What Is Your Title?

For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. Isaiah 45:4 

  

  I came from a broken home with multiple marriages and several years of being raised by a single mother during my boyhood and teenage years. I experienced the tragedy of seeing two people arguing and fighting bitterly day in and day out. And the ensuing pain of divorce. 

  I did not grow up desiring to become an astronaut, or a policeman, or a successful businessman. My one desire in life was to marry the right woman and have a “normal” godly home with no fighting, no wrath or hatred or bitterness poisoning the well of my relationships. By the grace of God I have experienced such a marriage and family for thirty three years. 

  My title was “Salesman” when I was involved in retail sales. Later it became “Factory Worker” as I spent several years working in manufacturing. People often label us or give us titles according to what we do. It got me thinking, for those disabled or retired and no longer working in any field, what title or label might they wear? 

  Wouldn’t it be something if we were titled according to attributes or things that really mattered to us? Perhaps my title would be: Karlton husband of Rhonda, or Karlton father of Sarah, or Karlton son of Paula. Ultimately and best of all: Karlton child of God. 

  Big titles matter to some people, and there is nothing wrong with great labels and famous occupations. Yet I think in the end it is our relationships with others and, most importantly, with Jesus that will mark us for who we really were in life. For that will show what we became, and not our occupation in life. 

  Do not be discouraged because you lack a title or grand occupation. You are a child of God and what could be better than that? 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, You give us everything and You make us what we truly are and ultimately will become. Jesus be Jesus in us, there is no greater honor than that. Amen. 

  

Overcoming Moods And Emotions

Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. Luke 8:37 

  

  Our moods should never define us, and our emotions should not guide our decisions. Moods and emotions are like the weather, one day it is sunny and lovely, the next stormy and dark. I have learned to recognize when I’m in a “bad mood” and be wary of it. 

  

Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our true inner self. ---Oswald Chambers 

  

  My illnesses affect my moods. Simply having low blood sugar can cause me to be irritable and grouchy. Not getting enough sleep, or my afflictions flaring up, any physical circumstance can control our actions and reactions if we allow them to do so. 

  Never let a bad mood determine your decisions and reactions. We all live in these houses of clay. They are feeble, weak, subject to all kinds of problems and disabilities. I remember even as a boy when visiting a disabled child and seeing that child act out in anger and frustration it was easy to discern he was acting out because he felt so terrible from his disability. 

  We can’t always help how we feel. And at times it is an uphill battle to overcome our natural inclination to allow our physical circumstances to determine what we say or think. Yet understanding our upside down emotions, taking them into consideration, and adjusting our attitude to the reality of our mood, can help us to avoid saying or doing something we will certainly regret. 

  As soon as I realize I’m in trouble with my moods and emotions I call upon the Lord for help. I know moods can cloud my perceptions. And I know from experience that moods can cause me to act out in ways I will soon regret. We need the Lord’s help in many ways for many things and one of those things is our natural inclination to moodiness and emotionalism. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, help us with our overwrought moods and emotions. Our illnesses and circumstances can cloud our judgment, aid us by the Holy Spirit to follow truth and wisdom, not moods which change so quickly. Amen. 

  

Know His Voice

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 

  

  Years ago someone was selling an item I was interested in buying through the classified ads in our local newspaper. I called the number and asked about it. A few minutes into our conversation the person on the other end of the phone said my name. I was shocked. A person I had not spoken to in many years recognized my voice. 

  The human voice is amazing. It can propel words that inspire. It can ignite revolutions. It can change hearts so that many thousands are won for Christ. It can start wars, or end them. The human voice is so unique to each individual that it is often used in security protocols. 

  The voice of Jesus is also unique. Yet the voice of Jesus is more than vocal chords making a sound, for it is a voice that speaks into our spirit, touching our hearts. Though we could hear the voice of Jesus with our ears as an audible sound, and someday will, today it is within our hearts that we hear Him calling us as His children. 

  So many people live lives of isolation even in the midst of multitudes of people. The noise around us can at times be deafening. Yet whether alone or with the multitude we need to both listen for, and hear, our Lord when He calls to us. Our Lord does not always shout to get our attention. Often, He whispers, and we must have attentive ears to hear Him when He speaks. 

  Many things may be clamoring for your attention, but I encourage you to shut out the noisy world around you and listen to God. Allow Him to speak into your difficulties, your trials, and your everyday mundane world. He is speaking, but are you listening for His voice? 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, too often we blame You for being silent when all the time we are not listening for Your voice. Help us to have hearing ears, and to listen when You speak to us. Amen. 

Pray With Precision

You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:2-3 

  

  God is neither “Santa Claus” nor an angry Deity out to get us. He wants our love and devotion. He wants us to live a righteous life through the power of Jesus Christ. And as His children it is certain that God will bless us and take care of us. 

  Too often my prayers have been fired off like a shotgun in a general direction without specificity. Yet God wants us to have direct, and precise, communication with Him. 

  If you were speaking to your physician, or your lawyer, or anyone else who has the power to help you, speaking in a vague, general way, would get you nowhere. They could not help you if you did not tell them precisely what the problem was, your exact need. It is the same with God. While He already knows your need, you still must present it to Him in prayer. What is it that you want from God? What petition needs to be brought before Him? 

  You would not waste the time of an important person who was meeting with you. For instance, if you were brought into the office of the President of the United States to present him or her with a request it would be disrespectful to stand there mumbling, rambling on foolishly, or to say nothing at all. 

  I have seen God do some amazing things in my life. And I have sensed many times in my spirit the Lord asking: What exactly is it you want?  

  Of course prayer is more than asking God for things. It is also a relationship building exercise as we spend time with God we get to know Him better, and as we listen for responses we can often sense God telling us things in our prayer time. 

  We should both praise and thank God in prayer, and when we present our requests tell Him exactly what it is we would like Him to do. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for meeting our needs and blessing us even beyond what we ask for. Amen. 

  

Married To Jesus

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Revelation 19:7 

  

“This is getting scary,” My wife said to me. It is the same thing I have said to her on many occasions when we frequently say or think the same thing at the same time. It is like we think with one brain. 

  After nearly thirty-three years of marriage we have become very much alike. We even order the same things to eat at restaurants not because we plan on it, but because we each wanted the same thing at the same time. It is amazing how in sync our minds have become. 

  Likewise, those who have spent years with Jesus, reading the Bible, attending church with fellow believers, and many hours in prayer drawing close to the Lord become like Him. We begin to think like Jesus, and act like Him. 

  Jesus often refers to us as His bride, and we know there is going to be a wedding feast (Revelation 19:9). As the bride of Christ, we ought to know something about our Groom. Indeed, those of us who have been believers for a long time and infused with the Spirit of Christ ought to know our Lord very well. We should know His thoughts, what pleases, and what displeases Him. A relationship helps us to grow together, enhances common interests, and moves our perspective closer and closer to the one we love. Marriage is a union of souls. 

  Our relationship with Jesus is a serious matter. It is a genuine connection to the Divine just as a marriage between a man and woman is a serious commitment and union. Marriage with Jesus is a spiritual connection and covenant that cannot be broken. 

  Many Christians speak of wanting a closer connection with Jesus when in fact they already have an intimate spiritual union with Him as believers. And just like a human marriage, when you spend time and grow together the union naturally gets stronger over time. Spending time together is key. 

  Life throws many problems and troubles at us. A strong marriage weathers such turmoil and grows yet stronger, and so it is with our relationship with Jesus. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to continually grow closer to You, to share our life, better understand Your will, all leading to that wonderful celebration in heaven as You receive Your bride. Amen.