Empty Promises

A question we all must ask ourselves at some point or other is “Do I really mean what I say?”

Sure, we might make promises to God, and maybe for the most part, we carry them out. But there are those times when we say things with the best intentions, thinking we might just mean it, when in all actuality, we don’t. We’re all talk and no action.

Peter knows what this is like.

On the Mount of Olives before Jesus’ death, Peter tells Jesus, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” In response, Jesus predicts Peter’s denial of him, to which Peter says, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. (Matthew 26:31-35)

For the people who read this for the first time without any knowledge of what is to come, this might seem a reality. They believe that what Peter is saying is true, even if Jesus predicts it otherwise. They want to believe it is true. After all, this is a follower of Christ. How could Peter speak such a strong vow if he doesn’t have the intentions of keeping it?

For those of us who already know how the story ends, Peter does indeed disown him. Three times. And when he realized that what Jesus said was true, “he went outside and wept bitterly.” (Matthew 26:75)

Peter messed up.

Yet when Jesus is raised from the dead several days later, who does he say to announce his presence to? “…his disciples and Peter.” (Mark 16:7). Once he reached his disciples, he then gave them the authority to make disciples across the earth, what we refer to as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus closes with, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of age.”

If you look again at Mark 16:7, you see that Peter was called out of the bunch. Why?

Because even when he messed up, Jesus wanted him and us to know that he loves Peter and forgives Peter all the same.

Like Peter, we too are often guilty of not giving Him the glory He deserves. We are sometimes ashamed of the Gospel, too afraid to reach out to our neighbors or claim that we are walking with Christ. We might say we’re Christian to people who ask, but the words stop there.

We might tell God on Sunday mornings in church that we will follow Him wherever He leads. We say that we’re surrendering our lives to Him and we’re going to do all we can to live for Him. Yet when we go back to our lives the following day, our routine continues and the words we spoke the day before are forgotten.

God sees our hearts. He knows we may say these things, but not really have the intentions of following through.

Yet what we learn from His Word is that He loves us and forgives us all the same. He still gives us chances to proclaim His name. He allows us the opportunities to take up our cross.

What have you been telling God lately?

Do you really mean what you say?

Come To Me

My Yorkshire terrier, Buddy, always likes to snuggle close to me. If I’m laying in bed, he’ll sneak up and carefully push the covers away from my side with his nose so he can lay against my side. If I’m reading, he’ll climb into my lap and beg for attention, most often in the form of a belly rub. He’ll whine and jump for joy when I come home from school or some other place, excited to run into my arms once I take a seat. Buddy will especially be close to me when I’m crying or in distress, as if he desires to comfort me in some way.

Something a lot of us don’t realize or we so often forget is that God wants to be that close to us too.

He wants us to recognize that He’s there. He wants the attention and He knows He deserves it. This isn’t a clingy God we’re talking about. This is a Father who cares very much for His children and desires to build a close relationship with them.

We are told in His Word that if we come near to God, He’ll come near to us. No matter how busy our day was or how hectic our life seems at the moment, He wants us to know that He’s there for us and ready to welcome us. Like the story of the prodigal son, our Father is waiting for us with open arms.

Wherever you’re at today- stressed, worried, sad, busy, distant, or hurt- just know that God longs for us to return to Him. He wants to be close to us and listen to us.

When the rest of the world seems to be running out of time, just know that God has all the time in the world for you.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you.” (James 4:7-8)

Rejected and Neglected

Today I was hit by a sad realization.

Some people just don’t care. Whether it’s because they were only pretending to begin with or they somehow got too wrapped up in their own lives, there are those “friends” who turn out to not be as supportive and friendly as you thought after all.

I have plenty of people like that in my life. They ask how I am, but don’t want to listen. They give false promises and say things they don’t mean. They’ll even say they’re praying for you when, in reality, you don’t cross their mind. When I pass by them, it’s as if I don’t exist. If I’m sitting alone, they’ll remain with their group of friends, turning their backs as if they don’t notice me.

And I’m sure that if I confronted these people and asked them if they “have my back”, they’d give a confident head nod and warm reassurance.

I’m sure this sounds like a rant of some sort, and in a way, it is. But it’s also more than that.

I want this to be a wake-up call.

I want this to wake up the people who know they haven’t been there for people like they should, who see the dejected and lonely ones sitting by themselves yet do nothing to put an end to it.

This is for the people who vow they want to be Christ-like and effective witnesses for His name, but can’t seem to find the time in their schedules to get to know the people around them.

This is for the people who claim to care, but don’t do anything to show it- to friends, loved ones, classmates, and neighbors.

If this is you, then listen:

There are people in this world that need a friend. And many of them need hope, the very same hope you have in your soul because of the Gospel that you might not really care to share.

I’m not bitter or angry. I’m not trying to tear you down or cause any grief.

My goal is this: to correct you in your self-consumed ways and remind you that you have a greater purpose on this earth.

If that’s not enough of an incentive, then I don’t know what is.

He Is Here

Rejected By The World

A lot of us fear rejection.

And we’re held back by that fear- the fear of not being accepted, of offending someone, of losing a friend or risking our reputation.

To be honest, I think a lot of us just like to cruise by unseen, unheard- not risking anything, therefore not losing anything.

But when the time comes that God wants to work through us and speak through us (Hint: He always does!), what happens if our mouths are permanently glued shut and we refuse to take a chance?

What happens if we keep ignoring the voice in our head, the urging in our spirit, when those opportunities arise that we know we should take yet we choose not to?

Something we might overlook all too often is that Jesus understands. 

Jesus faced rejection, a whole lot more of it than we could probably handle.

Even as he performed miracles and saved many, he was questioned and looked down upon by the teachers of the Law who sought to destroy his reputation and prevent him from doing more work. Even some of the people who personally knew him and were close to him did not always understand him or accept him. He was misunderstood, like a lot of us feel all too often.

He was ultimately rejected by his own creation as he died on the cross for mankind’s salvation.

Yet he rose again. There was a plan set in place.

When we hold ourselves back from letting God work through us, we are losing the opportunities that shape us into more godly followers of Christ.

The Hebrews who faced persecution were told in a letter to “run with perseverence the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Heb. 12:1-2)

We too must fix our eyes on Jesus.

Our focus needs to be set on above, not on things of this earth, like worldly acceptance and worldly definitions of success.

Deep down, we want to risk it. We know it’s worth it. The Dead Poets Society resonates with us, whispering “Carpe Diem” in our ears. If we would only jump all the way into the water instead of settle for standing at the tip of the iceberg, we would see amazing things happen in our life.

I dare you to risk it. This week, do something that terrifies you, that shakes you to your core. Carpe Diem. Seize the day.

No matter what you’re faced with, you can rest in the knowledge that you are accepted by the One whose acceptance matters the most.

“It is better to lose your life than to waste it.” (John Piper)

Love Prevails

“Fear says:

Life changes.

Change hurs.

I’ll stay right where I am.

God says:

Chance change.

Grow through pain.

I’m with you all the way.

Fear says:

No risk,

no failure.

No need to rock the boat.

God says:

Extend yourself;

and when you fall,

I’m here to pick you up.

Fear says:

People hurt you.

Evil reigns.

Don’t let yourself get close.

God says:

Yes, people hurt you

and sin’s in the world.

That’s the reason I came.”

Diana Derringer, DevoZine July-Aug. 2011 issue

The Christian Way

“The Christian way says, ‘Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it to the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same.’ “

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

An Unlikely Friendship

An Unlikely Friendship, by Mike Krumboltz, Aug. 31, 2011

For anyone who lost a loved one on 9/11, the urge to be vengeful toward those connected to the attackers must be overwhelming. But that isn’t true of everyone.

Phyllis Rodriguez lost her son Greg in the attack on the World Trade Center. In the years since that terrible loss, she has formed what many consider to be an unusual friendship with Aicha el-Wafi, the mother of Zacarias Moussaoui, who was convicted of playing a large role in the attacks. He is currently serving a life sentence for his crimes.

Back in December, the two spoke at a conference for women, where Rodriguez talked about their mutual admiration for each other. Rodriguez remarked, “When I saw Aicha in the media coming over when her son was indicted, I thought, ‘what a brave woman, someday I want to meet her… when I’m stronger.’”

In 2002, el-Wafi asked to be put in touch with the parents of the victims.

She was introduced to five families. She met Phyllis, and she “saw in her eyes that she was a mother” (like el-Wafi). A respectful relationship quickly formed.

When the two met, they were both nervous, not knowing what they wanted from each other. By the end of the afternoon, they felt like they’d known each other for a long time. Rodriguez says she feels the two have “a special connection which she values very much, that’s all about being afraid of the other but making that step.”

Rodriguez goes on to say that when people heard that her son had died on 9/11, she got immediate sympathy. But el-Wafi earned no such sympathy even though, in Rodriguez’s words, “her suffering is equal.”

So how did Rodriguez come to forgive? In an interview with the Forgiveness Project, she spoke a bit about her philosophy. “When Greg was killed, I thought, ‘I will never forgive the people who murdered my son,’ but I have come to see forgiveness as more than a word; it’s a context, a process. I don’t forgive the act, but trying to understand why someone has acted in the way they have is part of the process of forgiving. Forgiveness is being able to accept another person for being human and fallible.”

Generosity, tolerance, and speaking out against violence are things the two women agree on — strong beliefs that have helped them through unimaginable pain and suffering.

See original article and interview video: http://news.yahoo.com/an-unlikely-friendship.html