Category: Miscellaneous

Every picture I take has a story but sometimes I don’t know what it is right away.  I see an object or a scene and think to myself, that has a story and I want to think about what it might be and what I can learn from it.  One day while I was serving at a camp, I was leisurely browsing in the gift shop and reading some of the signs and posters there.  This one caught my eye and made me laugh so I purchased it.  When I shared it with a few friends, they also laughed and asked me to buy them one when I was in the gift shop again.  So I hung it in my office to remind me what I do NOT want to be like.

Yesterday I looked up and read the quote again and got to thinking.  Am I a control freak?  I never thought of myself as one, but sometimes I do catch myself wanting to show someone “the right way to do that”.  After all, there is a right and a wrong way to do some things, right?!  That got me to thinking…  What if you or I heard GOD saying that to you and me?  “My child, there is a right way to…”  Would we listen?  Or would we be stubborn and keep on trying to do things in our own way, in our own strength, in our own time?

God is not a control freak as we would think of one, but He does have rules and guidelines in His Word that show us the right way to do things.  Yes, there is a RIGHT way to do things—GOD’S way!  Too many times I catch myself trying to do things my way and not even giving a thought to how God wants me to do it…especially when it comes to relationships and emotions.

In a television sermon, Charles Stanley said:

“To accomplish what God requires,we must rely upon the Holy Spiritand acknowledge our identity in Christ. If we do the Lord’s work the Lord’s way,it will always end well.”

Charles Stanley

That is a good basis for doing things the right way.  God’s Word is the key to success and pleasing Him.  God tells us:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
saith the LORD.”
Isaiah 55:8, KJV

Why not?  Why aren’t God’s thoughts ours and ours His?  If we are truly His child, we should be thinking like He does which in turn guides our words and actions.

Think about some of the people in the Bible and how they responded to God’s direction.  There are many, but here are a few:

• Philip had a choice of speaking to the Ethiopian in the chariot and baptizing him or walking away.  (Acts 8:26-40)
• Paul could have taken the easy way and fled from persecution, but chose to keep plugging away on his missionary journeys. (Book of Acts)
• Jonah initially chose to run away from God’s direction, but God got his attention in the belly of the whale and he eventually did things God’s way.  (Book of Jonah)
• Daniel chose to keep praying even in the face of persecution and possible death.  (Daniel 6:10-28)
• Moses was quite the man of the hour for God’s people and while he made some bad decisions, he continued on serving God.  (Numbers 20:8-11)

Someone who shows you the right way to do things is not necessarily a control freak (but there are a few who are).  The teacher in the classroom instructs their pupils how to work a math problem, how to put your fingers on the keyboard correctly to be a more efficient typist, teaches a cosmetology student how to do perms, haircuts, and other services, teaches an auto mechanics student how to take cars apart and do repairs, and on the list goes.  Without someone showing us how to do things, we might get it wrong.  It’s kind of like the old saying, When all else fails, read instructions!  If you want to put together a piece of furniture or other item correctly, be sure to follow instructions.  Are the instructions or the person who wrote them a control freak?  No.  They are meant to be helpful and to keep us from putting things together incorrectly.  Accidentally putting together two pieces that aren’t supposed to go together (at least yet) can be a big problem.  So follow the instructions to get it right the first time.

It is true that with some things in life there is no right or wrong way or answer.  But the resultant outcome is the key.  Did you end up how or where you wanted to be with the way you chose?  It’s like choosing to trust your GPS to get you to your destination or saying it’s wrong and choosing your own way (and getting lost).

Who’s in control of your life?  Who controls the way you take?  Who controls the outcome?  Don’t be a control freak.  Let God have control.  The results will work out much better, and you’ll have that perfect peace that won’t be present without Him.

I’ve been thinking all week what to write about and hadn’t come up with a firm thought until I went out for a prayer walk today, but wanted to post so my readers wouldn’t think I’ve forgotten them.  I will get back to the topic of peace next week, but want to ramble a bit today, though there is a bit about peace intertwined.  Do you ever feel like you just want to let your mind wander and see where it stops?  That can be a bad thing if it wanders into unwholesome or immoral thoughts.  But sometimes letting your mind wander a bit can be a good thing—in my opinion.  It’s actually how I came to write some of the posts on my old blog.

This week I’ve been sorting through some of the thoughts I’ve been having on various subjects as well as technical issues with devices.  As these thoughts came through my mind, I’m reminded of the verse:

“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.”
II Corinthians 10:5, NIV

One of the things that has been on my mind for a long time is false teaching which is anything that does not hold true to the Word of God.  That includes being supportive of those who are teaching things contrary to the Word of God.  I won’t go into specifics here because I don’t want to offend anyone nor start or fuel an argument.  I’ve been part of too many different churches and some of them held to things that I disagreed with.  In one sense that is OK as that is why there are different churches, kind of like the old saying different strokes for different folks.  BUT if the teaching is not grounded in the Bible and things are supported that are not in line with the whole of God’s Word, then that’s not OK.  II Corinthians Paul has a lot to say about false teaching and how it was affecting the churches and the believers in those churches.

I had a friend who’s now with the Lord who awoke within me the need to be discerning and openly questioning when things don’t appear to be kosher in my understanding of God’s Word.  Some years ago I also was challenged by a Christian organization who I wanted to volunteer with but they had a different stance on a particular doctrinal statement than the one I grew up believing.  I had to do a lot of searching and studying to determine from God’s Word which one was true, and ultimately realized that what I grew up believing was incorrect.  That in turn made me question other beliefs and practices…but that’s a good thing if it is to get into God’s Word and be sure of your foundation in the faith.

The thoughts that have troubled me these last few weeks are more for Christians and their beliefs than those who don’t know the Lord at all.  Just as I did, we grow up believing certain things, following or avoiding certain practices, and trusting certain authors and speakers as truth.  But what do we do with that when those things are challenged?  Do we defend it and go on believing as we always have without even considering new views?  Or are we willing to take a step back and look into it further?  What if our eternal future depends on it???

When I hear or read something that doesn’t sound right to me, I need to check it out, especially if I have no peace about it.  If I’m wrong, I dismiss it and move past it, but if I find it is not true to God’s Word, then I need to reject it.  Too many people are so entrenched and comfortable in believing that because so-and-so said it, it must be true, and are not willing to even check out evidence that there might be a Biblical issue at stake. 

I’ve downloaded a lot of free books on the Kindle app that looked like they were Christian, the title grabbed my attention, and in some cases the publisher was even one that I respected and trusted; but as I started to read (sometimes even getting halfway through the book), flags started flying in my brain to alert me that something was amiss.  After checking the issue out, I removed the book and never finished it.  I don’t want to allow my thinking to be infiltrated by things that aren’t true no matter how good they sound.  It’s not just a book—it’s thoughts going into your brain that may lodge there and mislead you.

So today let my rambling thoughts flow through your thoughts and see if there is anything you need to revisit with a new viewpoint and the truths from the Bible.  Don’t let it slide by and ignore it…that’s not peace.  If you give Satan an inch, he’ll take a foot.  If you let one little thing slide by, you may be opening yourself up to other subtle things that take you farther and farther away from truth…and peace.

Don’t be the one who says I don’t see anything wrong with…and continue on in the thoughts and beliefs you have.  Be the one who says I’m not sure if that’s true, but let me look into it.