How to Mash Conflict in Your Life

A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched. Proverbs 28:25

Noticing the mayonnaise, mustard, and pickles on the counter, he inquired with obvious disappointment, "you're not really making potato salad are you? I would really prefer mashed potatoes." Like a Texas scorpion encountering a predator, my defenses went up in an instant. Such a simple request, but one apposing my own dinner plans.

My response was anything but selfless and mature. It didn't matter that I held my tongue, my attitude betrayed my heart. You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you? Oh sure, I yielded and mashed every one of those hot potato cubes (potatoes may never have received so great a mashing!)--but inside I was steaming more than the pot before me.

As the Holy Spirit began His gentle work, my heart fell under conviction. I had wanted my way.

The Lord is revealing areas of my life where I am tightly holding personal "rights"--how I use my time, privacy, spending money... the right to talk, be kept informed, be heard, be served, be respected, etc. My being asked to change menu plans was only a surface problem. The root cause of the conflict was I was clinging to personal rights: to satisfy selfish desires (I'll cook what I want) and to not be questioned (I'm doing the cooking here!).

Identifying rights is only the first step in resolution. The next step is crucial--transferring the right to God. This is yielding to Him the authority to manage that area of my life (time, money, schedule, etc). He can (and will!) care for these so much better than I am able. The final step is to trust and thank God, regardless of what happens. This brings such freedom--I am no longer responsible for the outcome of these rights because God owns them!

The moment you find yourself in conflict, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal "rights"you're clinging to. As He does, lay them on the altar as your Isaac--"Dear Lord, I surrender to you my right to________. Thank you for however you will take care of this." Identify, surrender, trust & thank.

Lord, help us as we seek to trust you rather than clinging to our personal greed. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Psalm 51:17

Get Rock Solid Confidence from a Pile of Stones

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, "Till now the Lord has helped us." I Samuel 7:12

Since the birth of my nephew Eben James Friestad last week, the word, Ebenezer has been churning in my mind. 

"The word "ebenezer" comes from Hebrew and is actually two words pronounced together, Even Haazer. Literally speaking, an Ebenezer is a "stone of help," or a reminder of God’s Real, Holy Presence and Divine aid. Spiritually and theologically speaking, an Ebenezer can be nearly anything that reminds us of God’s presence and help: the Bible, the Sacramental Elements, a cross, a picture, a fellow believer, a hymn – those things which serve as reminders of God’s love, God’s Real Presence, and God’s assistance are 'Ebenezers.'" Dr. Gregory S. Neal, What's An Ebenezer

The past hold an immense ability to increase our faith. Looking back upon God's previous faithfulness in our lives, our confidence in His future faithfulness is radically strengthened. Unfortunately, we quickly forget His providential hand in our lives. God knows we have short memories--which is exactly why, in the Old Testament, He often commanded His people to erect memorials (stones, pillars, altars, items in the Ark of the Covenant, etc). These served as visual reminders of specific events in which the Lord had worked.

When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, Joshua commanded them, "

"take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder . . . that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord . . . these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever." Josh. 4:5-7

Raising an Ebenezer serves two purposes. 1) To remind God's people what He has done; 2) To elicit the curiosity of others. 

Psalm 96:2 says it well, "Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day." As we reflect upon His faithfulness, we can't help but, 1) bless His name and, 2) desire to testify of His faithfulness. 

In what ways have you set up visual reminders of God's hand in your own life? A piece of jewelry, wall art, a coffee table ornament, a photo, or maybe some scribbles in the margin of your Bible can all serve such a purpose. Journaling is probably one of the best ways to "set up a memorial"--something that can be read in times of doubt, fear, and despair. A beautiful story of faithfulness that can be passed on for generations.

This week, raise an Ebenezer to God's faithfulness in an area of your life. If you would, leave some feedback and let me know what you've chosen to use and why.

"Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by thy help I come." 

Come Thou Fount, Robert Robinson, 1757

You Could Be Sick... and Not Know.

"And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" 

The Pharisees were religious leaders who strictly observed Old Testament law and therefore believed themselves to be righteous. Yet, Jesus' judgment of them was harsh: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!... you outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew 23) The Pharisees were sinful, quite sinful, but they didn't see it. Obviously. Here they are pointing fingers, asking the disciples "Why in world are you hanging out with sinners?"

Jesus could've responded, "Ok Mr. Pharisee, who do you think I should eat with? You?! You're a sinner too you know... dummy." But Jesus' response to this pointed question is actually quite shocking. He answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." He didn't point out to the Pharisees that they too (like all Pharisees, Publicans, Samaritans, Jews, etc) were sinners in need of the Physician. Why?

Seeing a physician means medications, needles, scalpels, wound debridement, bone-setting, etc. A healthy person has no need of such interventions. Only those aware of a terminal illness would willingly, and humbly, subject themselves to a physician's care.

The Pharisees were blind to their sin. Jesus wasn't going to instruct a fool or cast His pearls before swine (Prov 16:22, Mt. 7:6) by wasting His time with them. Contrarily, could it be that the tax collectors/sinners were aware of their need for healing? Could it be that Jesus sought to spend time with those whose hearts He knew would respond to His love. This observation leads me to two questions:

1) Am I constantly aware of my need for The Great Physician? Or do I, like the Pharisees, measure myself based on my works instead of my heart?
2) Do I spend time with 'sinners'--those who's hearts are in tune with their need for a Healer? Both in friendships and in witnessing/mentoring, these are to whom I am called.

Dear Lord,
Show me my sin today and every day. Open the eyes of my heart, that I may see my life next to your holy standard. Heal me. I look to you alone for redemption and sanctification. Remove my sin. Make me holy, like you. Lead me to sinners. May my closest friends be those who see their need for the Physician. May my heart be to share you with 'sinners', not blind fools. 

Pondering II

 This post is a follow up to a previous post, titled Ponder, in which was discussed the importance of meditative reading. You may recall the quote, "We should spend 50% of our time reading the Bible in meditative reading. Stop, listen, consider, and pray." The purpose of this successive post is to present one (of many) ways to study the Bible. 

II Tim. 2:15 instructs the Christian to "study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Pondering the Word of God includes studying. This is a skill which matures throughout the life of a Christian. Outlined next is a resource many Believers have found extremely helpful for systematically studying Scripture. 

Observation, Interpretation, Application (OIA) is an excellent, yet simple method for studying the Bible. Quickly summarized, observation is pulling obvious facts out of the text, interpretation is discovering what the text means, and application is finding how to personally apply the text. (Dust off all those handy Bible resource books you got for confirmation and put them to use!) Here is a great resource to better explain the OIA method.

Diving deep into the Word of God yields rich rewards. Regardless of how you study God's written Word, I pray you won't be satisfied with simply reading the text. After you commit to digging deeper, I pray you will:
1) Ask the Holy Spirit to "guide you into all truth", opening your heart to His hidden treasures.
2) Dig deep. Use resources to help you better understand the historical, geographical, cultural, lingual, etc, setting.
3) Ask the Lord for grace to apply and live out His truths.