DAY #39: November 10, 2010

We're going to be looking at how to secure God's dream for your life these next several days. Yesterday, we started looking at potential dream busters. We'll continue that line of thought today.

#2. Friends can be dreambusters.

In Mark 5 we have the story of Jairus, a man who had a sick daughter. He had come to Jesus and said, "Jesus would you heal her?" while Jesus was walking to the house, it says v. 35 "While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus [they were his friends, they came from his house] and they said, `Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher any more?'" They said, "Jairus, we know you've got a dream. We know that your desire is for your daughter to be healed but she's dead. It's hopeless. Why bother?" With friends like that, who needs enemies?

I like what Jairus did, in v. 36, "Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, `Don't be afraid just believe.'" Sometimes you have to ignore your friends. They're going to say, Why bother? Why put forth the effort? They can be a dreambuster.

The Bible says, “Watch who your friends are.” They can influence you. "Bad company corrupts good character." It also busts your dreams. It drains you of enthusiasm. You have heard me say this before, and it is so true. Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future!

The fact is, sometimes your family can be a dream buster. Sometimes your friends can be a dream buster. There’s a third potential dream buster!

#3. Fatigue can be a dreambuster!

Sometimes we're just too tired to be creative. We get so busy that we don't have time for long range planning. You get so busy in the now you can't think about what's ten years ahead. You get tired and you lose your interest and your vision starts to shrink and you get burned out and you settle for second best.

1 Kings 19 is the story of Elijah. It's a clear example of this. Elijah had just had a tremendous experience with the Lord in the God contest up on Mt. Carmel. After it's over, he hears that Jezebel is trying to kill him. So he runs across the desert. He's physically drained, emotionally exhausted, and mentally he's a washout. He runs and hides in a cave and has a pity party. "Poor me! I'm the only one left. I'm going to throw in the towel. Take my life. Let's get it over with. I'm tired of living. Let's just settle it now!" I call this the Elijah Syndrome! You get so fatigued, you lose your dream. You focus on the problem instead of the problem solver!

I love God's antidote to fatigue!. 19:5, Elijah had fallen asleep under a tree. "The angel touched him and said, `Get up and eat.'" He looked around and there was a cake of bread baked by some hot coals and he ate and drank and lays back down and goes asleep again. The angel comes a second time and touches him and says, "Get up and eat some more. The journey is too much for you."

God's antidote to Elijah's depression was eat, sleep, eat, sleep. Sometimes it's amazing how much better things look after a good night's rest. Here is great truth that you can build your life on…

Never make a major decision when you're depressed. That is one time when procrastination is legitimate. Put it off. They tell you in seminary, “Never resign on Mondays, after a full day on Sunday.” Never make a major decision when you're depressed. Never decide to quit when you're tired. You'll regret it. Wait until you get a little energy back, you get your perspective back.

DAY #38: November 9, 2010

Good Morning! As we start this next week of devotions, I want to encourage you to start to see the dream that God has for your life. Not your dream for your life, not your parents dream for your life, not the dream that others have for your life - but God's dream for your life. Folks, if you're going to see God's dream and get God's dream for your life, you must increase your faith.

In Hebrew 11:1 it says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and being certain of what we do not see." The Amplified Version says, "Faith is perceiving as real what is not revealed to the senses."

Faith starts with the way you look at God and His dream for your life. Faith starts with the way you see things, it starts with your imagination and your perception.
Your imagination is a God given ability. Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Napoleon said, "Imagination rules the world." Thomas Edison said “without imagination, all is lost – for it brings hope to the soul.”

Our God-given dreams determine our lives, they define our lives. So, let me ask you - what is God's dream for life? You know what I have found to be true? The older we get, the more we lose our capacity to dream. Kids love to dream, but the older we get, the more we have been beat up by life, the more pain we have experienced, the more disappointments we have encountered, it seems the more cynicism and negativity and lack of dreaming there is.

The next few days we're going to look at some potential dream busters. You have to be aware of these things if you're going to live the life of faith – if you’re going to establish a dream for your life God's dream!

Some examples from the Word of God of things we need to be aware of -- people and events that shrink or bust our dreams.

#1. Your family is a potential dreambuster.

Genesis 37. The example of Joseph. Joseph was really a big thinker. He was number ten of twelve brothers. Yet he said, "I've had this dream. One day you're going to bow down to me and I'm going to rule over everybody." Right! Sure. Joseph was kind of the Rodney Dangerfield of his family. He couldn't get any respect. Sometimes when you've got a dream the best thing to do is just keep quiet about it around those people who aren't going to be a part of helping you realize God's dream for your life.

They're just going to be critics. The brothers come to him and say, "Who do you think you are Joseph? We know you're just a kid in this family!"

Some of you have experienced that reaction with brothers or sisters and mothers and fathers. You've got a great plan, "Mom, Dad. This is what I'm going to do..." And they say, "Oh... sure! Or, that's to big of a dream or that's a nice goal to have." They deflate your dream. You want their approval but the reaction is thumbs down.

Even Jesus had this problem. Mark 6. Even Jesus had problems with unbelief in His own family and people in His own home town. After Jesus had started His ministry, He goes back to Nazareth. (Home town boy makes good!) He comes home and the reaction is less than favorable. Mark 6:1, Jesus left there and went to His home town accompanied by His disciples. He walks in and starts teaching in the synagogue.

v. 2 "`Where did this man get these things?' they asked. `What's the wisdom that's been given to him, he that has done miracles? Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon and aren't his sisters here with us?" They said, Jesus, who do you think you are? This is just old Joe and Mary's son! And here he comes into town acting like He's God. He was. It says, "They took offense at him."

Whose unbelief has deflated your faith and your dreams? Later on it says, "Jesus said, `Only in his own time, among his relatives and in his own house, is a prophet without honor.' And He could not do any miracles because of their unbelief." He couldn't do any mighty works. Who in your life deflates your dream? Father? Mother? Wife? Husband? Who is it that says, "You could never do that!" Families can be dreambusters.

How should you respond to their unbelief? Keep moving forward. Keep on persevering. Keep on keeping on. AND surround yourselves with people who will come alongside of you to help you realize God's dream for your life.

DAY #37: November 8, 2010

We start one more new week in our spiritual growth campaign today. This week, we're talking about putting the things God teaches into practice - specifically in our work. Our memory verse this week is Colossians 3:23 (NIV) - "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."
That's what we want to talk about this week.

The most important thing we know is that God doesn't want you to be afraid. Ephesians 3:12 "In Christ, we can come before God with freedom and without fear... Notice the words "with freedom" and "without fear". ...We can only live a life that honors Christ through faith in Christ." We're going to look at the Foundation for No fear Living. It’s as simple as A-B-C.

A= ACCEPT GOD'S LOVE FOR ME.

1 John 4:18 says, "Where God's love is, there is no fear because God's perfect love drives out fear." The Bible says that Love is the antidote to fear. Not just any love, but the Love of God. When you have His love – when you know His love, it drives out the fear from our lives.

Ophra asked Dr. Phil (there’s a combo – huh?) recently – “Dr. Phil, what is the deepest need of every person?” What is my deepest need? Dr. Phil responded – correctly I might add – “to be loved” Folks, Your deepest need in life is to feel absolutely, totally, unconditionally loved. Completely loved. Not for something you could be, not for something you should be, but loved just as you are. That is your deepest inner need. That's why perfect love casts out fear.

Until this issue is resolved, you're going to be tormented by fears. Only God can love you with as much love as you really need. Only God can do it. God doesn't love you randomly. He loves you consistently. He loves you every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year. There's never been a time in your life when God didn't love you. That's not true of everybody else. Only God can love you as deeply as you really need to feel loved.

If you want to build a foundation in your life, your family, your marriage – you have to build it on something that can not be taken away. The starting place to building that foundation is to accept God's love because where God's love is there is no fear.

But some of you say, "But you don't know what I've done! I've blown it too much. God can never love me." Wrong. Romans 8:39 says, "Nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus." Notice the word "nothing". That means nothing! God has never stopped loving you. That doesn't mean He approves of everything you've done. He doesn't approve of everything you've done. But He's never stopped loving you.

Probably everybody here in this room knows about God's love. It's another thing to accept it. You're never going to feel it until you first accept it.

B= BELIEVE THAT CHRIST DIED AND ROSE FOR ME.

It's one thing to believe about something, it's another thing to believe in something. It's one thing to believe about a person. it's another thing to believe in a person. For instance, I believe about Howard Stern. But I don't believe in Howard Stern.

People say, "I believe there's a God." I say - So what? Big deal! Do you think that puts you in the Book of Life because you believe there's a God? Folks, Christianity is not just believing about God, it's believing in God. Romans 10:9 (NIV) says, “if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Having a personal relationship with God involves believing that He came to earth to show you his love. Jesus showed you that love by dying for your sins. (Somebody has to pay the price for your sins) He proved He was God by coming back from death. If you want a personal relationship with God, you have to believe that and confess that.

Some people ask, “If I believe in Jesus what difference will it make?” There are a lot of differences that Jesus will make in your life,, but one of them is if you believe in Jesus and you believe what He says about the future is true, about salvation, then you can stop being afraid, Afraid of death. Afraid of Monday morning. Afraid that your financial security is being ripped away.

Folks, You need Jesus Christ in your life. You need to have a relationship with God, not cause you're going to die tonight, because you're probably not. You might, but you're probably not. You need Christ in your life because you're going to live tomorrow and you are going to die someday.

A third thing you need to if you’re to build a no-fear foundation.
C= COMMIT MY FEARS AND MY LIFE TO CHRIST.

1 Peter 3:14-15 (GN) says, "Don't be afraid of anyone and don't worry, but have reverence for Christ in your heart and honor him as Lord." Notice the word "Lord". That's not a word we use a whole lot. We don't have lords and ladies and counts in America. This is a democracy. What does it mean to be Lord? It says honor Christ as Lord. It means let Him be the manager of your life. Let Him be the boss. Let Him call the shots. Let Him be the chairman of the board.

He doesn't want to be resident in your life, He wants to be president in your life. "God, You be number one." That's what it means to be Lord. Let God be God! To honor Christ as Lord means He's the only person you ultimately have to please.

If you really make Christ Lord of your life, then He becomes the only person ultimately you have to please, do you think that might simplify your life? Do you think it might reduce the stress? Do you think it might release the tension? If you weren't try to gain the approval of 50 people, but instead focused on one person, knowing if you do what He says to do, it's always the right thing to do. Doesn't that make sense?

1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." Imagine a garbage bag in front of you in which you cast all your worries and fears. Fill up the garbage bag with your worries and fears. Tie it all up and toss it out. The garbage truck comes along and picks it up. This verse tells us to throw your worries and fears on God, because He cares for you.

I wonder how many people in America – throughout the world would like to be able to take all their fears – throw them in a trash bag and let God pick them up and take them out of our lives. Folks, this is why you need God in your life.

As long as you try to be God, you'll be filled with fear. You'll be filled with worry. WHY? You can't handle it all yourself. This week I talked with a guy who said, "My life is overwhelmed with fear and emptiness and frustration. Everything I’ve worked for is gone.” Maybe you feel that way today – maybe you have that fear today. The foundation you’ve built your life upon has been shaken. Give God that fear this morning and let Him build a new foundation that can never be shaken.

Why don't you accept God's love today and come home to Him this morning. 1 Peter 1:2says, "May God bless you richly and grant you increasing freedom from all anxiety and fear." That's my prayer for you this morning, that you will have increasing freedom from all anxiety and fear.

I love you guys.

DAY #36: November 7, 2010

Relationship Principle #7: THE GREATEST ARE THE SERVANTS.

With this last relationship principle, I want us to look at this verse in our Bibles together to get a sense of what Jesus has to teach us about one of the greatest decisions you and I could ever make to build some of the greatest relationships that you’d ever dream possible. Whether it’s a relationship with a husband or wife or our kids or one of our friends or a Christian that we’re ministering with, somebody we go to school with, this is Jesus’ advice about how to build the greatest relationships.

It came from a couple of His disciples arguing about relationships and being angry about what was, in the disciples’ hearts, a real desire for greatness. They desired to be great and do great things.

Mark 10:42-45 (ESV) says, “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Every single day of my life, every single day of your life, we face this simple test of greatness. Exalt yourself. OR Humble yourself. It’s the simplest test of greatness. Jesus said that the way the world thinks about this test of greatness is all turned upside down from the way he wants you to think about this test of greatness. In every relationship of our lives we face this simple test: exalt yourself/humble yourself. What will it be. It can’t be both. Exalt yourself or humble yourself.

This last great relationship principle of Jesus is all about how to be great at being humble. The question is, how can we get great at being humble? This is a huge question. I think a lot of people think they don’t go together. But Jesus lays it out for us in Matthew 23:11-12 (ESV).

Once more the disciples are clamoring about who’s going to be the greatest when they all get to heaven – who’s going to be closest to Jesus when we get to heaven. Jesus says, “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Folks, HUMILITY IS A SIGN THAT YOU really know God. Because when you really know God, you don’t need the attention. You don’t need to be the center. You want God to get the glory. You want God’s name to be lifted up. This is so key. Jesus really wants us to get this. So He told His disciples and He tells us…

DON’T be like the Pharisees: In Matthew 23:5-6 (ESV) Jesus say this – “They (the Pharaisees) do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues.”

There’s some guys who needed some notice. Everything they did, Jesus said, was for men to see. They’d become people, even religiously who every action of their life was for notice. Then He gave a list of three things they did. They made their phylacteries wide, they loved the places of honor at banquets, and they loved to have men call them rabbi. It’s a pretty good list of the ways that we try to get notice even today.

“Their phylacteries wide”. What is a phylactery? It sounds like one of those dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. A phylactery was a box with scripture in it. They would carry this around with them all the time. The wider you made it meant the more scriptures you were trying to memorize and put into your life. The fact that this exhibited a need for notice is seen in the fact that these phylacteries, you didn’t put them in your pocket, under your prayer robe.

You wore these phylacteries on your forehead so that everybody could see. That’s a need for notice, I think! This is the love of symbols. This is the love of things that people can look at and say, “Wow! They’ve got it together!” We look at these Pharisees and think they wore these phylacteries on their foreheads, how silly!

Yet if you think it through, we try to impress people with some pretty silly symbols, don’t we? Don’t get me wrong. God doesn’t care about the make of car that you drive. Or what logo might be on your clothes. You don’t have to drive a Hyundai to be holy. But God does care about WHY you drive the make if car that you drive. God does care about WHY you wear the kind of clothes that you wear. He does care about why you live where you live and if the whole reason is because you want people to see and be impressed, that’s like being a Pharisee. Jesus said watch out for this attitude in your lives.

“They love the places of honor at banquets”. Not only do they have the love of symbols but they also had a love of recognition. Nothing will destroy relationships more quickly than one in the relationship who has to have all the recognition. He said, “They love to have men call them rabbi”. That’s the love of titles. They loved to have Doctor or Rabbi or whatever after their name. One of the things I like about COV is it’s a church without titles. We don’t have the Holy Right Reverend Mike around here. It’s just Pastor Mike or even just Mike.

Folks, here’s the point - You exalt yourself when you need others’ notice. The alternative is you humble yourself – you notice others’ needs. You’re looking around and you see other people and you see the needs in their life and you begin to take more and more delight in meeting those needs.

Put these relationship principles of Jesus into practice. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #35: November 6, 2010

Relationship Principle #6: THINK OF OTHERS AS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOURSELF.

Let me ask you right out the shoot – is this the way most people usually think? Is that the way even you usually think? It's very difficult not to think of ourselves as the most important human beings in the universe. In fact sometimes we even think of ourselves as being even more important than God.

We struggle with that. Jesus said, Here's this principle of how you can think of others as more important than yourself and it changes everything about your relationships. Let me be very clear from the very beginning. He's not saying to think of yourself as less important. He's saying to think of others as more important. Do you see the difference?

You should see yourself as valuable, incredibly valuable in God's sight. If you see yourself as valuable and you think of others as more important that yourself, then the more valuable you see yourself in God's sight, what does that do to others who you're seeing as more important? It even increases their value. So this isn't about devaluing yourself. It’s about valuing others and what God wants to do through their lives.

How do you think of others as more important? And how do you act to live out this principle? Philippians 2:3-5 is one of those great passages in the Bible where it gives us an insight into the character of Jesus Christ. “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”

Folks, there are in these verses two attitudes that are guaranteed to kill any relationship. You bring these attitudes into any marriage, any father son, father daughter relationship, any relationship a mom has with her kids, any friendship; these two attitudes will kill a relationship.

1. Selfish ambition. That's when you're always asking the question, "What will I get?" What am I going to get out of this relationship? When it's all just "What will I get," it doesn't work. It kills any relationship.

2. Vain conceit. This is not "What will I get?" but "How will I look?" Have you ever known anybody who wears relationships like flashy gold bracelet? A trophy wife or a trophy husband. They have that person that's on their arm and they just want everybody to see who they have. How do I look and how does this person I'm with make me look?

These two attitudes are not the kind of attitudes that Jesus had. He didn't mind who He hung around with. He didn't mind giving to everyone that He met. I was thinking this week, what if the good Samaritan had had these two attitudes? He’s walking down the road and sees the guy who's sick at the side and says, "Well, if I go and help that guy, what am I going to get out of it?

Maybe he's rich. Maybe he'll give me some money back. If I go and help that guy how's it going to make me look?" Did he think, "Maybe it'll get me in the Bible someday if I go and help this guy?" It's a story that Jesus told and in that story he didn't care what he'd get out of it. He didn't care how he would look. He just helped somebody else. He just considered somebody else more important than himself.

Jesus' definition of humility is key here. Jesus' definition of humility is not that you consider yourself as worse than others. But it's to consider others better than yourself. I know many, many people who struggle with that. When it comes to this thing of relationships and what will I get and how will I look, one of the reasons we struggle with it is we haven't discovered what true
humility is.

We've been taught – maybe even in church – or we picked up from somebody, somehow that it is this thing of thinking less of myself. And we think so much less of ourselves that we are constantly concerned with What am I going to get? and How am I going to look? We’ve got to settle this humility thing if we're going to have great relationships.

Humility is not thinking less of myself; it is thinking more of others. Humility is being honest about both my strengths and my weaknesses. Humility is seeing that without Christ, I can do nothing but in Christ I can do all things. We can start to think like others are more important. That gives you the freedom to think as if others are more important.

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!

DAY #34: November 5, 2010

Relationship Priciple #5:COMMUNICATION THAT MAKES A POSITIVE IMPACT IS HONEST.

As I read through the words that Jesus said to people, the way He communicated, if I had to choose one word to describe the communication of Jesus it would be “honest” in the most spiritual sense of the word He was honest. Honest means truthful. Jesus was truthful.

Honesty means you’re able to tell the truth. But it’s more than that. Some people think that’s all it is, just the bear bones truth. But if you look at the way Jesus spoke to people, the gentleness, the compassion, the love you see that it’s more than that. It’s not only truthful, it’s also thoughtful. You think through how to say the truth. Truthful is not always thoughtful.

Some people use the truth like a shotgun. They tell the truth, they tell it like it is and they don’t care who they hurt. They don’t just tell the truth, they aim the truth. For all of us, even if you aren’t one of those kinds of people, we have to think about what we say. Phrases like “You do well for your age,” or “I can’t believe you did such a good job.” We have to think through what we’re saying. We’ve all slipped with those!

The truth sometimes hurts but it doesn’t have to main, kill and destroy. When Jesus spoke to people He looked into their eyes and they knew that He loved them. They knew that He cared. He was truthful but He was also thoughtful. There’s a balance.

When I think about honesty, it’s a lot easier for me to be nice than to be honest. I like people to like me. Sometimes when you’re honest with someone there’s a moment or two there where they’re not really happy with you because you’ve been honest with them. Sometimes it’s easier to be nice than to be honest.

Sometimes we want to be nice to people rather than impact their lives. It’s true in our businesses. Tom Peters wrote that CEOs who lead the corporate revolution are straight shooters; they have a flatout attachment to the truth. Bad news or not, they give it to you straight. He’s just picking up on a Biblical truth.

Ephesians 4:15 says, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” That’s a struggle for some of us. We would rather be liked than to be honest. We would rather be liked than to impact a life for Christ. For some us, God needs to grow us in this area of life.

Ephesians 4:29 gives the power to do just that. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Words are the single most important tool given to mankind by God.

Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” So Jesus teaches us to use the right words, to be honest. Communication is an art. Sometimes I think I’m still setting there with crayons, trying to learn to color between the lines. There’s a lot to learn but let’s learn it. Let’s not be satisfied with where we are.

BECAUSE JESUS IS HONEST, HIS WORDS ARE OFTEN SURPRISING.

Jesus is honest and because He is, His words are often very surprising. You read some of the words of Jesus and it doesn’t sound like He’s applying for the United Nations Diplomatic Corp at all. Jesus commends a Gentile that he’s just met for his great faith. Yet Simon Peter who’s followed Him for years He puts him down for his lack of faith. When He did, when He
challenged him for his lack of faith, was when Simon Peter tried to walk on the water.

Jesus is walking on the water, Simon sees Jesus. He gets out of the boat saying, “Command me to walk to You.” He takes two or three steps at least on the water and then he notices the wind and the waves and he begins to sink. If I’d been Jesus in that situation, after all he did take two or three steps on water! It would be natural for Jesus to say, “Great job! None of the other guys got out of the boat.” But because He’s honest and He could see into Peter’s heart and He knew that he could have done more by the power of Christ available, He honestly said to him, “You have a lack of faith in your life.” That’s surprising to me.

He calls the Pharisees snakes and hypocrites but then later says, Father forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing. He does both. Jesus rebuked His friend sternly but then He loved him sacrificially. That’s the kind of words He
spoke. He didn’t think a rebuke at one time meant He could never speak kindly about that person again. No, He rebuked Peter and said, Satan get behind me. But then He said, “God has love for no one like this: that one lay down his life for his friends. And you are My friends,

[He says talking to His eleven disciples – Judas had left] if you do what I command.” The challenging question behind all this is, Are my words well balanced by honesty? Rather than being a flatterer or a destroyer, am I an encourager telling the truth, using the truth to encourage others rather than to hurt others or lift myself up. Are they balanced by honesty?


I wouldn’t be honest if we didn’t end with looking at the facts. It didn’t always go well for Jesus. There were times when communication didn’t work. He was perfect and He always communicated perfectly but the people He was talking to weren’t perfect. Same as you and I – we’re “perfect” but the people we’re talking to aren’t perfect!!!

No, we’re talking about two imperfect communicators now. There’s going to be problems. Look at how Jesus handled those problems.

When Jesus was criticized, He gave a clear and confident response. The Pharisees said, “You’re boasting! You’re lying!” And Jesus simply said to them when they looked Him in the eye and said, “Where is Your father?” Do you know what
kind of criticism that was?

The Greek language and the historical background reveal a little more. They were actually accusing Jesus of some of the rumors that were circulating at the time, that Mary had become pregnant before she was married so that Jesus was an illegitimate child. That’s what they’re saying here. Jesus looked at them and said, “You don’t know who I am so you don’t know who My Father is. If you knew Me you would know Me too.” That’s a clear and confident response.

When I’m criticized I want to attack rather than clearly and confidently say this is the truth. But He was able to do that. When criticized He gave a clear response.

When doubted Jesus offered proof. Thomas came and said, “I have doubts.” And Jesus said, “Here I am. Put your finger in my hands. That’s the proof. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me but I want to give some proof to you.” Jesus focused not on peoples’ doubt but on their needs. He could have said, “Who do you think you are to challenge Me?”

Jesus enabled people to touch Him and see the reality of who He was. I can’t answer every doubt in somebody’s mind there are some doubts I can’t answer. But those that I can, I should. We also have to be honest about the fact that oftentimes needs arise out of our doubts. And the very reason I have these needs in my life is if I’d just solve the faith problem. Jesus was able to do
that.

And when ridiculed He was silent. Isaiah 53:7 (ESV) says, “HE was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”

On the cross He was silent. When they spit at Him and ridiculed Him He didn’t say anything back. At that point it wasn’t a criticism but just pure ridicule. Folks, some comments don’t deserve an answer. Let it go! There’s no way to answer them. It’s just ridicule. There’s no fact behind it. There’s no reason to answer it. So just let it go. You answer criticism sometimes but you don’t answer ridicule.

Prayer:
Jesus, give us words to encourage. Give us words to build up. Give us the power to do relationships different – better than we have in the past.

This is not just an issue of try harder. For some us, yes it is the issue of try. It’s got to be on your radar screen – relationships and communication. But the real issues is bigger. The real issue is having Jesus Christ in your life. In control of your life., At the center of your life. Folks, to do relationships better, you need a relationship with Jesus Christ.

DAY #33: November 4, 2010

Relationship principle #1 = Jesus placed the highest value on relationships. Love God and love others. So should we.

Relationship principle #2 = Jesus repeatedly told us – act like your feelings are important. Guard your heart. Pay attention to it.

Relationship principle #3 = We are to love others just like Christ loves us. Serve others. Sacrifice for others.

RELATIONSHIP PRINCIPLE #4: Communicate from the HEART. Jesus also taught us that communication is always from the heart.

If you want to understand what it is to talk to each other and why things work sometimes and why they don’t, you have to understand what Jesus taught about communication being from the heart. Matthew 12:34 Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Idon’t like that. I just want to say “It was a slip of the tongue, I didn’t mean to say it.”

Have you ever had one of those moments when something comes out of your mouth and you didn’t mean to say it and you know the results that are going to happen from it and you wish somehow you could reach out there and bring it back in? You want to say it was just a slip of the tongue but for Jesus words were never a slip of the tongue; they were always an overflow of the heart.

He says in Mark 7:15 “Your souls aren’t harmed by what you eat but by what you think and say.” Do you see the vicious circle? Jesus said it’s out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks but then He also says that your souls are harmed by what you say. Out of the overflow of the heart my mouth speaks but what my mouth speaks can hurt my heart. An incredibly vicious circle.

I was reading about a vicious circle this week of a man who was out running laps at a local high school and he saw some football players getting ready for then new year and they were running wind sprints. He said to himself, “Those guys are a lot younger than I am but I can probably run laps – jogging – as long as they’re running wind sprints.” He keeps running and running and they keep running and running. Round and round. Finally he quits. He’s walking off the field worn out and one of the high school kids comes up to him and says, “May, I’m sure glad you stopped. Our coach told us that as long as that old man kept running we had to keep running!” That’s a vicious circle.

That’s what happens in our hearts. You have angry words which result in a wounded soul and a bitter heart which result in angry words and an angry soul and a bitter heart…. And it just goes around and around. Have you ever experienced an escalation of communication? Where is just seems to get worse and worse and you seem powerless to stop it. You’ve experienced what Jesus is talking about.

The power of words in communication. “Shouting? Who’s shouting?” or “Who are you calling a jerk, you idiot?” Those kinds of escalations of communication. Can you see some places in your life where you’re caught up in this circle? Maybe at work.
Maybe at home. Maybe with friends. Maybe it’s a circle caused by a selfish heart or a prideful heart or a greedy heart. Maybe your heart is set on pleasure and that evil that’s within you comes out of you and then it goes back into you again.

Maybe it’s an unforgiving heart. When I look at a pattern like this, my question is, “How do I break the pattern?” The start is in the heart. If I can break the pattern there, then the words become different, the heart isn’t wounded like it was and I begin to grow. How do you change your heart? It’s not enough to just talk it out. Some problems you talk them out again and again but you just keep coming back to them. You can’t get past them. You may have talked for hours/months/years
about this problem. Talking is important. And sometimes it does take a long time to break through a problem. But there is something else that is important.

I have to refocus my heart. Something has to happen inside. And Jesus told us how. Matthew 6:21 Jesus said (again on the Sermon on the Mount) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Jesus is clear: If I want to change the direction of my heart I have to change the location of my treasure. If I want to change what’s going on in my heart, I have to change something about what’s important to me. I have to take what’s important to me and put it in God’s hands. You break the pattern by trusting God and obeying what He says. And God says people are important. Treasure them.

Make an intentional decision to redistribute some treasure in your life. Put it in His hands rather than your hands. And it not only brings joy to your life but it betters all the relationships in your life. Because it changes your heart.

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!