Defining Success

We are a foolish people. I can't think of a better word for us considering what we put ourselves through. We have this wonderful heavenly Father who loves us beyond our imagining. He is so much on our side that everything else pales in comparison to his love and support. He has told us that he has plans for us; plans to build us up, not destroy us. He wants us to succeed on our spiritual walk, and he has told us that he uses everything we go through to benefit us so that nothing is a waste.

Yet, we are determined to destroy ourselves with worry, fear, anxiety, hopelessness, depression. We insist on fighting our "own" battles. We rarely check with Father about anything and then, when we do end up in trouble, we insist on telling him how to help us, refusing to accept anything else. We walk around with these perceptions of life and when they don't match up with Father's will we get angry at him; as if we get to tell him what to do.

We need a better glimpse of Father's heart for us:

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1)

What did Jesus say?

“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)

But don't miss this part. In fact, I suggest you underline it, commit it to memory, and remind yourself of it every day:

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance. (Isaiah 55:2)

Jesus asked the simple question:

 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:36)

As long as we try to live by the values, priorities and system of this world we will struggle with contentment and peace. When we accept that we belong to a different place, that Jesus is constantly present with us, and that Father is fully committed to our success, we will know peace and contentment.

Some of you are facing pressures at work, school and home to be great successes but the only success that matters for all eternity is your relationship with Jesus Christ. Make sure that you are living Father`s will and he will equip you to succeed at what he has called you to do. Insist on your own will and you will have to succeed in your own strength but it will come at a great cost. Jesus wants you to have life in great abundance. Learn to trust, obey and relax in him.

The Critical Spirit Is A Choice

There is never an excuse for criticism. Never.

Oh, we have our excuses. We all do. We get together with a friend or two and somehow we always get around to talking about someone, be it a friend, parent, church elder, pastor. Perhaps we don't mean to be mean and at first we don't think we are; but we are.

We can justify anything. We can say that we are just stating facts. We can say that we were just passing on information for prayer purposes, but if we are willing to be honest, we know the truth. We were criticizing or gossiping just because we can, just because it is easy to do; easier than lifting people up. What we say might be truth but just because criticism is truth does not mean we have the right to speak against someone.

It's called a critical spirit and it belongs to our old nature. The more we participate in it the more we are dragged back to our old nature. The more we participate in it the less we look like Jesus. The more we participate the more we become an agent of destruction.

A critical spirit demonstrates a lack of love and reveals our distance from Jesus. The fact is, the closer we are to Jesus the more grace we show, the more we encourage and lift up, the more we choose to look past the faults of others to see what Jesus sees.

The biggest lie is, "I just want them to be all they can be". Yeah, that's why we are talking behind their back instead of to their face. That's not concern, it's hatred, or at least a form of it, when we speak words to destroy someone.

I have participated in critical talk because it is an easy thing to do; it takes very little effort to find faults. But I have always been convicted of my actions and words. That is when we have a choice, to repent and draw close to Jesus, or ignore it and grow further apart. I have watched a lot of people with a critical spirit go from a beautiful Christian to an ugly mal-formed creature that no one wants to be around.

What would Jesus do? What did Jesus do? Did he choose to destroy or restore? I think every word he spoke and every action he took demonstrated he but others ahead of himself because his desire was for them to be made complete. What are you doing with your words my brothers and sisters? What are those words doing, bringing life or death?

Here is a verse that should give you some guidance in the matter:

What right do you have to criticize someone else’s servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right. (Romans 14:4, CEV)

As followers of Jesus our eyes are always on his example and our conviction is always from the Spirit. We are governed by the law of love which is Jesus. In every situation, every conversation, love must be the rule. Our words are to be seasoned with grace.

So when we get together with friends, refuse to go to that dark place. Bind that critical Spirit and make the choice to lift up instead of tear down. It's time to open the windows of our heart and allow a fresh wind to blow through, the wind of the Spirit. Renew your heart and mind in Christ, don't lie to yourself about this matter but instead be set free from the critical spirit.