Happy Independence Day

[Judy Harder]

Confronting Wrong

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. - Galatians 6:1

God has given us the responsibility to honestly confront those who do wrong. For most of us, confrontation is a difficult task. For a few, it's much too easy. I hope you don't delight in finding fault in others. If you do, stop and consider if you do this as a way of over¬looking your own faults. 

God does call you, however, to help others see the truth. In es¬sence, you can hold up a mirror to your good friends, and they hopefully will do the same for you.

Jude, the brother of Jesus, reminds us that we are to deal honestly and directly with those who do wrong, while showing them mercy (Jude 22-23). Help others see their faults but with great humility. You're not responsible for the behavior of others, but you are re¬sponsible to gently and tactfully point out areas of misbehavior that may cause them to stumble, fall, or lose their way.

Are you avoiding some tough conversations? If you have kids, are you confronting them? And when you do are you doing it with gentleness and humility? Check yourself. Is your tone respectful? Is your word choice uplifting or condescending? God calls you to show courage by addressing wrong. But remember the goal is al¬ways to see the other person restored, not belittled. Help that per¬son turn back to God.   

"I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better." - Plutarch (46-120)

[Judy Harder]

Relinquishing Debts Owed Us

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. - Luke 6:37

Do you tend to keep a mental list of the wrongs that have been done against you . . . an accounting of what you think others owe you? You may feel they owe you an apology, a favor, a sum of money, or something else. If every time you're hurt, you're mentally adding to the ledger of debt that others owe you, I want to help you see how and why to let go and erase that ledger of debt. 

Jesus told this story to address what I'm talking about:  "A king decided to bring his accounts up to date . . . In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars." The man begged for forgiveness. "Then the king was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thou¬sand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment." This was reported to the king. "Then the king called in the man he'd forgiven and said, 'You evil servant. I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?'" (Matthew 18:23-35)

When you look at the enormous moral debt God has forgiven you and the price Jesus paid for us to be forgiven, you should be com¬pelled to forgive others. Forgiveness will free you from the torture of festering resentment. You can't change what others have done to you, but you can write off their debts by handing the accounting process over to God. 

"Forgiveness is the economy of the heart . . . forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits." -Hannah More (1745-1833)

[Judy Harder]

Two Changed Men

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. -  1 Peter 1:22

What words would your friends or family use to describe you? Jesus referred to two brothers, James and John, as Sons of Thunder. Why? We're given a glimpse of their fiery personalities in the book of Luke. After the Samaritan people rejected them, James and John asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume the village. Jesus rebuked them for their impulse to retaliate.

Yet that's not the end of their story. Jesus worked in these brothers' lives so that they became known not for anger and revenge, but for love and forgiveness. James was the first of the twelve disciples to give his life for his faith. He was killed in Jerusalem by the order of Herod Agrippa. John is referred to as the "disciple Jesus loved." He went on to write powerful words on the importance of love and became an important leader of the church.

Though the two brothers had once been ambitious for their own personal gain, they ended up ambitiously sharing God's love with others for their spiritual gain. The brothers discovered that when you understand and experience God's love, you are free to live and grow. And as you grow and share with others, you will be used by God to touch the lives of many in need of God's healing help. 

Can you relate to the anger and selfish ambition of these men? If so, be encouraged by God's work in their lives. He wants to do the same in you!

"For every minute you are angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind." -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

[Judy Harder]

Relinquishing Prejudice

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. - 1 Peter 3:8

Have you allowed your upbringing or experiences to prejudice you against a particular group of people? Women? Men? The poor? The rich? Asians? Jews? Black or White?

Prejudice leads to hatred and a lack of compassion toward others.  To the contrary, God's people are to be known for their love and compassion. Surrendering your life to God means recognizing and relinquishing your prejudices.

Take a look at the Old Testament figure, Jonah. He hated the peo¬ple of Nineveh for their cruelty toward his people, the Israelites. He would've loved to have gone to Nineveh and declare God's judg¬ment against them. But God told Jonah to go and warn them of de¬struction so they might avert God's wrath. Jonah wanted no part in this mission of mercy. He tried to run away, but God placed him in difficult circumstances. When he reluctantly obeyed and preached to the Ninevites, they changed their ways. And not surprisingly, Jonah was upset at God's mercy on the Ninevites.

God practically had to force Jonah to let go of his prejudice and hatred. This was necessary so he could share God's mercy with the people he hated. Your spiritual transformation will be stunted until you let go of your prejudices toward any people group. Seeing your own prejudices doesn't come easy. You need to ask God and those close to you to help you see areas of prejudice in your life. Once you see them, confess them and ask God to change your heart.

"I'm free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally." - W. C. Fields (1880-1946)

[Judy Harder]

Freedom Through Confession

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" and you forgave the guilt of my sin. - Psalm 32:5

Most of us have the bad habit of rationalizing our sin and our er¬rors. We all struggle with our consciences, with our goal to make peace within our own hearts.  In order to gain peace, you may deny what you've done, find excuses, or try to squirm out from under the responsibility and consequences of your wrongdoing. You may work hard to be "good" in order to compensate for your mistakes. Are you doing everything you can to even the score? Until you confess your faults, you'll get nowhere.

God holds everyone accountable. We're like people who've com¬mitted crimes but who refuse to accept the charges brought against them. You may have spent years constructing alibis, coming up with excuses, and trying to plea-bargain. But if you're sincerely seeking spiritual renewal, now is the time to come clean. It's time to admit what you know deep down inside to be true: "I'm guilty as charged."

By speaking this truth, you stop fighting and admit that you're wrong. Without confession, there's no real freedom. And what a  relief it is to finally release the burden of your lies and excuses by admitting them to God. This is the very reason Jesus came. Remem¬ber he died not because we were good people, but because we'd gone our own way. Come back to him. When you do confess, you'll regain internal peace, and your broken spirit will be renewed.

"Hearing nun's confessions is like being stoned to death with popcorn." - Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979)

[Judy Harder]

Forgiving Ourselves

The Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste . . . - Nahum 2:2

For most of the wrongs you've done, you're probably grateful and eager to accept God's forgiveness. But sometimes we're so shocked or ashamed or heartbroken over our sin that we find it hard to believe that God could really forgive us. Yet God does forgive and  he desires to restore you. He wants to redirect your course, and to redeem your life for his service. But this restoration can't begin until you receive God's forgiveness and forgive yourself.

Peter had once sworn his love for Jesus. He pledged even to die with Jesus if necessary. Yet that same night after Jesus was arrested, Peter sheepishly denied that he even knew Jesus. Jesus wasn't sur¬prised; he had already told Peter that Peter would deny knowing him three times. Jesus was ready to forgive Peter before he even betrayed Jesus. But Peter had a hard time forgiving himself. 

After Jesus rose from the dead he asked Peter three times if Peter loved him. Peter had denied him three times, and so Jesus gave him the chance to reaffirm his love three times. Jesus reached out to Peter. 

When you're disheartened by the things you've done, it can be difficult to receive God's forgiveness. But God reaches out to us through his Son. Once you confess your sins, you need to let go of them. Find encouragement through your brother Peter. Once he accepted forgiveness, God was able to build him up and use him for His great purposes.

"People can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. Let go of what's bitter and move on." - Bill Cosby (1937-    )

[Judy Harder]

Responsible Brad

This is my command: Love each other. - John 15:17

Brad, a policeman and a terrific guy, is honest, full of integrity, and everything you'd want in a cop. He's a loving husband and a father who's made great decisions for his family. If you knew him, you'd respect him as much as I do. And you'd be happy that he was pro¬tecting your neighborhood.

But what if my friend was irresponsible and just wanted to have an easy shift or a desk job? All he'd have to do is drink coffee, stay in one place, and not police the neighborhood. Then he wouldn't get involved with conflict or have to go to the trouble of filling out a lot of paperwork because he gave a ticket or arrested someone. 

Many of us go through our lives just like that. We look the other way. We don't get involved. We don't trouble ourselves to do the difficult things we maybe ought to be doing. 

Don't isolate. Connect. Get involved. Don't think of yourself. In¬stead, live your life and make your priorities thinking of others first. Jesus commanded us to love one another, and one of the bet¬ter definitions of love I heard is: Love is making your problem my problem.

Make someone else's problem your problem.

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." -Bernard Melzer

[Judy Harder]

Stubborn Resistance

Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. - Proverbs 19:20

Some of my best childhood memories were generated in the lake house built by my grandfather and his five sons. When we outgrew the cabin, a new addition was built. It, however, had one major flaw. My grandfather hadn't calculated into the ceiling height the fact that the new addition had a foundation that was about twelve inches higher than the original cabin. So the ceiling in the new area was a foot shorter than it was supposed to be.

You felt like you needed to hunch over. And if you weren't looking, you'd walk right into the ceiling fan and injure yourself for life. All this because my stubborn grandfather wouldn't listen to his boys who told him from the beginning that something was very wrong with the plans.

Is stubbornness affecting your relationships? Do you get angry when someone challenges you, shares a thought contrary to your belief, or when you're required to do something you weren't plan¬ning to do? If so, stubborn resistance might be the diagnosis.

The prescription? Surrender. Surrender your will and your ways to God, and often that means to that of others.

"If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments."  -Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001)

[Judy Harder]

Who's the Boss

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. - Romans 13:1

Jane's five-year-old neighbor must've seen Jane giving her kids treats because he was over in a flash. "My mom said I can have a Popsicle," he bellowed. And that reminds me of the story of an¬other little boy who would show up on his neighbor's doorstep at 9 o'clock in the morning and say, "My mom said I can stay until dinner." 

As we grow up we hopefully grow in our understanding of au¬thority. For instance. you wouldn't walk into your boss's office and declare, "My wife said I can have a raise." But sometimes we try to usurp God's authority. There are many people out there who know the truth, but in order to achieve their own selfish desires, they will use the truth or present the truth in an untruthful way.

It's not all that difficult to understand that God has and God is the ultimate authority in life. How that plays out in life can be confusing, unless you're willing to surrender your will to His.

"The man or woman who is wholly or joyously surrendered to Christ can't make a wrong choice. Any choice will be the right one." - A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

[Judy Harder]

A Promise in the Pain

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stout hearted. - Psalm 138:3         

About five seconds outside the womb I think we all discover that this life isn't easy. And it seems that the older we get the tougher it becomes. Some people have problems or are attracted to difficul¬ties like fleas to a dog. Others make it through life with relatively little difficulty. 

But most likely, you'll face some tough times in life, and it's not im¬portant how your challenges stack up to the challenges of others. Sometimes you might wonder if you are going to be able to make it through, and you will if you hold onto God. He's promised to see you through.

Are you weighed down? Do you feel overcome with grief or alone in your struggle? 

You can choose to take steps to walk through your challenges and come through them a stronger person.

Remember, believing in God and in Jesus Christ doesn't mean you won't have problems. But it does mean you have resources, people, and God's Spirit who will see you through your problems. What could be better?

"Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records." - William A. Ward (1921-1994)