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A Real Question: How Did He Honestly Not Say Anything?

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If you have been through a few hard things in life you will definitely know what it feels like to believe you have the right (and need) to complain about the issues in the moment. I could not tell you how many times that I had went back and forth on this very problem. It is something that through God that I am now beginning to master Godly silence and understand that faith has its place in this.Here is the question I have for you to think on today:

How did Jesus not say something when people were making life so difficult for Him? How did He honestly “open not his mouth”?

There are a multitude of phrases that one could imagine hearing come out in some of the most crucial moments of Christ. I could imagine hearing “hey Pharisees why don’t you ease off a little bit and find something else to do” and “come on, you know I am right”. It is hard to imagine that throughout some of the most pivotal teachings that He gave is when He was facing some of the toughest hardships from people. Keep in mind some of these people did not go where Jesus was to learn but to pick it apart and find fault in Him. As a minister and assistant pastor I have came to realize a very harsh truth by experience: not much has changed since then.  It’s sad to say but there is still not a shortage of the kinds of people who are around you just to judge you!

Yet as we know, Jesus only opened His mouth to teach, lead, love and pray. How can it be done in our world and environments today? Can it be done? The quick answer is yes! The real answer is yes through Christ. A life that is being lived to the fullness of God’s purpose will have the love of Christ inside.

Here are 3 key principles that I have learned to help me grow in handling life’s tougher moments:

1) A time to be silent – I could not tell you how many times that having no response or opinion to something in the moment has saved me as a witness of God. There is not much to add to this other than to say that the best time to be silent is when you anticipate irrational behavior. You CAN develop the self-control and you do NOT have to act out on everything. Please do not be deceived there! Prayer can help you. The word of God talks about self-control by saying that you would not have more put on you than you could bear!

2) Be ye Holy in all conversations – to say Holy in this frame of mind is to say stray from or speak truth to bring separation in all conversations. To be frank about this: if you are talking with someone or something and it is not speaking in love or building something in faith or someone for help from God then generally it is possible to avoid it. It is also possible to attempt to redirect a conversation, but if you find it to be something you cannot conquer at the time part from it. There is no argument that would cost the soul of someone by them seeing a hypocrite and not a ambassador of Christ!

3) Speak life and not death – The least popular one, at least to those I campaign this or counsel for. It does not matter how much something is afflicting you negatively; it is your Godly duty to speak life (or faith) to the situation. That is what moves God, especially in a time where you would be led just to write a situation or person off in negative thinking!

Christ did it perfectly. And as we are Christ-like we can all begin to work on the way we respond to things better. Trust me, through prayer and a fervent desire to see change you will through Christ!

Find A Good Place Inside And Out

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When it comes to having a fruitful life in God, one of the key pieces is the environment that you are surrounded in. We have wrote about this a lot lately and spoke on this topic it at multiple churches. It’s something we need to do, and do each and every day. I want to expand out on that a little bit to talk about the surroundings of you and your life.

I’ll just be honest with you today. If you are not in a spiritually fruitful church, you will definitely find it harder to grow in your personal life than it should have to be. Having a church with a good spiritual foundation and a willingness to work and reach out will produce a multitude of blessings and impacts upon people’s lives. However, more often than not, we are speaking with people that are in environments that are not providing that fresh spiritual revival that should be happening each and every time the doors open.

I’m not one to recommend that people go “church hopping” to be satisfied, so please let me make this clear. If you find yourself in a church where you are not able to grow due to the environment surrounding you, pray first for another place to go! Don’t just start visiting every church that you know; for sometimes our irrational actions will send the wrong messages to people. Ask yourself first in an honest way if you are doing everything you can to promote growth for yourself and for your church. If we can answer that with certainty and hindrances still prove to be in front of you, seek God for somewhere that you can grow (not somewhere you can go). Find an environment where the love of God is fluent and that you are able to be who God has called you to be.

Don’t let tradition and religion destroy your gifts and callings. Continue to strive to do the best that you can, and seek God in a way that when you feel the call to go and be a help to a new church that you are not going based on your emotions but upon the leadership of the spirit. And when the time is right, God will move for you. It won’t be a forced thing, but something that you know that God has performed. If God opens the door for another place for you to grow, God certainly wouldn’t make it a hard situation from where you are going from.

My whole point is this: Seek God first before we act out of ourselves! Find a place where you can grow and not just exist!

Do We Use Discernment Anymore?

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THE WORD

Romans 8:27 – And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

One of the toughest spiritual gifts to willingly learn and use is the gift of discernment. One of the ways you can understand how discernment works is when you are following the Holy Ghost during a church service to ensure you are obeying the perfect will of God, keeping things in a spiritual order as God would lead, and helping to prevent things that would disrupt the freedom of God from being in control. That is the long way of putting it but is where you might see it used the most.

To put it in an easier way, you would not just let anyone get up and minister to you without having a good spirit dwelling within them. You know (and discern) that through the light of God lives a person’s spirit and are you able to bear witness of that light through what they speak and obey. You can begin to use discernment every day of your life. Whether it comes to what you see or hear or what you do around or say to others, discernment can be used in all venues if you allow the spirit of God to lead you. God would not have you willingly walking around in sin if it can be shown to you to turn from it. We can begin to discern that it is not the right situation to surround ourselves with and can learn to change where we are and what we do. It is possible! As we pray we can begin to discern from people how they either have God’s love or are lost from God’s direction and are in need.

PUT INTO PRACTICE

Learn to be spiritually led each day! The best thing to start with is prayer and thinking upon the good things of God. Once you start there, build yourself up and see how much begins to change. You will be surprised! God would not have you live in darkness. God would have you be a light to it, compelling people to change. Learn to change your environments and get out when you know things are too much for what you are capable of dealing with. Remember, we often make our biggest mistakes when we think we are strong enough to discern it for ourselves and not with the spirit. God is the best leader and guide!

God Understands

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THE WORD

Luke 12:7 – But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Psalms 56:8 – Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I have worked and lived in environments in the past where I dealt with people that had little or no concern for me or my life. At first people possessed compassion but over time motives reveal the true colors of love’s lack. Even when it comes to our own families you will find that people may let you down at some point. It is a hard life lesson to learn (especially when you need it to count) but when realized can be of the most benefit. Why you ask? Sure, it is good to have others that you love in your life help you, but depending on people in this world for your emotional needs and friendship may leave you feeling helpless.

When everyone else has stopped listening and begin to unknowingly neglect you there may be a moment where you feel like your life goes unnoticed. Do not be deceived by this! God understands! God is an all-seeing, all-knowing God! He will never leave you, nor forsake you! My interpretation of this is that in my hardest situations that God is the same regardless of the love from people. He is the only constant for humankind. We should always make full use of this certainty and lean on God instead of personal relationships. Do not get me wrong; for it is good to have people, but this is how God’s intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit is enjoyed. God is compassionate to all of your needs and wants to hear the cries and prayers of us all! So do not be afraid to call out today!

PUT INTO PRACTICE

It is always a good thing to improve our positive faithful thinking before God. One way to begin to work this in full-time is to append words of faith to every negative thought that comes around to attack you. For example, “I know I do not feel the greatest right now BUT I know God will bring me through”. You would be surprised of the impact that this will have as you see some trials come to victory. You may just begin to believe what you say!

Consider Your Environments

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Psalm 139:7-8 – Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

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I know people think I made a mistake with the title, but I truly meant to say the word “environments”. As we go about each day, we are in more than just one place in an ideal world. And in every setting are all kinds of things that you have to face. Some of these things might be encouraging to you, and some of them may attempt to pull you down.

If and when you are in control of being able to eliminate the vices and things that are hurting your walk with God, then I suggest you cut them loose. This may mean an item, a person or a place, but it is well worth the sacrifice. Sometimes we have to pay a price to draw closer to God, but it will always humble us and put us in a better place. Try not to think of it as losing things, but more along the lines of gaining better surroundings for God to exist in your life.

It’s a tough subject, but it’s one we have to remember. You’ll be surprised what you will see if you just take a minute to look around. God will help you with this, and you are not alone!

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Put Into Practice:

Examine the day that you just went through today or even the one you had yesterday. Think about all parts of the day that was leading you into a place that was discouraging or disheartening. It could have been a topic of conversation or even something that you may have been doing without even knowing what it would end up doing in the long-run.

Take just one part of anything that you found and dedicate your following day to focusing on not allowing this to occur again. Remove yourself from the conversations or the objects that would hinder you from being in joy or at peace. Begin to pray and seek for the comfort and leadership of God to lead you through the times that we find difficult.