I was hanging around with my family a few nights ago. My granddaughters were playing with each other. Emma is 3, and Greta is almost 2. Greta loves Emma so much. She gets so excited when they get to play together. I went to Greta’s room to see what they were doing, and see if I could play too! I enjoy being a part of their lives.

They were busy cooking in Greta’s play kitchen. They were serving each other pretend tea. I knocked and asked if I could play too. Greta came over and pushed me out the door and said “home”. She then closed the door on me. I laughed hysterically at this small person having such a strong opinion. She wanted to play with Emma, and I was in the way.

In reality, I didn’t even care if I played. I had things to do and other family members to interact with. I enjoy them so much I just wanted to be there. I wanted to participate in the fun even if only by observation, but Greta had other plans.
She loves me, and I know it. I just wasn’t fitting into the fun she had planned with her cousin. She had her sights on one love, and it wasn’t me at the moment.

Of course, this has not discouraged me or caused damage to my relationship with my granddaughter. I understand she is young and immature. It was not out of malice or meanness. She made her choice based on a quick and childish thought.

As I reflected on the situation, (mostly laughing at this small person pushing me out the door and closing it), I realized this little girl is so much like me. I see how immature and childish my response is to Jesus wanting to hang out with me. He doesn’t want anything from me but to spend time with me. He enjoys me enjoying life. The Creator of the universe wants to hang out while I make tea.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20, ESV). I realized that my immaturity and one track mind keep Jesus out at times. I can act just like a stubborn toddler.

But Jesus laughs. Jesus is happy with or without me. He laughs and enjoys whether I let Him in or not. He is not furious or angry at me. He knows I love him. He knows that I get sidetracked. I could open the door at any moment and run into his waiting arms. He still loves me.

He knows that sometimes I make choices quickly without thinking and they can be childish. I am still a beloved child, and he still desires to come in. It doesn’t damage my relationship with him.

He waits outside the door knocking and asking to be allowed in. He could burst through the door and force his presence on me. He doesn’t. He loves me too much. He wants me to grow in my relationship with him so that I desire to have him involved in my moments and days.

Keep knocking Lord, reminding me that you are there and soften my heart so I willingly open to you. And thank you for Greta and Emma and the lessons I am learning from them.

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5, ESV)

Examine yourself. These are words often used in the church today. As believers, we have a desire to do what is right and honorable. But complications arise when we become overly introspective. We comprehend a need to examine our hearts and minds. We earnestly search for sin that needs to be confessed and cleansed by God. We know, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Because we are aware of our sinful condition, we know we should examine ourselves. But introspection can become a problem.

But Jesus never talked about searching our hearts. He never said, examine yourselves. If Jesus didn’t put a strong emphasis on self-examination, why do we? Soul searching for the purposes of exposing sin or shortcomings is spoken of only infrequently in the New Testament. Why do so many of us engage incessantly in this practice? I think our motives may be wrong. Just like the Pharisees who tested and examined everyone and everything, I think we may have some issues that need to be addressed.

First, we like to think we are in control. If we find something wrong, we can change it. This gives us the idea that we can manage and change the outcome the next time. The truth is, we are not in control. God is in charge. We will have trouble in this world. No amount of self discovery or sinlessness will prevent it. But we can have victory by trusting and depending on Jesus (John 16:33).

Next, we like to think we are knowledgeable. If we study the Bible enough, we think we can know enough to win the game of life. But we cannot use Bible study and unhealthy examination as a works orientated means to gain control over sinful situations. Jesus made this clear to the Pharisees. He said that life does not come from the scripture, but they point to the One who gives life (John 5:39-40). It isn’t what we know. It is who we know. Who’s your daddy?

One more reason we tend to reflect on ourselves in an unhealthy way is our tendency toward self-sufficiency. Jesus said abide in Him (John 15:5). Without the life of God flowing through us, we are dead sticks that need to be pruned and thrown into the fire. We need to look to Jesus for the power and strength to stand firm in the face of the enemy. We need to let his strength empower us when our energy and stamina dwindle. We need his love to pour forth when we are pushed to the brink of hatred and destruction. Jesus living in us is the key. We are not self-sufficient.

The verse above directs us to examine our hearts. Examine to see if you are walking in faith. It does not teach us to examine for imperfections, but rather to see if we are living by faith. We will not defeat the enemy by distressing over every shortcoming, imperfection, and sin that plagues our hearts and minds. To stand firm against the power of evil in the world, we need to depend solely on Jesus.

We need to let go of perfectionism, control and self-sufficiency and hold on to Jesus alone. We want to do more than just follow the rules of Jesus or just gain knowledge about Him. We want to know Him. We want to enjoy Him. We want to live with Him. We need to grab our Lord, the Lover of our soul and hold on to Him for dear life. For that is what’s at stake. It is a life and death struggle.

Remember, no amount of self-introspection can provide life, strength, and power. Life, strength, and power are gifts from our Friend and King, Jesus. When you examine yourself do it to see that you are walking in faith, trusting completely on the Lord.

Thank you Jesus. I am glad that it is not my job to figure out everything that is right or wrong about me and try to fix it. I know that by faith, I can trust you to change me and conform me to your likeness. I also trust that you will reveal issues to me as they need to be addressed. Let me rest in you by faith. Forgive me for thinking that I can conform to your standards well enough to fix or control my life. My life is yours. You are in control and you will do a good work in me (Phil 1:6).

In the last blog, I discussed how our enemies use the Bible to manipulate. One of the ways to recognize the manipulators is to look at their life. Do they speak the Word of Truth but live a lie? Are their words supposedly life affirming, but their habits are destructive causing death of hope, joy and peace? Do they claim to speak for God, but live like the devil? If you answer yes to these questions, they are a spiritual abuser and should not be trusted.

What if the reverse is true? What if we take God’s Word out of context for our benefit? It is possible for each one of us to become the spiritual manipulator. It is so easy to take the Word of God out of context and use it for our ends and purposes. It is essential that we follow the instructions that Paul gave to Timothy. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV).

The sad reality is if we manipulate the truth for our purposes we are siding with the devil himself. We are using the tactics of the enemy of our soul when we wrongly handle the word of truth. When we do this, we choose to allow pride and selfishness to rule rather than the Spirit. This opens the doorway for sin to rule in our lives.

We must respect the Word of God. Are we truly saying what God would have said in that particular situation, time and place? This is not a light matter. When we use Biblical truth to speak to others, we are speaking as an ambassador of Christ. Are we representing him accurately and honorably, or are we sinfully misrepresenting the Almighty?

Many times Christians speak Biblical Truth, but not at appropriate times. This is a form of manipulation. “It is better to give than to receive” can be used to guilt people into donating into someone’s pet projects. “Do not forsake assembling together”, can coerce others into coming to church activities. “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” can manipulate people into buying health products from “well meaning” friends.

It is vital that we know what the Bible truly teaches so we can stand opposed to manipulators. It is crucial to know the Word, so we don’t give a false representation of our God. Even Jesus was careful to say only what the Father wanted him to say. “And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me” (John 12:50, NRSV).

Let us handle God’s Word carefully and accurately. Let us study, so we know the truth and will not be easily confused. Let us carefully weigh our words and speak just what the Father tells us to speak. Let us be like Jesus.

“Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”” (Matthew 4:5–6, ESV)

The devil spoke the words of God, to God, in order to manipulate the situation. I found this idea intriguing and have been meditating on this for days. I am not unaware that false teachers manipulate God’s Word. I am not so naïve that I believe every time you here a Bible verse you should trust the speaker. But I realized that the devil has manipulated me, and it has worked.

I had been manipulated by God’s Word. Someone close to me used it to control me. They knew my passion for Jesus, and they carefully interspersed discussions and arguments with partial truth. It thoroughly confused me. The verses seemed to fit the context of our situation. They were actually from the Bible. But deep down I felt that they were wrong, but I was not able to pinpoint the discrepancies.

I called a trusted friend on one occasion, and she helped me see the fallibility of the arguments. She used God’s Word in context. She pointed out Scriptural truths and patterns that debunked the strange ideology that was being used to control me. I realized then that the way to combat the lies was to stand firm in the truth. This is what Jesus did.

He did not dispute or argue about the Scripture that the devil had recited. Jesus didn’t disagree with the Word of God. Rather, Jesus knew God’s Word so well that he was able to apply it accurately and appropriately to the circumstances at hand. Jesus’ technique stopped the devil in his tracks. Jesus knew that if you “resist the devil, he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Jesus resisted by abiding in the truth.

If I am to stand firm in the truth and not be swayed by those that would manipulate, then I must know the truth. I need to read and study the Word of God. I need to be wise in the ways of the Lord. I must combat the misrepresentation of God’s will and plan with truth and wisdom. I can only do this if I am in on the plan. Thankfully the plan is laid out for me in the Bible.

I know from this passage that the Word of God (and the wisdom found in it) is the key to defeating the enemy. We do not have to be caught unaware. We can study specific passages to combat our weaknesses. We can get prepared for the enemy’s taunts by memorization. We can face the manipulative attacks with power, the power of the Truth of God.

I want to stand firm like Jesus, so I will hold fast to the Word of Truth. That is where I will find the power I need. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Dear Friends,
I am sorry that the new content on my site has been lacking. I have been busy editing my new book! It is called, Blogs From a Desert Place, a Devotional. It will be available at the end of this month on Kindle. Watch for the free promotion that will be available as I launch this new material. Below you will find a chapter from the book. I hope you enjoy.

“Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!” (Psalm 96:1)

I want to learn new songs to sing, songs that please God. This will require some changes. I will have to quit singing the old songs. I will have to find new reasons to sing. My old habits will have to be changed because they did not lead to happy music.

I have spent too much of my time singing the blues about the economy. How much more content I will be when I learn to sing praises to the God who provides. “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1Timothy 6:17). Yes, I want to sing about everything I enjoy and about the One who gifts me with blessing after blessing.

Instead of singing angst ridden ballads over lost relationships, I think I will sing of my eternal love relationship with the living God. “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:5). To fix my heart and thoughts on my True Love will fill me with eternal songs of unspeakable joy.

It won’t be easy, but my angry refrain bemoaning the misrepresentation of our elected officials needs to stop. Alternatively, I must worship the King who reigns. “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (Psalm 47:7-8). A song about God reigning is a declaration of peace, happiness and salvation (Isaiah 52:7). This is a song I want the whole world to know.

My constant dirge to the death of my days and years and my wailing and crying over the busyness of life needs to stop. I will choose to praise God for opportunities to show his grace, for opportunities to give my time as a sacrifice to God. I will be humming and whistling my new song in the moments, knowing he is using my gifts and talents for eternal purposes. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). Giving gifts prompts a happy tune that will be my constant companion as I give myself for the purposes of my Creator.

Lord remind me of these new songs. Let your word fill my heart and mind with bright and cheerful songs, filled with praise and joy. I pray that the lyrics will be deep and rich because the basis for the song is your unfathomable love. Let the music bubble up like a fountain from the depths of my soul as your Spirit fills my soul with endless wonder and joy.