Respect

In the book "Better Together" (day 17), Rick Warren writes about various aspects of Respect.

In the New Testament alone we are commanded at least 15 times to "respect" others - husbands, wives, bosses, brothers in Christ, and also unbelievers. So this is a serious matter with God.

Day 17 helped me understand various aspects of respect. So my prayer is that I can learn to respect others by:

1. listening patiently to others, rather than assuming I know what they are going to say or interrupting them.
2. not gossiping
3. being tactful when speaking - "speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15)
4. seeking to understand others, rather than pushing that I be understood
5. being gentle, not judgemental
6. being polite even when others are rude to me

Lord help me to "Show proper respect to everyone" 1 Peter 2:17

Marketing Hope

In his blog, marketer Seth Godin wrote about "What marketers actually sell". I think he's right, but only the church can provide complete and Everlasting Hope. He wrote:

Not powder or chemicals or rubber or steel or silicon or talk or installations or even sugary water.
What marketers sell is hope.
The reason is simple: people need more. We run out. We need it replenished. Hope is almost always in short supply.
The magical thing about selling hope is that it makes everything else work better, every day get better, every project work better, every relationship feel better. If you can actually deliver on the hope you sell, there will be a line out the door.
Hope cures cynicism. Hope increases productivity. Hope needs no justification.

As a church leader, I must market the Free, True, and Everlasting Hope found only in Christ Jesus our Lord.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Walking in the Power of the Spirit

I preached on living in the power of the Spirit on Sunday. I said, as I have often said, that sin short-circuits God's power in our life - the Spirit is quenched or grieved when we sin.

Yet I am puzzled why many Christians who are not overtly sinning are not experiencing God's power either. It dawned on me that perhaps when we say "sin quenches the power of the Spirit in our lives", we think of big sins like sexual immorality, drug abuse, drunkenness, and the like. But perhaps what's quenching the Spirit's power in our lives are the more subtle sins that can't be detected as easily as the "big ones".

These subtle sins can include worry, lack of patience (which is a lack of love), not forgiving others, criticising (judging) others, etc... Perhaps we have become like the Pharisees, clean on the outside (the big sins), but full of crap on the inside.

If we are not committing the big sins and yet are not experiencing the power of the Spirit in our lives, maybe we should check to see if the little sins have taken over our heart and are quenching the Spirit in us.

Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards

Songs of Solomon 2:15

Joy of the Lord

This year I have 2 goals:

To learn to love others more and to live in the Joy of the Lord.

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalms 118:24

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The psalmist implies that rejoicing is a decision. Therefore, I will decide to live in JOY today. I can choose to be angry, bitter, frustrated, or sorrowful today. BUT, I choose to REJOICE.

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As I was praying and fasting the other day, the Lord gave me 10 reasons I should REJOICE today:

1. It feels better than the alternative
2. God commands it (Ps. 118:24; Phil. 3:1; 4:4)
3. Jesus Christ wills it (John 15:11; 17:13)
4. The Holy Spirit wants to provide it (Gal. 5:22)
5. It will strengthen me to be more loving and godly (Neh. 8:11)
6. God has surrounded me with good people (Phil. 1:5)
7. The gospel is being preached all around the world (Phil. 1:18)
8. God is good and I can expect good things in my future (Phil 1:18-19; Jer. 29:11)
9. Because when I die I will be with Christ which is better than being here on earth (Phil. 1:21)
10. Everything good in my life is a gift from God above (James 1:17)