Choices, Choices

In an imperfect world, having conflict is a given. Life is an educational time given to us to acquire the skills our Lord will need from us in His kingdom. We're not there yet, so what do we do in the meantime?

The reality of living in the here and now is dealing with the frustration and anger which pressures us to act, mostly without the illumination of knowing the end results of our actions. The passionate feelings driving us to distraction come from not understanding or being in control of what it is that we face. Conflict happens when events and the resulting negative emotions have escaped our limited ability to restrain them. Conflict is an opportunity to choose between many possibilities in an effort to alleviate the situation. If we haven't learned anything when it's over, then we've suffered in vain.

What are some things we can try during a disagreement? It's good to think of them ahead of time and remember to use them during arguments. Our reasoning ability escapes us during times of turmoil. (We don't think very well when we're mad!)

1. There's always (figuratively speaking)murder and mayhem (violence). Don't all of us have times that we enjoy the entertainment of considering it (just temporarily) as a possible solution? (If this type of solution seems reasonable to you during an argument, TURN AND WALK AWAY!) Sigh! Jesus said to be good to those who are mean to you. Maybe it's because he knew before the rest of us that violence is only a temporary solution, that it doesn't actually teach anybody anything. It actually continues or worsens the emotional and physical situation.

2. Name calling seems like a good way to express frustration (and is practically involuntary). I mean, you're not actually hurting anybody, are you? Yet Jesus said that calling your brother a fool puts you in danger of hellfire. How could he be so unreasonable? After all, isn't your brother not listening to you? Yet someone has to make the sacrifices of righteousness and be the one to start listening. So then you wind up thinking through your trashy attitude and his also. (Lord help us) what did you learn from all that? (That maybe your brother has a good point?)

3. Then there is my own area of expertise: stubborness. Who can possibly argue (or conflict) with someone who refuses to engage (intellectually or otherwise)? An intransigent character is nothing if not implacable, cold, and immoveable. We just outwait the drama experts. As far as I'm concerned, stubborness is highly underrated as a coping mechanism. I like to think of it as integrity with a bad rap. Yet, how can someone who refuses to discuss an item of concern possibly learn anything new about it? Learning involves changing and I have a huge quotation(that I copied) on my fridge from Dr. Laura Schlessinger saying how stupid we are to be so afraid of change.

4. Strange as it may seem, I have not yet exhausted the possible responses to another's anger. There is one more. We can thank the good Lord for a learning opportunity, or the chance to further His kingdom by being an exhibition of Christ's character. While we are thanking Him, we should be praying for His will to be done (while also fervently requesting that he make us premier students of whatever the situation is supposed to be teaching us: To get it over with). The miracles that happen as a result of this type of response are rewarding to see.

Disclaimer: Added so that readers will not feel that I am a proponent of violence. I view violence as the refuge of the intellectually challenged.

Look Up!

If you see someone on a street corner holding a sign saying, “Jesus is Coming!” do you think, automatically, that the person is crazy? This rebel is infringing on the comfort zone of those satisfied with things the way they are. The urgency of the message of the imminent return of our Lord is more important than our plans of pot roast for dinner!

The political and economic tides of the world are changing. Believers can examine and recognize the shape of events today as what was foreseen by the prophets. We know that the coming of our Lord is near! The corporate focus of the body of Christ has shifted upward. Can you feel it in the air? Can you see it in the streets? The days of Noah have returned. Our time is short. Our work is pressing. Jesus stands at the door. His hand is on the knob, just waiting for a word from the Father.

Will you be united with me, in prayer and fasting, to seek God for His return? Let us align ourselves with His will, to accomplish what He has purposed in us. Let us seek His face, that we might understand. Let our call go up, for we have need of Him. (See Isaiah 62:6 & 7)

A prayer for Jacob
Lord Jesus
Show mercy and compassion to those who You have claimed for Your own so that they can become aware of the depths of their poverty. They are desolate and deprived without You, yet continue on, oblivious to their own condition. Restore Your people to Your favor by teaching them their folly so that they can repent.

I am struck down, incapacitated with longing for Your person. I am orphaned and have no life to live. My emptiness cries out for the presence of the living God, for Your beauty is terrible in it’s thundering power! Yet You lovingly restrain Yourself to gentleness.

When is the time of Your appearing to deliver Your people? For when will our joy overflow but when that day comes when we shall see Your face? Make haste to come to us so that our joy may be complete!

Blessed Hope

Bad things happen all the time.
Sweeping changes bring a flood of fear of more to come.
The world economy is reeling, staggering like a drunkard.
Those who love violence surround us.
They do not tire of plotting evil continuously.
Your people seek relief; They look up to watch for Your face.
We remember Your promises to us; to deliver us.
Great is the hope we have in You!
Wonderful are the promises gifted to us!
Those who trust in You have this faith;
Your glory revealed in us!
Your justice will shine out like the sun!
No longer will the forsaken and rejected weep in dark corners,
For You will be there to comfort them.
There is no more exalted hope than this,
that Love Itself should dwell with us.

Freedom Proclamation

One of the greatest challenges in life is facing the consequences of our mistakes. To avoid dealing with the emotional devastation of confronting our problems, we go to extremes. We build walls and enact ritual self abuse time and again to sidestep the work and pain of grieving. It’s easier to live in denial. All of us can see the results of maladaptive coping mechanisms in others, but have more difficulty recognizing them in ourselves. We can see enough to assess blame for difficulties, but assign it to others, not to ourselves. We become isolated inside our thought patterns and keep repeating defeatist thinking. Without help, the misery can become unbearable. Thus the saying, “Most people live lives of quiet desperation.”

Try approaching problems from a different angle. Failure can be thought of as a good thing: It is simply part of the learning process. Find out what works and discard what doesn’t. Live in reality instead of fantasy. One way to progress in faith and learn more of how God works in our lives is to keep a prayer journal. It is used to keep track of the requests that we put in His keeping, and later can be reviewed to record God’s answers! A person keeping this type of journal will not have to cover the same ground time after time, but will see that God always answers prayer. The journal will then become a journal of praise also!

Another snare busting approach is to listen to Jesus’ advice. “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 18:3. Being childlike can be applied to our lives in the following way. A child knows nothing of what can or cannot be accomplished. He brings no preconceived ideas of the way things work to his efforts. He has no defense mechanisms with which to avoid reality, no prepackaged issues to color his perceptions. (He sees through mauve colored glasses.) He feels he can complete whatever he starts out to do because he has no experiences to tell him that he cannot. Defeatist attitudes have not yet developed and hardened into procedure. He just wants to see what will happen. He knows that he will not LEARN if he does not DO. In faith, begin again like there is a clean slate. We are free in Christ. All things become blessing when redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Our final destination, heaven, works backwards.