Make Your Life Count

A popular Christian song by Tal & Acacia has the lyrics “Garbage in, garbage out; what you do is found out. All can see what goes in me, I pay the price.” This song has more truth in it, though, than the artist probably realized when she was initially writing it. This is because of a principle talked about in several places in the Bible, including in Romans 8:5-6, where is says, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”

                  Living by the Spirit is what brings life and living by the fleshly desires of our old human nature causes death. If you’re dead, how are you supposed to respond to the calling God has placed on your life? In reality, you can’t. The only way for you to pursue God’s calling for your life is to be full of His life, and living by the things of the Spirit. This means that you fully rely on Him as the center and foundation for you entire existence. But how do we live by the Spirit? To live according to the Spirit, your mind must always be set – focused on – the things of the Spirit. Did you know that what you allow into your spirit is what ultimately controls your life? You control what controls you! What we give permission to in our lives is what governs our thoughts, actions and even our ability to respond to God’s calling!  It takes discipline to keep your mind focused where it should be. You will have to put aside thoughts that are not of the nature and Spirit of God. However, it does not stop with your thoughts. The things you fill your mind with influence the patterns of your thought. God tells us to fill our minds and hearts with the desires of His heart. How, exactly, does He expect us to do this?

                  To fill your mind with the things of the Spirit, you may have to make some changes. Back off your time watching movies and TV shows that do not glorify God – anything about sex, drugs, alcohol, smoking, and everything else that God has asked His children not to engage in. Music you listen to should be written and performed by artists that give all the glory to God for their talents and successes with uplifting lyrics that glorify Him as well. A good question to ask yourself would be, “Is what I am watching, listening to, or doing, making God proud? How would I feel if I could see Him right next to me watching this take place?”

                  It’s important to remember, though, that you don’t only have to cut these things from your life – you have to replace them with something else. That something else should be the Word of God. When you decrease and eliminate your time in fleshly things, you should take the time you spent in those things and turn it into God-time. Spend your time in the Word, prayer, and having your own praise and worship. Just this little habit change will make a huge impact on your life and your ability to touch other people’s lives with God’s love!

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

Spirit-Filled Life Student Bible

NIV Study Bible

Pastors Mac Hammond and Jim Hammond

Let God Take the Reins

When a bit is placed in a horse’s mouth, the horse surrenders completely to his trainer; but the process that the trainer took the horse through to get to this level of trust and submission was frustrating and painful. God’s relationship with His people profoundly parallels the one depicted between a horse and trainer.

            Over the past seven months, I have been breaking my horse Dream, beginning with groundwork, on to the first ride and now finishing. Once we are done, Dream will respect me enough to submit to my authority in any circumstance. Throughout Dream’s schooling, I adapted my training aids to reinforce the reality of my authority. To start, I trained using only a halter, placing pressure on certain areas of his head to gain control. As Dream started pushing his limits, I increased the intensity by adding thin twine to the halter, directing pressure to his airways, and restricting him from making wrong choices so easily. Dream has a tendency to bolt for the door when he does not want to deal with the changes he needs to make. So, when twine was no longer effective, I had to go further by placing all the stress on Dream’s mouth with the bit. The discomfort this causes when a wrong decision is made prompts the horse to think twice and obey. Once I had control with the bit, I could go back to just the halter and still have complete control. I like to think of these three levels as having a place in a human’s life as well. While humans have free will and emotions, we still possess pressure points where God can really get our attention when He feels it is necessary. Our halter is our friends and family who pressure us to make choices we would not make on our own. The twine is our pastor who challenges us to live how God desires. We have added conviction when making decisions, but we also have the opportunity to get out of dealing with the things we need to. The pressure on the bit is where the Holy Spirit gives us the choice – live for God, or live for yourself. You cannot do both. This is where I was found at the beginning of senior year.

            I had plenty of friends and family speaking encouragement into my life, but the choice was ultimately mine. The pressure from the outside became too great, and I succumbed to what I always said I never would. I had experiences that truly made me want to change; but my selfishness and stubbornness outweighed what my spirit really wanted, and I did not put forth the effort to make the changes I knew I had to. When I reached senior year, I had hit rock bottom. I was not making choices that could single-handedly ruin my life forever. They were just occasional little slip-ups that I justified as being just that: a slip-up. As these became more frequent and easier, I also found it easier to make excuses to bolt for the door. Work, homework, and training my horse became reasons why I no longer had time to spend with God or go to church. Eventually, I lost most of my desire to work at my relationship with God because I was so tired from trying to do everything on my own strength. In her book Secrets Young Women Keep, Dr. Jill Hubbard claims, “Sometimes we ignore God because we think we know it all or we have all the answers, but we don’t.” I would sit and argue with God just because I was living to please myself, and I thought I could do better than He. Romans 9:20, though, challenged me with the question, “Who are you to argue with God?”  And a very good question that was. Who was I to be arguing with my Master Trainer? He is the only One that knows where my life is taking me. Growing up in the church, that concept was simple, yet I found it very complex to accept for myself. I had a hard time giving someone else the reins to steer my life. I did not like the sound of words like abandon, hand over, or entrust, all synonyms for surrender as found in Webster’s Thesaurus. These words scared me when it came to God. Why had it been so easy to give in to the devil, then? Because of the weakness in my relationship with God, I was extremely vulnerable to the wrong authority. That is what made the devil’s way so much easier – it took no work. At this third level of correction, though, I had to choose. Just as Matthew 6:24 explains, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.” It was time to choose, but I was confused and frustrated, buried deep in everything I had piled up all this time.

In the middle of my mess, I couldn’t see that by turning around and submitting to God I could be truly happy again. It took until December for me to realize that I had tired myself out beyond what I could handle alone. I was getting sick constantly, my grades were falling, and I had no passion for life anymore. I made my choice. God had proven that His authority would win out. Once I accepted this, God took me back to the halter, knowing that my friends would push me through to the end. It took one girl that I didn’t know very well reaching out to me for God to finally breakthrough. The week after Christmas break, she asked how things were, and something inside me forced me to be honest with her. I realized on my own there just was no turning back. I was in so far that the thought of getting out was overwhelming. My newest friend loved me unconditionally and challenged me to become who God has always desired me to be. On a Tuesday night in January, I finally broke down, repented, and surrendered my life back to God. The process God took me through was not desirable. In fact, I am not even sure why I kept going, except for that deep longing to be back in God’s love; but the results of that one choice have been incredible and strengthening. Because I knew the truth, I was responsible for it. As Josiah Charles Stamp said, “It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” I was held accountable for all the actions that I had known were wrong but still chose to engage in; but I was also overwhelmed with a peace and joy that can only come from the forgiving grace of our Lord. I had a new sense of hope. There were still things to work on, still are, and always will be; but I know that I can make it over the obstacles of life with His help. Dr. Hubbard states that, “Even when we lose sight of God, He is always there for us.” God was always there waiting for me to make my choice.

            When finished, Dream’s main discipline will be jumping. This means that he has to trust me wholeheartedly to make it over hundreds of obstacles successfully. Some of these obstacles are going to be scary, but he if he trusts me the way I trust God, nothing can stop us.

God used Dream to show me how He works with us. Now that I have surrendered to God, Dream and I are making remarkable progress. For both of us, learning the truth of surrender was frustrating and painful; but we are stronger now more than ever before. God’s relationship with His people has many parallels to the one between a trainer and their horses, and it is a relationship that God, the Master Trainer, is never going to give up on.

A Means for Support

Everyone has an inborn need to feel like they have someone behind them, pushing them forward and offering encouragement. Without it, many people, especially children, feel like it is just not worth it to try because no one sincerely cares. Unfortunately, there are a lot of children who do grow up feeling this way. I, however, was extremely blessed to have someone standing beside me to help me through all the ups and downs that come with life.

            A young girl, about six years old or so, stood at the end of a long gravel road, next to a fence. On the other side of the fence grazed a small, pinto pony with a sweet, white face. With eyes large and a smile as bright as the sun, the little girl exclaimed, “Mommy, look! The pony likes me!” Her mother smiled with glistening eyes. Finally, the day had come for her daughter to experience horses the way she had when she was a little girl. From that moment on, the little girl had a bond she would share not only with the pony, but her mother as well.

            You see, the mother had grown up with horses and ponies, and wished so much that she could pass that love on to her daughter. But living in the city had made that a challenge. Now, the little girl had her chance to discover what her mother saw in horses.

            The little girl was at her outset of horse camp for the first of many summers to come. Already, the girl had lost herself in the beauty and magnificence of the horses running through the pastures; and this enchantment would sweep the young princess off into an undying passion for the gentle giants.

            Years would follow that brought with them heartache and rough spots; but the little girl’s mother would not let her daughter forget how much she loved the horses. Every year, without fail, the young girl went to horse camp to continue living her dreams as a future cowgirl. She grew to love each horse at the stable, knowing them all by name and describing each horse’s personality to her mother when she came home from her adventures. Her mother, of course, was the driving factor behind her daughter’s dreams coming true. She was the one making sacrifices of her own in order for her daughter to enjoy one of the few things that brought her utterly pure joy in her disjointed life.

            A girl, about fifteen years old, stood at the end of a concrete aisle. The aisle was lined with wooden stalls, and she was looking inside the one on the end at a small figure curled up in the cedar shavings. Her eyes glimmered with overwhelming love and a twinkling smile graced her face with sweet compassion set in her cheeks. “Mommy!” she called. “I think he likes me!” Her mother smiled from the other end of the aisle with tears in her eyes. The day both she and her daughter had dreamed of since the first day of horse camp those ten years ago had finally come. Her daughter had a horse of her very own.

            As the girl looked toward her mother, the realization struck her, that without her mom, none of this ever would have happened. All those years of her mom bringing her to horse camp and helping her study everything she could get her hands on about horses had been the whole reason she even had this new baby horse.

            This realization led to many more in the years following as the girl had to care for her horse. Her mother had devoted everything to her: time, energy, love. Her mother had always been there, not just in the horse things, but in everything. When the girl had chosen to swim competitively, her mother was her number one fan, coming to all the meets and practices; paying for all the equipment and a pool membership; and pushing her to do her best. When the girl had found a natural talent for theater and music, her mother had made it possible for her to perform in school and community shows as well as cheered her on in her competitions. Later, when the girl’s theater involvement expanded into competitive public speaking, her mother stepped up to be her daughter’s speech coach, getting her to nationals three times in high school.

            At the time, the girl did not recognize the impact this had on her life. As the mother and daughter spent time together for all these activities, they began to grow close to one another. They were not longer just mother and daughter; they had become best friends, inseparable and unbreakable. Some of their best time was spent in the car on their way to the next competition or practice. They would talk about everything from school to horses, life’s problems to their relationships with God. One day while in the car, the conversation of which college the girl would go to came up. She had looked at several, but her mom kept pressing one.

            “Why don’t you just look at River Falls?” Her mom asked.

            “Because, they don’t have what I’m looking for.”

            “How do you know if you’ve never looked?”

            “I looked at it a little bit, and it just doesn’t seem right for me.”

            “Fine,” the mom responded, getting slightly exasperated. “You look where you want, but I still think it is a good choice.” And the conversation was over. That night, the girl did look at River Falls; and her mother was right. It was perfect, everything she had been looking for. All this time her mom had been proving that she had her daughter’s best interest in mind, and the girl had doubted her anyway. From then on, the girl knew her mom would always be there. This gave her so much comfort in knowing that even as she stepped out into college the next fall, there would still be someone back home pushing her through and encouraging her to continue chasing her dreams.

Psalm 23 - Paraphrased

 Based on Psalm 23 (MSG)

 ^1-3 My God, you’ve given me everything I need.

    You have been faithful to give me rest

        And revitalization anytime I need it.

    Like you promised, you lift the stress off my shoulders

        And tell me where to go next.

 ⁴ Even when my world is falling down around me,

       I feel safe in knowing you are there.

  Your loving arms wrap around me

       And my need for security is fulfilled.

 ⁵ You prosper my life abundantly

       In front of those who hate me,

       All for Your glory.

   You lift my head and wipe my tears,

      Assuring me I’ll be okay.

  I’m blessed so much I cannot contain it,

     Yet I don’t even know it!

 ⁶ You chase after me with your loving arms wide open,

      And still I hesitate to trust you enough to let you come near.

  Your love is so great and keeps me safe in your house forever,

     If I will just take that first step to enter.

The Power of Words

I’ve used drugs. Yes, I know, shocking right? But I have, and so have you. Everyone that has spoken a single word has used drugs. Rudyard Kipling claims that “Words are… the most powerful drug used by mankind.” Think about that for a second. If words are a drug, then they were originally meant to serve a good purpose; but they also have the ability to become corrupted and can ultimately ruin a life. Words have the power to either build a person up or completely defeat them.

            A pastor once told me that a lot of people who talk trash about other people are hurting and insecure themselves. Throwing insults and discouragements at other people, especially those they are jealous of, is a way that they make themselves feel better about their own flaws. However, what they do not realize is how their words stick with people for years. According to Nan S. Russell, “Words create impressions, images and expectations. Poorly chosen words can kill enthusiasm, impact self-esteem, lower expectations and hold people back.” Words can impact a life forever. James 3:6 in The Message version says, “It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” However, God also wants us to know that our words can have a positive impact on other people too.

             “Well chosen words can motivate, offer hope, create vision, impact thinking and alter results,” says Russell. St Teresa of Lisieux once said, “One word or a pleasing smile is often enough to raise up a saddened and wounded soul.” Whether a person remembers what you said to them, they will remember how you made them feel; and according to Maya Angelou, that is enough reason to speak encouraging words to others. When choosing the words you speak, remember that everyone you meet is God’s creation just as much as you are.
            Not only do your words impact others, but they impact your life just as much or maybe even more. An anonymous author once said that “When we encourage others, we increase our own Divine Qualitites.” Have you ever been writing a note to a friend, or talking with them about something they’re going through, and all of a sudden it’s like you’re not the one talking anymore? But once you listen to what you’ve said or read what you’ve written down, every word of it is something you needed to hear just as much? It is interesting how God works to say everything He needs to through His people.
            When I was younger, I was always the one on the receiving end of the people trying to make themselves look better by making me feel terrible. And for a while, I was just as bad as they were; I was hurting so bad from what they were saying to me that I did the same thing to other people; but my art was making up lies about them to make myself look better. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I truly realized God’s best for me and started listening to what He has to say instead of what others said. Although a lot of the things people said to me through the years have stuck with me until today, God has shown me a better way to combat the power their words carry in my life. God has blessed me with the gift of encouragement and has shown me that by encouraging others, you can make yourself feel better too. So instead of allowing the things people say hurt me forever, God has shown me how to let Him speak through me to give them a compliment or a word of encouragement. So many times this has come back to bless me even more in return than it blessed the person I said it to. Since God revealed this truth to me, I have allowed God to completely speak through me and have been encouraged so much by things that other say and that I say to others.
            Just a few weeks ago, there was a day at school when it seemed that everyone was giving compliments to everybody else. The whole atmosphere of the school was different, better, lighter. Everyone was in a good mood and God was speaking through people to touch others’ hearts. My friends and I called that day “Compliment Day.” Not only was I able to encourage others that day, but many people encouraged me. People were amazed at how great they felt, and so was I!
            Maybe you’ve been on the receiving end of someone’s inner pain coming out in their words to you.  Let me be the first to say, those words can dig into your heart forever; but allowing God to work things out can take what those words have done and shape you into what God desires you to be. Maybe you’re the one who has been tearing up people’s hearts with your words, whether you knew it or not. God can take what was meant for evil and turn it into good to use for His glory. In both cases, learning to allow God to encourage others through your words can do amazing things in people’s lives.
            Whichever side you come from, I challenge you to make everyday “Compliment Day” just as Hebrews 3:13 says. Honestly, there are going to be days that it seems almost impossible to say something encouraging to someone else when you’re feeling so down and out yourself; but you’ll be amazed at how refreshed you feel when you see how you’ve made someone’s day with what you said to them. Ephesians 4:29 in the New Living Translation commands that we “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” Imagine how great it would feel to know that you are helping to change a life little by little that has been so impacted by the power of words.

We’ve all used drugs, and use them everyday; but think of how you can reverse the side effects of those drugs. Words are powerful. They can either encourage or they can completely destroy. In the words of Colin Dunbar, “To encourage is one of the greatest things that you can do for someone.” So how are you going to use your words to impact the people around you?