurative. Gill’s exposition explains that we are to put on Christ as a person puts on clothes in the morning. The righteousness of Christ is compared to a garment, which covers our sins and imperfections.

Putting on Christ means placing our faith and hope in Him, trusting Him, submitting to Him, staying under His covering and living in His Presence. Choosing to think like Christ as we go about the day clothes us in His Grace. Choosing to meditate on Christ and His sacrifice clothes us in His Mercy as we go about our day.

We are to be completely clothed with Christ. He is to cover every inch of who we are. Any part that’s uncovered is exposed. The exposed parts are susceptible to the outside influences of the world. How do we stay completely covered? In the figurative sense, it is a submission of every area of our lives to Him. It means submitting habits, work, relationships, speech, thoughts, burdens, fears, and desires. When every area of our life is submitted to Him, we are clothed with His love, and we are wearing Christ.