Faith over Feelings - Martin Wiles

I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed. Job 23:8-9 NLT

Feelings don’t always mirror reality.

Frank had hit bottom. He couldn’t imagine losing any more than he had already lost. His roller coaster ride began with his wife’s confession of unfaithfulness. He had his suspicions, and he had noticed people at church whispering. But he trusted her and had promised to love her for better or for worse. Now, however, he knew he couldn’t trust her. She didn’t love him and wanted a divorce.

Had Frank worked a regular job, his wife’s leaving probably wouldn’t have mattered. But his profession made a difference. His personal and family life weighed heavily on the outcome like a piece of lead. When he shared his news with the church leaders, they suggested he resign. Since he and his family lived in a church-owned home, he knew what that meant. Finding a place to live. 

The confession started the dominoes tumbling. Over the next few years, Frank experienced numerous fallouts. He lost his retirement savings, withdrawing it to pay bills. He took a job making one-third of his church salary, which meant some bills went unpaid. Soon, the collection agencies would knock on his email and snail mail doors. Months later, he found himself alone after his daughter went to college and his son decided to live with his mom. 

Frank never imagined facing such dire straits, but he never forgot that God hadn’t left him. Regardless of how he felt—and he often experienced that “dark night of the soul”—his faith remained anchored in God. 

I, too, have experienced some “dark nights of the soul.” Times when God felt distant and unconcerned. Job experienced the same. He lost almost all a person could lose—and God allowed it. Satan needed proof that Job wasn’t merely following God because of God’s blessings. 

When we experience those dark nights, we must remember that God hasn’t left us. He promises never to leave or forsake us, and his character hasn’t changed. He knows all we experience and controls the intensity and duration. We can also remember his unconditional love. Allowing us to experience valleys leads to spiritual growth, not detriment. Additionally, we can recall his power. With a spoken word, he can end our cloudy days—and will, at just the right time. 

When you feel God has left you in the darkest valley, remember feelings don’t always mirror reality. 

Father, thank you for never leaving me during my dark night of the soul.

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Changing the “S” - Martin Wiles

WISHING ALL OUR READERS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS. 

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

They labeled her one thing, but she proved she could be something else.

Sent to a new country with a promise from her husband that he would soon follow, Hester Prynne found herself alone with no husband in sight. Loneliness took over. She was pregnant and living in a community that didn’t accept such shenanigans. Rumor had it that the culprit was the preacher. Who didn’t matter.

The town knew the child wasn’t her husband’s. They branded Hester an adulterer and paraded her on a platform for the entire town to gawk at. If that wasn’t cruel enough, they forced her to wear a scarlet “A” embroidered on her blouse for the remainder of her life.

Hester took her punishment well, not showing anger to her fellow townspeople but rather helping them in any way she could. Her actions didn’t change the minds of the religious snobs, but they did impress the average folks. For them, the “A” no longer represented adultery. It stood for “Able.”

According to Paul, no matter what we’ve been labeled with—an “A,” a “D,” or whatever else—things have changed if we’re God’s child. Regardless of what peppered our old lives, our life in Christ overrules it and wipes the slate clean. Like Hester, we can change the meaning of our previous labels.

God says we are born with an “S” on our breasts. Sinner, not a saint. Slave not freeborn. While we choose to sin, we’re really destined to. We don’t come into the world with a clean slate and then become a sinner because we sin. Instead, we arrive with a sinful nature and a bent to do what’s wrong . . . and then we do. 

Trusting Christ as Savior and receiving His forgiveness changes the letter’s meaning. Through God’s power, the “S” (sinner) changes to “S” (saint). Although we don’t achieve perfection—Hester didn’t either—we’re enabled by the Holy Spirit to obey God and love others. Those who may have seen me as a scumbag before can now recognize God’s power to change a person.

Are you still walking around with the original “S?” If so, God can change the meaning.

Father, thank You that in Christ we can become new persons with new desires. 

Tweetable: What name are you wearing? 

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Anger: 12 Things You Should Know Part 3 - Martin Wiles

Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. Proverbs 29:11 NLT

He invited him into his office. His betrayer.  

Her confession came in the quietness of their bedroom. “I’ve betrayed you.” “Only once,” she said, but it had been more. Shock was Jerry’s first emotion. How could she? He was a well-known figure in their small town. Now, everyone would know his wife had been unfaithful. The church would call for his resignation, his profession would be scarred, and his family would have to move.

As Jerry pondered the future, another emotion bubbled: anger. What would he tell the kids? How would he break the news to their parents? What would he say to the person she confessed unfaithfulness with? He was a good friend and church member. After a cooling down period, Jerry chose to forgive him. Uncontrolled anger could have steered him in a different direction.

Anger can be a confusing emotion that propels us in different directions—some unhealthy. Knowing some facts helps deal with it healthily.

Fact 7: Anger affects relationships with God and others. Jerry’s relationship with a good friend was destroyed. Though he forgave, he couldn’t continue their friendship. They both moved on, and so did the betrayer.

Anger often leads to sinful actions. When we regard sin in our hearts, it affects our relationship with God. We can't hear Him clearly when we’re boiling over with anger. We’ll miss opportunities He sends our way.

Fact 8: Anger drives others away. I’ve known a few people in my lifetime who were angry continuously. One was a man I worked with after high school. Life had delivered some disappointing blows. Back surgery at an early age left him walking with a cane and unable to lift heavy items. Low paying jobs, financial struggles, and borrowing from one source to pay another were his norm. Although I remained his friend, many others avoided him because of his bitter spirit.

Fact 9: Anger leads to unwise decisions. The most unwise decision Jerry could have made would have been bodily harm to his wife and her conspirator. Had he let anger seethe in his gut, many other unwise decisions would have followed. Understanding God’s forgiveness of our offenses led Jerry to forgive and helped him avoid dangerous decisions.

When situations arise that anger you, ask God for wisdom to process the anger in healthy ways.

Father, enable me to handle my anger in ways that demonstrate Your love and forgiveness. 

Tweetable: How are you processing your anger? 

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Meandering Monday - Capable of the Worst - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” Matthew 26:33 NLT

She stood before the minister and uttered the words of most brides.

She promised before the congregation and God to be faithful to her husband and to care for him in sickness and in health. For the first few years, keeping her promise was easy. She was in love. Then life got hectic. Her husband’s job kept him away from home for long stretches of time. The attention she craved from him began coming from a work cohort who preyed on dissatisfied, lonely women. Their fling started with innocent flirting but finished with full-blown unfaithfulness. She did what she promised she never would.

Peter felt her pain. Impetuous. Bold. Prideful. When Jesus announced at his last supper that all of his disciples would desert him, Peter proudly proclaimed he never would—even if it meant dying. He discovered, however, he could do what he imagined he never would.

Peter obviously never reflected on what he was capable of—the good, but in this case the bad. What I’m capable of runs the gamut of good and evil. Saying I will never commit a particular sin—as Peter did—sets me up for Satan’s temptation. Words I speak or think give Satan the information he seeks to establish a stronghold in my life.

What I say I won’t do may be the very thing I do. Since I have a sinful nature, I can fall into the uttermost depths of evil if I listen to the wrong voices. Peter did. Two voices vie for my attention. One says, “Do good,” while the other says, “Do evil.” Even as a believer, I still have the flesh to contend with, which makes listening to the wrong voice possible.

Letting down my guard will also lead me into worse-case scenarios. Putting on the armor of God daily keeps me protected from the fiery darts of Satan. Failing to do so allows his darts of sin to penetrate my spirit, and my worst will emerge.

Though your worst can resurrect itself, God can overpower it with good.

Prayer: Merciful God, we thank You that when our worst comes out, You cover it with Your forgiveness. 

Tweetable: Have you discovered what you are capable of? 

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When No One Can Help - Martin Wiles

This man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Mark 5:3 NLT

The dark cloud hovered low, refusing to budge.

With one short announcement—“I don’t love you anymore”—John’s world crashed. A twenty-year relationship dissolved before his eyes, and he was powerless to change it. Not long after his wife left him and his two children, his daughter graduated high school and left for college. Two years later, his son decided he wanted to live with his mom. John found himself all alone in the world.

John survived by going to work and picking up an old addiction. His doctor prescribed pills for depression. Close friends and family members tried to help him, but he couldn’t see his way out from under the dark cloud. Some of his “so-called” friends abandoned him. Never called. Never texted. Perhaps they thought John’s problems would soil their reputation. Maybe they just didn’t have time to listen.

Although some tried to help John through his life tragedy, none could. John found himself in the same predicament as Legion did. Jesus encountered this demon-possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes. He lived among the tombs. People had tried to help him by restraining him, but nothing worked. The demons inside of him snapped the chains as if they didn’t exist. He lived among the tombs and self-inflicted harm on himself.

No one could help Legion … but Jesus. And He did. He sent the demons into a herd of pigs, and then told Legion to go home and tell his family what God had done for him.

Life can deliver some horrendous blows, as John and Legion discovered. Others can offer limited help … if they will … but only God can completely solve our dilemmas. God always cares about what we’re going through. After all, He either brought the situation or filtered it through His hands.

When we experience our dark moments, God lingers nearby through the presence of His Spirit. He knows what we need, when we need it, and in what form. Just as Jesus had the power to deliver Legion from his sad state, so God has the power to deliver us. He walks with us through our dark valleys and storms, and, at just the right moment, will deliver us.

When no one else can help you, remember God always can … and waits for you to ask Him to.

Prayer: Father, when no one else can help us, remind us You can … and want to.

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The Unpardonable Sin - Martin Wiles

Anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences. Mark 3:29 NLT

Mom pardoned everything … except for one question.

Mom worked hard, at home and at her outside-the-home job. I never knew a time while growing up that she didn’t work an outside job.

Mom tolerated any question we asked her … except one: “What are we having for supper?” We might see the meat lying in the sink or refrigerator, but what she planned to cook with it we never knew. Dad kept his mouth shut. He knew what side Mom buttered his bread on. But we three boys enjoyed devilling Mom. We’d ask the question, which would immediately send Mom into a tailspin and intensify the bad mood normally already attacking her.

Mom’s normal response? “You’ll know when I get it ready.” We never figured out why Mom hated the question … and none of us ever asked. In our house, asking the question equated to the unpardonable sin.

Jesus also spoke of an unpardonable sin—one of a different variety. The religious leaders accused Him of casting out demons by Satan’s power. Jesus told them that attributing the works of God to Satan was unforgivable. Every other sin God would forgive—but not this one.

The church and theologians have given various definitions of the unpardonable sin throughout Christian history—among them suicide and divorce. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlett Letter, provides a good example. Poor Hester Prynne makes the mistake of cheating on her husband with the preacher and must wear a scarlet letter on her breast for the remainder of her life.

With suicide, the argument is that one doesn’t have a chance to confess—regardless of whether they are a believer or unbeliever.

In truth, the only unpardonable sin is unbelief, which encompassed the root of the accusation the religious leaders made against Jesus. They simply didn’t believe His claim of Messiahship.

Rather than living in fear over whether we’ve committed the unpardonable sin, which we haven’t if we believe in Christ, we should take comfort in knowing God wills to forgive any mess up we make—as long as we ask. The danger is in not asking. We are never beyond receiving God’s forgiveness as long as we have breath in our bodies.

No matter what you’ve done, God’s forgiveness is only one statement away: “God, please forgive me.”

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your unending forgiveness.

Tweetable: Do you fear committing the unpardonable sin?

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Accused - Martin Wiles

You gave me victory over my accusers. Psalm 18:43 NLT

Accusations can sting—especially the false ones.

Norris couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Didn’t you know she was ____?” “Couldn’t you smell ____ on her breath?” It was bad enough that he’d just had his wife confess unfaithfulness and tell him she didn’t love him anymore. Now the spiritual leaders of the church he pastored were accusing him of a cover-up. But he didn’t know she was ___. And he had not smelled _____ on her breath. He had his suspicions—but no solid proof. There was nothing he could do but resign. 

I’ve experienced a little of what Norris tasted. I, too, remember a time when a comment I made was taken out of context, and it almost cost me my job. Being falsely accused hurts—and can bring with it a high cost.

What the psalmist was accused of, we aren’t told. The missing information isn’t important though. He trusted God to give him victory over his accusers.

Jesus was familiar with false accusations too. When He cast out demons, the religious authorities said He was empowered by the prince of demons. False accusations eventually led Him to the cross.

Early Christians also knew about false accusations. Ironically, they were accused of being atheists. Not because they didn’t worship or believe in any god but because they would not acknowledge the Roman Caesar as god nor believe in the Roman pantheon of gods.

False accusations are a part of life at some moment during the journey. They may or may not have anything to do with my faith, but more than likely they will. Those who accuse have ulterior motives. Perhaps they want my job. Maybe they hate the morality that comes along with my belief system.

Jesus responded to false accusations by making Himself as a sheep going to slaughter: silence. Reacting with anger, cursing, or other forms of violent behavior won’t do the trick. Nor will appealing to my legal rights. These things will only serve to damage my witness before others.

The best course of action is to turn the matter over to God. He said vengeance belonged to Him—not me. Praying over the matter and praying for the person making the false accusations will bring peace to my soul and keep me from doing something that will hinder the cause of God.

Tweetable: Let God handle false accusations made against you.

Prayer: Father, when others falsely accuse us, give us the strength to respond in a godly fashion. 

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Toys in the Tub - Martin Wiles

Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. 2 Samuel 11:2 NLT

Baths may clean you up, but sometimes they get you into trouble.

Resting outside the bathtub in our spare bathroom is a plastic container with numerous bath toys: a rubber duck, a sailing boat, several balls, a bar of Ivory soap. The normal toys kids play with when they bathe. And our grandboys love to play with them when they take a bath. They love the bubbles MeMe puts in the tub. They hide the toys under the bubbles, and then hold them in the air and watch as the water squirts out, while laughing and hollering. Occasionally they splash the water on the floor, which brings a sharp rebuke from MeMe.

King David knew a little about bathing and getting into trouble. He wasn’t the one bathing—Bathsheba was, but he was the one who looked when he shouldn’t have. The play on words is interesting: Bathsheba bathing. Some suggest she bathed here on purpose because she knew the king’s practice of walking on his roof. Whether or not she intentionally provided the temptation, David fell into the traps of lust, adultery, murder, and lying. One year—and a number of consequences, passed before he finally confessed.

My world is filled with play toys—not that I bathe with but that I encounter daily. Technological gadgets, possessions of all sorts, hobbies—and the things I need to enjoy them, sporting activities—and the money I can spend watching them, movies, video games. The list of play toys available to those who live in developed countries is endless.

Some of the play toys are sinful—and others have the potential to be. Bathsheba’s bathing wasn’t a sin, but if she did it hoping the king would do what he did, then it became sinful. David’s accidental glance wasn’t a sin, but when he lusted and acted it became one. Satan is a master at wrapping innocent things in sinful paper.

Only God can give me the wisdom to play with the right toys and to keep them in the proper perspective. I can’t trust my own judgment. It’s skewed by my sinful nature and my propensity to gratify my selfish desires.

God may not ask you to throw your toys away; He may simply want you to see them with different eyes or use them in a more productive way.

Prayer: Father, guide us in the use of our toys so they won’t grab our attention from You and more important things. 

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