You Can Hurt Yourself, If You Don't Have The Right Tools

You can HURT yourself, if you don't have the RIGHT TOOLS.

Yesterday, we had to replace the sump pump in our basement. Today, I also had to switch out a silencer valve on the pipe that leads from the pump to the outside. Not a huge project, but definitely one you want to have the right tools for.

I started off trying to use a flat head screwdriver to tighten the clamps. The end of the screwdriver slipped and gashed my finger a little bit. Not a big deal, but it definitely hurt. So, I grabbed my powered screw gun, & a socket that would fit, & finished tightening the clamps. Pefecto! Job completed & all is well.

Having the RIGHT TOOLS for the job & even life can save you a lot of pain & hurt.

God has given us His WORD. The BIBLE. It is relevant for today & will survive long after culture shifts "again." I began to think about how The Word of God gives us every available tool, to not only function in health in this life, but to prepare for the life to come in ETERNITY.

PARENTS, are you using the tool of God's Word to shape your children's faith? Or, are you allowing culture to shape them?

Truthfully, our children will pick up the trends & mindsets of this world, because we are in this world. That's why it is so important to shape their faith with the TRUTH of God's Word.

The Bible is unchanging, infallible & cannot be rewritten, regardless of time or culture.

2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

Are you allowing the world to dictate your beliefs? 
Are you allowing culture to dictate your beliefs?

Today, there is an attempt to subjugate moral issues, that the Scriptures are clear on, concerning HOMOSEXUALITY, ABORTION, FORNICATION, ADDICTIONS & more.

God has given us the TOOLS we need to live in FREEDOM of every sin that tempts us. We must embrace His Word, as the tool needed and model this before our children.

We do not have the luxury of allowing the culture to shape our children's truth. THE TRUTH HAS ALREADY BEEN ESTABLISHED.

2 Peter 1:20-21 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

I shared earlier today, "Some people reject the BIBLE because they say it contradicts itself. But the real issue is that the BIBLE contradicts their choices!" (http://bit.ly/2KXMfkD)

Using the right tools can save you from unnecessary pain.

I'm praying for every parent, to hold The Scriptures as the standard. Everything else is a frail attempt to justify lifestyles that are in violation with The Word of God.

I'm not sharing anything new. The Word of God existed long before me...so it's not "Russell's" word...it's GOD'S WORD that I declare. It needs no defense & it's not even open for debate. It's already settled.

Allow the Grace of God to lead you deeper into The Scriptures, where you will find relevant answers for your faith, family & future.

#ROOM
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If God Allowed It, God Will Use It

Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice."

Paul was in prison when he wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord always." AROUND him was the cruelty of men, but WITHIN him was the Kingdom of God.  How is such joy possible?  Paul gives us the key: "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).  Child of God, there are things we see that the world doesn't.

Paul was saying, "You can lock me up, but you can't keep me in.  Outside these bars Caesar rules, but in here Jesus is Lord, and when my assignment is complete, I'm out of here. Go ahead, take your best shot.  Beat me, imprison me, lie on me, false accuse me, behead me, but one second after the axe falls I'll be more alive than I am now."

There's nothing you can do to a man like that.
He's beyond your reach.

Paul was saying, "This is the best it will ever be for you, but you ought to see where I'm going!"

"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved  we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Corinthians 5:1).

That's a God-altered perspective!

When you praise God, not because of what you FEEL, but because of what you KNOW, you'll have joy that transcends anything that comes against you!

Sometimes you don't FEEL like praising God.  However, we don't live by FEELINGS...we live by FAITH.

• You won't always FEEL like loving people.
• You won't always FEEL like forgiving people.
• You won't always FEEL like praising God.

I think of JOSEPH (one of my hero's) and the great injustice that was done to him.  He chose to FORGIVE a great WRONG...and likewise we are to do the same.  Is it easy?  NO!  But if God has forgiven us...we have the responsibility to forgive others too.

1. His brothers had DRIVEN him AWAY; he calls them to come near. (Genesis 45:4)
2. His brothers had LEFT him without comfort or home; he encourages his brothers and comforts them. (Genesis 45:5)
3. His brothers had been willing to ALLOW HIM TO DIE of starvation and thirst in a pit; he gave them provision for their trip home to Canaan. (Genesis 45:21)
4. His brothers SENT HIM AWAY on the back of a mangy camel; he sends them home on fine Egyptian carts. (Genesis 45:21)
5. His brothers had RIPPED THE COAT of many colors off his back; he gives them the expensive garments of Egypt. (Genesis 45:22)
6. His brothers SOLD HIM FOR SILVER; Joseph gives them silver for their trip. (Genesis 45:22)

For Joseph to do this...is a picture of GRACE.

Have you ever been hurt by someone?

Have you ever been offended?

Have there been times when people have wronged you?

What do you do when that happens in your life?

We have the example of Joseph.  He forgave his brothers.  We also have the example of Jesus. When He was hanging on the cross, about to die for sin, as the religious leaders and the crowds passed by mocking Him, He prayed for their forgiveness.

When we are wronged, and it WILL happen, we are to forgive to the same extent that we have been forgiven.  In fact, we are to go the extra mile in our forgiveness of others.  That is not an easy requirement, but it is the will of God for our lives, and it is the only attitude that pleases God.

The key is to return "good for evil." (Romans 12:17-21; Matthew 5:44-48)

How could Joseph forgive his brothers like he did?  Joseph could forgive because...

• He could see the hand of God in everything that happened to him.
• He knew that God was behind every disruption in his life.
• He knew that even his brothers sins against him were part of God's plan for his life.

If you and I are going to get past the hurts we experience, we must adopt the same attitude. If something takes place in your life or mine, it does so only because God gave it PERMISSION to occur.  He is behind every single event that takes place, even the HURTS we experience.  

If He has allowed it...then He will use it for my good and His glory in His time.  My responsibility is to accept the things that come my way and trust Him to work out His will through it.  If I can see His hand in the hurts I experience, it will make the hurt easier to bear.