“Daddy’s not here,” I told Jake on my way from the kitchen to the laundry room for the third time in half an hour. His head pops up anytime I walk near the garage door between eleven and two. His internal clock keeps trying to push dinner earlier and earlier. “You can wait until at least two,” I remind him. My husband feeds our Great Dane, Jake, his breakfast before he leaves for work each morning. The grandkids and I usually give him another meal around two and now that we’ve had to cut out treats that started upsetting his tummy, he gets an extra scoop after we have our dinner. When we got Jake and Ella we were advised to divide their food into smaller servings and it didn’t take long to realize why. Akin to a Hoover, they vacuumed up whatever we put in front of them in short order. Ella would often choke on her food and it would come back just as quickly as it went down. Jake chokes his down with more success but we pace him by using a special bowl and feeding him smaller portions throughout the day.
My husband has a definite soft spot for animals, ours, strays, and even the wild ones that roam the woods across from our home and sometimes wander into the road and meet their demise. It hurts his heart. So you will not be surprised to learn that Jake defers to him when he begs. He will stand nearly eye to eye with Paul when he’s seated at the dinner table and give him the look before attempting to prop his chin on the edge of the table or brazenly lick the edge of Paul’s plate. At first, in deference to me, he orders Jake to his bed but it’s not long before he abandons his meal to take Jake out. Jake gets his scoop many nights before my husband’s dinner is finished. The eight and a half year old dog knows how to tug at his heart strings in the same way our grandchildren do. He has a hard time saying no. He can but there is a visible struggle. “You’re such an old softie,” I remind him. I’ve had to learn that does not mean I am the opposite.
When our children were young, my husband’s job responsibilities severely limited the time he spent with me and the children. For about a decade, there was really no way around it. While he was away, I single-handedly managed our growing family. When he was home, Paul hated having to say no or enforce any of the boundaries that helped me to survive the days without him. I know he hated it because he told me so, saying, “I get so little time with them, I hate being the heavy!” I reminded him that when he was away, it fell to me and that I needed his help to maintain the rhythms that worked. Some days it felt like all I did was repeat myself, correcting the same behaviors again and again but consistently teaching, modeling and expecting appropriate behavior has paid long term benefits for all three of our children. That knowledge did not keep me from feeling like the killjoy at the end of a long day. Feelings are just emotions and at the end of the day, they must not be allowed to dictate actions. I can have a tender heart and still stand firm.
Who comes to you for their yes? Who do you struggle to disagree with? More urgently, who are you refusing to tell the truth from fear? When I prioritize anything or anyone over obedience to God, I have made an idol of that person or thing. I am in effect saying no to God rather than saying no to that person or thing. Conversely, where are you looking the other way and calling it love while a soul for whom Christ died drifts toward eternity apart from Him? When we face criticism or rejection, silence or withdrawal of friendship, ostracism, or withholding love at the hand of someone close to us, the sting stays with us, pressing in anytime we find ourselves in a situation where we fear speaking the truth may cost us something or someone. God has given each of us a sphere of influence in this world. Some people we encounter daily in our homes and workplaces. What about those at the gym or in your classes or commute? Some we encounter less frequently but still with regularity and others we meet in passing and may never meet again. God can use every interaction as we surrender our hearts and minds to His purposes and stay immersed in His Word.
I remember when I was a teenager and my parents volunteered as youth leaders in our church, often opening our home for gatherings and fellowship. I enjoyed feeling like I had influence and possibly more maturity than I actually possessed when my peers would come to me with their temptations and moral dilemmas. They confided in me, essentially asking me to give the nod to whatever plan they had obviously already decided. Forty years later, I regret not being more forthright and outspoken with them when I had the opportunity. They wanted my agreement. When I said nothing, I was like Saul as he held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen. (Acts 7:58) How I wish I had been as bold as Stephen!
“Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for what is right.
They will be filled.
Blessed are those who show mercy.
They will be shown mercy.
Blessed are those whose hearts are pure.
They will see God.
Blessed are those who make peace.
They will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who suffer for doing what is right.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
Blessed are you when people make fun of you and hurt you because of me.
You are also blessed when they tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me.
Be joyful and glad.
Your reward in heaven is great.
In the same way, people hurt the prophets who lived long ago.
You are the salt of the earth.
But suppose the salt loses its saltiness.
How can it be made salty again?
It is no longer good for anything.
It will be thrown out.
People will walk all over it.
You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill can’t be hidden.
Also, people do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead, they put it on its stand.
Then it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine so others can see it.
Then they will see the good things you do.
And they will bring glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:6-16 NIRV
https://bible.com/bible/110/mat.5.6-16.NIRV
How must Holy God feel when His children who claim His saving grace in the sacrifice He provided in Jesus become comfortable with sin, laughing at what He condemns while condoning and even embracing lifestyles and choices that go against His obvious design simply to keep peace or save face as if we had no other choice?
“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.
He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.
By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.
(It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)”
Ephesians 2:1-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.2.5.NLT
“Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others.
God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.
If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God.
And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit.
Either way, Christ’s love controls us.
Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.
He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves.
Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.
At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view.
How differently we know him now!
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.
The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.
And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.
And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.
We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:11, 13-21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.5.11-21.NLT
We do not need to allow ourselves to be guilted into silence. We are not loving others as Jesus loved us by keeping Truth to ourselves. Will those feelings or excuses comfort you when you stand before Christ?
“Stop deceiving yourselves.
If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.
As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”
And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.””
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.3.18-20.NLT
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.
But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done.
The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.
But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss.
The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.3.11-15.NLT
The great commission is indeed a daunting task and all the more when you consider Jesus entrusted it to eleven men. Remember his closing words. I am with you always!
“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.28.18-20.NLT
Jesus is God’s Yes to everything He has planned. He is the eternal Amen. Let it be as You say, Lord. Jesus is building His Church and the gates of hell will not overpower it! (Matthew 16:18) “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.3.16-17.NLT
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
“For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!”
And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ.
He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.”
2 Corinthians 1:20-22 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.1.20-22.NLT
demons ~Josiah Queen https://youtu.be/DB7_4iwlxxc?is=cUbWLP_IPoJzpo3T
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