Just as an apple seed produces an apple tree, which in turn produces apples, the seed of God is meant to produce children of God, who should then manifest the character of God to the world around them. This is ultimately what the fruit of the Holy Spirit (i.e. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness) is all about. The scripture tells us that He has destined us to be transformed into His image (2Cor. 3:18); thus, bearing this fruit is really not meant to be optional. In fact, the gospel of John (chapter 15) speaks of a rather dire fate for branches that don’t produce any fruit.
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged bearing fruit, character of God, children of God, fruit of the Spirit, Holy Spirit | Leave a Comment »
Religion has a tendency to make the person of God seem distant, and to add unnecessary complexity to our walk with Him; while the scripture indicates that He has fashioned everything so that any lost child can find Him. If we are not careful, zealousness for our particular brand of religious practice can lead us into the same trap that the Pharisee’s fell into (Matt 23:13-39). Though they considered themselves to be the dutiful guardians of pure doctrine, Jesus described them as, “whitewashed tombs”, who make a big effort to keep up appearances, but who are inwardly corrupt (Matt 23:27). He not only rebuked them for their hypocrisy, but also for blocking the way for others who wish to come to Him (Matt 23:13).
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged hypocrisy, Pharisee, pure doctrine, religion, religious practice, zealousness | Leave a Comment »
On this side of eternity, there is a battle that goes on every day of our lives, and if we do not discern it, we can quietly live an existence of turmoil and defeat. It begins with our first thought of the day, which sets the tone for everything that follows it. And while the objective of this war is ultimately the fidelity of our hearts, the battle itself is most commonly waged upon the fertile ground of our minds. Even if the enemy never successfully wrestles away our allegiance, succumbing to this daily struggle can drastically impact the fruit produced by our lives. When Jesus spoke of the greatest commandment, He not only told us to love God with all of our heart and soul, He instructed us to love Him with “all” of our mind. But what does that really look like?
First and foremost, our journey with God must begin with a change of mind, which is commonly referred to within the scripture as “repentance”. The book of Proverbs says that as a man thinks, so is he (23:7); therefore, when we surrender our lives to the Lord, our ways of thinking must also be placed on the altar. We can no longer be conformed to the patterns of this world, and we need to allow ourselves to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2). It is not simply resisting “evil” thoughts, and having “good” ones. The Apostle Paul warns that those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. He adds that the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace (Rom 8:5). Similarly, the book of James (1:8) warns us that we cannot have it both ways, as a double-minded man is unstable in everything he does.
While those words are clearly ripe with implication, how to apply them may not always be obvious. Thankfully, the scripture gets very practical on this matter. It tells us that we shouldn’t allow our minds to be consumed with earthly things (Phil 3:19, Col 3:2), or to let our hearts be troubled or afraid (John 14:27), or even to worry about tomorrow (Matt 6:34). It says that because “seen” things (i.e. natural) are perishing, we need to stay focused on “unseen” things (i.e. spiritual), which are eternal (2Cor. 4:18); and that we need to fix our attention on the person of Jesus Christ (Heb. 12:2). In a more general way, it tells us to look for those things which are noble, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable, and praiseworthy; and to set our minds on them (Phil 4:8).
The Bible acknowledges that all of this won’t come easy. While it concedes that we will have to take “every thought captive”, it also assures us that through the power of God’s Spirit, we can demolish every argument and pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of who He is (2 Cor. 10:5), and that by carrying our concerns to Him in prayer, we can experience a peace that will further guard our hearts and minds (Phil 4:6-7).
This picture stands in stark contrast to the paradigm of our culture, which encourages us to open our minds (including our imaginations) to every possibility, and to lend equal weight to every viewpoint. The scripture warns us to “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition, and the elemental spiritual forces of this world, rather than on Christ (Col. 2:8)”. But that guidance is challenging, especially in an age when our senses are relentlessly bombarded with images, ideas, opinions agendas… Readily drinking these things into our soul is akin to swallowing untreated water from the river; it is bound to make our hearts and minds sick.
I would suggest that upon hearing news of break-ins around our neighborhood, most of us would consider taking additional steps toward keeping our home secure. And so it should be with our minds. If we consistently battle anxious thoughts, or find ourselves mired in the hurts of the past, or are consumed with fear about what the future holds, or recognize that our outlook has become overwhelmingly negative, or are filled with animosity toward other people, or catch ourselves wondering whether God & His promises are even real, maybe it’s time to call on the Holy Spirit and to invite Him to become the new filtration system for what flows in and out of our minds.
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions | Tagged animosity toward others, anxious thoughts, battlefield of the mind, change of mind, deceptive philosophy, double minded, fear of the future, hurts of the past, repentance, spiritual battle, take every thought captive | 1 Comment »
There is a rather significant difference between getting older and growing up. It is similar to the contrast between voluntary and involuntary muscles.
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Complaining is like singing a praise song to the enemy of our soul.
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged complaining, enemy of our soul | Leave a Comment »
· You choose to pick your battles, as opposed to reacting to every little situation.
· You become less concerned with what is popular, and more concerned about what is right.
· You recognize that boundaries are meant for protection, and not as a barrier to the good stuff.
· You become less concerned with quantity, and more concerned with quality.
· You spend more time focusing on the big picture, and less time worrying about minor issues.
· You become less concerned with your own well-being, and more concerned with the welfare of others.
· You stop feeling the need to push your way to the front of every line.
· You become less impressed by people’s accomplishments, and place a greater value on their character.
· You find yourself being more driven by what needs to be done than by how you feel about it.
· You spend more time being grateful for what you have than you spend worrying about what you don’t.
Posted in Commentaries, Lists, Opinions | Tagged big picture, boundaries, character, grateful, maturing, picking your battles | Leave a Comment »
There is a rather significant difference between forgiveness and trust. Forgiveness is simply a matter of releasing a transgressor from their debt. But when trust has been violated and thereby lost, it takes substantially more to rebuild a relationship. Transgressors are fond of thinking that if they’ve truly been forgiven, everything will return to the way it was, but that is not true. While God does command us to forgive, He does not require us to place our trust in those who have proven to be unworthy of it.
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Time has no conscience. It is indifferent to our lack of preparation, our confusion, our fear, and our pain. It will not stop for us when we stumble, and it will not slow for us when we fall behind. It is unrelenting, unforgiving and unrepentant.
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged confusion, fear, indifference, indifferent, pain, time, unforgiving, unrelenting, unrepentant | Leave a Comment »
Bjcorbin's Blog 
Thought for the Day – Feeling Worthless
February 23, 2016 by bjcorbin
This morning, I was scrolling through our Facebook news feed, looking for a post from my kid’s school principal, when a couple of items caught my eye. The first one was from a female, who’s name I didn’t recognize, and it said something about not feeling beautiful enough. I assumed that this was probably from a girl my kids go to school with, and I thought about how sad it was that she would feel this way about herself. As a man with a mom, a sister, a wife and daughters, I know far too many women who battle self-image issues, and I hate the messages that our culture sends to them. Unfortunately, without knowing this girl, there wasn’t really anything I could say, so I said a little prayer and moved on.
Further down the news feed I encountered another post, from this same person, that said that she felt “worthless”, and a sense of urgency began to well up in me. I couldn’t help but conclude that this girl was crying out for help, and I wondered if she had anyone in her life who was looking out for her well-being. When I checked to see if anyone had commented on her status, I noticed that 4 people had “liked” the post, and that really confused me. What exactly does “liking” that status mean. Is it, “Yeah, I feel worthless too”, or “Yeah, you are worthless”, or “I like that you’re feeling worthless”, or was it something else? Of all the responses I could have to that message, hitting the “like” button seemed to be the last thing I would consider.
Not knowing what to do, I tried to write some words of encouragement to this person. Of course, I realize that flowery words from a complete stranger may not make much of a difference, but I couldn’t bring myself to do nothing. After I hit “Post”, I thought of some other things I meant to say, so I’ve revised that message below. And while it was originally written with this hurting girl in mind, I offer it to anyone who is struggling to see the beauty and value of who they were made to be.
One night, long ago, your Creator was stirred in His heart, and that stirring became His inspiration to create you. He formed you with His very own hands, and with painstaking detail He fashioned your heart. There is nothing about your being that is a mistake or an oversight; each part of you was created with intent and purpose. Who you were made to be is not just the accumulation of past experiences, good or bad. You were made to be a reflection of the heart of your Creator, and as such, there is something of Him that is uniquely revealed in you. His light and life can show through you in a way that can be expressed by no other creation. If you do not become who He made you to be, there is an aspect of Him that the world might never see. You are a one of a kind, unique across all of time, and irreplaceable. When He was done forming you, He sat back and admired His work. He still does. He knit you together in your mother’s womb; He created your inner most being; all the days ordained for you were written in His book, before one of them came to pass. You are His workmanship. Only He knows the real you, and it is only through Him that we can come to understand who we were made to be. He yearns for you to find all the good things that He wove into your being; He yearns for you to know the truth about you, and about Him. You are significant because you were made in His image, and He’s destined you to return to Him.
If you will let Him, He will touch others through you. There may well be people in your future who will need your help in order to reach their destiny. You may be their lifeline at some point. Don’t let today’s discouragement keep you from arriving at that moment. God has plans for you – plans to give you hope and a future!
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Posted in Commentaries, Heart of "The Father", Opinions, Social / Political, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged feeling worthless, His workmanship, like my status, made in God's image, self image | 1 Comment »