Almost Home

"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." (Luke 21:28)

In these dark, depressing, and perilous times—The Last Days—as described in the Bible; a culture was foretold over 2,500 years ago by the Prophet Isaiah, of a perverse and corrupt people who will call evil good, and good evil. I doubt there is anyone who follows Christ today, who would disagree that we are living in those times.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20)

Almost daily, I hear of something or someone who accuses godliness of being wicked, and the perverse as being good or normal. I know I am not alone in my great distress in the continual shift of the entire culture towards darkness, perversity and corruption.

Today, as I heard yet one more example of just how sick and twisted our culture and society have become, I nearly lost it. A righteous anger boils up within me that cries out, “How much longer is this sick lawlessness going to continue?”

But then I turned my heart and focus to Christ and sought to encourage myself in the Lord. And He graciously led me to the Book of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation is the only book which specifically has its own special blessing attached, for all those who read, hear and keep the things written in that prophetic book in the Bible.

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)

And as I have so many other times, today I needed that encouraging reminder again from the promises of God’s Word, that this twisted, fallen world will not continue for much longer. Evil shall not triumph. Satan was defeated at the Cross of Christ. And God will soon put all this evil and corruption under His feet, once and for all.

All the signposts have been put in place. We see events happening every day that signal the end is near. The second coming of Christ is imminent. The evidence and promises are all throughout the Bible, and it culminates in the unveiling of Jesus Christ—the Book of Revelation. There is far too much material to try and write an overview here. So I encourage you to do what God led me to do today, and that is to read the Book of Revelation for yourself. The blessing of doing so is promised in the book.

And blessed we are.

Jesus is coming soon for His own special people whom He called to be His own; those people who freely chose to turn from their sin and turn to God, through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.

A time is coming when we will be with Him face-to-face. No longer will ours be a relationship by faith alone. Sometimes it feels like a long distance relationship, because now, we cannot physically see, hear, or touch Jesus Christ.

Soon we will physically be with Him and we will never be apart. We will be with God Himself, and there never again be any pain, sorrow, sickness, sin, or death. No evil shall ever again reside. Satan and all the wicked ones who served him will be cast into the Lake of Fire, where they will be tormented forever and ever.

As the twisted culture of earth continues to circle the drain, be encouraged that our time here on earth is drawing to an end. And aren’t you thankful for that!

I sure am.

Lately my wife and I have felt like what Lot must have felt like when he witnessed the twisted perversity of Sodom and Gomorrah every day. And just when the cultural pendulum seems like it could not swing any further left, perversity and wickedness smacks you in the face with an increased intensity everywhere you turn. It seems like there is no escaping it.

But rest assured—evils’ days are numbered. And God will deliver us out of this perverse world.

“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment—especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness…” (2 Peter 2:4-10)

We have been placed in this dark world to shine as lights for Christ—to point people to Him. Those who want to believe in Him will. Those who don’t want to believe won’t. Ours is to love those who hate us, and invite them to come and drink freely of the water of life. But only God can bring the increase.

“And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)

Our time here is not even a blink of an eye, compared to eternity.

Heaven awaits.

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches.” (Revelation 22:12-16)



—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Priorities

"Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not easily broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12)



What are your priorities in your marriage?

Or rather, who is your priority?

For many, our priority is ourselves. We seek after personal satisfaction and fulfillment in marriage, always trying to get what we want out of the relationship. 

We tend to be takers more than givers.

Many people today think that the secret of having a good marriage is about "finding the right person."

While it's true that your marriage likely won't succeed if you are with someone who really is the 'wrong' person, the truth is, having a good marriage is much more about being the right person.

How can we do that?

First, the question needs to be asked, "What are you seeking?"

If your main focus is having all of your needs met by your wife or husband, then you are in for major disappointment.  And that is because you are looking to another imperfect human being to do and be everything that you need them to be in your life for you to be happy.

No human being can possibly fulfill that role.

If you profess to be a follower of Christ, is He your number one priority in life? 

Closely examine the triangle diagram above. God is at the top. 

As we seek Him first, and the closer we get to Him, the closer we will grow together in our marriage. 

However, in many marriages we tend to put our spouse at the top, and we seek them first, and place God off to one side... only seeking Him when things in our life fall apart.

This a recipe for failure.

Because when we place our spouse over God at the top of our list of priorities, we in effect make them an idol—which is anything or anyone that becomes more important to us than God.

Don't get me wrong, my wife is a wonderful gift from God and I am thankful to Him every day for placing her in my life, to love her and serve her.  But if I am seeking her first as my primary source of happiness and fulfillment, while demoting God to a lesser place in my heart, then I am guilty of making my wife and marriage an idol.

A timely passage from the Bible that my wife and I are both reading right now is from the book of Revelation, chapter 2, verses 1-4:

"These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamp stands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;  and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you... you have left your first love." 

Jesus Himself spoke these words to a church who was doing all the right things; patiently laboring to be good Christians.  But He said they have "left their first love." They put religious duty, identifying apostates and righteous living above a loving, personal relationship with Jesus.

Notice it doesn't say they lost their first love.

No, they left their first love.

When Jesus willingly went to die on a cross to save us, His primary goal was to restore us to a relationship with God. He loves us and desires that we love Him and always place Him first in our hearts.

However, so often we place other people, such as our spouse, above Him by looking to them first for our happiness and fulfillment instead of surrendering all of our needs and desires to Christ.   He alone can fill the empty spaces in our hearts that we look to others to fill who cannot possibly meet that expectation.

Looking again at the triangle diagram, as we seek first Jesus and a closer, spiritually intimate relationship with Him, the closer we will be to Him, and then the closer we will be with our spouse.  Because as we grow closer to God, loving Him and seeking His heart, the more He will change us to have His heart, and in so doing we become more and more the right person for our spouse. 

The longer that I am with my wife, and God matures her spiritually as she seeks to love Him and desires His presence and leading in her life, the more I see Jesus in her. God demonstrates His love and goodness to me through my wife.

Do you want a closer and more loving marriage?

Then seek and draw near to Jesus as your First Love.

And as you love Him and spend time with Him, taking on more of His character, the more you will become the right person, and your spouse will desire to be closer to you because they see more of Jesus in you.

There is nothing more wonderful than when husband and wife are seeking Jesus first together as their First Love. The Bible illustrates this kind of marriage with Christ as the center as a 'threefold cord that is not quickly or easily broken.'

Make note that it doesn't say the threefold cord cannot be broken.

It says it is not easily broken.

This threefold marriage relationship can be broken... if we choose to leave Jesus, our First Love, and place all of our need for love and fulfillment in our spouse, or in something or someone else.

If you have left your First Love... return to Him and make Him first in your heart. Jesus alone deserves all of our heart, our worship, and our love.

And as you and your spouse seek Him first together as your First Love, the closer you will become to each other.

Guaranteed.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

God's Pruning

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2)

What is it about us that God the Father must remove, prune—cut away; in order for us to be able to bear more fruit to Him?

First, we need to understand what fruit He is looking for.

Some think the ”fruit” God most desires is soul winning; leading unsaved people to Christ. And while that is certainly part of it, I think we need to look much deeper within.

What is the purpose and process of our sanctification?—to be set apart for holiness.

Knowing that the Father is pruning each of us that we bear more fruit to Him, then we need to look at what scriptures specifically mention spiritual fruit.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Isn’t this a literal description of what it means to be Christ-like?

So if being more like Jesus is to see more of the fruit of the Spirit manifest in our lives, then what would God need to prune from each of us to bring this to fruition?

The answer is simple; anything that gets in the way of that process and goal.

And He is not primarily pruning physical things out of our lives, but bad attitudes. Things of the heart. Wrong thoughts. Selfishness. Stubbornness. Immaturity.

And this pruning—this cutting away—can be quite painful; when we resist God in His efforts to do so.

Time for some serious, sincere, self-examination before God.

When the fruit of the Spirit mentioned above is absent, the works, or fruit of the flesh is evident. This fleshly fruit is as follows:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident;, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, partying.” (Galatians 5:19-21)

And though you may not physically be murdering anyone, or committing the act of adultery with someone who is not your spouse, are you contentious with someone in your life? Do you frequently explode in childish outbursts of wrath whenever something does not go your way? Are you being selfish or self-centered in your personal ambitions? In your relationships? Are there temporal, earthly things that are so important to you that you have in effect made them idols?

These are the kinds of destructive things that God must painfully prune from your life—from your heart—in order for you to be able to bear more fruit of the Spirit to Him.

The question is—will you continue to resist Him?

You will never experience true freedom, peace and joy in your life until you willingly surrender your heart and the things in your life to God.

People who regularly demonstrate any of the works (fruit) of the flesh in their lives are not free, They are bound; prisoners of their own hard-hearted rebellion against God.

Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16)

What fruit are you known by?

When your spouse, your children, your friends, your co-workers see you, do they see a person who regularly explodes in outbursts of wrath when you don’t get your way?

Or do they see a person who is at peace, kind, gentle, and who demonstrates self-control when faced with a challenging situation?

Really take some time and do some honest soul-searching before God, and examine your heart and the fruit of your life.

You are known by your fruits.

People see you. If you’re a follower of Christ, they are watching you, to see if you’re the real deal.

Jesus is the Vine, and you are a branch. God the Father prunes His branches that abide in Jesus, so that you will bear more fruit of the Spirit to Him.

Are you submitting to Him?

Or resisting Him in His efforts to prune you?


—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

A Better Hope

"He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises." (Hebrews 8:6)

Are you disillusioned with the superficial promises of health, wealth and happiness that you were led to believe would all be yours, if you chose what was behind Door # 1 and became a Christian?

"Just name it and claim it in Jeezus' name, and you will have all the material blessings you could ever want!"

The superficial, fleshly part of me that I'm ashamed of, wishes it were that simple.

But it's just not reality.

The sad fact is, many today who call themselves "Christian" just want to use God to get what they want out of life.

They don't really want Him personally. Just His blessings. God is like a divine vending machine to them. Just put in the right change, pull the lever, and out pour the blessings. Rub the bottle and out pops your personal Genie to give you everything your heart desires.

Don't you think God is insulted by this shallow treatment?

Time for a reality check.

The Old Covenant was: you keep the Law perfectly, do everything God commands you, and follow all of His regulations to the Letter; and He will reward you with the promise of His blessings and prosperity.

The problem is, no human being in history was able to follow that written code perfectly.

Enter Jesus—who established the New Covenant; which was a better covenant, established on better promises.

What better promises?

For starters, that you are no longer bound by the old Law of having to be perfect to be declared righteous (because you can't). That you are not required to earn your salvation by "being good enough" (because you can't). And that you are not required to be perfect enough to keep your salvation once you have received it (because you can't).

Salvation is a free gift to all those who will turn from their sin, who will choose to put their trust (faith) in Jesus Christ—who will believe that He suffered, was crucified, and died on a Cross, was buried, and then rose from the grave three days later.

It's a free gift. It's called Grace: God's unmerited favor.

And it's a life of God's unmerited favor that we live, as we follow on to know and serve Christ. 

Where Christians make the biggest mistake, is that we think God is somehow indebted to bless us as we try our best to be good, obedient people.

We try to go to church every week. We try to pray. We try to tithe our 10%. We try to read our bibles. We try not to flip that guy off who cut in front of us in traffic this morning. We try not too drink to much. 

God is not a debtor to any man.

Even our faith (our capacity to believe and trust in Christ for salvation) is a free gift.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As much as we would like it to be "Heaven" down here now, it isn't.

In this life there is much suffering. Followers of Christ still get cancer. We still lose jobs, houses, and 401-K earnings. Spouses still leave and run off with the neighbor down the street. And we don't always get from God what we ask of Him. 

Look at the following verses:

“Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” (1 Peter 4:19)

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)

As recipients of grace, we who live under a New Covenant, which was established on better promises, have been set free to live according to the law of the Spirit of life. Free to ask God for our needs and the needs of others, and then fully trust Him with the results. 

Why God heals a few people who have a life-threatening illness, and chooses not to heal most, is a mystery far too great for me to understand. Why some people are blessed with amazing success in this life, and many other faithful followers have lost everything, is known only to God.

And that's the point.

God alone has all knowledge, wisdom and power. 

He alone is sovereign. Nothing happens unless He either directly causes it to happen, or He chooses to allow it to happen.

So, I ask what I ask of Him, fully knowing and believing that He is able to do it, and then trust Him with the results; come what may.

And I can rest in that truth, in Him.

If my faith is in my faith, the pressure is on. It's up to me to be able to believe enough to make something happen.

But that's not trusting in God....that's trusting in me. 

Here's a very helpful practice; every time you see the word "faith" in the Bible, replace it with the word, "trust."  The biblical word translated "faith" primarily means to trust; to believe. (Greek; "pistis").

"Without trust, it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6)

God knows what is best for us. We don't.

We like to quote: 

"And my God shall supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

We like that verse because we think we can somehow justify our lust for material riches by it.

But what if our greatest "need" is to be refined in the fires of adversity and suffering? What if God knows our greatest "need" in our pride and arrogance is to be humbled through difficult trials? 

We look at suffering and trials as if God had abandoned us.

But the Apostle James exhorts us, 

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1:2-3)

The Apostle Peter writes:

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:6-7)

We're told to joyfully rejoice whenever we go through fiery trials. But we do the opposite and we moan and complain.

“Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” (1 Peter 4:19)

It's time for the modern Church to once and for all cast off our ungodly expectations and the false bill of goods we have been sold by the prosperity doctrine folks, and trust in the Lord and thank Him for all things, come what may.

"Without trust it's impossible to please God."

Draw near to God with only the supreme desire to know Him personally and more intimately—not for what He can give you.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Rest in Love

Are you tired of constantly striving to try and make your life work?

If you answered "yes" to that question, take heart weary traveler; there is hope.

Why does it so often seem like life just doesn't work out as we had hoped?  Many of us were taught when we became followers of Christ that if you just try your best to follow the principles in the Bible, that God will bless you with a good life, right?

But, if we are truly honest about it, we will admit that often times, things go south, even though we did "our best" to try and faithfully obey what we were taught.

In church you may have heard something like this, "Just stand under the spout where the blessings come out."

That may sound great in a sermon.

However, the reality is, sometimes, even though we've prayed, cried and tried, the marriage doesn't always work out.  The cancer isn't always healed.  The house or car still gets repossessed.  The job we had hoped for doesn't always materialize. The prodigal child for whom we've travailed in prayer for the last decade is still rebellious and unsaved.

"Why God?" we cry out.

"What happened?" we lament. 

"What am I doing wrong?" 

Sometimes, we as Christians try to claim promises that God never made to us.  Other times, we expect God to do everything we ask of Him simply because, "we have faith that He will do it."

But often times, He chooses to do something quite different than what we expect or demand.

The fact is—He is God, and He can do whatever He wants. This is His earth, His universe, His creation. All things were made by Him and for Him, including us.  And God is all-knowing.  He alone knows the future, and He will bring to pass His perfect will, not our imperfect will.

Sadly, many Christians today treat God as little more than a convenient mall Santa Claus.  We stand in line to rattle off our long list of demands, and then say, "See Ya next Christmas when it's time for You to bring me more presents!"

I think the following statement says it very well: 

"God is not a vending machine. We don't insert the proper change and then reach into the tray to claim whatever sweet blessing we want."

How often do we treat God that way?  Treating Him as if He were obligated to bless us, because we did "our best" to follow the rules?

God is not indebted to us. Rather, we, who have been saved by grace through the divine gift of faith, owe everything to Him.

If you are weary today of running on the hamster wheel of performance—trying to obey the rules in the Bible so that God will in turn bless you for it;  jump off that merry-go-round.  It will only lead you to more frustration, disappointment and defeat.

Jesus came to bring a New and Living Way for us to live. 

He is the Way.

The old code of Law that we were under before we were saved in Christ brought only slavery and an eternal death sentence. We were slaves to a code of perfection that we could never perfectly obey. No one can.  That's why Jesus Christ came to offer salvation freely to the world—to all those who will choose to believe on Him and receive Him as Savior.

Here is our deliverance from that unattainable code of perfection—the freedom that we as Christians have now been given in Christ:

"The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the Law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God."  (Hebrews 7:18-19)

The "better hope" spoken of here is Jesus Christ and the direct access we have to intimacy with God Himself, through Christ.  A New and Living Way.

Jesus said to the religious 'rule keeping' pharisees of His day:

"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (John 5:39-40)

The entire Bible points to and reveals Jesus Christ.  So often though, we as Christians seek the blessings more than we seek the Blesser.  We seek the gifts while forsaking the Giver.  We don't come to Jesus that we may have life, but we come to Him looking for the things of this life. 

Is it any wonder so many of us are weary, disillusioned, and disappointed?

The old (wrong) way of thinking was, "If I just do enough good things, then God has to reward my goodness and obedience with His blessings."  

But Jesus said:  "There are none who are righteous; no, not one."

Our salvation was a free gift by God's grace.  We couldn't earn it by trying to be good, and we can't keep it by trying to be good. 

The same applies to God's blessings.   They are blessings from Him to us, as He chooses to give them, or withold them.  We cant earn or demand them on a system of merit.  That is returning to the old system of law which requires that we obey the whole code of law perfectly. In that old system, if we break just one requirement of the law, we were guilty before God of breaking the entire law.

But we tend to think that if we can obey the rules "most of the time" that, surely God is obligated to reward us with His blessings, because we "did our best."

God's blessings are not some kind of magic "formula" that we can 'name and claim.'

That's not how it works.

What God desires from us is our love and devotion.  He wants a relationship with us.  That's why Jesus came, to restore man's relationship with God. If we try to relate with God on a merit system of 'our performance obligates reward' we will be left feeling empty, disillusioned and weary.

If you are working to obtain a better marriage for instance, by merely "trying your best" to obey the marriage rules and methods in the Bible, your marriage is probably not going to be very successful.  Oh, things may go well for awhile.  But eventually, you will grow apart from your relationship with your spouse because you have grown apart from your relationship with God because you were not seeking Him first.

There is a simple triangle diagram illustrating "husband" on one of the bottom corners, and "wife" on the opposite bottom corner.  "God" is rightfully at the top of the peak.  At the bottom, husband and wife are far apart, but the closer they grow upward to God, the closer they will grow to each other. This is exactly why my wife and I are still married today, and are happier and more in love than we have ever been.

Even though marriage will never be perfect, what people perceive as the "perfect marriage" is only obtainable when both the husband and the wife choose to pursue intimacy with God first and foremost, and not pursue intimacy with each other as their primary goal.  Yes, God desires a husband and wife to experience true intimacy, in all its applications.  But He desires true intimacy with us as His children first. 

True intimacy in marriage is the fruit of having a right relationship with God.  A truly blessed marriage flows out of a husband and wife's intimacy with God.  Not by a man and a woman trying their best to obey and follow the right 'methods' for a successful marriage.

Yes, absolutely, as Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 5, "A husband must love his wife as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for her."  And yes, absolutely, "And the wife must respect her husband."

But if we look at these commands from the Lord primarily as our dutiful obligation and as required rules for a successful marriage, we have missed the heart of God. If we choose to love God by embracing these commands as a joyous "get to" as opposed to a dutiful "got to," we can then begin to walk according to Love, and not Law.

It's about loving because of Relationship—not legally binding Rules.

The problems we experience in our marriages, or in our lives in general, are merely symptoms.  The root of our problems declare the condition of our relationship (or our lack of relationship) with God.

So, if you are weary today—tired of constantly striving to try and make your life work, then respond to the loving voice of Jesus—our Great Shepherd—and come to Him today.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Surrender all your working and striving of trying to earn His blessings by keeping all the rules to Jesus, and just seek intimacy with Him because you love Him.  Not because you want something from Him. The greatest blessing we can ever receive is the gift of relationship with Jesus. Only intimacy with Him can satisfy us and fill up all the longings and empty spaces in our hearts.

Jesus stands at the door of your heart and He gently knocks. He asks that you open the door of your heart from the inside. When you open your heart to Him, He will come in and He will dine with you, and you with Him. Rest in His love.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails

Deal With It

"Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray." (Proverbs 10:17)

Everyone has at least one proverbial elephant in the room.

You know... that issue in your life that you refuse to deal with, that will not go away by itself.

Many of us have more like an entire herd of elephants in the room. And some of them are old, wrinkled elephants that have been there for years. We just don't want to deal with our issues and move on with life. It seems easier to just sweep our problems under the rug where we don't have to face them every day.

How's that working for you?

This issue of not dealing with problems affects all people; young and old, married, single, divorced, separated, etc.

And I find that the older I get, the longer I refuse to deal with my elephant in the room, the harder it gets to face up to it, and so I keep on trying to pretend it's not there.

But an elephant never forgets.

That old issue will continue to surface at the most inconvenient times, when you thought you had buried it for good. And it will keep on haunting you, rearing its ugly head, keeping you bound, holding you back.

You have to deal with it.

My mom used to say we have to be peace makers and not just peace keepers. 

Peace keepers sweep problems under the rug and avoid confrontation, thinking that will make for a peaceful home. But the problem with that method is that those problems you avoided will only grow and fester and irritate and inflame until the pressure gets so great that it all explodes in mass family drama.

Being a peace maker means confronting issues.

You have to talk about that elephant in the room that you've been ignoring.

And when you confront a difficult issue, no matter how careful and sensitive and diplomatic you try to go about it, its going to be painful. Its going to make some waves. But you have to deal with it. 

Jesus said:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9)

The normal tendency of people in dealing with 'issues' is to confront other people about them, thinking that the "problem" is with the other person...

Ha.

I would highly recommend that before you confront someone else thinking that they are the problem, or cause of your issue, that you get really honest with God, and with yourself, and first examine your own heart. 

What is it about you; about your behavior, your refusal to yield, your refusal to forgive, that might be causing or contributing to this issue or situation?

Do not get caught up in the Blame Game. If you are bitter, blaming others for all of your problems, take that load of junk, put it in a bag, and take it to the street!

Almost always, if we're being honest, God will show us that we are 99% of the problem—not the other person. 

And I can say this truthfully, about myself, from twenty seven years of being married to my wife. Even though it "takes two"... I am responsible for most of our problems and issues. Not 100%. But in the high 90% for sure.

It's because I didn't follow the imperative of Love:

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, is not self-seeking, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Corinthians 13:1-7)

Love is not self-seeking.

Love has no personal agendas. Love does not seek to better itself at the expense of another person. Love does not look out for number one. Love is others focused, not self-focused. Love seeks the good of others, and not just its own good. Love does not have to be right all the time. Love says, "I'm sorry, I was wrong." Love forgives. Love sacrifices. Love serves. Love gives. 

Self confrontation is always the best, first step.

And yes. There is definitely a time when you must confront another person about an unresolved issue.

But from what I have learned and experienced, the elephant in the room that must be confronted and dealt with... is usually me.

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." (Matthew 7:3-5)

Blessings in Christ.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails

Strongholds

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

In ancient times, a stronghold was a walled city; created as an impenetrable fortress to keep one's enemies out.

King Nebuchadnezzar's 5th century B.C. city of Babylon was protected by a brick wall which was 56 miles long, 300 feet high, 25 feet thick, with another wall 75 feet behind the first wall, and the wall extended 35 feet below the ground. Additionally, it had 250 watch towers that were 450 feet high.

However, in the above passage from 2 Corinthians 10, Paul exhorts God's people to demolish strongholds that are not walls made of brick and mortar.

The strongholds Paul speaks of are in the mind—namely; worldly arguments, philosophies and attitudes that exalt themselves above and against the knowledge and wisdom of God.

Over the last couple of weeks, the phrase I've had heavy upon my heart and spirit is; 

"Demolish strongholds."

We know people—particularly some young people—who are in bondage in their minds, because of spiritual strongholds due to:

1.  Lies spoken from ungodly counsel.

2.  Corruption from an ungodly culture.

3.  Deception from ungodly agendas.

One stronghold symptom that hits close to home—on our college campuses—is the use and abuse of a highly addictive prescription Amphetamine called Adderall. Here is what you need to know about this drug.

“Common psychological effects of therapeutic doses of Adderall can include alertness, apprehension, concentration, decreased sense of fatigue, mood swings (elevated mood or elation and euphoria followed by mild dysphoria), increased initiative, insomnia or wakefulness, self-confidence, and sociability. Less common or rare psychological effects that depend on the user's personality and current mental state include anxiety, change in libido, grandiosity, irritability, repetitive or obsessive behaviors, and restlessness.

Cardiovascular side effects can include irregular/increased heartbeat, high blood pressure, or low blood pressure. Other potential side effects include abdominal pain, acne, blurred vision, dry mouth, loss of appetite, nausea, reduced seizure threshold, and weight loss.

Recreational use of Adderall generally involves far larger doses and is therefore significantly more dangerous, involving a much greater risk of serious side effect.  Addiction is a serious risk with heavy recreational amphetamine use. Abuse of Adderall can result in a stimulant psychosis that may present with a variety of symptoms, including paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions.

Adderall is considered to have a high potential for misuse. Amphetamine salts can be crushed and snorted, or dissolved in water and injected. Injection into the bloodstream can be dangerous because insoluble fillers within the tablets can block small blood vessels.”

Someone we know is using this drug and has changed from a bright, joyful young person, into a withdrawn, depressed individual, who appears to have walked away from Christ, and now may be involved in a sexually immoral lifestyle and orientation.

What is sad about our young friend, is that they started taking Adderall after a secular counselor saw them for mild depression and their inability to concentrate, and who then prescribed them the medication. But now they are worse off than they were before taking this drug. When asked by a parent who expressed a great deal of concern over their behavior and use of Adderall, they brushed them off, saying:

"Aw, it's just a college thing."

There are high school and college kids dealing this drug on campuses today because it is so popular. 

Apparently, Adderall is very easy for young people to obtain. You get an appointment with a counselor, tell them you are depressed, and many counselors will write you a prescription for this drug. Our young friend's counselor apparently said, "Please promise me that you will not start selling this drug to your friends." This is a red flag. It's as if this so-called "counselor" already knows what a huge problem this drug is, but prescribes it anyway.

Now, since being on a diet of Adderall and ungodly counsel, the brick wall or stronghold with our young friend is, their mind is totally closed off to the truth of God's Word. They used to serve at their church with joy and enthusiasm. Now, they have stopped going to church altogether. And they glibly justify the use (abuse) of this dangerous drug as "Just a college thing."

Note: An Adder is a deadly, venomous snake, or serpent, both in the Bible and in the English dictionary. Consequently, Adderall is a dangerous drug destroying the lives of many young people today. Interesting coincidence, wouldn't you say?

The serpent—the devil—only comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. (See John 10:10). But Jesus came that we might have life in Him, and that means truly abundant life and peace. And we as Christ's followers have divine power—mighty in God—for the pulling down and demolishing of Satan's strongholds. 

Many people, both young and old, are in chains—in bondage—to the enemy of their souls, to whom they have given a foothold in their life. And once this diabolical enemy gets in, he can quickly turn a foothold into a spiritual stronghold, as he has with our young friend.

Our divine weapons to fight this satanic enemy are Love, Prayer, and the Word of God.

And we cannot remain silent.

If you know someone who is slipping away from God and from their family, and who is giving the enemy a foothold into their mind, get a hold of them, in Love, and shake them out of their slumber, however you can. Don't let them get so far gone that the devil has established a firm stronghold in their mind. It can be very difficult to pull a person back into the light, once they have slipped into the darkness of Satan's deceptions and snares. 

Whatever you do, don't give up.

Keep praying for them, and don't stop. Keep reaching out to them , speaking God's Word to them. 

Love them back to Jesus. 

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.