Let Order Reign!

Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. Ecclesiastes 12:9,10 NIV

In verse eight, the Teacher is yelling that everything is “meaningless” and then we understand why.

Where there is no wisdom, foolishness prevails.

Where there is no knowledge, ignorance is bliss.

Where there is no order, chaos and confusion reign.

If we look at what is happening around the world we can see the significance and truth of what happens when there is no wisdom, knowledge or order. And when we get closer to home–right where we live–where our kids go to school–where we shop and interact with others–the truth looms even greater.

We are told in The Word that God is not the author of confusion and yet where see confusion, no one wants to recognize the evil that plots the destruction of order.

Last night, I attended the high school graduation where my grandson attends school and plays in the band. Like many schools, during a high school graduation, students are given a specific number of tickets for their guests and this school was no different. Every student was given four tickets and there were approximately 133 students graduating. Usually the ceremony is held outside on the football field, but since rain threatened the event, it was moved inside. The auditorium was reserved for those with tickets and the Commons (a huge area outside the auditorium) was set up for the overflow, complete with a screen so everyone could view and hear the event.

I cannot stand ignorance and confusion. When I saw how foolish people were–trying to get into the auditorium without a ticket and then acting foolish when turned away–I felt anger rising within me. But the anger was not about those acting foolish, it was about those who even allowed them to think they had a right to be there without having a ticket.

As a result–the ceremony-usually observed with sanctity and decorum, was a hot mess outside the auditorium and from the comments of a few people on the inside–it was not better. I truly wish people would understand how important this event is and not take it as opportunity to be a pep rally where no one can hear anything.

I sincerely hope that two years from now, people will learn to act with more decorum and I also hope the administrators of the school will make more of an effort to maintain order by not allowing the ticketless--access to the ceremony. I want to see order reign when my grandson receives his diploma, not hear a madhouse of cheering so no one else can hear.

Aside from the obvious–my being upset over the graduation process–I also look at all the confusion in the Body of Christ. Where “Christians” are confused about their gender, their roles in life, and even confused about the purpose of the church. Perhaps, just perhaps, when the Body of Christ is no longer confused, and functioning decently and in order, we will see a change in society that demonstrates the change from within a Body of true Believers.

Lord, speak to the hearts of Your people and remind them–You expect us to always act decently and in order and to do things Your way, not our own.

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He Knows!

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is in on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (Psalm 139:1-8 NIV)

The Creator knows who and what He has created; He knows the number of hairs on our heads, the number of brain cells that still function, our thoughts before we think them. There is nothing about us that God does not know and there is nothing we could ever hide from Him.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place–beholding the good and the evil, so why do we think we know more than Him? Though we do things in the dark and out of sight of people, our deeds are never hidden from Him.

Sometimes, I wonder–if people really understand that we will never know more than God–and there are some things that He will never allow us to discover because He knows–once we obtain certain knowledge, we have a tendency to think we are gods and can control our environment and circumstances, when the truth is–we have difficulty controlling our thoughts and tongues.

If we cannot control those things within the scope of our “choices” what makes us think, we can ever be wiser than God? James reminds us that the tongue, “that little member of our bodies that lacks control” ignites anger and starts wars–not knowing how to discern truth from lies. But those thoughts we allow to deceive us into speaking things we don’t understand–that is where the confusion begins and ends. When our thoughts are not on things above, but below, we allow the enemy to enter and influence what we think and what we think–governs what we do or say.

I’ve often told my students that when a person refuses to know how to think for themselves, they will always be controlled by others. One of the reasons our society is in such sad shape is because people are influenced by others rather than drawing their own conclusions after gathering information and analyzing it, logically–not emotionally. Our emotions are fickle and subject to change faster than the wind moves in a storm, and no one should ever make a decision based upon their emotions. For more often than not–when emotional decisions are made–the irrationality of those decisions spring to the forefront and cannot be changed and the domino effect is put into motion, where one bad decision is made after another. God knows!

And because He knows how we react in our emotional states, He has provided us with wise counsel in His Word, but we must seek the wisdom in His Word, before we allow our thoughts to lead us into dangerous territory which could cause our demise or the demise of others. Before He created us, He knew our flaws and shortcomings, our emotional imbalances and rigid irrational thought-processes. He knew and loved us anyway because He also knew He had provided a means of escape from our own destination of destruction. “Trust in the Lord. Don’t count on your own understanding, but in all things, acknowledge Him and determine to do things, His way.” (Proverbs 3:7,8 paraphrased) So much wisdom found in the Proverbs!

God knew we would need Him and He knew some would never read His Word with understanding, so He came down to earth in the form of a man–Jesus–died, saved us from ourselves and provided us with His spirit to dwell within us–guiding us to His Word. He knew then and He still knows what we need more than we do. So, when are we going to realize–We need Him to guide us in all things and especially in controlling our tongues? We can fool ourselves and think we are all that, but without Him, we are nothing and will accomplish nothing of worth. He already knows–when will we get a clue?

Holy Spirit Control!

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:29-32 NKJV)

Whenever we hear foul-mouthed conversations in which every other word is profanity, we know Holy Spirit is not governing the person using the profanity. Whenever we see the end results of raging tempers–violence and death–we know Holy Spirit is not governing the person or persons involved. And usually, when one person demonstrates a lack of self-control, they engage or ignite the same type of reaction in others. The problem–people are too reliant upon their own self-control instead of allowing Holy Spirit to control what they say and do.

Submitting our thought-life and our tongues to Holy Spirit is not easy, but it is definitely a better path to take than depending upon our ability to control anything. What does it mean to submit our thought-life? It means that we stop thinking the thoughts that lead us astray. If the enemy tries to plant a thought in our minds that is not honoring God, we submit our response to Holy Spirit and allow Him to replace those thoughts with thoughts of righteousness.

Since most of us are fighting a constant battle with self-control, we are yet a work-in-progress. We have buttons that can be pushed and when we allow others to push them, we forget who we are and whose we are–to let others know, we are not a doormat. But do we really have to let others know anything other than we belong to God?

When we’re attacked–verbally–we don’t need to respond, but under stressful situations when frustration and agitation get in the way, we engage and the heat rises, sparking fires that sometimes rage out of control.

When we’re attacked–physically–we have a right to defend ourselves (though some would argue this) and our families. We do not have a right to instigate foolishness that embroils others into “never-ending feuds” that do nothing but create hostile environments for all. This is especially true for kids who tend to get caught up in stupidity. If a brother or sister starts a fight with someone else–let them handle on their own. If more than one person attacks a sibling, then by all means, we should do our best to protect them.

However, when people do stupid–no matter who it is–family, friends and neighbors should stay out of the fray. I’ve seen entire neighborhoods destroyed because of stupid people who thought they had a right to treat people any way they wanted to treat them and then expect no response by those who are harmed. Those attacked call in reinforcements to counter the action and the feud mushrooms–out of control until someone ends up dead.

When Holy Spirit is “allowed” to control our thoughts–we don’t think stupid-we think pleasing God. When our thought-life is controlled by Holy Spirit, then our tongues speak those things that build, encourage, and edify others. But Holy Spirit has to be allowed to control–He will not force us to do anything, and will allow us to think, say, or do anything we want to do. Of course when we do things that grieve Him, most of us know we need to repent, back up and give Him control so we don’t bring shame upon ourselves and displease God.

Life would be so much better for everyone, all over the world, if we would just allow Holy Spirit to be in control of our lives.

Those Who Understand, Have No Need of Control!

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” (Psalm 32:8,9 NIV)

God’s response to David’s entreaty was that He, Almighty God would instruct him, teach, and counsel him and at all times, would keep His eyes upon him. Our great and awesome God is the same God that spoke to David and He is yet speaking to us--He will instruct, teach, and counsel us–we have no need for those who have no understanding of His ways to teach us anything, provide us with instruction of anything and they certainly cannot counsel us about anything that pertains to God and His ways.

Those who are looking to men’s legislation or judgments are really wasting their time. The only thing that will be proven by the interception of men in the wake of God’s way of living, is that men and women will constantly be jerked around by the whims of men. God’s instructions have been written–not only in the book most know as a bible, but in the hearts of all who have a relationship with Him. Holy Spirit dwells within the consummate Believer who knows God cannot lie and He said what He meant and meant what He said. It is Holy Spirit who provides us with understanding as He hears from God to direct us and counsel us at all times. Without God, we become like those who have gone before us–lost and wander around like mindless creatures, not having a clue as to which direction to take.

But we see in current events that whenever the flesh is tickled or set ablaze with lust within those who have no fear or reverence of God, all must be embroiled in the mindlessness and only those who are standing firm in their faith, will survive to see the glory of The Lord prevail in all things. We are warned in The Word that flesh and spirit are enemies–we either allow flesh to dictate what we do or we allow Holy Spirit to dictate what we do. Holy Spirit will not force His will upon anyone and neither should man.

Judgment, for all who sin and especially those who lie, has already been determined and unless the guilty parties change their ways and see the need to have God in their lives, their end is established–in the lake of fire.

Those who stand firm have no need for godless men with no understanding to instruct us in the ways of a living God, who is yet keeping watch over us. It is the godless who need to be careful and watchful of the mighty hand of God. The same Hand–who comforts and protects His children, also delivers a blow to those who mislead God’s children.

Be encouraged! We are not like the horses or mules with no understanding that need others to lead us around when they have no direction. We know the way–and Jesus is the way, the Truth and the Light!

The Really Good News!

“This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” (Romans 1:17 NLT)

“It is through faith that a righteous person has life” and that faith is in the work of the cross, not faith in man or man’s rules.

There are enough “rules” in most religions that rival the sands on a beach, but none of them–can save a soul or put anyone in right relationship with God.

In some churches (religious institutions) women are not allowed to enter the sanctuary without something on their heads–handkerchief, hat, napkin, anything that covers, but those same places will denounce a woman for wearing a wig.

There are some churches who teach that wearing make-up is a sin.

There are some churches who teaching that getting fingernails polished is sin.

There are some churches that see “wearing red” as being the devil’s color and will make anyone wearing red feel uncomfortable.

There are some churches that don’t believe in having instruments used in the church.

There are some churches that don’t believe in singing in the church.

There are some churches that say “clapping” your hands is wrong.

There are some churches that believe “dancing” is wrong, unless you’re dancing in the church. (Dancing is dancing in my book.)

There are some churches that promote male dominance over females–in all things–no matter what.

There are some churches (religions) that say Jesus is not the Son of God.

There are some churches who believe in baptizing in the name of “Jesus only.”

There are some churches who denounce participation in sports–of any kind. (They do believe in eating–everything not nailed down–and the highest obesity rates can be seen in these churches.)

There are some churches who believe watching television and movies is sin.

There are some churches who dictate what a woman should or should not wear–no pants in these places!

There are some churches who believe so many things that are not based on biblically sound doctrine that it is laughable.

So, the really Good News is that salvation can only come through the work on the cross. Any other method taught is a lie and we know who promotes lies–Satan–the father of liars. The Church Rules are to help “men” control the masses.  The Church Rules seldom encourage every individual to establish a right relationship with God because if they did–who would they then, control?

When our relationship with God is right, we have no need for man-made rules in religious institutions that are designed to control others. Holy Spirit control will never lead us astray or in doing anything that opposes God’s Word.

Hallelujah for Holy Spirit Control! Now that’s good news!