Do you feel so unhappy with some things about yourself that you are willing to go to extreme measures to change who you are? - Clint Decker
Do you like who you are? I am sure all of us wish we could change a few things about ourselves. Even the most beautiful or handsome among us. But I am asking something deeper. Do you feel so unhappy, so uncomfortable with some things about yourself that you are willing to go to extreme measures to change who you are?
You are not alone. Many are traveling this path. Let me help you. Let me take you back to the essence of who you really are and where you came from. I am not talking about your family. Large numbers of people come from difficult homes. Many were raised by a single parent, their grandparents, or have experienced the trauma of abuse. I want to take you back further than family.
Let us go back to where all of us have come from. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’ So God created man in his own image…male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…’” (Genesis 1:26,27-28)
This is where you and I have come from. We have been created by Almighty God. Before you were born, you were fashioned together by Him. You are not a product of science or biology, but a miracle of the one who fills the universe with His presence.
He made you a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, and did not make a mistake. Sometimes it can feel like He did when we look at other people and compare, or listen to the hurtful words of others or the destructive voices in our own mind. Here is the truth. You were made by the one who sits as King of the Earth on His throne in heaven.
What is the evidence of this? You were made in God’s image, and the imprint of His likeness is upon you. Where does your laugh come from, or your ability to love, gain knowledge, be creative, show kindness and a host of other things? It all comes from God. This is who He is and He gave some of His likeness to each of us along with physical life. For it is not just your heart, blood and brain that keeps you going. Ultimately, it was God’s Spirit that breathed life into you that made you come alive! And one day, that life will be withdrawn from you upon death.
Even though we are a wonderful creation of God, there is something not right. Something is amiss. Each one of us was born with a bent towards disobeying our Creator. The bent is called sin. It has touched everything God has created in us and corrupted it all. We love, but only certain people. We gain knowledge, but it may not be good or edifying. We are creative, but not in always creating honorable things.
And sometimes this corruption shows itself in the rejection of what God has made – ourselves. This is the root of why we often want to change who we are. Instead of giving God thanks for how He made us and loving ourselves just as we are, we condemn ourselves and want to change what God has made. God is not pleased when we reject what He has made and called good.
What is the answer? God sent His only Son to rid us of this internal brokenness. If we turn from our disobedience and to God by faith, we will instantly become a new person. Then the wall separating God and us, will be torn down. You will be one with Him. The One who made you, and finally, you will be able to see yourself through His eyes.
A prayer for you. Lord God, I pray for those who look at themselves and want to change who they are. Open their eyes to see how they were created by you. Help them to see how there is corruption within them causing all this. Bring them to turn from their sin, and to faith in Christ. Then lift the veil of darkness so they can see and be made new by the light of Jesus. In His name. Amen.
Church leaders, politicians and business owners that deliberately enable and justify the ungodly behavior of defiant immigrants, are complicit in their criminal conduct. - Clint Decker
Once a year I step onto an airplane and leave my familiar American soil, fly over the Atlantic Ocean then step off the plane to plant my feet on African soil, specifically, Kenyan soil. When I do, I find myself in a sea of people with a different skin color, language, clothes, food, music and overall culture than mine. And quickly, I find myself a stranger in another land. (Image from unitedmethodistbishops.org)
This is a picture of immigration, where people move from their native land to a different one, sometimes by choice, sometimes by force. Instantly, they go from being a native to a foreigner, from a citizen to a stranger.
We live in a world of immigrants. The United Nations Migration report states that nearly 300 million people live in a different country from which they were born. And the United States receives more immigrants than any nation in the world. The U.S. Current Population Survey reports that America has 53-million foreign-born immigrants (legal and illegal). A record number.
The United States was built on Christian principles that welcome’s the stranger. What are those? The Scriptures say, “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:33-34) The word “stranger” can also be sojourner, alien or foreigner. In a very practical term, it also means “guest.” Anyone who travels to a different county than which they were born, is a “guest” to that host nation.
What is expected by God from these guests? Immigrants are to abide by the existing laws of their host nation, “You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the LORD your God.” (Lev. 24:22) Immigrants are also expected to assimilate into the host nation’s culture, “Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice…” (Lev. 17:8)
How is the host nation to treat their guests? Immigrants are expected to receive equal justice in the courts, “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner.” (Deuteronomy 24:17) Immigrants should be treated by the people with a sense of generosity, “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner…” (Deut. 24:19) Immigrants should not be taken advantage of, “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt…If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn…” (Exodus 22:21-24)
God lays out what He expects from the immigrants and from their host nation, but overall, He urges caution when welcoming the immigrant. He says, “There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.” (Psalm 81:9) This speaks of how immigrants naturally bring their own values and culture with them from their native land, and in cases where there are nefarious motives with that, it will have a dangerous and dramatically negative impact on the host nation.
For immigrants who seek to assimilate and are respectful of their new nation, God’s laws apply. But for those who intentionally refuse to assimilate, deceive, harm others and blatantly defy laws there is a different response. There is biblical precedent and wisdom to remove them from the host nation. For it is an act of defense of the country and love for its own citizens. And church leaders, politicians and business owners that deliberately enable and justify the ungodly behavior of defiant immigrants, it is no response of love, instead they become complicit in the immigrant’s criminal conduct.
A prayer for you – Lord God, we pray for wisdom and understanding on the divisive and complex immigration issue. We pray you will help us to employ your wise principles in navigating this. Help us to not be deceived while embracing both compassion and justice toward all immigrants. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
It is easy to be thankful when we get our banana, but what if the banana is snatched from our hands and smashed in front of us. That becomes the real test of a thankful heart. - Clint Decker
Our second oldest great-granddaughter asked grandma for a banana, then after she received it and began to walk off, I questioned her, “Now Avi, what do you say?” Quickly she responded, “Thank you, grandma!” (Image by Pixabay)
Avi is 4 years old. These early years are the times to teach little one’s thankfulness. A National and Religion Spiritual Survey reported how about 60% of Americans experience thankfulness at least once a day. I am sure Avi was among that number when she received her banana.
It is easy to be thankful when things are going well. Right? When we have good health, plenty of money, a strong marriage and family, when business is booming, when everything is sailing along in the right direction. That is when our gratitude meter is off the charts.
But the evidence of a thankful heart is really shown when it is tested.
The Bible speaks of a man who experienced this. “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” (Job 1:1) In one day, due to natural disasters and a heartless rogue of bandits, all his children were killed, his entire business destroyed and his personal health ruined by an incurable disease. All he had left was his wife and his own weakened life. Yet, what were some of the first words he was able to say in response? “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) As things became worse, it took a toll on his wife. She challenged her husband, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:9-10)
It is easy to be thankful when we get our banana, but what if the banana is unjustly snatched from our hands and smashed in front of us, just to make us angry. Then what? That becomes the real test of a thankful heart.
In the face of tremendous tragedy, Job was able to maintain a grateful spirit. That does not mean he was without pain, heartache or deep discouragement. Rather, in the middle of it all, he was able to keep his mind’s eye fixed on God and give Him praise.
Not all of us will go through such horrible tragedies, but we will have bad days at work, the pressure of ever-growing bills, conflict in our marriage or frustration over something. And in those moments, instead of showing gratitude, we blast out anger, impatience or bitterness.
All of us have done this. No one is perfect.
The Bible says about God, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4-5) God calls us to approach Him with thanks, even on bad days. When we do, we will end up treating others the same. Being grateful toward others, even our enemies, is how we love our neighbor, which is one of the Great Commandments of God.
But how? It is hard. We live in an entitled society that is filled with narcissists and arrogant people. We may even be one of those. First, we start with an acknowledgement. “God, I apologize for acting like a spoiled brat sometimes and not being very grateful toward you or others.” Second, we ask for help, “Lord, I do not have the power to live a grateful life on my own. You will have to help me to live according to your ways.” Third, place your trust in Jesus, “God, I believe in what your Son did on the cross. I trust not in myself, but in Him to transform me.”
A prayer for you. Father in heaven, we acknowledge our harshness toward others, especially our family. We are sorry for taking advantage of people and not being more thankful toward them. Change us O God into a grateful people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
