Sunday, August 16, 2020

Whatever... (Part 3)


"Whatever..." Have you ever said that with an exasperated tone during an argument or when trying to explain something and the person looks at you blankly?  "Whatever" can be a conversation stopper, a sign of indifference, defeat, anger, giving up, pouting, not truly listening, or a reluctance to really communicate. It's so easy to think we are right and "whatever" can be a way to sidestep something uncomfortable, admit we are in error, or avoid dealing with what we really don't want to put effort into.

By contrast, in Philippians 4 the word "whatever" encompasses many examples of how to think which in turn will help us live a contented and more peaceful life. It all begins with our thought patterns: 
"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned, or received, or heard from me, or seen in me--put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." 
Seven times the word "whatever" is used in verses 8 and 9. One of the definitions of whatever is: "used to emphasize a lack of restriction". In the above verses, I believe Paul, the writer, is saying don't hold back when thinking of things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy--fill your thoughts with these things. These words generate positive and uplifting thoughts which in turn will cause the same type of actions. 

"Whatever is true..."
This is really tough in the world of social media where so much information is flying around. How can we know what is true and what is not? Fact-finding takes time and effort. It's relatively easy to find posts that we agree with, but there are always two sides to every story. Video and audio clips can be altered or only certain portions shared, words are taken out of context, everyone has their agenda, their slant. The more we feed our own slant, the more divided we become with no one really listening or even trying to understand the opposing view. Just because someone says it is true or factual, does not make it so. We must look at the evidence.

Personally, I watch or read a little of news from different sources. It's amazing how different the "facts" can come across. I actually don't spend much time watching the news or scrolling through posts, but know I need to be aware of what's going on. My gauge of what is true comes from God's word and I believe my time is better spent there. Then I can listen and read without becoming entangled in all of the fear, hate, dissension and division that is swirling out of control. God's truth brings unity and peace and withstands the passing of time. I need to measure what I'm hearing or reading against what God says. 

Psalm 119:150-152
"Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
but they are far from your law.
Yet you are near, O LORD, 
and all your commands are true.
Long ago I learned from your statutes
that you established them to last forever."

2 Samuel 22:31
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

God's ways are perfect even though we cannot understand them. When we stand on the truths of His Word, then He is our shield, our refuge, our peace, our contentment. This world is going to pass away and what seems oh so important now, will one day disappear. The only thing that will matter is where we stand with God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Decide today what you want to put your energy into. Are you living a life of peace or anger, unity or discord, following God's ways or the world's ways? Is what you are saying or posting really true? How do you know for sure? If you don't know for sure, then stop and research, try not to be trigger happy with the "share" button. Hey, I've done it, so I'm talking to myself also! 

For me, the one thing I know for sure and for certain that is true is the Word of God - the Bible. It is my desire to stand on those truths and post what will hopefully steer others to it and to God. I'm working on all of these "whatever is..." statements. I hope you will also. 

So the next time the temptation to blurt out an irritated "whatever..."  or the desire to fire off an annoyed or angry post crosses our minds, let's pause and think whether it fits any of the "whatever is..." thoughts of Philippians 4. If none of those positive thoughts fit, then let's stifle the annoyance, keep the conversation going with kindness and listening ears, walk away from the social media and seek to truly communicate with one another in the way God designed both face-to-face and online.

Let's replace "whatever..!" with an abundance of:
whatever is true
whatever is noble
whatever is right
whatever is pure
whatever is lovely
whatever is excellent
whatever is praiseworthy



Thursday, August 6, 2020

Humble (Whatever...Part 2)



In my previous post, I mentioned that we needed to humble ourselves and repent individually of our own wrong thoughts or doings. As I have thought more about the passage in II Chronicles, the word "humble" keeps echoing in my mind. It seemed appropriate to look at what that means before continuing to dig into Philippians 4. As I watch the news and look at what is happening in our country and around the world, it feels like this word is not being exhibited very much. What does it really mean to be humble? How is it exhibited? 

Currently I am reading the book The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. It is a fascinating account of nine university men competing to be in the number one boat with hopes of making it to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The following excerpt caught my attention:
"The boys in the Clipper had been winnowed down by punishing competition, and in the winnowing a kind of common character had issued forth: they were all skilled, they were all tough, they were all fiercely determined, but they were also all good-hearted. Every one of them had come from humble origins or been humbled by the ravages of the hard times in which they had grown up. Each in his own way, they had all learned that nothing could be taken for granted in life, that for all their strength and good looks and youth, forces were at work in the world that were greater than they. The challenges they had faced together had taught them humility--the need to subsume their individual egos for the sake of the boat as a whole--and humility was the common gateway through which they were able now to come together and begin to do what they had not been able to do before."
These young men had been through many challenging situations in their young years, but had persevered, worked hard, never given up, and had learned how to work together for the good of all. In the process, they learned humility. They learned to not think too highly of themselves realizing that they could easily be replaced or left behind. They learned to pull together as if they were one. What a lesson for us today! If each person practiced being humble and good-hearted, what a change this world would see.

Our prime example of humility is our Savior, Jesus Christ. Who, even though He is God, humbled Himself and came to earth, for our sake, in obedience to His father. I was very disturbed to read that not only American flags are being burned in the streets of some cities, but Bibles also. Our ability to know right and wrong, plus how to find true and lasting freedom comes from the Bible. Those who would do such things show how very lost they are. Nothing speaks the truth and teaches us how to live together humbly and love one another better than God's word:

Philippians 2:3-11
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, 
but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, 
but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, 
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men. 
And being found in human form, he humbled himself 
by becoming obedient to the point of death, 
even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him
 and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

One day we will all be humbled before God's throne. One day every knee will bow to Jesus and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. One day there will be no choice. Choose this day whom you will serve. I choose Jesus. Will you?

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Whatever... (Part 1)



I've been wallowing in discontent. It makes me cringe to even type those words, but it's the truth. I could give you many reasons for my discontent and inward grumbling and complaining, but I'm sure you have plenty of your own reasons to relate. It's especially easy to become discontent during this weird time of isolation and then seeing "half-faces" that try to avoid each other and us when we are in public. 

A couple weeks ago our small women's group met again for the first time since March. What a joy to be together! We sat outside under the trees with proper distance between us and discussed how God would have us respond to the current situation in our country and the world. Using the very familiar passage of 2 Chronicles 7:14 as a guide, we came to the conclusion that we had to humble ourselves and repent of our individual sin first plus keep our focus on God and His word.  After that, we are in a better position to pray for our nation, leaders, and those who do not know the saving grace of Jesus. 


2 Chronicles 7:13 & 14
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,
or command the locust to devour the land, 
or send pestilence among my people, 
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, 
and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, 
then I will hear from heaven 
and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  

As we talked about the above, one of the ladies brought our attention to verse 13. As a farming community, the lack of rain over the past weeks has been so discouraging. The heavens certainly were "shut up". (Praise God we had some rain the past 2 days!)  Then we see on the news that other countries are being plagued by "locusts" and we feel God's power in a very uncomfortable way. Is He trying to get our attention? 

As we were discussing this, I acknowledged that inwardly I was wallowing in discontent. The next day I decided to look up Scripture about contentment. I picked one, Philippians 4:11b to focus on for a day or two "...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances", but God had bigger plans in mind. The next day I decided to read the entire chapter to get the full context of this verse because part "a" of this verse says "I am not saying this because I am in need...". Not saying what? As I read, the full force of the 4th chapter of Philippians spoke directly to my situation and that of our world. It not only told me to be content, but how to do it. This chapter is jam packed with great words of advice and encouragement. Of course, I've read this chapter many times before, but all of a sudden the richness within these few verses was very apparent. 

I've never been very good at memorizing Scripture, but I decided to try to memorize this entire chapter. There are so many parts of it that I almost know by heart already and had never realized they were all in this chapter. It was so exciting for me! Here's the main points that stood out:
  1. Stand firm in the Lord
  2. Rejoice in the Lord always.
  3. Do not be anxious
  4. Pray with thankfulness
  5. God's peace will guard my heart & mind
  6. Here's what to think about....whatever is: true, pure, etc.
  7. Content whatever the circumstances
  8. I can do it because He strengthens me
  9. God will meet every need
  10. All glory to God forever!

The real God-incident was this past Monday. I was working around in the kitchen and decided to listen to a podcast. I really like the preaching of David Platt, so went to the Radical app on my phone and chose his latest sermon to listen to. Guess what? He and the other pastor at his church are doing a series on Philippians and I just happened to click on a sermon covering a portion of Chapter 4. He even commented that some in his church are attempting to memorize the entire chapter! It thrilled my heart that God had orchestrated all of this for my edification and delight! I listened and smiled with a full heart at the goodness of God

It's so easy to get caught up in myself and my little world. Without even realizing it, I become the center of my universe and it quickly starts to implode into misery and discontent. It seems to me that many in our nation and world have the same problem which causes a lot of the problems we're seeing now. 

As I work through this chapter, I plan to share what I am gleaning with you in the hopes that it will help you too. In the meantime,  read Philippians 4 and Stand Firm in the Lord!

Philippians 4:1
"Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, 
my joy and crown, that is how you should 
stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!"