BLAME YOURSELF !

There is a tremendous temptation on the part of both children and adults to shift blame. This can be damaging and overwhelming at times. This rotten behavior of shifting blame has been around since the beginning in the Garden of Eden.  Our first father, Adam, modeled this behavior. Of course, it is so much easier to focus on blaming others than to take full responsibility of our own personal actions. But, this blame shifting is only a sign of living an unrepented life, cowardice, fear, immaturity and why not a combination of all. We must learn to first see the beam in our own eye before focusing on our brother's mote, Matthew 7:1-6. This is vital to restore peace in our homes and the church. We must be willing to take responsibility for our own actions in order to live a life that pleases God and lead others to Him. The only way to victory! Consider the following poem.

Blame Yourself !

There’s a nasty green temptation that afflicts most everyone

To skirt responsibility when we’ve done something that’s wrong.

Instead of ‘fessing up like men to the blackness of our heart,

We focus on the other guy’s fault and emphasize his part.

Here’s a hardy, healthy maxim given long ago by Dad,

With a world of wealthy wisdom which will triumph over fad:

God has given you great mercy; You’ve been spared the very worst.

Be gen’rous to others — Blame yourself first!

The poor response by Adam on the day he broke God’s Law

Was to shift the blame to Eve using an argument of straw,

Thus establishing for Mankind this most unattractive flaw.

Learn from his mistake — Stop and blame yourself!

When you’re feeling kinda fickle ‘bout the pickle that you’re in,

Teary puddles you’re producing, as your noodle cooks the sin,

But complaining while explaining never leads to a win-win.

Take a breath, think again — And blame yourself!

When befuddled and besmirched, without a horse before the cart,

It’s ever so convenient to forget Your own wretched part,

And recount with gory details His worst mistakes from the start.

Bite your tongue, take the hit — Just blame yourself!

There’s a way to say “I’m sorry” that’s clearly not repentance,

Taking some responsibility to minimize your sentence,

While giving him the lion’s share with most self-righteous vengeance.

This is not true contrition — Blame yourself!

When you’re backed against the wall, because you’re in a rotten mess,

Next you feel the pressure mounting, and you’re needing to confess,

But by shifting blame to others, you won’t mitigate the stress,

De-escalate the crisis — Blame yourself!

There’s another type of shifting reminiscent of a snake.

It happens when you twist and turn the other’s words and then take

Advantage of their absence through your sad one-sided remake.

But that’ll really bite you — Just blame yourself!

If you break the Ninth Commandment, just to save your precious skin,

Using just a little half-truth, so it doesn’t seem like sin,

But a half truth is a whole lie, and another form of spin.

Better focus on your part — Blame yourself!

By sustaining all your blaming, as you prosecute and try,

Your convincing is evincing such a self-deceptive high,

Your evasion becomes persuasion: You believe your own lie!

But that doesn’t change the truth — Blame yourself!

If you blame others less, and blame yourself more,

It may rub against the grain, and feel an awful chore,

But by doing you’re subduing pride and opening a door!

For future hope and peace — So blame yourself!

A gentle word assuages wrath, and less fire kills the flame.

Speak to your brother privately, or he may put you to shame.

Don’t accuse him before others, lest your tempted to defame.

And while we’re on the subject — Blame yourself!

When life is looking mighty grave, and your heart hungers for health,

Take a queue from the Word, quickly take the Bible off the shelf.

Stop and ask the living God to help you learn to die to self.

Be a truly humble man and blame yourself!

Anonymous
Luci

COURAGE

It is to be able to face difficulties and dangers boldly, and to trust in God's strength in all the circumstances of life. We need this COURAGE the most when we are facing and fighting our spiritual battles and fighting for our FAITH, I Timothy 6:12.

If we don't fight against Satan boldly, we will surely fall into temptation and let him win. We must fight with COURAGE and God's help to win and come out victorious against our enemy. But, this can ONLY be accomplished IF we obey God's commandments and are willing to submit to HIS authority. What can Satan do if we resist him with the strength of our God? Let's have the COURAGE to do what is right and fight for the LORD ! The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the RIGHTEOUS are bold as a lion Proverbs 28:1

CASTING INSULTS AT YOU !

Have you ever been accused, insulted, slandered, lied or hated for doing the right thing or taking a stand for the TRUTH? The Lord says rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, Matthew 5:11-12. By doing this you are blessed! At that moment you may not feel all that blessed, but our Lord Jesus tells us that when we suffer for the sake of righteousness we should count it as an honor He is giving us, knowing that our reward in heaven is GREAT. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is GREAT, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

When our Lord Jesus is the One that governs our hearts, we are always going to want to do His will and be concerned about pleasing Him instead of men. Our main goal as Christians must be that of being approved before Him instead of the approval of men. It is our God we must fear and not men! If God is for us, we must not be concerned about who is against us. He will fight beside us if we hold fast to His Truth. It doesn't matter what men think of us. It doesn't matter who is attacking us. Their insults and attacks will fall like broken arrows at our feet. I will fear no evil and what man can do to harm me for the cause of Christ and righteousness. And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you shall suffer for the sake of RIGHTEOUSNESS, you are BLESSED. And do not fear their INTIMIDATION, and do not be TROUBLED. But sanctify Christ as Lord in you hearts, ALWAYS being ready to make a DEFFENSE to everyone who asks you to give an account for the HOPE that is in you, yet with GENTLENESS and REVERENCE. I Peter 3:13-15.

In giving a defense of our Hope and the Truth, we must always remember to respond in a Christ-like manner. But, if we respond in an ungodly way, this will not only bring confusion and provocation, but will bring reproach and dishonor to the name of our Lord Jesus. And keep a good conscience, so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better.... that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. I Peter 3:16-17.

Let's always imitate the beauty of Christ, even when we are contending for the Truth. We can be very direct and reproof them severely that the may be sound in the FAITH (Titus 1:13), yet let's answer in a way that glorifies and gives reverence to our God. Don't return reviling for reviling, I Peter 3:8. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16. Let's fight for the Lord with zeal, but with self-control !

Luci

DEALING WITH DISILLUSIONMENT

The prophet Jeremiah was overwhelmed with disillusionment and dispair. He begins to curse the day he was born and wondered wny he was even born and did not die before birth inside the womb. This is what he says: Why did I ever come forth from the womb to look on trouble and sorrow, so that my days have been spent in shame? Jeremiah 20:18. Do you think this is an exaggeration? Not at all. We read in chapter 20 that the chief officer had him beaten with 40 lashes then placed him in stocks. Possibly, he was tortured with such a device that caused his body to bend double. Imagine this happening after he was beaten! Why did he suffer this? Was he guilty of any crime? Absolutely not! He had simply declared the Word of God. He did what was right, but in return, what he received was punishment. His once trusted friends mocked him, throwing his own words back at him, calling him the name that God by phophecy had given to Pashur, the priest, Magor-Missabib, meaning "terror on every side. That hurt him, no? His prayers were full of loneliness and complaints: O LORD, Thou has deceived me and I was deceived; Thou has overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.... for me the word of the LORD has resulted in reproach and derision all day long, Jeremiah 20:7-8. We can surely see a man in despair, anguish. This prophet of the LORD is struggling with persecution. I think that deep down in his heart he's questioning God's presence in a moment when he needed Him the most. What feelings of despair! We all have thoughts like that, don't we? Many, many times they come with long and dark suffering when the pain just won't go away. We feel, like the prophet, as if we are being beaten without mercy! We see this when our marriage vows are broken, tragedy strikes us, or the death of a very dear and loved one and injustice prevails. Sometimes, we question God's justice. God's silence can disillusion us sometimes. We begin to question why He permits such things to happen when we know and are aware deep in our hearts that this defies His character. It is then that we are tempted to say like the phrophet: I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name.... Jeremiah 20:9. So many times we see this happening with outstanding preachers. They quit and go after a secular job, this is the work of satan! It is then that we need to remember what Jeremiah admitted: ...Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it, Jeremiah 20:9. This fire was one of confidence, hope, determination. His disillusionment was replaced with God's reassurance. Let's always keep in mind what Jeremiah said: .... Nothing is too difficult for Thee, who showest lovingkindness to thousands.... great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to the fruits of his deeds, Jeremiah 32:17-42. The LORD'S lovingkindness indeed never ceases, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.... Lamentations 3:19-32; These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world, John 16:33.

CREATION & THE FIRST PEOPLE

I am enjoying my studies with my children on World History from a Biblical worldview. It is amazing how much I am being educated while I am educating my children. We are doing Ancient History from Creation to the Fall of Rome. We just started doing CREATION AND THE FIRST PEOPLE. We did some Apologetics where we discussed God's creation Vs. Evolution theory.  This last one suggests that everything we see is the result of impersonal time and chance. We discussed why God as our Creator is the major foundation of our Biblical beliefs. For example: IF God did not create everything, then He would be just a part of creation, meaning that He would be one god among many gods, and not the TRUE GOD. If GOD did not make man, then man OWES nothing to GOD, meaning gratitude, reverence, obedience and worship. IF GOD is not man's CREATOR and SUPREME JUDGE, then why did He offer us salvation through Jesus Christ? IF GOD did not create the first man Adam, whom the BIBLE calls a "type of Christ," Romans 5:14, I Corinthians 15:23, WHY is it that we have a second Adam in Jesus Christ, Romans 5:18-21.

We compared Biblical creation account with Mesopotamian creation myths. Here is a few of them: 1. In the Biblical creation account, God created everything simply by SPEAKING IT and there was life. In Mesopotamian creation myths, creation arose out of conflict; battles between the gods, and reaction to another god's action. 2. In the Biblical creation, God created thoughtfully, carefully, lovingly and well. In Mesopotamians myths, the gods created selfishly, rashly and angrily, and made mistakes. 3. In Biblical creation, God made man in HIS own image. Man was the pinnacle of God's creation. In Mesopotamian creation myths, man was created for 2 purposes: feeding and serving gods. 4. In Biblical creation, God commanded each part of creation to "be fruitful and multiply" without demanding that they perform any rituals or magic. In Mesopotamian creation myths, the gods often refused to give man what he needed unless he performed rituals and sacrifices they demanded.