Is it Time to Change the Filter? by Paula Roach

 have the two cutest little boys who happen to love critters of all kinds. It is not uncommon to find a turtle, frog or bug while we are out and about and add him to our pet collection at home. In fact, just today, daddy came home with a new baby leopard gecko that he found at work. So, as of today we are the proud owners of two leopard geckos, two red eared sliders, one tiny frog and one large yellow lab.

The red eared sliders are really cute. They are still just little babies and will actually eat out of our hands. As cute as they are, my affection for them is slowly dieing and the experience of feeding the turtles and playing with the turtles has been spoiled by a very unpleasant scent. As the scent has grown stronger there is now debris and cloudy water. Within a matter of a few weeks the environment of the turtle habitat has completely changed and turtle ownership is no longer a pleasant experience.

The product of the environment has made it quite clear that the time to change the filter in the aquarium is past due.

A filter is a device used for removing, obstructing or eliminating. It's purpose in the aquarium is to provide the best living environment for the turtles (and owners.). A filter for water provides the healthiest water. A filter in our air conditioner provides clean air and a more efficient system.

God GIVES us His Word as a filter. When we filter our choices through His Word, we can experience His best blessings. The  directives given in His Word are NOT a kill joy but rather a filter set up to help us experience MORE JOY. More favor. More hope. More peace. More love. More of HIM!

Sometimes it becomes obvious it is time to change the filter in our own lives simply by taking a look at our environment and experiences!

Ask yourself these questions:

Am I experiencing growth in my relationship with the Lord?

Am I becoming more like Him?

What is my thought life like? What are my attitudes and words like?

Am I experiencing the full, joyful, abundant life promised in the Word of God?

If we are not pleased with our answers, perhaps it's time to take a look at our filter. Do I filter choices through my own thoughts and ideas, others, or am I allowing the Word of God to be my filter?

Take a look at your environment and experiences. Is it time to change the filter?

As you navigate answers to some of the gray areas of life, consider the Word of God as your filter and trust the Holy Spirit to guide you into the abundant life promised. 

(I received these questions from Jeanne Mayo many years ago.)

Gray Area Filter Questions

The following is a series of Biblical principles with which to “filter” gray areas and determine whether or not to participate.

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Principle of Excess…Do I need this? Heb. 12:1  “Lay aside every weight that does easily beset us…”

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Principle of Expedience…Does it have a positive effect? 1 Cor. 6:12 “All things are lawful…but not all things are expedient.” Is this going to help me?

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Principle of Emulation…Is this what Jesus would do? Can I truly see Christ doing this? 1 John 2:6 “If we say we abide in Him, we ought also to walk as He walked.”

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Principle of Evangelism…If I do this, is it going to enhance my testimony to a non-believer? Col. 4:5 “Walk in wisdom towards those who are outside.”

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Principle of Edification…Will it build me up? Having done this, will I be a stronger Christian?

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There are few things in life that are truly neutral: 1 Cor. 10:23 “All things are lawful…but all things are not that which builds me up.”

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Principle of Exaltation…If I do this, will it exalt the Lord? 1 Cor. 10:31  “Whatsoever you do…whether you eat or drink…do it all for the glory of God.”

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Principle of Example…If I do this, will it set the right pattern of example for my Christian brothers and sisters? Would it be an act of love towards them? Rom. 14:13 “Don’t do anything to make him stumble.” 1 Cor. 8:13 “Eat nothing that would cause your brother to stumble.”

Divine Insight by Valencia Anderson

Good Morning! It's been some time since I have posted anything but I have a dear friend, Valencia Anderson, who wrote something I wanted to share with you all. So, here it is...

DIVINE INSIGHT

"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment."~ Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor

Never forget this truth: "The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend."

Have you ever looked at an image; yet was unable to accurately process what you saw?  You looked, yet nothing registered.  NOTHING. And while your physical eye was taking in an image, your brain somehow was unable to interpret what it was that you actually saw?  Maybe the image was gruesome and so your brain --completely unprepared to digest that picture--refused to compute it? 

I don't know what you're looking at right now.  An empty pocketbook? A negative bank account? A betrayal or broken dreams?  But I will tell you this: it's not what happens to us that shapes us but how we choose to respond to what happens to us that makes the difference.  As Pastor Joel Osteen is quoted for saying,"Be a victor not a victim."  You get to decide. Do you esteem your pain and disappointments over and above your forward progress? The word "esteem" means to to highly regard, to regard highly or favorably. What you focus on will expand.  Thus, if within your mind's eye you have conditioned yourself to see only defeat, misery and additional disappointments, then no matter how glaringly obvious opportunity and favor are, you WILL NOT SEE IT!  However, if you intentionally begin a reconditioning program in which you dutifully begin to "wash your mind" with new thoughts--I highly recommend the Bible--you will begin to experience transformation.  Romans 12:2 says, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."  The word transform means: "to change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose." Furthermore, it means: "to change in condition, nature, or character; convert."

Even if the change is slow at first. It's still change. It might be slow, but it will be sure and rock solid if you'll stick with it! 

Like Marcus Aurelius said--and I am paraphrasing for emphasis--you have the power to revoke or take back your divine perspective at any moment.  The choice is yours and mine.  And when you take it back, it is amazing--even miraculous--how much you can "see"...opportunities that were right within your sphere all along waiting for you to seize them!

Trusting God by Colleen Mains

I am honored to share something with you today that was written by a true hero of the faith, Colleen Mains. She is a sweet spirited woman of God who has faithfully served God and His people through the good, bad, and the ugly. Today she courageously shares a bit of her journey with us. Be encouraged and learn to trust God more each day.

“Total surrender to the unannounced will of God”. (Charles Stanley, How to Handle Adversity)  Wow.  This is what it means to say “Thy will be done” & truly mean it.  This sentence can mean a lot of different things, but to me it is totally a statement of trust.  The journey that God set me on a year & a half ago has so been about trust.  I’m not a personality that exercises faith & trust very easily.  Some of that is because of hurtful experiences & some of it is just simply personality – I like the details & things need to make sense to me.  However, when I got the diagnosis of Chondrosarcoma & was told the only treatment was to remove the entire right side of my pelvis with the tumor & amputate my right leg, it didn’t matter how many details the doctor gave me……nothing made sense to me.  After the initial shock & tears & hugs, there were two words that kept going through my mind:  trust me.  I felt very strongly that God was telling me to trust Him & I realized at that moment that if I couldn’t trust God in this horrible situation, then I couldn’t trust Him about anything in my Christian life.  If I couldn’t trust Him when He was saying that His grace is sufficient (2 Cor 12:9) & that He will use this for good (Rom 8:28) & for His glory (John 11:4), than how could I trust Him when he said that He gave His son for me, that He loves me & has forgiven me? (John 3:16)  God says all of these things in His word, the Bible.  And God’s Word is always truth, so I can’t pick & choose which things to believe. Either I trust God & His Word or I don’t.  I am choosing to trust Him.  It’s a daily – sometimes hourly – choice.  Everyday I must make the choice to surrender my feelings & pain & circumstances in order to be a vessel that God can use to fulfill His purpose & will for my life.  I know that God has a purpose for healing my cancer in this way, instead of by a divine miracle.  I know that it is to bring Him glory, but I don’t know the specifics of how (hence, the “unannounced” part).  I may never know much of how God uses my story, but He gives me glimpses now & then.  Even though they have not yet come into relationship with God, I have seen family members soften to the things of God through conversations about my story.  And, I have learned that when it says in Romans 8:28 that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”, it’s talking about what God considers “good”, not what we consider “good”.  I would have considered being divinely healed & keeping my leg to be good. But, through this experience I have grown in faith & trust, my relationship with God has been strengthened, & I have had opportunity to share about God’s goodness with others – and that is what God considers good. And, after all, what God considers good is really the best kind of good!  I certainly have a long way to go as far as total surrender, but each time that I make that choice to surrender, God has proven Himself trustworthy.    

How about you?  Are you picking & choosing which things to trust God with?  Let me encourage you to make the choice to totally surrender to the announced will of God…..it’s not easy but so worth it!

It's been a crazy few weeks so I have not had a chance to write but am hoping to get back on track soon as ideas are piling up! Until then, I wanted to share a post I read today from the pastor of a new church in Colorado. I have shared his blog before. I love his heart. Single or married, there are take aways for all of us. Enjoy...

What do you think- should social values be treated like tired athletes or overused cliché’s or even passing fads? Does a particular value produce better results than another forever or do they just fade while waiting for something better to emerge?

Leviticus 27:14           New King James Version
‘And when a man dedicates his house to be holy to the Lord, then the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand.

Notice, Jesus Christ (the High Priest) establishes the value of your house, but the dedication to those values is on us. When you dedicate (or consecrate) some thing, you are saying this thing is separated from what is common for a higher purpose. It will never be used for anything less than its higher purpose. It is purified for devotion or offering to God. Trust me, you want your house devoted to God’s values!

Familialism is a social value that finds its beginning in the Genesis account. In the context of chapter two, God had already created the first male and then creates the first female. God introduces the two, Adam calls her woman and God then unites them by saying a man shall be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.

Unity is the first value established in our homes- for better or worse, good times or bad. We face challenges together and walk towards the mess to clean it up… together. Not blame one another or criticize one another, but rather function as “heirs together of the grace of life”.

Do you like having your prayers answered?

1 Peter 3:7 goes on to say that you are heirs together of the grace of life so your prayers won’t be hindered.

If you are angry with your partner and you don’t resolve the conflict- don’t even bother praying. God’s not listening. Any request you mail to heaven will be returned the same way, “resolve the conflict first”. Discord creates an obstruction between heaven and earth that must be dealt with here. Besides, making up can be fun!

When you are happy with your spouse- your unity invites Jesus into your family’s pursuits. Anything less allows discord and separation and failure. But when you dedicate your house to be holy and contend for unity- the value of your house is declared as good. Forever.

Now- whose responsibility is this?

The unity of your household is the responsibility of the husband…AND the wife. You work in your house, together.  You dream in your house, together. You experience the reward of a unified house, together.
What God has joined together is blessed forever.

A weekly blog by G. Shawn Scarborough, Pastor of Livingstone Church.

TGIF by Paula Roach

TGIF- Thank God it's Friday!

It's a nice concept and cliche little phrase that we all identify with but do we literally take time out to truly thank Him for the weekend? Better yet, do we stop to thank Him for His goodness, for His Glory and to simply recognize Him as God?

Did you know that when we do not stop to be thankful, we put ourselves in position to enter a downward spiral of sin? Now, I am no theologian, but God spoke this truth into my heart years ago while reading from Romans 1. In verses 22-30 I read this list of sins.

godless in their thinking
sexual impurity
dishonoring their bodies
vile affections
degrading passions
homosexuality
inventors of new forms of evil
loathsome acts

None of this is pretty! I mean MURDER, HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONS, INVENTORS OF NEW FORMS OF EVIL, this is pretty bad stuff! But, what's that have to do with us. I mean, that's pretty obvious black and white, things we would never do... but let's not leave out the other shades of gray! Let's read further.

Verses 28 -31 go on to say, "until they were filled with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. They were full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and treacher, ill willl and cruel ways, secret backbiters and gossipers. Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance and boasting, inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents. Without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless and merciless.

So, boasting, arrogance, gossip, envy, backbiting... maybe we can identify with some of these a little more closely. These "lighter shades of gray" we tend to rationalize as "not as bad" but verse 32 says that "those who do such things (and approve and applaud others for them) deserve to die."

Thank God for Jesus and the cross, for His grace that saves us from such punishment. No, literally, STOP and thank Him Now. For sentiment alone is not enough! You see, they "knew and recognized" but did not take that next step to actually give thanks and glory. The crazy thing is, if you look back at verse 21 you see that the downward spiral of sin all started with this one simple thing. It says "because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks...and their senseless minds were darkened." (To all different Shades of gray from murder and homosexuality to deceit and gossip!)

In this passage we see that this recognition without honor lead to a downward spiral of spiritual rebellion and moral corruption. (It is as if when we neglect to give thanks we slowly forget who deserves the credit. We allow selfishness and pride to creep in to the point that it becomes "all about me", and the downward spiral begins.) Neglegence of this one simple act opened their hearts to all types of shameful, ungodly desires and sexual impurity.

You see, most of us "know and recognize Him as God" too. The scary part lies in the fact that in the busyness of our lives we neglect to stop and take time to glorify Him and thank Him for who He is and for what He has done in us, for us, and through us.

Today, as you Thank God it's Friday, take time to STOP. Take a time out and truly give Him thanks, not just for the weekend but for His goodness, glory, and provision in our lives. And, can we purpose in our hearts to do this NOT just on Fridays, but every day and all through out the day? May it be the anthem of our lives to give thanks and glory to God in action and in words!

He IS Worthy!

P.S. It is my prayer that from now on, every time we say or hear TGIF, it will be a nice little reminder to STOP and give God Glory and thanks! Happy Weekend!

Just a Little Hint by Paula Roach

Before Christmas and birthdays or before a surprise it is not uncommon for the kiddo's to want to guess what the surprise or gift is. They ask for "just a little hint". They want me to give little clues that will lead to disclosure of the present. As if just a little hint is more acceptable than a big hint. Or if it is just a little hint it won't ruin the surprise. But, if I give them a hint, big or small, it often leads to more requests for more hints and the guessing continues until they can determine what the gift is. Now in this case, no harm done except perhaps losing the element of surprise.

The word "hint" could also refer to a "perceived indication" or "slight or hardly noticeable amount".

A hint of sophistication.

A hint of flavor.

A hint of spring in the air.

Whether a small hint or a large hint, regardless of which definition you look at, a hint implies there is still evidence of that thing in it.

White, with a hint of black, is gray. Depending on how much black you put in the white, depends on the shade of gray. There may be 50 shades of grey but "all grey has a little black in it." Steve Greene. 

Or in other words, "In God's economy there is not 50 Shades of Grey. There's black and there's white, there's wrong and there's right." Craig Groeschel

^{Ephesians 5:3} But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

Not even a HINT!

So what could a hint of sexual immorality look like?   Craig Groeschel gave a few examples:
-looking at porn
-lusting after ____ (you fill in the blank)
-dressing provocatively
-dirty dancing
-reading the likes of 50 Shades of Grey (Yes, he named it, not me:))

These are just a a few outward examples of "hints" of sexual impurity in us but the list goes on... and for many of us often in much more subtle displays. Perhaps the hint of "any kind of impurity" looks more like a questionable tv show, attitude, or conversation?

Remember, even a small hint can spoil the whole surprise. So, what do we do about it?

STAY far from it. Don't even go NEAR it. (Proverbs 5:8)
FLEE from it. (1 Corinthians 6:18)
PUT TO DEATH... ,^(A) therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:^(B) sexual immorality,^(C) impurity, lust, evil desires and greed,^(D) which is idolatry.^(E)  Collosians 3:5

Take some time this weekend to ask God to make clear to you the areas where you have allowed even "hints" of impurity to creep into your life. Spend time praying for strength, wisdom, and accountability to steer clear, flee and put to death each of these areas. Share your plan with a friend who can help you and move forward in purity, able to experience the beautiful gift of abundant living.

Purity - From this Day Forward

A friend of mine sent me this link. Whether married or single, this message is for all of us who desire to live lives of purity. So I encourage you to carve out about 45 minutes in the next few days. Grab a cup of coffee, pen and note pad. If nothing else, record the many scriptures he uses and make them a part of your purity study and prayer focus.