HillThread ~ Supporting Missions

Luke 6:32-36
32″If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

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What does it all mean?!?!
There has to be more to our faith than friendliness, politeness, and even kindness. True love is loving a person after they have hurt you. True love makes you stand out!

In October 2006, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a man stormed into an Amish school and killed several girls. You probably heard about it on the news. The day after the shootings, many Amish people visited the shooter’s family to say that they had forgiven him. That sort of forgiveness is incomprehensible to the world; because of it, people have even accused the families of the girls as being bad parents, of not dealing properly with their anger, and of living in denial. It is just this sort of love that is crazy to the world: true love, a kind found nowhere but through Jesus Christ.

~Francis Chan
Crazy Love

Matthew 7:24-25
“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.”

While I would expect a multi-million dollar home to be of the highest quality, that isn’t necessarily true. Michael Eisner, one-time CEO of the Disney Corporation, had plans drawn up for such a house. When constructed, one wall was so thin that it nearly buckled under it’s own weight. Bill Gate’s house had pine wood paneling installed that rotted out before construction was finished. It’s not that these two guys were too busy to notice, but architects say that most people find construction details boring. People, seem to pay attention only to the glamorous finishing touches, like counter tops and cabinets, instead of the foundational work.

Boring or not, it’s the foundation that determines the integrity of the structure, and ultimately the true value of the dwelling.

Are you putting all your efforts into maintaining your image, but neglecting the foundational work like attitude, integrity, and a sense of purpose? Jesus says, “These words I speak are foundational; work them into your life like a smart carpenter who built on a solid rock. Nothing moved that house.” (Matthew 7:24-25) Houses built on sand are quick, cheap, and easy; the provide temporary comfort and instant gratification. But building on a rock is tough; it takes time, effort, foresight, and perseverance – but the results are worth it.

If you are not sure what kind of house you are building, watch and see what happens when the next storm hits. The house built on rock will stand firm. There are no shortcuts. Successful Christian living is the result of commitment, consistency, and building according to God’s Word. When these are the foundations of your life, you will make it through any storm!

Related Text:
Ephesians 2:19-21
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.”

Psalm 23:2-3
“He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.”

Sheep are the only creatures that have more trouble sleeping than us humans. everything must be just right: no sense of predators, no insect pests, and no hunger. Ans since sheep can’t find a pasture on their own, and can’t spray repellent, and can’t ward off predators on their own, they need a shepherd. And so do we.

Our shepherd chooses the path for us, prepares the pasture, and protects us. all we have to do is follow close by, eat, rest, and always stay close by.

All too often we stray off, thinking we can protect ourselves, thinking we can find our own path, our own pasture; thinking we really don’t need a Shepherd. But when we get lost, when we’re under attacked, when we can’t find any rest or our way back home, we know we should never have left.

Whether you are very far away from God this morning and haven’t spent much time, if any, with Him lately, or you have a very strong, connected relationship with our Shepherd, choose this morning to connect with Jesus who loves you so much. Jesus told us in Matthew 18:11-13 that he would go searching for the sheep that wandered off, and that He would rejoice upon it’s return.

Related Text:
Matthew 11:29-30
“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. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Psalm 23:1
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”

Are you in the prison of “I Want”?

Do you feel better when you have more and worse when you have less? Are you always wanting something bigger? Nicer? Faster? Newer? Is your happiness always one delivery away, one accomplishment away, one new wardrobe away? Does joy come from something you deposit, drive, drink, or live in? When your happiness is based on any of these things, then you’re in the prison of “I Want”.

In Psalm 23:1, when David told us that God is his Shepherd and that there is nothing else he could want more that his Lord, he understood that what have with our relationship with God is greater than whatever else we could attain, buy, collect, stockpile, or achieve. He realized the two things that release us from the prison:

1. Your stuff isn’t yours.
2. Your stuff isn’t YOU

You can’t take it with you when you die, and your stuff doesn’t make you who you are. (In our society, more and more our stuff seems to be defining us as people, but it shouldn’t be that way at all)

Doug McKnight was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 32. Over the next 16 years, it would cost him his career, his mobility, and eventually his life. but he never lost his sense of gratitude. When his church friends asked him to compile a list of prayer requests, he responded by sending them 18 blessings for which to be grateful, and 6 prayer requests. His blessings were 3 times greater than his needs. Doug had discovered that what he had in God was greater than whatever he didn’t have in life.

Related Text:
Luke 12:15
“Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Job 8:21
“He will once again fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.”

Nothing gets you through some tough times like a sense of humor. I’m not saying just laugh every problem and crisis away, but a sense of humor allows you to return to normalcy.

Doctors say laughter is like “internal jogging”. It’s good for you, it widens your arteries and increases good blood flow, de-stresses your heart and strengthens your immune system.

Proverbs 17:22 even tells us that, “A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”

Jesus said in John 10:10 that the their (Satan) comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but that He (Jesus) came to bring us full life, life good to the last drop. Don’t let Satan steal your joy! When devastation flattens your life and circumstances feel insurmountable, put the problem into God’s hands and trust Him. (easy to say, but it takes practice)

There is something to smile about in just about ANY situation – and you’ll find joy even in the storm by knowing Who is on your side. Remember, joy isn’t based on your circumstances.

Related Text:
Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.”

Galatians 3:25-26
“But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.”

Not enough time in your day? Join the club. Time has become our most precious commodity and it usually goes to the highest bidder.

Did you know that in 1965 experts predicted that withing 20 years we would be working 22-hour weeks and retire by the age of 40? They predicted this believing that computers would make everything so much easier and streamlined. Well, it’s the 21-st century – computers are doing their thing, we’re constantly connected to work by email, smartphones, and home offices. Since 1965, our leisure time has actually decreased by 37% and the average work week has increased to 47 hours. (And some of us wish our week was as short as 47 hours)

What did the experts overlook in 1965? Our appetite! The more we have, the more we want; and the more we want, the more we will sacrifice to get it. Family time,God time, church time, vacation time, prayer time, relaxing time. We’ve become machines with one goal – get more.

To build a relationship with God, we must “add on a small room upstairs.” (2 Kings 4:10) – “Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.” Then, we can have a place to meet God every day. But we can’t make unrealistic expectations like “I’m going to start getting up at 4:30 and pray for an hour.” More than likely, by the third day we’re exhausted.

Carve out tome time that will allow you to continue meeting with God. A relationship must be worked on every day. Start each day with a prayer, then punctuate it with a praise. Find something you are thankful for and let God know.

If we have time for coffee breaks, there is surely time for a prayer break. We just need to want God as much as we want a caffeine boost!

Psalm 119:164
“Seven times each day I stop and shout praises
for the way you keep everything running right.”

Romans 12:6
“So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.”

Confront your defects of character to maximize your walk with the Lord. Call them what they are – hindrances to a productive life in the Spirit – and begin to work through them one by one.

Here are 6 common ones, some I even know too personally:

1. Pride – Spiritual pride, social pride, racial pride. God opposes pride. ” . . . in humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) don’t let pride be your downfall.

2. Insecurity – Insecure people are generally unwilling to take risks. But faith in God is reckless, it isn’t safe. The key to overcoming insecurity is to truly believe and live knowing that God is wit us.

3. Moodiness – Moody people are like the wind; unstable. They tend to be undependable. Moodiness is hard to overcome because being defensive about it often arises when it’s being dealt with. Confession to God and prayer helps.

4. Perfectionism – This is the obsessive need to always be flawless in everything. Imagine trying to be a perfectionist while serving on a mission trip. If you’ve ever been on a mission trip, you know that being flexible is key to all of the hiccups that happen. A perfectionist would probably bring things to a hault. They can’t affirm themselves, and when things don’t go as they planned, they tend to shut down or shut out. We need to learn that God loves us “warts and all” and He can use us even though we’re nowhere near perfect.

5. Overly Sensitive – These people are constantly licking their wounds and turning inward. They are often unaware of others pains and struggles and needs because the focus is on them and their wounds and who wounded them. Increase your sensitivity to others by turning your focus from inward to outward.

6. Being Negative – Negative people are depressing to be around. Their personality says no to life in general. Being negative is rooted in fear, and the antidote to fear is unwaivering faith in God.

Related Text:
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” – Hebrews 3:13

Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

The power to forgive is the only power we have over anyone who hurts us. And I would argue that our refusal to forgive allows anger to have control over us.

When we say, “I no longer hold it against you,” both sides are set free from the negative bond that existed between us. But there’s more: we also free ourselves from the burden of being the offended one. As long as we refuse to forgive those who offended us, we carry them like lead weights around our necks. The grudge we hold onto infects all parts of our lives, and if not treated, like any infection it will eventually bring us down. The great temptation is to hang on to the anger we have towards our enemies. Forgiveness not only liberates the offenders, but it liberates us as well. It’s the only way to freedom from anger.

Unfortunately, forgiving doesn’t necessarily mean forgetting. Though we forgive someone, the offense isn’t always easily forgettable. Here’s the deal though, forgiveness changes how we remember. It converts the curse into a blessing. Forgiveness means we no longer have to suffer as victims when the memory returns to us.

Today, release the power you may be holding over someone. Prayerfully ask God to give you the love and the strength to forgive.

Related Text:
Colossians 3:12-15
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Galatians 5:25
“Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.”

Christians today often seem to distinguish between one who is living “a Christian life” and one who is living “the life of the Spirit”, or “Spirit-filled” or “Spirit-led” life. However, this style of thinking is foreign to what the Apostle Paul says about the Christian’s life in the Spirit:

“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” Galatians 5:19-25

Don’t let Satan use semantics to keep you form the truth that living a Christian life and living a Spirit-filled life are the exact same thing, because they are. If you think about it, does living a non-Spirit-filled make any sense at all?

Related Text:
Romans 8:1-17