Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Proverbs 27:6 (NKJ)

Confrontation means there has been a disconnection. Something has severed trust. It may be relational, emotional, or financial. Maybe you feel you have lost someone’s love and respect. Whatever the reason for the disconnection, confrontation needs to seek a reconnection. This is what a caring, faithful friend does. They seek to reconnect where there has been a disconnect. Your salvation in Jesus brought you into relational wholeness with heaven so you could model the same on earth. Scripture teaches, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).

However, if ignored, delayed confrontation deteriorates into disconnection. It dilutes understanding, trust, and intimacy. This is why wise leaders keep short accounts and speak freely and early about their concerns. If a leader ignores his or her obvious feelings of frustration, they will naturally distance themselves from the team and the organization. But if they confront early on, in a spirit of respect and understanding, they stay engaged with the enterprise and the individuals, and therefore avoid creating a culture of control and distrust.

This is true in marriage. A wife may confront her husband when she does not feel loved. This is a natural response when she feels distant from her spouse. Depending on the context of the confrontation, the husband may respond positively (if he is smart) or he may push back defensively if he senses a combative or controlling spirit. It is normal and healthy to desire and seek relational connection. This is how God has wired people. Just make sure you set yourself up for a successful connection and not an aborted one.

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Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money.   Micah 3:11

Integrity is not for sale to those who love their Savior, Jesus. There is no amount of money or status that can lure integrity away from someone who values its influence, accountability, and positive outcomes. Integrity is your calling card for leadership and it is evidence of your faith in Christ. Integrity may be your greatest value that is not itemized on your balance sheet, and it is not for sale with serious followers of the Lord. Like Esau selling his birthright (Genesis 25:25-34), you can let your appetites lead you to exchange your integrity for instant gratification. But it’s a lopsided loss to let go of a lifetime of faithfulness for a moment of problematic pleasure.

Moreover, the love of money makes you vulnerable to losing your integrity. Money can maneuver your motives into a less than desirable position, so be sure not to masquerade your good works around a drive for wealth. You cannot reason your way around wrong methods of obtaining money, even for the sake of worthy outcomes. You do not have to compromise your God-given convictions to grow your net worth. Effective leaders in the long run are given respect, trust, and goodwill because of their position, authority, and track record of integrity.

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).

How much is your credibility worth? Certainly it is more valuable than anything money can buy (Proverbs 22:1). Indeed, integrity is being true to yourself and to God’s calling on your life, so be who you are in Him. Integrity does not have to prove itself. Rather, it rests in being itself. Align your doing around your being, for this integration is the essence of integrity. Furthermore, if you have lost your integrity, it can be found in Christ. So, go to Him in honesty and humility. Be forthright with your heavenly Father about your failures and blown opportunities. Let Him love you through this time of transition and rebuilding of trust.

It will take time for those who have been hurt to begin healing and reconciliation. But the longer you prove to yourself and others that you are the real deal, the more your integrity will blossom. A track record of faithfulness fertilizes the roots of integrity and produces lasting fruit. Cultivate integrity through prayer and service, then watch it grow. Take the time to do what you say, because follow-through and consistency create credibility.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Integrity Lost  →

The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”   Jonah 1:1-2

God may be interrupting your plans. He does this from time to time according to His will. You were going in one direction, and He stopped you in your tracks and led you in an about-face. It can be disconcerting and more than a little scary. But do not be surprised if this happens to you. Your current path may be the opposite of what He intended. Maybe you got in a hurry and ran ahead without Him or maybe you have been reluctant to move forward and missed Him.

Either way, the Holy Spirit has now arrested your attention and is leading you into uncharted waters. Like Phillip, you are an agent of God (Acts 8:29). You may be uncomfortable with the assignment because of the novelty in its nuances.  God is moving you out of your comfort zone and into His arena of obedience. If you disobey and stay put, you jeopardize proclaiming Jesus to the fullest.

“What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:23).

The consequences of disobedience are not isolated to you alone. They ripple throughout your relationships. Don’t wait for people to be hurt before you say yes to heaven’s directive. God interrupts for a reason and for a season. The reason may be to protect you from a convergence of bad decision-making. You don’t know what’s around the corner in your life, but He does. He is watching out for you, so this severe turn in His will may be to protect you from a pattern of bad behavior.

Do not allow pride to keep you from changing your mind. Promptings from the Holy Spirit make pride uncomfortable because it means giving up control and submitting in humility. If you continue to drive forward in pride, you are destined for unnecessary pain. Take this interruption as a sign from God to slow down, reevaluate, and recalibrate.

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It is not proud   1 Corinthians 13:4

Love is not proud. Indeed, there is no room for pride in a heart of love. Pride is an anchor to love that restrains its rich offering. It prolongs the inability to love by short-circuiting the effect of agape love. Pride is a precursor to loveless living; it struggles with love because it requires a focus off self and on others. Pride is deceptive, as it always negotiates for its own benefit. There is a driving force behind pride that is unhealthy and unnecessary. Moreover, it is indiscriminate in its seduction of either gender. Men may be the most susceptible to pride’s illusion, but women can be deceived just as well. Eve fell into this trap in her encounter with the devil (1 Timothy 2:14).

Pride’s feeling of superiority slices into the soul like a surgeon’s scalpel. It inserts its influence deep and wide. You can be wired and controlled by pride and not even know it. Love longs to have the same status as power-hungry pride. Love seeks to defuse pride’s time bomb of terror and intimidation. Love outlasts pride if applied humbly and heavily. Love drives pride from a controlling heart and frees it to become trusting. Instead of demanding its own way, love seeks to make those around it successful.

Love listens; pride talks. Love forgives; pride resents. Love gives; pride takes. Love apologizes; pride blames. Love understands; pride assumes. Love accepts; pride rejects. Love trusts; pride doubts. Love asks; pride tells. Love leads; pride drives. Love frees up; pride binds up. Love builds up; pride tears down. Love encourages; pride discourages. Love confronts; pride is passive-aggressive. Love is peaceful; pride is fearful. Love clarifies with truth; pride confuses with lies. Love and pride are mutually exclusive. Love dies with pride but comes alive with humility.

Most important, humility is a hotbed of love. It has the opposite effect on love than does pride. Humility invites love to take up permanent residence in the human heart. Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), and humility understands that love is reserved for everyone. Love forgives even the worst of sinners, as pride struggles in a life of bitterness and resentment, thinking somehow it is paying back the offender. This state of unresolved anger only eats up the one unable to love and forgive.

Furthermore, humility positions you to love and be loved. Humility knows it needs help in the arena of receiving agape love. Your humble heart yearns for love from your Lord Jesus Christ. Once you receive the love of your heavenly Father, you can’t help but dispense it to others hungry for a hug. As you receive love, you are capable of giving love. Therefore, let the Lord love you and allow others to love you, so you can, in turn, love. Proud hearts melt under the influence of intense and unconditional love. The calling of Christians is perpetual love; so be guilty of love. Your love is healing and inviting. Pride exits when humility enters, and then you are in a position to love.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, humble me by Your great love, so I am able to love others well.

Application: Who do I need to humble myself before and seek to love them unconditionally?

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But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.     Psalms 59:16

Times of trouble are ever looming in our life. They are approaching us, surrounding us, or engulfing us. Times of trouble are never too far off, so we should not be surprised when they arrive. It may be relational trouble born of a marriage gone bad. Maybe you’re in trouble at work because of someone else’s choices. You trusted a peer to perform with excellence, but they let you and the company down with a subpar performance. Now some hard decisions have to be made. Perhaps financial cuts and layoffs are the reality of the situation. The business has gone from times of abundance to times of trouble. Indeed, the naïve act as if things will always be all right, while the prudent plan ahead (Proverbs 22:3). Wise is a leader and his team who plan for lean times with prayerful and financial forethought.

Times of trouble can take us down if we are not rooted in the Word of God. God’s Word is our anchor in adversity. It reminds us to place our hope in heaven, and not on earth. The principles of Scripture teach us how to act and what we need to do while we wait on God. The Bible is our blanket of comfort and security. We gain our strength from our Savior Jesus, as He is defined and described in Holy Writ. We trust Him when we know Him, and we come to know Him through His Word. Times of trouble tempt us to lose our trust in God. However, trust looks trouble in the eye and is not terrified. Trust trumps trouble. This was Daniel’s demeanor in the lion’s den (Daniel 6:22).

Furthermore, there is an urge to overreact during times of trouble. Instead of giving God control, we try to seize it and won’t let go. A closed hand cannot trust, while an open hand releases control to Christ. Let go, and let the Lord lead you through this time of trouble. We think we are in control, but in reality we never have been and never will be. Christ is in control. You can sing to heaven and quit murmuring to man because God is omnipotent. The Almighty is all-powerful.

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When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? Psalm 56:3-4

Fear is a formidable foe of faith. It lurks about, looking for ways to lead us into distrust of our Lord. Fear is subtle with its sneak attacks on our attitude and bold in its frontal barrage on our beliefs. Fear always fights back, even when we extinguish it for a time with our total trust in God.  And it doesn’t let up until we get to heaven. Fear is like fire ants.  You can eliminate their unholy mound with a powder-like deterrent, but they regroup and rebuild nearby.

Trust in the Lord is the terminator of fear, but fear seems to recreate itself with whatever appendage of doubt is left. It grows within the next uncertain circumstance that comes our way. Fear thinks it has us in check on the chessboard of our life, but the truth is that Jesus checkmated fear on the cross. Now it is up to us to appropriate His triumph by trusting in God.

There are many times when we are in transition from fear to faith. It’s in the transition of trust in God that our cares co-mingle with Christ’s care. There is a holy tension that transpires in our transition into trust. It is in this dawn of trust that light gradually overcomes darkness. Faith dissolves doubts as the sun drives away the mist. Your mind may be a little murky, but you renew your thinking (Romans 12:2) with the truth that God is ever present. Your confidence may be crumbling, but you keep your eyes on your Savior. Your prayers may be clumsy, but you still cling to Christ. Your relationships may be reluctant, but you rely on the Lord. Use this transition from fear to faith to grow your mercy and compassion. Indeed, doubting can drive us to God, and grows us into more patient and humble human beings. It strengthens our trust and makes us hold faster to heaven. Hope trusts in this transition from fear to faith.

Moreover, mortal man has not made a permanent impression on the saints of God. Immortal and Almighty God is your new insignia. Embedded on the coins of your character is the faith-filled inscription, “In God I Trust.” Followers of Jesus have the eternal seal of their Savior as their newfound identity (Ephesians 4:30). Do not allow the patterns of your old life to feed any fading fears in your new one (Romans 6:6). The fears of your proud past have been replaced with faith, love, and hope in your humble here and now. Faith has banished fear.

Therefore, you can continually celebrate. Praise points you to Providence. After all, it’s all about Him. This is why faith brings forth praise. When you trust, you can’t help but sing from your soul. Indeed, faith in the Lord facilitates praise and is a product of praise. It is in our praise of God that our fears fade and our faith flourishes. So praise Him, trust Him, and fear no one. No one can take from you what you have already given to Him. Faith is a fear-killer; it overcomes.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, all I need is You, keep my faith in You and my focus on You.

Application: What fear do I need to release to Christ and rest in His reassuring presence?

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Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.   Matthew 11:28-30

Sometimes, your soul needs to catch up with your body. There is a disconnection created by distractions and busyness. You are weary of life and work. This soul fatigue will follow you until it finds rest. It is relentless in reminding you of what is important and necessary. The warning lights of weariness flash in the face of your faith. You are tired and troubled with nowhere to turn. This is when you can turn your eyes upon Jesus. He offers a constant invitation to come to Him. Burdens bear down on your back of responsibility like a ton of bricks, but Jesus is there to ease the pressure.

Health issues assault your body like unceasing fire from the enemy, but Jesus is there to soothe the pain through prayer. Marriage confusion has the best of you and you are ready to give up, but Jesus has the answers as the supreme counselor. Work expectations have overwhelmed your ability to execute the right results, but Jesus is there to impart His wisdom and discernment. Do not let failure talk you into giving up. You can carry on with Christ. Submit to His restful invitation. Take Him at His word and yoke up with His humility and gentleness. His invitation to rest is received by faith. The yoke of Jesus gives hope and encouragement to the soul.

Start by aligning your calendar with Jesus’ time. A partnership with Christ requires time and attention. You cannot maintain a relationship with Him without investing in Him. Jesus went to the mountain to commune with His heavenly Father, and when He came down, large crowds followed Him. Why? People follow leaders they know they can trust. When you spend time with Jesus, you build trustworthiness. You go to the mountains alone to pray, and you come back surrounded by followers. They know you have been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Come to Me  →

But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” Jeremiah 20:9

The word of God flows through the human heart like orange-hot lava out of an erupting volcano. Nothing can hold back the effects of God’s word. It penetrates the hardest of hearts and disturbs its apathy. It ignites a tender and teachable heart with confidence and gratitude. The heart cannot contain the Word of God any more than a mother can hold back her joy after the birth of her baby. There is an engagement with endurance and excitement that happens when Scripture seeps into your soul. It cuts into your being (Hebrews 4:12). You cannot remain unchanged by the living Word of God. It arrests your thinking. Scripture engages you with eternity; its eternal truths demand a response.

Any open-minded person who seeks to understand the Scripture will benefit now and for eternity, if he embraces its claims. You cannot silence a person who has been spoken to by the Lord via His Word. The Bible is a conduit for knowing Christ. It facilitates faith like nothing else. As a follower of Jesus, you engage with eternal purposes when you hide God’s Word in your heart. You hide it within, but it explodes without. Truth in is truth out. Moreover, Jesus was a man of the Word (Matthew 7:29). The Scripture was fire in His bones. He spoke like no one else because His authority was not in His words but in the words of His heavenly Father.

You can stand confident in Christ when your decisions and rationale are based on the Bible. The Word of God perseveres. It is your teacher. The Bible defines your belief system.

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I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Jeremiah 10:23

We do not own our lives.  We have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20).  Jesus’ sacrificial blood purchased our freedom from the fire of hell, sin, and death.  By faith, He owns us.  A great exchange took place when you first believed in Jesus.  What’s yours became His, and what’s His became yours.  The life of Christ became your life. It is not your life to define, but His.  He has wrapped a wonderful definition around whose you are in Him.  You are a child of God.  You are secure because your Savior keeps you.  You are valuable because the Lord values you.  You are protected because the Almighty owns you.

The Bible is God’s glossary of how to define yourself.  Scripture gives you a family tree of faith for you to trace your religious roots.  It is a mirror of how God sees you.  He sees you as accepted in His Son, though you suffer rejection from others.  Cherish and enjoy daily the acceptance of Jesus. Moreover, your mistakes are His opportunity to affirm His acceptance.  There are still consequences to your sin, but He is always available to receive you back because you are His.  He accepts and receives His own.

Furthermore, He directs His own (Isaiah 48:17).  God’s desire for you is to understand and follow His plan for your life.  Praise God it’s a step-by-step process and He directs your steps!  Some days you may feel like it is three steps forward and two steps back, but do not be discouraged or dismayed.  God is still directing your steps, though at times they seem tedious and laborious. The Lord leads you in lockstep with His steps.  In His steps is the wise way to walk.  Do not run ahead thinking you have to set a record for speed or quickness.

In fact, fast steps may cause you to backtrack and have to re-learn what God is trying to teach you.  Walk patiently with Him, and watch Him work.  The Holy Spirit is your step director.  You are in His step class for instruction in His word and exercise in faith.  Learn how to let the Lord direct your steps.  Prayerfully listen to the quiet prompting from His Spirit.  Stop when you need to stop.  Speed up when you need to speed up.  Slow down when you need to slow down.  God directs the steps of a submitted and surrendered man or woman.

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1

God has big vision. It’s enormous. He wrote the book on vision. He is the original visionary. God’s vision is so large, we are unable to wrap our minds around its implications. Even if we had infinite lifetimes to live, we couldn’t completely comprehend God’s vision. He launched His initial vision with creation. Creation was His baby. This was God’s opportunity to express Himself through the creation of the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, plants, animals, sky, water, and most important, man. Man was the crown jewel of God’s creation, because he was created in the likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). Man was the image of God, a mirror of his Maker. Our Lord is an extraordinary visionary. He takes nothing and makes something. He lifts up what seems to be insignificant dust, and breathes life into it so it becomes a beautiful human being.

God is the expert at taking colorless capability and crafting it into a technicolor transformation. His vision is macro: He illustrates His creativity and complexity through the creation of earth and all it contains. His vision is also micro, because He has created no two people the same. Each plant and animal is unique in its own special way. Above all else, His vision is personal for every single individual. God has a vision for your life that is larger than you think. We tend to limit the Lord’s vision with our unbelief and fears. We get so caught up in our day-to-day responsibilities that we forget to focus on the father of vision, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, lift your heart and mind to the Lord, and ask Him what His vision is for your life. By faith, do not be afraid to stretch yourself into seeing things as He does. What we see as obstacles, He sees as steppingstones. What we see as limitations, He sees as His provision. What we see as fear, He replaces with faith.

Do not grow tired of doing well. Tackle life with the energy and excitement of someone consumed with a fresh vision from heaven. Ask the Lord to baptize your vision under the water of His wonder. Ask Him to take your old, stale vision and bring it alive with faith and hope. Raise the bar of your belief so you are bold to ask things of God you have never asked, to believe things from the Lord you have never believed, and to do things by faith that you have never done. Go to the one who is Lord over all visions, and ask Him to infuse yours with life and largeness. Do not let your education, income, relationships, or past failures limit you in your pursuit of His vision for your life. Indeed, your failures are His opportunities to flourish with a fresh vision for you and your family.

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I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you.

Joel 2:25

God can make up for wasted time. He specializes in redeeming rough seasons in our lives. What has become a torturous transition, He can use to love you into a closer relationship with Him. Where else can you go for eternal life than to the one who is eternal (John 6:68)? Allow God to backfill this blot on your past. He can rebuild what has been broken, and even destroyed.

You may have been embarrassed and humiliated, but this is not beyond God’s long arm of restoration. Injustice may have invaded your unsuspecting life. Unaware and unexpected, you lost everything you had spent a lifetime building. Poof, in a twinkle of an eye, it was gone. Your career was gone. Your family teetered on division. Your reputation was tattered and all but obliterated. Your joy was gone, your finances depleted, your energy sapped. And your faith was shot full of holes. Your desire to move forward in life was severely stalled.

Worst of all, you wondered where the Lord was in all this reversal of fortune. You were on the fast track to bitterness because of your feelings of betrayal. You may have hit rock bottom, and now there is nowhere to look but up. Look up to Jesus. He is your hope, your rock, and your refuge. Look up to the Lord, even though He may seem a million miles away. Now is the time to practice what you told others all those years. Trust God during this time of turmoil. God wants to backfill your loss. He can fill your pit of pity with hope (Psalm 40:2). Your broken relationships that are buried in a cistern of hurt, He can retrieve with forgiveness. Into your financial black hole, He can shine the light of His provision and opportunity.

In Christ, your best days lie ahead. Submit to His healing. Let go of your hurt and pride, and hang on to Him. He is the best thing you have going for you. Let these failures forge a stronger faith in you and in your family. Face the fact that you are forgiven, and move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. Lean on the Lord. He can handle it. He is your stability in this storm of insanity. God is there for you to rebuild your reputation, and to give you daily doses of hope and encouragement. Your eruption of raw emotion will grow you into a more sensitive and compassionate follower of Christ.

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A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49:20

Wise wealth sees the small value of riches without God’s redemption. It is otherworldly in its view of wealth. The creation of wealth is for Christ’s purposes and not the world’s ways. This is why the wealthy wise seek to understand God’s game plan for their gold. They prayerfully come up with a plan, and then commit their actions to the Almighty. Then He brings success to their financial plan (Proverbs 16:3).

This is the process in which the Spirit leads and brings about success. Plans without prayer are perturbing and miss God’s best. Actions committed to Christ carry out God’s game plan. To gain understanding is to frame your financial discussions with an eternal backdrop of motivation. Wealth is a stewardship not to be taken lightly. It is a belief that the Lord’s blessing is much larger than life, and is a lever for the Lord today.

Indeed, understand that finances are finite. You have a window of generosity that will close one day. Don’t wait until riches grow wings and fly away (Proverbs 23:5) to some faithful soul who understands the significance of “stuff” to your Savior. Riches are like hailstones; they fall from Heaven in different sizes, garnering our attention while rattling on the tin roof of our trust.

But after a while, after it draws attention to itself, it melts away into the silent ground, gone. So it is with “stuff”. It can be here today and gone tomorrow. It is wise to give aggressively what you have today instead of hoping to give what you may not have tomorrow.

Missionaries need malaria medicine now. Orphans need homes today. Growling stomachs need more than gruel immediately. Churches are waiting to be built, once they receive their necessary start-up capital. Humanitarian work and the spreading of the Gospel will happen exponentially, as the wealthy collaborate with Christ, and obey. Run the risk of liberating your wealth for the Lord. It is His to give.

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Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.    Hebrews 12:1

Dead heroes inspire you to live life to its fullest. Those who have endured hardship and were treated unfairly inspire us through our current tests and temporary trials. Most of us have not suffered to death because of our faith in Christ. But some have. Others have been down the road that denies earthly wealth, only to receive heaven’s riches. Heroes of the faith knew a better way. Theirs was the way of faith in God and obedience to His expectations. No temptation of the world was strong enough to pull them away from the moorings of their walk with God. With some, even on their deathbeds, there was an uncharacteristic unselfishness and generosity.

Heavenly heroes do not languish without hope on the eve of their home going. Instead, they are busy bestowing blessings on those who will be left behind. These heroes of the faith have an eye on heaven in worship, while they quietly wind down for the conclusion of their earthly assignment. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). Look for heavenly heroes who may have lived within your lineage. You may be surprised to discover the faith of former generations was robust and lively. Or, you may need to adopt one of heaven’s saints who can represent one of God’s finest heroes. Let them motivate you to live a life worthy of God’s calling. Let their past faithfulness propel you to do the same in the present.

We all need heroes who have overcome adversity by faith in God, and who knew how to enjoy Him whether in times of difficulty or times of peace. Your heavenly hero may be a godly grandparent who walked faithfully with the Lord and is now peering down from heaven’s portal. You watched your grandmother and/or grandfather persevere through adverse conditions. They kept a relationship with God that flourished and grew, up to the very end of their life on earth. Money was not an issue for them because they learned to be content with home, food, and clothing. Relationships are what mattered the most to them. They always seemed to have time for you. Phone conversations did not seemed rushed and their door was always open. In their presence there was a serenity and stability that had heaven as its origin. You experienced a little bit of heaven each time they graced your presence.

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For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:30-31

Someone may be in debt to you. They may owe you money, a reputation, an apology, a job, or a childhood. But God is asking you to let go and let Him. Let Him handle this. He has a payment plan for those who are in debt to his children. It may mean He wipes their slate clean with minimal repercussions. It may mean their stiff neck forces God to bring them to the end of themselves through trials and tribulations. Or, it may mean that what awaits them is an eternity of reaping in hell what has been sown on earth. But God’s position is one of judge and jury. You do not have to carry this burden or responsibility. Your role is to forgive and to trust God with the proper judgment and consequence.

Life gets complicated and draining when we take on the responsibility of making sure a person gets what he deserves. This is arrogant and unwise on our part. How can we know what others deserve for their injustices, neglect, and self-absorption? Our role is not to play God, but to serve God. Playing God provides never-ending disappointment. We were not made for that role. Only the Almighty can fill those shoes. And He does have it under control. There is no indiscretion or blatant injustice that is off His radar screen. He picks up on every “little” sin.

So, rest in the assurance of knowing God will pay back in His good timing and His good way. Give this person or issue over to God. Do not bear the responsibility of executing payback time. Your role is to forgive and let go. God’s role is to establish a payment plan of justice and judgment. Yes, your parents may have blown it through their own selfish tirades. Their immature choices may have built up over time and led to divorce. Because of their indiscretions and unwise decisions, you grew up in a less than favorable home environment.

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Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:42

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to drift unintentionally through life? Workdays, school events, social commitments, and recreational pursuits begin to blur together, with days turning to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. When we finally stop to catch our breath, we look back and ask ourselves, “How did I get here?” and even more importantly, “Is this where I want to be?”

Christ-like living is something you and I have to intentionally, actively, and alertly pursue with every fiber of our being. No one ever stumbles upon Christian maturity and Christ-like character by accident, nor does it happen overnight.

I believe we can all think of people whom we know personally or respect from a distance that choose to live intentionally meaningful and devout lives, people who bear the fruit of a life spent focused upon Christ and His Kingdom. They are the beautiful souls who view Christ’s likeness as the ultimate goal and aim of their life and are willing to reframe every other desire in light of that pursuit. We are deeply motivated by the humble, simple faith of ordinary men and women who choose to live each day as though it could be their last, eagerly anticipating and hoping for the day in which the Lord returns in glory to rule and reign.

If you’ve ever tried to stay awake all night, you know that the easiest way to stay awake is to remain active and engaged in work that engages your entire person: mind, body, and soul. If you crawl into bed, turn out the lights, and then resolve to stay awake, you’re setting yourself up for almost certain disappointment! The same is true of our life with Christ.

The best way to “stay awake” in your faith is to stop passively drifting through life and choose instead to passionately pursue Christ with every fiber of your being. Look to the example of others who have stayed awake in their faith and learn from them. If you’re able, seek them out and ask for their wisdom and advice on how to live an intentional Christian life.

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