Prelude: The Scope of Patience

Greetings folks,

As another character subject, this time let's take a look at patience. Like anger and zeal which we've previously looked at, this too is a matter of the heart. Since believers are ambassadors, literally representatives of Christ, His patience level and ours should readily be in sync. Ultimately, in the end they will be, but now we all must continually examine ourselves.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself: Would you consider yourself to be a patient person? Would your friends, family members, co-workers, etc. agree with you? Most importantly, would God agree with you? How exactly do you judge patience?

Moreover, for now, consider the following thoughts and questions. We'll talk more about some of these later.

• When you demonstrate patience; you are also demonstrating faith. Usually, some level of vision is present too.
• Patience is a natural component of faith (Hebrews 11:1).
• Consider the Prodigal son's request and the timeliness of it. Anything a person receives too soon may support an inner dysfunction.
• Technological advances may have an impact on how we view time.
• Why is patience important to God?
• What does your patience reveal about you?
• When, how, and to whom did Jesus demonstrate His patience when He walked the earth? What about God in the Old Testament?
• Is demonstrating patience a choice? Can it be exhibited by everyone? Can you be patient in one instance and impatient in another?

Stay tuned...

Zealous Towards God: He's Worthy of Our Full Devotion

Good day folks,

I hope all is well.

Let's go ahead and dive into our discussion on being zealous toward or for God. As a reminder, this topic is a matter of your heart and apart of my blog series on character. Stay tuned for more in this series. We have several topics that we'll be exploring. Invite others to join in on the discussions.

Now, let's look at a definition for zeal, then the adjective zealous.

Zeal - [1] fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor, [2] fervent or enthusiastic devotion, or [3] an earnest temper; may be enlightened (Num. 25:11-13; 2 Cor. 7:11; 9:2), or ignorant and misdirected (Rom. 10:2; Phil. 3:6). As a Christian grace, it must be grounded on right principles and directed to right ends (Gal. 4:18). It is sometimes ascribed to God (2 Kings 19:31; Isa. 9:7; 37:32; Ezek. 5:13). Zealous - [1] full of, characterized by, or due to zeal; ardently active, devoted, or diligent, or [2] filled with or inspired by intense enthusiasm or zeal; ardent; fervent.

So, ladies and gentlemen, the questions on the floor are these: What is your true attitude towards God? How long does it remain there- always, often, rarely, etc.? Are you angry or upset at Him about anything? Are you truly grateful to Him?

Right now, begin to search your heart and determine how you really feel about God. In the privacy of your own prayer mode, share with Him how you feel about Him, what your attitude is toward Him and why. He isn't afraid nor will He become upset if your answer is not fully positive. He's not like that. He just wants to hear from you. He wants to listen to you and hear your side. Unlike humans, God won't interrupt but allow you to fully express yourself before He responds. He's all about meeting you where you are and helping you get to where He's calling you. He already knows what's in your heart but desires that you talk to Him about it. He desires truth on the inside. That's where He places His attention and emphasis according to scripture. Psalm 51:6 declares, "Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being..."

So, after truly searching your heart, if you've determined that your zeal or devotion is not where it should be, let's get it there. God is not going to do this for you. Right now, while reading this- begin to consider everything that God has already done for you. Starting thinking about the things He's currently doing for you. Even your ability to read these words are because of His great sensitive power in your life. All that you can do or think or hear or see - is because He wills it to be so. Even when you forget Him, He remembers you and allows you yet another opportunity to receive His blessings. Everyday, God is better to you than you can imagine, than you can request, than you can think. God has done more for your just TODAY than you can understand. Even now, there are battles going on in the spirit realm where the devil and his forces are against you and your family. None of this you can even see! God is protecting you from these unseen dangers even as you read! Glory! If you're a believer you ought to know this - God prevents more things from occurring in your life than you'll ever know or could count. On average, God blesses you over a million times a day- WITHOUT YOUR REQUEST or RECOGNITION. He just does it! That's just what your physical body and mind does so you can function. That's not to count what He does in the spirit realm on your behalf. Folks, if we only knew the things God handles without our request but on our behalf. We'd be even more amazed with Him.

Trust me, I do understand that things in your life may not be perfect or even comfortable at this moment, but God is still being good to you right now. That may be a challenge to see, but just take a moment and consider what you're able to do. Consider the fact that you're still alive. All hope is never lost with God. Reignite your faith and hope in Him. He can change a situation for your good even at the final hour. Sometimes what's last minute to you is first minute to Him! Know that any trouble or problem you're facing (really it's facing you) could be much, much, worse. The devil really wants to do even greater evil. Further, please believe that what you're experiencing is nothing compared to everything that the devil is attempting. However, God is your defence. He has not given up on you, your circumstance, nothing! He loves you. He wants the best for you. He wants your life to turn out glorious. Decide today to repent and begin to be more grateful for the things that God has already brought you through and over. Your inner zeal and attitude toward Him can change in an instant. Develop a greater heart for God out of gratitude for Him and His inexplicable goodness! The best is still yet to come and even coming now if you receive it by faith. Let this post charge you up again in the spirit and increase your zeal, dedication, and focus toward God. He loves you with everything He has.

Now, for those of you that rightly determined your zeal towards God to be great and proper in the first place, then kudos to you! Stay vigilant and remain that way. God is worth it. He deserves our devotion. Our zeal towards Him should indeed be great because He is so great! 

He is the great God our Creator, sustainer, and blesser!

- The most beautiful people in the world are most beautiful inside. Be beautiful!

The Shape of Anger: Part V

For the last post of this series on anger I'd like us to consider the term devil in verse 27 (Ephesians 4:27) - "Neither give place to the devil."

First, allow me to provide some background on who the devil or Satan is.

• He is not a devil, but the chief devilish or evil one. No one and no thing is more evil than him. All evil, wrongs, and humans ills can be traced directly to him.
• He is the great accuser- false accuser of the brethren (i.e. believers) - Rev. 12:10. This is the critical point we'll be discussing in depth later in this post.
• Banished from Heaven due to his pride, Satan has become the archenemy of God and mankind. He knows that He cannot harm God in any way but desperately seeks to hurt God's creation.
• He is intimately jealous of the human condition- being made in the image and likeness of God. He desired this honor for himself.
• As a result of his hatred of God and mankind he pursues their complete destruction on a daily basis. The devil does not sleep on this.

Consequently, he desires to destroy mankind himself, or for God to do it, or for men to destroy each other. Either way, he wants God's image (mankind), which he couldn't have, completely wiped out! One of Satan's most misunderstood approaches to do this is by accusation. The devil is the ACCUSER of all, particularly believers. The great theologian Dr. H.L. Wilmington, in his Guide to the Bible, notes that, "this is one of the most malicious and misunderstood present-day activities of the devil." Further, Wilmington notes that "the Bible informs us of one of Satan's most treacherous hatchet jobs, that of bad-mouthing believers. In fact, this was one of several key reasons why the crucified and resurrected Christ had to ascend back to heaven that he might function as our divine defense attorney." (See Week 6 of Praise: God's Advocacy) So, do you constantly accuse people? Have you been told that you do? Do you know anyone else who does this? The truth is always the truth, but accusations are the devil's handiwork. Any time you hear someone defaming someone else, through only accusations, it is of the devil...period! God doesn't do that.

Now, let's take another look at our keystone scripture. Ephesians 4:27 - "Neither give place to the devil." The Greek present imperative of this verse means: Do not have the habit of giving place to Satan. Uncontrolled or unjust anger is an open door invitation for Satan to enter in to disrupt and corrupt whatever he chooses (See Part IV). Note, the term devil in this verse means a traducer- one who speaks maliciously and falsely of; to slander; to defame: to traduce someone's character. (2) A false accuser, (3) A wicked slanderer in the original language. Further, Fausset's Bible Dictionary surmised the following concerning Satan as an accuser: "The devil slanders God to man, man to God (Genesis 3; Zechariah 3), and man to man (via hatred, jealousy, envy, wrath, etc.). His misrepresentation of God as one arbitrary, selfish, and envious of His creature's happiness, a God to be slavishly-feared lest He should hurt, rather than filially loved, runs through all pagan idolatries. This calumny is refuted by God's not sparing His only begotten Son to save us. His slander of good men, as if serving God only for self's sake, is refuted by the case of "those who lose (in will or deed) their life for Christ's sake."

The central thought here, particularly the man to man part, is that when a person is angry at someone, Satan will continue to slander and defame the offender in one's mind until they're bubbling over in anger. He wants retaliation by any means necessary. This is why it is important that we are not too soon or too long angry with anyone. Satan always seeks to take the offense further than the offense itself! He provide you with false reasons, motives, and conclusions for why the person committed the offense against you. He'll have you trying to connect dots to an offense when no dots really exist. Even if the offender has told you the truth, Satan wants you to accept his ideas as the real ones. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL OF SATAN'S ACTIONS AGAINST MANKIND ARE OUT OF RETALIATION AGAINST GOD. Remember, Satan lost his honored position in Heaven due to his pride. He wanted to be like God as we are. He did not take his expulsion lightly. Although, not visibly angry with God, he does take out his hatred of Him on mankind. 

Now, let's see how the devil accuses someone before God in a familiar Bible example. In the book of Job (Job 1:6-12) we are invited into a heavenly scene where Satan begins accusing Job to God. As you read the story, it is clear that Satan has nothing good to say about Job. Satan falsely accuses Job and seeks to get God to believe that Job's character is reproachable. Further, Satan attempts to explain to God what the real condition of Job's heart was towards Him. Satan claimed to really know that Job only seemed zealous toward God. Ultimately, he accused Job of having non-genuine worship and respect for God. In this way, he claimed to know more about Job than God. NOTE: Like Satan, an accusing person will always claim to know something negative about a person that's unseen or unproven. If you continue to follow Job's story you'll notice that even Job's friends were of no help to him. They too were false accusers under the influence of the devil in their own right. They claimed to have the real reasons for Job's sufferings. Consider this: If Satan was brave enough to falsely accuse Job before God and use his friends against him, are we any different in this age? This is part of what's being conveyed in our keystone verse via the term "devil." The devil wants us to believe the worst about other people so that we treat them negatively. Unfortunately, some of these people may be in God's plan to bless us in some way later in life. This is especially true when we are angry at someone. Whether the anger is just (righteous) or unjust, the devil will always try to accuse the other person further than the act itself. This is one of his deceptive schemes to cause 'just' anger to easily slip over into 'unjust' anger.

Now, although beyond the topic of anger, you must be aware that the devil doesn't only want to accuse people you're angry with. Just hearing something, usually negative, about another person can become grounds for Satanic accusation. Also, think about who and/or how many people you don't like? What are the reasons? Are the reasons right and/or proven? Have you allowed the devil to paint a picture in your heart of someone that is really not true? Has Satan painted you negatively in someone's heart that you know is not true? Either way, your heart condition towards people will determine how far and how fast you progress in this life. God designed our lives to be interconnected. It's the human channel of connectivity, by His design.

Notwithstanding, it is true that sometimes people choose not to like other people because something was done or said that wasn't liked. In this a feeling of justification arises for not liking them, and, in many cases if a wrong was committed then it should indeed be made right. However, sometimes people choose not to like people and have no real proven-basis for it. They allow the devil to subtly accuse others in their minds until they've derived a reason for the dislike. Some believers have even went as far as calling this 'spiritual discernment'; especially when they've chosen not to like someone for a reason that they can't really 'put their finger on'. With this, I must say that there are real times that God will cause us to spiritually discern certain individuals of which we need not associate with. In these cases, they are not scheduled to be a part of God's plan for our lives. However, not liking a person for no real reason, a false reason, or an unproved reason is not sanctioned anywhere in the scripture. We have been commanded to love; dislike and like of others is mankind's behavioral variations from this command. In fact, Jesus hates sin but still loves people that do sin. Moreover, if Jesus could associate with the likes of Judas, knowing the evil he was up to, please know that we're no different. Life will bring about necessary associations with people we feel we have reason to dislike. It's part of the walk of faith and maturity. God, in Jesus name, help us all : >) Besides, it is possible to not like what a person does or says and have no negative feelings about them as a person. This is how Jesus responds to you and your sin.

Psalm 101:5a - "Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour him will I cut off...
I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors... (NLT)

Until next time...peace be unto all of you.
DsW

Prelude: Zealous- Toward, For, and Because of God

Casual, indifferent, apathetic, passionate, enthusiastic, motivated...

Which of these words (more than one may apply at various times) would describe your attitude, disposition, and behavior concerning God, His principles, and assignments? Whether its teaching a Sunday school class, being kind, praying, giving, studying the Bible, etc. Whether its something done privately or publicly for God- what is your attitudinal stance most times?

Be encouraged and stay tuned...

Next character topic up - Zealousness