Food for Thought…

Life is amazing.  Now, before you disagree, let me qualify that statement. 

Life isn’t always good, despite what the shirts say.  I know that.  But life isn’t always bad, either.  Life has its ups and downs, which occur regularly.  One day you can ride the crest of the wave and the next day be underwater.  One day you may sustain a devasting blow and the next day be completely delivered.  Life is seldom predictable and can be unfair.  But it also can be beautiful.

Life is amazing because change is always available.  In your darkest hour, something tremendous can happen that changes everything.  Even when your life is even keel and you’re not looking for change, wonderful surprises can occur.  And if you’re moving in the wrong direction, you can always change your course.  So, no matter where you are in life, amazing things can happen and sometimes do when you least expect them.  You just never know what tomorrow may bring. 

It is always better to think positively rather than negatively.  I’ve been around negative people.  They miss so many blessings because they refuse to see them.  If something good happens, they are suspicious instead of thankful.  They anticipate that things will go wrong, and they usually do.  They are negatively affected by the rule that what one sows, he also reaps. 

What about positive people?  Their life is always rosy, right?  Unfortunately, no, it’s not.  We live in a crooked and perverse world, so things will go wrong even for positive thinkers.  BUT, in those hard times, positive people see the light at the end of the tunnel, and not just the darkness inside. Therefore, they can navigate toward the light instead of wandering aimlessly in the dark.  Life is best lived with the expectation of great things.  Why not?  We just never know what wonderful things could be just around the corner.

Now, it goes without saying that life is better with God on our side.   Think about your most trusted friend or relative.  Aren’t you confident that they will always have your back?  Don’t you depend on them because of your relationship? Don’t you trust their counsel?  However, have they ever let you down?  They may have, because they are just people and none of us is perfect.  God, on the other hand, never fails us. 

Since we have been saved, we have a relationship with God that is more sure, more stable, and more dependable than any other relationship we can have.  God, who is the Almighty God, chose you to be His child before the foundation of the world.  And He waited yearningly for a very long time for you.  That’s how much He cares for you. 

So now, God is your Father, and you are His son.  God is LOVE and He loves His children with an everlasting faithful love.  He is a kind and patient Father, who wants only the best for His children.  Putting your trust in God is more than just positive thinking.  It is trusting and believing that you have God’s promises and power in your life; and knowing that God will provide.

Positive thinking is much better than negative thinking, but trusting God is the best way of thinking.  Without including God’s ability, positive thinking is subject more or less to chance.  But trusting God invokes His limitless resources. 

I suppose that we’re all familiar with the record in the Bible of David and Goliath.  How well do you think David would have fared without trusting God when he confronted Goliath?  None of the soldiers were able to go against him, and they were bigger and stronger than David, who was a young lad.  What if David, in that situation, was armed only with positive thinking or worse – fear?  The outcome would have been very different.  But David trusted God and expected God to have his back.  And David came out of the fight as a super conqueror! 

Sometimes in our lives, we might encounter a challenge that seems as big as Goliath to us.  Why not face that challenge with the assurance that God’s help is with us?  God that created the heaven and the earth is ready, willing and able to help us with any need, big or small.  And God’s solutions are much better than anything we could devise.  We just never know what God will do for us! 

Look at what David said in Psalms a long time after his success with Goliath:

Psalm 17:6 – I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.

Psalm 17:7 – Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.

Psalm 17:8 – Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

David lived his life trusting God and seeking God’s help in all his endeavors, and he faced many challenges in his life.  We need to do the same in whatever challenges we face. 

God is able to deliver us even from our most difficult circumstances in ways that we can’t imagine.  Why shouldn’t we live our lives expecting God’s best and allowing Him to bless us beyond measure?  Why shouldn’t we live our lives basking in God’s wonderful love and grace?  When we do, we can truly say, “I just never know what God is going to do for me, but I do know it will be amazing!”

Note to my readers:  I just want to say again that I love and appreciate you.  It blesses my heart more than you know to think that you take the time to read my writings.  You are the BEST! 

I also want to add, in case you haven’t heard, I have a book of poems.  If you are interested, below the link you can use to buy one.

a breath of fresh air store.bookbaby.com

I recently got re-blessed by this verse…

Proverbs 3:5  – Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

I say “re-blessed” because scriptures can bless us multiple times and for multiple reasons.  We may read a scripture that we’ve read many times. and see something new that helps us that we hadn’t seen before.  That’s how magnificent the Bible is!

This verse is probably familiar to a lot of us.  But what happens sometimes, is that we might pay less attention to it because it is very familiar to us.  That is human nature.  For example, I have a motivational sticker on my dresser mirror.  When I first put it there, I looked at it every day.  But after a while I didn’t notice it as often.  And most recently, I thought, “whatever happened to that sticker?”  So, I went into the bedroom to check, and sure enough it was still on the mirror where it had always been.  My brain had just quit acknowledging it. 

We may observe this effect in a myriad of circumstances.  For instance, something may be out of place or broken in our house.  If it is not remedied, over time it can become part of our familiar surroundings, and we don’t notice it anymore. 

Here is another example.  They recently tore down a building in our town.  It was a building that we passed by regularly.  But when we drove by after it had been demolished, I honestly could not remember what had been there.  I had seen the building many times, but my brain had not fully registered it. 

Familiarity can be a good thing.  For instance, driving a car.  Those of us who have been driving for a long time don’t need to consciously remind ourselves to hit the brakes when we want to stop.   It’s a familiar action that happens without a lengthy thought process.  Habit, if you will.  Also consider this.  Have you ever been driving and got lost in thought, then suddenly realize that you don’t know how you got where you are?  This happens when we are familiar enough with the mechanics of driving that we can drive without paying close attention to all our surroundings.  Our brains will still register the necessary information, but not necessarily the extended view. 

Experience comes from being familiar with information and actions.  An experienced employee is valued because they have a wealth of information, and they know what needs to be done and how to do it.  They are familiar or well versed in the scope of their job.  Experienced athletes are familiar with the demands of their sport.  There is no time in a competition for them to stop and figure out what they need to do.  They must be very familiar with the physical actions required and the rules of the game so they can react quickly.  Athletes practice to gain this familiarity.

Being familiar with the Bible is a wonderful asset to our lives.  The Bible has the answers to all that we need to know.  It teaches us about God and His son Jesus Christ.  And it shows us how to live life.  It is The Word of God, and it is perfect. The more familiar we are with the scriptures, the more answers we will know.

What can happen, however, is that we, who consider ourselves students of the Bible, can become so familiar with the scriptures that we don’t always pay enough attention to them.  Maybe we read our Bibles every day, but if we’re not careful, we may find ourselves just going through the motions.  I like to listen to Bible teachings online.  But sometimes, I find myself thinking about any number of other things except what I’m hearing.  This can stem from being so familiar with the content that we take it for granted, and/or our brain’s natural tendency of wandering aimlessly!

It behooves us to grab our minds and make them track with the information of God’s Word.  Which brings me back to the opening scripture:

Proverbs 3:5  – Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

The first time I read this verse; it encouraged me so much.  It became my go-to verse.  I memorized it.  I repeated it to myself often.  And it blessed and helped me.  Then, after a while, I moved on to another verse.  I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it’s actually the way the Bible is supposed to work.  Our needs change and other verses might better address our new needs.  So, we pick new go-to verses.  It’s an ongoing process.  But the great thing is that during this process, we often circle back to previous verses and get re-blessed by them.  That is exactly what happened to me with this verse. 

When I read this verse recently, it spoke very loudly to me again.  I realized that I was spending a great deal of time and effort trying to solve my problem myself.  I was dwelling on the problem, analyzing everything that I could do to fix it, and not including God in any of my thinking.  Then it was almost like this verse was in bold print in my Bible.  “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart”.  I wasn’t doing that.  I was doing the second part of the verse, “leaning unto my own understanding”.  I just forgot the critical word “NOT” in that part of the verse.

So, I circled back to this verse as my go-to verse and I repeat it to myself frequently.  I wrote it out and I look at it often during the day.  I remind myself that God is ABLE to handle my problem better than I can, and that God is ALWAYS willing to help me in any and every challenge I face.  I also made this little chart to further encourage myself.

Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Should I trust God or depend on my own understanding in this circumstance?  Let’s compare… 

                            GOD                                                                    ME

Omnipotent	Kind of a weakling
Full of wisdom	Not too bright sometimes
Unlimited resources	Very limited resources
Created the heavens & the earth	Created nothing
Never changes	Changes with every trend
Is willing and able	Often only one or the other
Omniscient	Guessing most of the time
Always faithful	Tries to be faithful
Never breaks His Word	Has lied or misspoken
Omnipresent	Can’t be two places at once
Is LIGHT	Sees light
Is LOVE	Wants love
Can do miracles	Likes miracles

Of course, this is an example of my quirky way of thinking, but I hope it blesses you.  I think it shows pretty clearly that trusting God is a much better option than leaning unto our own understanding. 😊

Just remember that no matter how familiar you are with the scriptures, you can never afford to let them slip from your attention.  The Word of God is powerful.  (Hebrews 4:12)  When we put forth the effort to keep God’s words in our minds and believe them, we will succeed!

Note to my readers:  By the way, my situation started turning around the moment I put my trust in God and stopped trying to figure it out all on my own.  Thanks for reading! 

You have probably heard many sayings about LIFE. For example:  Life is too short to worry about it.  Life happens when you least expect it.  We only have today to live – yesterday is gone and tomorrow isn’t here yet.  Life is like a rollercoaster – enjoy the ride!  And one of my favorites, “You only live once, but if you do right, once is all you need.”  (That one is attributed to Mae West.)  Well, I’d like to add a saying of my own, “Life is a balancing act”.  That may not be the catchiest phrase, but it is true. 

What happens if you lose your balance while standing or walking?  You stumble or fall.  Women are certainly aware of the effects of hormonal imbalance.  Not fun!   How about the times that your washer goes out of balance?  After some outrageously loud banging, it stops itself before it breaks (thank goodness). I think we can agree that being unbalanced usually has negative effects. 

We need to consistently strive for balance in every aspect of our lives –  in how we use our time; in how we expend our energy; in our relationships; in our jobs; in our home life; in our leisure and social life.  We  need a balanced diet,  a balanced exercise routine, a balanced sleep regiment and a balanced checkbook.  Balance is a very important part of life.  Balance brings stability, steadiness, harmony, and equality to our lives.   

Being unbalanced means that something in our lives is suffering while something else is being favored.  What if we expend all of our energy at work?  Our home life might suffer.  What if we spend all our time playing video games?  Many other aspects of life could suffer.  What if we ate only sweets?  Think of how unbalanced our health would be! 

We may recognize the need for balance in all those physical categories, but what about balance in our minds? Our minds can go out of balance in a second.  A random thought can send us into a tailspin.  A difficult situation can wear us out and cloud our judgement.  Unkind words can throw us for a loop.  Many things can trigger ideas that clash with our beliefs.  And those ideas can drag us away from our balanced thoughts if we’re not careful.  Maintaining proper balance in our minds is critical to our well-being, because a balanced mind brings balance to the physical categories in our lives as well.    

So, how do we maintain balance in our minds?  First and foremost, we must have a standard on which to align our thinking and base our decisions.  A standard that acts as our moral compass.  A standard that defines for us things like right and wrong, good and bad, do and don’t.  I can think of no better standard than the rock-solid truth of God’s Word.  When we base our thought processes on what the Bible says, we will have a sure foundation.  In Malachi, God says that He is the Lord and He changes not. (Mal 3:6)  So, God is a constant.  He says what He means and means what He says.  Therefore, having His words as the standard for our believing is a solid foundation upon which we can firmly and confidently stand.  And that foundation becomes the fulcrum for our balanced thinking. 

Worldly ideas, on the other hand, are continuously changing.  Wide-held opinions can change from one day to the next.  What was considered a definitive fact yesterday can be debunked today.  Consequently, worldly information is an unstable standard for our beliefs and therefore a precarious foundation which leaves our footing unsure.  Plus, the fulcrum of worldly information is not only feeble, but also moveable. 

To be clear, we cannot live our lives here on earth without any worldly information in our minds. Functioning in the physical world takes physical knowledge.  The Bible doesn’t teach us how to brush our teeth.  There is no lasagna recipe in the Bible.  We learned to read and write by physical teaching.  Our jobs require specific worldly knowledge in order to perform them.  So, we cannot eliminate all worldly information from our lives.  That would not be balanced either.  And those basics are generally not worldly ideas that contradict God’s information .  The worldly information we battle against is indoctrination that causes us to fear, or that promotes thinking contrary to the truth of God’s Word.  Those are the ideas that can defeat us. 

Now, here’s the rub; our minds are indiscriminately bombarded with worldly information all day long with little or no effort on our part.  But we must make a conscious effort to put God’s information in our minds.  Hence, if we don’t put forth that effort, worldly information wins by default.  And if worldly information is all that is in our minds, we will be driven by the winds of uncertainty and tossed like the waves of the sea. 

But let’s say that we do put forth the effort to get God’s Word into our minds.  Will that keep us perfectly balanced?  Unfortunately, not always.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that God’s words aren’t perfectly balanced.  They are.  It means that they are subject to the battle that is continually raging in our minds.  Worldly information, like the latter that I cited above always opposes God’s information.  So even with God’s information in our minds, we are always faced with a choice.  Will we choose God’s information, or will we allow worldly information to prevail in our thinking?  This is the ongoing challenge that we face every day in order to secure proper balance in our minds. 

When I was a kid, there were cartoons in which the main character would be caught between the “little devil” sitting on his shoulder and whispering bad ideas in the character’s left ear, and the “little angel” sitting on his right shoulder whispering good ideas in the other ear. Does that bring back memories for anyone?  Maybe, maybe not, but it was a fairly accurate depiction of the conflict we face in our minds.  Both sides are vying for our attention.  And it is always up to us to choose which side we will listen to. 

This is one of my favorite sections of scripture:  (This is God working with Elijah)

1 Kings 19:11 – And he (God) said (to Elijah), Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

12 – And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

The conclusion is that the Lord was in the still small voice.  How very moving and inspirational those verses are!  God is certainly able to be a strong wind or an earthquake, or a fire, but that is not how He chooses to be with His people.  He is an extraordinarily kind and tender God who loves us and speaks gentle words of comfort and encouragement to us. 

Think about the world today.  Does it speak with a still small voice?  NO!  It shouts with ridiculous clamor.  There is a saying, “the loudest voice gets the loudest sound”; which means that the one who talks the loudest tends to dominate the conversation and therefore his ideas can receive the most consideration.  It surely seems that the world knows that saying. 😊

Having balance in our lives takes work.  Maintaining a good balance in the physical part of life starts with having the proper balance in our minds. It is easier to listen to the loudest voice and follow the crowd. That doesn’t take much thinking at all.  But that often sets our feet on shaky ground.  Deciding to do whatever it takes to plant our feet firmly on the solid ground of God’s Word takes effort and conviction.  The world always tries to coerce us to follow what it says.  While God simply offers His love and care to us.  The choice is ours.  Are we going to listen to the commotion or to the still small voice? 

Once we determine the standard for our lives, we must be prepared to adhere to that standard even when we don’t feel like it.  I think sometimes our feelings are our biggest enemy.  Don’t get me wrong, I know our emotions are a necessary part of us and they help us in many ways.  But if our feelings are allowed to run the show all the time, we will be out of balance.  We need the strength of our resolve, the commitment to our goal, and the fortitude of our conviction to offset our feelings when those feelings are working against us.  Like my mom always told me, “make up your mind!”  Being resolved is an integral part of being and staying balanced.  I might add that in some cases, we may need our emotions to tenderize us and keep us from becoming hard-hearted.  So, I guess we can say that adhering to our standard is also a balance. 

We can see the need to practice this key in situations like dieting and exercising.  How many diets or exercise programs have people started and quit before their goal was reached?  Speaking for myself, probably hundreds!  It is so easy to talk ourselves out of our efforts if we allow our feelings to interfere.  It takes commitment to our goal to be successful.

Another key to maintaining balance in our minds is to revisit the standard regularly.  Consider this, we could not align our thinking with the Bible if we have never read it.  We all understand that.  No surprise there.  But what if we read the Bible once a long time ago?  How much worldly information would have flooded into our minds since then?  Would we have enough of God’s Word in our minds to stand against the avalanche of all that worldly negativity?  Unlikely.  Of course, we know that even a crumb of God’s Word is stronger than any worldly rhetoric.  But if we don’t have that crumb fresh and ready-to-go in our thinking, we cannot utilize it.  And things will only stay fresh in our minds by revisiting them often.

So, why not strive for balance in our minds and reap the benefits of the stability, steadiness, harmony, and equality that balance brings?  And why not seek the most reliable standard to base our thinking on – the sure foundation of God’s Word?  It takes work, there is no doubt about that, but the rewards are enormous!  Putting God first in our minds and hearts assures His response to our problems.  It assures His aid to our ailments.  And it assures His answers to our prayers.  God is not an automatic fixer of our troubles.  We must ask Him for His help.  And when we do, and truly believe that He will help us, He gets right to work for our deliverance. 

Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The world promises riches and fame and all that our minds could crave.  But it never tells us that the cost is our soul.  God promises everything that He has to give.   And it doesn’t cost us anything because Jesus Christ already paid the full price for us to have it.  God gives us His love, hope, peace and joy; and best of all – eternity with Him.    The choice seems obvious to me! 

Note to my readers:  May your life always be beautifully balanced.  Thanks for reading. 

I recently listened to a Bible teaching that included this verse from Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

This verse tells us that our duty, our whole duty, is to respect God and obey His words. (I would like to add here; when the Bible says to fear God, it means, “to worship Him with awe-filled reverence”. It does not mean to be afraid of Him. He is our loving Father, who is extraordinarily kind. We have nothing to fear from Him!)

Our whole duty is to put and keep God first in our lives. He is to occupy the top seat in our minds. He is to be our main focus, and our first priority. That is how we are supposed to live every day. And we keep God first by continually seeking Him through His Word and aligning our thinking with what that Word says.

Let’s look at the word, duty. The first definition that Merriam Webster lists for it is, “conduct due to parents and superiors : respect”.

In society today, the concept of showing respect seems to be disparaged. Look around and you will see young people that don’t respect their parents, let alone consider anyone to be their superiors. You will see that some folks have the attitude that respect is an archaic concept. You will hear people profess that they should have freedom without restriction, and that they themselves should be the ones to be respected with never doing anything to earn it. Among these folks, “duty” is a dirty word.

Of course, not everyone follows society’s foolishness. Many people respect others, respect principles, and respect authority.  I was raised to respect my elders. I was taught to be respectful of the wisdom that their age and experience had earned for them. And the elders considered it their duty to convey their wisdom to the younger generation. It was a mutual respect. Even in our crazy society, people today still show respect in family relations as well as social conventions. (I’m dating myself for sure to say) when I was growing up, I called my friends’ parents Mr. and Mrs. Whomever. That was considered a sign of respect. I will admit, though, that when my kids reached a certain age, I didn’t want their friends calling me Mrs. – it made me feel too old. 😉

As Christians who truly love God, we have nothing but respect for Him because He has done so much for us. We worship God, who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes on him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) We see and admire God’s handiwork all around us. We recognize and remember the wonderful blessings that God has showered down upon us even before we got saved and continues to provide in abundance every day. How could we have anything but respect for the kind of love that God has shown us?

Next, MW defines duty as  “obligatory tasks, conduct, service, or functions that arise from one’s position (as in life or in a group)”.

Again, we see a society that is anything but dutiful. It promotes doing what you want, when you want, how you want, with whom you want; anything goes. It promotes no obligation to anything or anyone except self. We may have seen this in evidence by watching young people who think that their job assignments are only suggestions, and that they should only do what they feel like doing at work or anywhere else for that matter. It reminds me of the video I saw of a young woman crying and crying because she was expected to work FORTY hours a week!  Oh, the inhumanity!

But there are many people who take their obligations seriously.  For example, a military person who is willing to put himself in harm’s way to protect our country has an unbelievably strong sense of duty and deserves the utmost respect.  Most people still have a sense of duty to family, friends, community and country and endeavor to live up to their obligations. 

Please note that I use young people as examples only because it seems that they might be more affected by today’s society, which is very different from the one I grew up in. And I have seen the examples that I described with my own eyes. However, I am very pleased to report that I recently observed a young man open the car door for his girlfriend. (I wanted to shake his hand!)

I know that for many people, both young and old, duty is their strong code of conduct. They are respectful and function as responsible adults. They fulfill their obligations and take pride in their work. They serve others with compassion and understanding. Their manner of life is admirable.

As Christians we carry that code of conduct a step further to include God all our actions. We serve a living God whom we love with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And we serve our fellow man with Godly care. We stand on Godly principles first and foremost and seek to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse nation. (Philippians 2:15)  We yearn to fulfill our duty to God and hear Him say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21)

If we read the whole book of Ecclesiastes, we will see that the writer (most often considered to be King Solomon) examined all the works of man in this life and concluded that it all was vanity.

Ecclesiastes 1:14 – I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

The word for vanity literally means a vapor. The worldly works of life are like vapors. Can you catch a vapor?  If you did, could you hold on to it?  Can you count on a vapor to stay put?  No, no, and no. Most of the time, you can’t even see a vapor. It is at best a fleeting whisp that you might get a glimpse of before it disappears. Yet, these vapors are what many people spend their whole lives pursuing. Wealth, prestige and political power top the list of things that people expend all their energy to obtain. But those things are as hollow as vapors compared to what God offers us.

The reason that respecting God with awe-filled reverence is the whole duty of man is because it is the only thing that truly profits us, and the only thing that truly fulfills us. Wealth can be lost or stolen. Prestige can fade with the tide of popular opinion. And political power might only last until the next election. But respecting God and obeying His words can bring infinite blessings that will last for eternity. All the money in the world is a vapor compared to everlasting life in heaven with God and His son Christ Jesus. Think about eternal life – living forever in the glorious light of God with all evil having been destroyed! Nothing but God’s infinite love and bountiful blessings surrounding us. No sickness, sorrow or death. Never to shed a tear again. Never to be harassed, ridiculed, betrayed, or abused in any way. Never to suffer or see suffering. Never to be outside of God’s love. Can anything that the world offers provide even one of those things? Everything in this world is temporal, which includes the satisfaction or happiness that worldly success provides. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with being successful in this world. God wants us to succeed in this life. But we must keep our duties in proper order. #1 Worship God with awe-filled reverence. #2 Serve others. And I am willing to be #3.  

Embrace your duty. Don’t get caught up in vanity. Keep God first and enjoy a super abundant life now and the promise of what is to come! 

Note to my readers:  Be strong and of a good courage because God is with you wherever you go! (Joshua 1:9)  Love you all!! 

I’m sure you have heard the saying, “There are two sides to every story”.  My mom used to say it to me all the time – usually when I was complaining about my brothers.  And I still use the saying today.  Just like my mom, I used it A LOT while raising our children.  And I continue to refer to it in my mind when I hear only one side of a story.  It helps me to not jump to conclusions.  If we are not careful, we could find ourselves in the middle of someone else’s argument – someplace we do not want to be!   Considering that there are two sides to every story helps prevent that from happening.

I think this expression can be very useful in resolving our own disagreements as well.  If we are angry with someone, we may need to listen to their side of the story in order to allay any misunderstanding.  And we may need to make sure they understand our side.  Considering both sides of the story helps us make honest assessments, work out our differences, and thereby settle our disputes. 

Hearing both sides of the story also helps us make unbiased judgments.  Our two sons are two years apart.  When they were young, there were many times when one would come crying to me that the other had hit him or something or the sort.  Now as a mom, I could have punished the accused brother and been done.  But in order to make a fair decision, I needed to hear both sides of the story.  Often, the accused was provoked by the accuser.  So, after hearing both sides, my usual “punishment” was to make them hug and tell each other that they were sorry.  I say “punishment” because they often perceived it as such, but to me it was justice. 

One reason that there are two sides to every story is that everyone has their own point of view.  I frequently laugh when we reminisce at family gatherings.  The way our children recount something from their youth is often totally different than my recollection of the event.  Even more amusing is when they recall something that I did, which is not at all the way I remember doing it.  These conversations used to puzzle me until I realized that they were simply illustrations of two sides to every story.  Actually, I have concluded that memories are not reliable for this very reason.    

Another cause for two sides to every story is that people have different opinions.  We develop our opinions from our individual experiences and by what we were taught.  We assimilate this information and make decisions about it, which become our opinions and beliefs.   Then we tend to filter new information through our opinions.  Consequently, two people can receive the same information, but since it is flavored by their differing opinions, it can result in two sides to the story. 

All in all, I think we can agree that “two sides to every story” is applicable in many situations.  However, there is one notable exception.  There is only one side to God’s story, which is revealed to us in the Bible.  You may be thinking, there are many different attitudes about the Bible.  And you are right.  There are many interpretations of the scriptures floating around out there, but there is still only one truth.  Truth is truth.  And if God’s story – His Word is the truth, there cannot be different versions of it, or else it would not be the truth.  God, in His infinite wisdom declared THE truth, and had it written in His Word, (the Bible) so we could read, learn and understand it.  People can argue against it, they can have different stories about it, they can even contradict it, but none of those things change the truth.  The truth of God’s Word is perfect and unalterable.  It is unwavering and undeniable.  It is a constant that never changes.  It is always right, and we can always count on it.  All the other sides to God’s story do not and cannot change it, for only it is the truth. 

Now, some might call me close-minded on this subject.  I would say, I’m committed.  As Christians, we need to be committed to the truth.  If we are not, then the Bible holds no more authority in our lives than any other book.  Everyone can make up their own minds; they are free to have their own opinions about the Bible.  Free will is one of the greatest things God gave us.  But …“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.  (Joshua 24:15b).  Choosing to serve God is one of the best things we can ever do for ourselves. 

It is very interesting to note that in almost every situation, we are benefitted by listening to both sides of the story.  Gathering as much information as we can and weighing the variables can help us make informed decisions.  But we must remember that all this information we are gathering is of the world and is therefore temporal. Thus, it is either intangible knowledge and subject to perception or tangible knowledge and subject to change.  Hearing both sides of the story helps us make better judgement calls, but we can’t forget that those judgements are temporal.

God’s information is spiritual.  It is not limited by perceptions, and it does not change.  So, it can provide all the information we need.  Weighing spiritual knowledge against temporal knowledge is futile.  Yet, people still try to cram God’s information into the confines of worldly limitations.  Or worse, they allow worldly knowledge to take preeminence over Godly knowledge in their minds.  Godly knowledge is perfect and superior to worldly knowledge in every way! 

As for me, I accept God’s side of the story as not only the truth, but also as my only rule of faith and practice.  I might listen to the other side of the story in order to help someone, but not because I doubt God’s side.  I weigh the world’s information against the standard of God’s Word, never the other way around.  And I try to base all my judgments on God’s standard. 

To sum up, I’d say that the statement, “there are two sides to every story” is fairly accurate.  Considering both sides of the story is beneficial for making fair assessments.  But in order to make the best decisions, we need to base our judgments on a trusted standard.  And for me, that is God’s matchless Word. 

Note to my readers:  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  (John 8:32)   Sure do appreciate you!  Thanks for reading. 

This time of year is usually a happy time for people.  Spring signals an end to the harsh cold of winter and is a pleasant cushion before the uncomfortable heat of summer.  Spring flowers bring vibrant colors and beautiful fragrances to the austere landscape left by winter’s domain.  New life appears everywhere.  In addition to the flowers, trees bud, birds build nests, animals have babies, and fields begin to sprout.  Springtime seems to breathe life back into the world.  (I will add here, that even though Florida winters are not as cold as up north, they are grey and chilly and spring is a welcome change here too.)

This time of year also brings a celebration commonly called Easter.  This is when Christians everywhere rejoice because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead!  Many Christians call this holiday, “Resurrection Sunday” and that is actually my preference. 

The Bible devotes four books, known as the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, to chronicling Jesus’s life here on earth.  Each book describes many wonderful things that Jesus did while here on earth and the sad events surrounding his heinous capture and crucifixion.  But the Gospels culminate with the glorious description of his resurrection.  It is that resurrection that changed the world forever! 

So, it only makes sense that Resurrection Sunday would be a day of great celebration each year.  All the rights and privileges we have as sons of God hinge on Jesus Christ’s resurrection and ascension.  It says in the gospel of John that Jesus Christ came so that we could have a life that is more (or super) abundant.  (John 10:10)

It is because of the finished work of Jesus Christ that people can be born again.  Our redemption and salvation were accomplished by his resurrection.  And his resurrection took place because Jesus Christ fulfilled all the requirements of the Old Testament law and became the sacrificial Passover lamb once and for all.  He gave his life for us.  Therefore, our salvation is not only completely legal, but it is also a gift.  Jesus Christ paid the full price so that we could be born again and receive all the benefits of being sons of God.  It was something that we could not do for ourselves, no matter how hard we tried.  So, I don’t know about you, but I sure am thankful for what Jesus Christ did so that I could be saved!  😉

Just as springtime renews life after the doldrums of winter, salvation renews our lives after the bondage of the world.  It is interesting to note, that for most of us, we didn’t recognize the bondage that we were in until we got born again.  That is a clever scheme promoted by worldly powers.  The world disguises its bondage as “just the way things are.”  And it has lulled people’s minds into accepting that statement.  How many times have you thought, “That’s just the way things are.  There is nothing we can do about it.”  Well, with Christ in us, there is always something we can do about it!!  The book of Romans declares that we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  (Romans 8:37)  And we could not be more than conquerors unless there was something that we needed to conquer.    

John 16:33 – (Jesus Christ talking):  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

We may see hard times in life, but we are fully equipped with the power of God so we can rise above the circumstances.  Sometimes bad things happen.  Sometimes difficulties plague us.  But we can be victorious over whatever is troubling us when we believe what God’s Word says.  Jesus Christ overcame the world for us, so that we can experience victory in our lives.    

Just like spring releases us from the icy grasp of winter, salvation releases us from the clutches of sin.  We were freed from the bondage of our old sinful nature by the finished work of Jesus Christ.  We just need to believe that. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

So, on Resurrection Sunday, we can rejoice because we have been given a brand new life.  Our old way of thinking, our fears, worries and doubts were swept away by the power of God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  Our past sins were fully cleansed so not even a hint of them remains.  God remembers them no more!  And if we sin now, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.  (1 John 2:1)  We truly do have newness of life! 

Remember this very familiar verse?

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God so loved that He gave!  Jesus Christ so loved that he gave!  And now because he was raised from the dead, we have eternal life!  We have so much to rejoice about!

We don’t have to let the pressures of this world weigh us down.  Spring always follows winter.  Light always dispels darkness.  God is always with us.  And with God all things are possible. 

Jesus Christ rose from the dead, which made salvation available to anyone who wants it.  It’s a gift of God that we just need to accept.  Once we do, we are going to live forever.  We’re going to heaven and all hell can’t stop us.  And in the meantime, we can live a new life that is more than abundant. 

Romans 6:4 – Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Note to my readers:  Happy Resurrection Sunday!!  I love you.  Thanks for reading.