Short & Sweet: Bitterness or Betterness?

Bitterness or Betterness?

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”

Matthew 12:34b-35

When I was little, I was fascinated by treasure and treasure maps. I loved reading books about buried fortunes (Nancy Drew and The Quest of the Missing Map was a favorite). How exciting to follow a parchment map to the foot of a tree, and with spade in hand unearth a treasure.

Buried. Beautiful. Valuable.

X marks the spot.

Treasure is a key word in Mathew 6:35. In the original Greek it transliterates as thesauros, which means a place to collect things and the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up. Interestingly, thesaurus also means a casket. Think for a moment.

A container for good, precious things or a casket for dead, lifeless things.

In my living room I have a cedar chest, a place where I collect precious things. It holds treasures of the past. Corsages … diplomas … love letters … a wedding bouquet … baby booties … scribbly pictures … handmade Mother’s Day cards … funny little birthday presents from funny little sons.

Why do I store mementos in my cedar chest? So I can remember; so I can relive again and yet again the beautiful memories my keepsakes invoke. As I hold a treasure in my hands, it continues to move and change me, to mold my soul.

The heart is like a cedar chest—a place to collect things. We decide what to fill it with. Good things. Lovely things. Beautiful things. But, we can choose to fill the heart with bitter things, reliving them over and over, wounding ourselves afresh with every remembrance, shredding our heart and shattering our soul. Bitter memories will also continue to change and mold us.

It seems then we have a choice.

What shall we store in the heart? At times we choose bitterness. Why?

I prayed for insight and an answer came clearly to my mind. We treasure bitterness because we feel something is owed to us, something feels unfinished.

But, when Jesus said, “It is finished,” bitterness died on the cross. It was never meant to be stored in the heart to taint and poison. Give bitter memories to Jesus and trust Him to use them for good. Then, fill your heart with His life-giving Word. Hide it deep in the soil of your heart. His Word becomes buried treasure.

Precious. Beautiful. Valuable.

The Cross marks the spot.

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” Matthew 12:35

The choice is yours.

Action Points:

Ask God to search your heart and remove any bitterness lurking there. He promises to remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
Check your heart by examining your tongue. What are you saying? Are you speaking words of life into your relationships, challenges and trials or words of bitterness and death? “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Pray the Word. Find scriptures that address your current challenges and pray them into your life. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.” Joshua 1:8

By Mary Kane

Take 5!: 5 Minutes to a Better Life

Take 5!

5 Verses, 5 Questions, 5 Minutes

Before we start our study time today, please take a minute and go before our Lord in prayer.

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For

“He who would love life

And see good days,

Let him refrain his tongue from evil,

And his lips from speaking deceit.

11 Let him turn away from evil and do good;

Let him seek peace and pursue it.

12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,

And His ears are open to their prayers;

But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

1 Peter 3:8-12

In verses 8-9, we are given several commands. Which is the hardest for you?

I must confess, at times I have trouble with all of them. My biggest challenge, however, is in verse 9 not returning reviling for reviling (insult for insult). Instead of repaying insult with insult, we are to repay insult with blessing. I imagine this practice would bring a quick end to most arguments. Though I have been a Christian for many years, I have never employed this technique, nor have I ever heard anyone else. Dare we give it a try? Consider the following conversation:

“You are a stubborn, opinionated woman!”

“Oh, yeah? Well, you are a hard-working, caring man and I appreciate you.”

Blessing for insult.

.

What happens as a result of returning blessing for insult (vs. 9)?

God’s word says we will receive a blessing. We will also spare ourselves the angst of a long drawn out argument.

**Besides speaking blessings to those who insult us, how else might we bless them?**

We could do something kind or pray for those who hate us. (Confession #2: I have often heard people say, it’s hard to hate someone you’re praying for. I struggle with this. Sigh.)

If we want to have a better life (who doesn’t?) and see good days, what must we do (10-12)?

Do you need a little help with this blessing for insult thing? God sees you and hears you (vs. 12) so we can cry out to Him in prayer. Ask Him to help you be of one mind, to love others, and to humble yourself and bless others when they insult you.

**Is blessing for insult just a suggestion? What does verse 9 say?**

I never saw this part of the verse before — it is our CALLING. It is part of who we are and what we do in Christ Jesus. This one is going to be hard, so let me pray for you.

Dear Father,

Thank You that because You bless us, You call us to bless others. Help us to stop basing our treatment of others on how they treat us but on how You treat us. We can bless others because we have already been blessed by You. Help us to stop and think before we speak. There is no room for insults in the mouth of a Christ follower. May the words we speak be the words You would speak.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Go out and find someone to bless and you will have a better life.

http___signatures.mylivesignature.com_54493_129_D5D820C2A0F89154063869217CF282DC

Short & Sweet: Anyone

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Luke 9:23

Anyone.

Anyone is welcome. Anyone can come. Any tribe, any tongue, any religion. No one is excluded. All have sinned, but all are welcome. Anyone can come to the foot of the Cross, take up his cross and follow Jesus.

I used to think only special people were really welcome in the kingdom of God. You know who I’m talking about. The pretty people … the smart people … the popular people. The people who’ve been Christians since they were able to talk. Perfect lives marked by wise choices, good decisions and smart moves. They were the ones God really used. A-list people with first-string capabilities. Everything I was not.

I barely made the cut. I flew in under the radar—allowed in heaven, but better seen and not heard. I had already messed up God’s perfect will for life, doomed to live on Plan B (or in my case plan Z) until God called me home.

But God says,

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Forget Plan A. God says anyone is welcome.

Anyone. Broken people marked by sin and shame—welcome. Shattered people scarred by hurt and hardship—welcome. Plain people with common lives—welcome. Anyone may come.

But. we must deny ourselves … of what?

The right to live safe.

The right to stay small.

The right to live unforgiven.

The right to excuse ourselves from abundant life by focusing on our wounds instead of our Healing.

But when we deny ourselves, we indulge the Spirit.

With self out of the way, there is room for the Spirit. Blessing, power and energy flow unchecked from the hand of God to the heart of man. Any man, any woman, anyone who will follow Him.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Cor. 5:17

Action Points:

Do you believe anyone is welcome in God’s kingdom? Do you believe you are welcome? How can you better live the truth anyone is welcome?
Is there any people group you avoid witnessing to, or praying for because you believe they don’t deserve God’s grace or love? What can you do to change this attitude?
Is there anyone, anytwo, anythree or four in your life right now who need to hear they are welcome? How can you share the love of Jesus with them today?

Life is sweet. Anyone may come. Anyone.

Short & Sweet: Wait a Minute

Wait on the LORD; be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Psalm 27:14

I must admit it.

I never thought it would happen to me, but it has. I have become one of those impatient people who, in a moment of delay, pulls out her phone to check in, check out or check up on the latest current social media events. Waiting is a lost skill — a discipline of a bygone era. As I recently heard Pete Wilson state in What Keeps You Up At Night, nothing in our society today trains us to wait. Microwaves, instant credit, overnight deliveries, one-click shopping hone our waiting muscles. I need to learn to wait a minute.

I remember the days of lay-away shopping.

My mother would take my sisters and me school clothes shopping in August (back then the first day of school was in September, not early August). We’d pick out a few new outfits and place them on lay away. Then each week my mom would make a payment. Finally in September, after weeks of waiting, we’d bring home our new clothes.

Green stamps and bubble gum wrappers.

S&H Green Stamps premiums, Bazooka Bubble Gum wrapper toys, and cereal proof of purchase box top prizes also required the discipline of waiting. For months we’d gather and save stamps, wrappers and

proofs of purchase in order to earn prizes. Most of the fun of earning one of these gizmos was the anticipation of what it would be like when IT finally arrived. Perseverance, delayed gratification, earning something by the sweat of the brow. Lessons well learned.

The benefits of waiting.

The Bible teaches about the benefits of waiting. The verse above lists one benefit — strength. Who doesn’t want or need a stronger heart?

Other benefits of waiting …

It strengthens our faith. John 11:15
It helps us gain courage. Psalm 27:14
It brings blessings. Isaiah 30:18
It helps us receive direction and guidance. Proverbs 3:5-6

I also believe waiting helps to establish an attitude of thankfulness and humility in our heart. It helps us to live in the moment instead of wishing our lives away. To live simple. To rejoice when we have. To rejoice when we have not. Learning to wait a minute.

Action Points:

What are you trying to push through that you need to wait on God for?
Are you a habitual rusher? Do your kids constantly ask are we in a hurry again? When was the last time you actually savored something? …a kiss … a piece of chocolate … a good movie … a cozy time with a toddler and a book?
Take a half hour and linger with God in silence today. You won’t believe how He will refresh your soul and strengthen your heart.

Life is sweet when you wait a minute.

Short & Sweet: Ur or Or

1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country [Ur], from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” Genesis 12:1

And God called Abram.

He was living the good life in the land of Ur — never dreaming of doing a re-lo. Ur wasn’t any little old city. It was the center of commercial trade and political power, home to the temple of the moon god, and the largest city of the province of Shinar. But, Ur wasn’t big enough for what God had planned for Abram. Life in Ur was good, but sometimes what’s good gets in the way of what’s better — the land of Canaan, the future home to the Temple of the One True God.

God called Abram and he had a choice to make: stay in Ur, or follow God to the land of Canaan.

Ur or Canaan.

Ur or Or.

God does that some times.

He breaks into our everyday lives and calls us to come deeper, dream bigger and walk closer with Him. Like Abram, we’d stay in our land of Ur if God didn’t offer us an Or. I didn’t even realize I was living in Ur until God called into my darkness. Leaving Ur can be difficult and at times you may be tempted to stay. Friends will tell you you’re crazy to leave. Your family may pitch a fit about pitching a tent in a new land. It’s easier to stay in Ur. It’s familiar. Comfortable. Safe. Nothing new under the sun.

The land of Ur is characterized by:

Living for self
Following the crowd
A false dependence on something besides God
Barrenness (think of Sarai).

The land of Or is a very different place, marked by:

Living for God
Following Jesus
Dependence on God
Fruitfulness

We have the same choice: Same old, same old or follow God. Safe or faith. Ur or Or.

Ur or Or?

What will we do?

Action Points:

You’re holding back on something right now. God wants you to live large, but you’re tempted to stay small. Name one thing you need to do right now to leave Ur and head to Or.
Read today’s verse again. Ask God to show you what you need to leave behind to follow Him.
Maybe you’re already living close to God. What do you need to improve upon to live even closer … prayer, Bible study, church attendance, or silence and solitude?
What are you depending on to give you peace, love, joy, security and purpose? If it’s anything other than God you need to shift your focus to Him.

Life is sweet.

Short & Sweet: She Heard

Short and Sweet Nourishment for the Soul

She Heard

“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” …“The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”

Matthew 12:38-39, 42

Jesus is speaking to the crowds. While teaching from His Word, He heals a demon-possessed man of his many afflictions. The Pharisees are not happy. Like the rest of the crowd, they’ve been listening to Jesus preach. However, the teachers of the Law want a sign: a miracle on demand. Would they see with their eyes when they would not hear with their ears? What greater sign did they need than an exorcism? Jesus calls them out by mentioning the queen of the South.

The queen of the South? She heard. She heard all the way from Sheba. What the Pharisees would not hear from across the temple courtyard, she heard from across the continent. 1,200 miles. And she came to hear more. Imagine being mentioned in the Bible, not because you won a great battle or conquered a terrible foe, but because you heard.

I Kings 10:2 gives us little more information: She spoke to Solomon about all that was in her heart. That’s the difference between the Pharisees and the Queen of Sheba. She heard with her heart. The Pharisees, deafened by pride, could only hear with their ears. (To learn more about the connection between the heart and the ears, look up the following verses: Deuteronomy 29:4, Proverbs 23:12, Isaiah 6:10, and Ezekiel 3:10.)

God has an antidote for deaf ears. Acts 7:51: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” Ask God to circumcise your ears to hear His Word.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord and open the ears of my heart.

In the Greek and Hebrew, to hear means not only to sense with the ears, but to understand, consider, comprehend, and OBEY.

Hearing God’s word requires change.

Tweet This

Let’s follow the example of the Queen of Sheba, and do what it takes to hear from God.

She heard.

Action Points:

How can you put yourself in a position to hear from God?
What noise is blocking the Word of God in your life?
What action can you take to hear from God today?

Life is sweet.