Laziness

Lazy people bug me. Especially when those lazy people are professing Christians.

These last couple of weeks I have not gotten much sleep and this has led me to be quite tired at work and I have been tempted to be lazy. When my co-workers say that, "It's ok to take extra time to do tasks because you are getting paid by the hour," I have to disagree because God holds me to a higher standard than that. In fact, as a follower of Christ, I am called to be diligent in my work.

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men"  - Colossians 3:23

While my human boss may not know whether or not I am working as hard as I could, God, whom I shall refer to as my overall boss, knows everything.

It also helps to know that the Bible has much wisdom and promises to add to the subject of laziness laced throughout the book of Proverbs.

"The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labour." - Proverbs 12:24

"Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth." - Proverbs 12:27

"Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys." - Proverbs 18:9

"Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger." - Proverbs 19:15

These verses serve as great reminders that the reality is that for those who are lazy (slothful, slack), will have it rough in life while the diligent man, on the contrary, will be blessed. But we must remember that our focus must not be on gaining rewards, especially monetary ones.

"He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this is also vanity." - Ecclesiastes 5:10

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." - 1 Timothy 6:10

It can be hard sometimes to be satisfied with what money I have and how much I make at my job but I need to ask myself on a regular basis, "Why am I here?" While part of the reason is of course to make some money so that I can pay for school and eventually buy a house among other things, it is not the main reason. I stay at my job because I have built a reputation there and I have a strong desire to be a Christ-like example to my co-workers in hopes that they will someday become Christians. Until God makes it clear that I am to leave Canadian Tire, I will stay and work diligently for Him, whether I get more money or not.

"One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith...They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work." - Titus 1:12-13, 16

This passage talks about more than just being lazy but it serves as an example of those who profess Christ but live as though they don't know Him. Quite harsh words. I don't want to be like the Cretans and I hope that most people would say the same for themselves.

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." - Romans 12:11

This is all about the Lord. I wanted to end with this verse because without a deep and persevering passion for Him everything I said above has little to no meaning. It is because of God and His work within me that causes me to want to challenge my laziness for His sake. I pray for the strength and energy to press on.

Is That...Poop?

I've written about dreams that I've had before and simply because last night was so vivid and weird, here it is...

It all began that I was set to babysit for a young family from my church who have three little girls. Ages 1, 3, and 5. It was the 5-year-old's birthday party and we were going to watch Finding Nemo and eat pink cake. I was super excited to celebrate with the girls and I went downstairs to get the ice cream cake from the freezer. When I came back up the 1-year-old was screaming in her crib so I ran upstairs to see what the commotion was. She had little clumps of greenish yellow stuff in her crib and I immediately thought oh no! Poop!? After cleaning up what I could find of the greenish yellow goop in her crib, I discovered that there was a trail of it leading elsewhere. What's going on? It turned out that the 3-year-old was responsible for the mess and she had the poop all over her hands. I contained myself and managed to speak gently whilst explaining to her that we don't touch poop. After cleaning her up I examined the surroundings. The stuff was everywhere! On the hall carpet, in the bathroom sink, but the 3-year-old's bedroom contained the worst of it. Poop was all over her bed and the floor had little chunks spread about. It was disgusting. I went to retrieve the wipes from the 1-year-old's change table and was horrified to discover that it had chunks of poop in it too! This was an absolute disaster. How did she manage to get poop all over the place in less than two minutes? The consistency was almost goopy, but mostly chunky. I managed to clean up most of it when I thought to myself where is the source? I did not want to find more of it but I decided I'd play detective just in case there was a large portion hiding somewhere. Most of the chunks were in the 3-year-old's room and so I started searching there. After snooping around the bed and dresser a bit with no traces of large portions I found that the closet had greenish yellow stuff in a large yellow container which read "Play-Doh" on the label. Most of it had dried up, which would explain why some of it was in the bathroom sink and therefore wet and goopy everywhere else...

I was happy to wake up very relieved that none of that happened in real life. When I told one of my friends about the dream, she reminded me that my profession of choice will likely contain a lot of "poopy" situations. True that. Too bad not all poop is Play-Doh. :)

Never Get Tired of the Gospel

The word "gospel" simply means "good news." 

Who doesn't want to hear some good news? 

Whether you believe it or not, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the best news that ever existed and we have the privilege of sharing it with others so that they may respond to the call of God to salvation.

This morning one of the pastors at my church began a sermon series titled Gospel Conversations with Jesus and today he touched on the story of Nicodemus found in John 3.

We see in verse 2 that Nicodemus was drawn to Jesus as he mentions his notice of the miracles Jesus was doing. If you are a Christian, are people being drawn to the presence of Christ in you?

Verse 3 shows us that it is possible for someone to be religious and moral but still be spiritually dead because the only way to become alive spiritually is to be born again as Jesus says.

It is fitting that Nicodemus asks questions in verse 4 much like the ones I would have thought to ask. What is Jesus talking about? Born again? How is that even possible?

When we look at verses 5-6 we see that Jesus is talking about a spiritual transformation that is only possible with the power of the Holy Spirit. The flesh alone is weak and will always be weak and thus we cannot save ourselves and hope to enter the kingdom of God relying on our own strength (Ezekiel 36-25-27). 

In verse 8 Jesus tells us that those who are born of the Spirit are recognizably changed. As we do not understand the wind but know it exists, so it is with those who are born again spiritually. We know something is different about them but we do not understand it fully.

Jesus then refers back to the story of Moses in verses 14-15 where the Israelites were to look upon a bronze serpent if they were to survive fiery snake bites which God punished them with because of their sin (Numbers 21:4-9). He tells Nicodemus that as the snake image was lifted up for the people to look upon and be saved, so also must He be lifted up for the same purpose. That we might look upon Jesus and believe and be saved from the wrath of God that we deserve because of our sin.

Verses 19-21 explain the judgment of God for those who would not believe. The fact is that those who recognize their spiritual need will gladly come to the light for the glory of God and thus do what is true. It is only by the power of God that we would be humbled enough to see our wickedness and then choose to repent and believe in the Gospel.

So here is the challenge laid before us who are saved. We are called to go and boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ because there is no hope for those who believe in a different gospel. Paul says in Galatians 1:8-10 of those who would try to convince others that there is another way to be saved from hell (good works or infant baptism for example) that they be accursed for they are seeking the approval of man which will ultimately lead them to destruction for they do not fear the Lord.

Jesus is the only way to receive spiritual life! Come my Christian brothers and sisters, let us tell the world of the hope we have and may we never get tired of hearing and sharing the Gospel. May our hearts be filled with awe and thanksgiving to our Lord Jesus :).

I Look to the King by Meredith Andrews

On the battlefield
Where the fight is waged
My enemy is real
And my courage fades

I lift my eyes
Where does my help come from?

I look to the King
Eternal, Immortal,
Invincible God
I stand on the Rock of Ages
My Saviour
He conquered it all
I look to the King

On the battlefield
Of all that lies ahead
Here Your blood will speak
A greater word than death

I lift my eyes
Where does my help come from?

I look to the King
Eternal, Immortal,
Invincible God
I stand on the Rock of Ages
My Saviour
He conquered it all
I look to the King

Victorious, victorious
Reigning over us
Forevermore
Victorious
You alone are victorious
Reigning over us
Forevermore

I look to the King

"Working together with him [Jesus], then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, 'In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger, by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything." - 2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Salvation

I have committed myself to praying for a list of people on a regular basis. But I often wonder if it is possible to determine whether they are truly saved or not. What makes someone a Christian?

There is first the classic John 3:16 which says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

This leads me to ask the question: what does it mean to believe in Jesus?

Romans is where I'll head next. Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Also, verses 9-16 affirm that, "You, however are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God"

Therefore it can be assumed that, if someone has the Spirit of God dwelling within them, they will bear the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. Galatians 5:19-24 says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

Also, those who believe will have faith in the Word of God as Jesus says in John 5:24 and 45-46, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life...For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"

Another piece of evidence is that no one can do good in and of themselves without the Holy Spirit in their life. Everything is done with selfish motives otherwise. Romans 7:18 says "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out."

One more verse that perhaps sums a lot of this up is 1 Corinthians 12:3, "...no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, 'Jesus is accursed!' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit."

I heard a story once of a man who attended a Bible College  (this man was not a Christian) for a few years and decided that he would "fake" Christianity just to see what happened and sure enough, by the end of his studies the College wanted to put this man into leadership because he had such a believable "fake faith."

I have prayed that I would not be overwhelmed with discouraging sorrow when I discover that people who I once thought were genuine followers of Christ turn out to be living a "fake faith." This has happened several times and thus far my faith has continued strong and I have not been overwhelmed. After all, your faith is only as strong as who or what you are putting it in, and I would argue that God is strongest and He has reassured me as His Word says, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;" - 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

I can hope to be sure if I see some of the evidence listed above that someone is following Christ but apart from the individuals themselves, only the Lord truly knows a person's heart and whether or not they will be with Him in heaven someday. I must choose to put my faith in Him and leave the people on my prayer list in His hands. Trusting Him to work in their lives, drawing them to Himself, in hope that one day they may believe and be saved. My faith will not be shaken. I will strive to "pray without ceasing" - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 as I wait for the return of my Lord Jesus.

Thy Will by Hillary Scott

I'm so confused
I know I heard You loud and clear
So I followed through
Somehow I ended up here
I don't wanna think
I may never understand
That my broken heart is a part of Your plan
When I try to pray
All I've got is hurt and these four words

Thy will be done

I know You're good
But this don't feel good right now
And I know You think of things I could never think about
It's hard to count it all joy
Distracted by the noise
Just trying to make sense of all Your promises
Sometimes I gotta stop
Remember that You're God
And I am not
So...

Thy will be done
Like a child on my knees all that comes to me is
Thy will be done

I know You see me
I know You hear me, Lord
Your plans are for me
Goodness You have in store
So...

Thy will be done
Like a child on my knees all that comes to me is
Thy will be done

I know You see me
I know You hear me, Lord

Word of God Speak

How else would we expect to hear the voice of God but through His Word? His Word is the absolute truth and there is no other book on earth that proclaims itself as such. Having walked by faith for a large chunk of my life I have found that there is no reason for me to doubt that God's Word is exactly that and that in and through it He calls us to know who He is. How incredible is that?! That we can understand some of who God is! Of course we will never fully understand God, but that is why He is God, and I'll spend the rest of my life discovering as much about Him as I can for He has proved Himself faithful through and to His Word over and over again to me. After all, who am I to challenge what God has proclaimed? I am only human.

Even Jesus proclaimed that we need the Word of God when He said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" - Matthew 4:4

Jesus is also known as the Word as stated in John 1.

He also says this regarding the Word of God, "Whoever is of God hears the words of God." - John 8:47

Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16 that, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

Also, in Titus 1:9 regarding overseers in the church it is said, "He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Also, at the end of Scripture it is said, "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming soon,' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" - Revelation 22:18-20

 There's no turning back and so I'll sing...

Word of God Speak by MercyMe

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

Regarding the Heart

I found myself thinking about my heart today and how Scripture seems to talk about it a lot, perhaps it is because it is our center of hidden emotional-intellectual-moral activity within. So how important is what is going on in our hearts and what does God have to say about it?

Psalm 24:4-5 "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation."

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:30-31 "The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip."

Psalm 44:20-21 "If we has forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart."

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 66:18 "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened."

Psalm 81:11-12 "But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels."

Psalm 101:2-5 "I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil. Whoever slanders his neighbour secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure."

Psalm 119:11 "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

Psalm 119:36 "Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!"

Psalm 119:80 "May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame!"

Psalm 139:23 "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"

Psalm 141:4 "Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!"

Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."

Proverbs 4:23 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life."

Proverbs 11:20 "Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are his delight."

Proverbs 12:20 "Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy."

Proverbs 12:25 "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad."

Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life."

Proverbs 14:10 "The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy."

Proverbs 15:28 "The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things."

Proverbs 16:9 "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."

Proverbs 17:3 "The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts."

Proverbs 19:3 "When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD."

Proverbs 20:9 "Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin'?"

Proverbs 21:2 "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart."

Proverbs 27:19 "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man."

I have limited the content of this post to focus on Psalms and Proverbs though matters regarding the heart are found throughout the whole of God's Word. A lot of these verses are simply truth statements while others are prayers. It is a lot to take in and consider, especially because we are commanded first and foremost to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). God knows what is going on in our hearts and He will disclose the purpose of the heart when He comes (1 Corinthians 4:5) so let us be eager to align our hearts with His and cry out to Him in prayer to help us to do so as it is both for His glory and our good. :)

Choose by Christy Nockels

As I sit here, the weight of my sin upon my heart, this song is lifted up as a prayer...


Let me be in love with what You love
Let me be most satisfied in You
Forsaking what this world has offered me
I choose to be in love with You
I will choose to be in love with You

Let me know the peace that's mine in You
Let me know the joy my heart can sing
For I have nothing Lord apart from You
I choose to call on Christ in me
I will choose to call on Christ in me

For in the fullness of who You are
I can rest in this place
And giving over this, my journey Lord
I see nothing but Your face

Let me know that You have loved me first
Let me know the weight of my response
For You have long pursued my wandering heart
I choose to glory in Your cross
I will choose to glory in Your cross

And I bow down, my beloved here I am
Humbly, I bow down, my beloved here I am
Humbly, I bow down, my beloved here I am
I bow down


Thank You Lord Jesus, I'm Yours