Flashback Friday - Benefits of Belonging - Martin Wiles

Benefits of Belonging

He loved to stray, and it often got him in predicaments.

I once owned a stubborn rooster who loved to stay outside his pen more than he loved to stay in it. But when it was feeding time, all I had to do was open the gate and he headed for the chicken yard. While he was able to eat bugs, insects, and grass on the outside, what he didn’t realize is that his most nutritious meals were on the inside. And though he didn’t appreciate the confinement of the chicken wire, it provided him safety from predators. He simply didn’t understand the benefits of belonging. Read more...

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A Change of Mind - Martin Wiles

And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. Luke 13:3 NLT

Changing her mind is a woman’s prerogative.

I’ve heard the saying and experienced its truth. One of my wife’s favorite things to change her mind about is our furniture arrangement. About the time I get accustomed to things a certain way, I find them completely altered. Sometimes, she will ask, “What do you think about putting this over there?” She’s only being polite. My opinion doesn’t really count. As she often reminds me, “Most men don’t get a say so in how the home is decorated.”

The most recent redo came when we purchased new recliners. I’m not sure why, but these two new pieces necessitated a total arrangement of our den, including selling one chair, a wooden bench, and our loveseat. I’ve learned to live with her changes of mind, even though it sometimes results in a stumped toe or bruised knee. Expressing my comments does little good.

Jesus talked about a change of mind—as did many spiritual teachers who preceded Him and followed Him. He called it repentance. Failure to do so would result in death, but not just physical death. That would come, but the greater death would be spiritual.

Talking about repentance involves speaking about sin—a subject we tend to water down or dismiss entirely. Defined, sin is breaking God’s moral laws. Doing so results in a disconnect between me and God, a disconnect that can only be repaired through repentance.

Repentance is recognizing I’ve offended God, expressing genuine sorrow, and going in the opposite direction towards obedience. I must do it to establish a relationship with Him initially, and I must continue to do it thereafter to maintain a healthy fellowship with Him.

What I think of sin doesn’t matter. Only what God says about it. If I doubt His conclusions—or choose to ignore them, I’ll have to pay the consequences. Consequences that include an eternal separation in a place I don’t like to think about: hell.

But God has better plans. He created humans and desires we have a wonderful relationship with Him. He wants none to perish but all to come to know Him through repentance of their sins. He won’t force His will on us but rather gives us freedom of choice. And once we’re in His family, He doesn’t change His mind and kick us out.

As long as you have breath in your body, it’s not too late to repent.

Tweetable: What do you need to change your mind about?

Prayer: Father, draw us to You and away from our sins. 

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The Sound of Forgiveness - Martin Wiles

Then he (Joseph) broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him. Genesis 45:2 NLT

His slanted eyes and caustic words sounded the unforgiveness alarm. And I detected it clearly.

He was my best friend when I became his pastor, but after a few years, I was his enemy. I generated a decision he didn’t appreciate. He believed I had accused him. Nothing I said would alter his thinking. When I didn’t respond as he thought I should have after a death in his family, the coffin on our friendship was sealed. I apologized, but he wouldn’t accept it. 

Joseph toiled with forgiveness too. The sound of his was so loud everyone nearby could hear it. And he had reason to combat it. He was sold by his family, enslaved in a foreign country, and falsely accused by a scorned woman.

Finally, God rescued him and made him the second in command of the entire country. His brothers—who had sold him into slavery—begged for food. Their country was experiencing a famine. Joseph needed to reveal his identity. He needed to forgive them for selling him as a slave, for lying to their father about his whereabouts, and for all the hardships he had endured. But it was painful. The sound of his struggle echoed throughout the palace.

Although God wants us to forgive our offenders immediately, He never said it was easy. Without His help, it’s impossible. Joseph’s toying with his brothers reveals the difficulty. He accused them of lying about their identity and about why they were in Egypt. He placed his drinking cup in their sacks and then accused them of stealing. He retained one in prison and sent the others away. All efforts to pay them back for what they’d done to him.

Forgiveness often has to be repeated. Once may only work for a time. Satan brings the offense back up, and we have to forgive again lest thoughts of revenge take over.

Forgiving others is an ongoing process. Others will wrong me throughout life—and I’ll wrong others, unintentionally and sometimes intentionally.

Forgiving those who wrong me seems illogical, and it is. But doing so is evidence I’ve experienced God’s grace. God forgiving me for my sin against Him is just as senseless, but He does. And I must mimic His behavior. That’s what grace does.

If you need to forgive someone, do it now. It may be your last chance.

Prayer: Father, as You have forgiven us, enable us to forgive others. 

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Throwback Tuesday - Decisions Decisions - Martin Wiles

Decisions, Decisions

I face them every day. Some I give little thought to, but others I make only after great deliberation. 

My life has been filled with decisions. Enough to fill a book. Many of them minor, but quite a few major. I decided to get out of bed this morning and go to work. I could have kept sleeping, but I would have had to call in and tell a lie in the process. I would have lost one of my vacation days and possibly my job if the truth was discovered. A somewhat minor decision, but one that could have negative repercussions. Read more...

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