DON'T do it!

Recently, I wrote about Just Do It!. It helped me put some perspective into what has been going on in my life and the lives of family members. However, as I wrote that and more recently, I have thought of the flip side of Just Do It, which is DON'T do it!

There are times in life when just do it is NOT the answer. For an extreme example, someone is standing on a ledge obviously thinking of jumping a great distance resulting (more than likely) in their death. In that situation, telling them to just do it would be very inappropriate. 

There are times in life where someone else (or maybe even us) is not on an actual ledge but definitely heading in the wrong direction. We feel we should warn them, but many people when you tell them what to do...they want to do the opposite. Telling someone (or ourselves) don't do it, even if it is for safety reasons can backfire. That should not keep us from speaking up though when necessary. This is probably how interventions start!

Then there are the times we need to tell ourselves don't do it. Maybe it is something kind of easy like just not having a second handful of peanut m&ms (yummm, oh wait, I digress). The more we want it, the harder it is to not do it. It's called temptation. 

Tempt: to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain Temptation: the act of being tempted

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

It is difficult to watch someone, especially those close to us, do things that we know are not good for them. That is when we need to maybe tell them once (or 2x), then back off, pray and let God handle the rest. We need to realize most of the time don't do it is not to cramp anyone's style. It is to keep them from harming themselves or others.

The Bible is full of don'ts. We can take that one of 2 ways. God is being restrictive and doesn't want us to have ANY fun OR God is providing boundaries that will keep us safe and keep us from self-destructing. Honestly, when left to our own devices? Most of us would do it and forget the consequences.

Genesis 3:22-23 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 

Do it! Don't do it! Choose wisely.

Molehills and Mountains

Soon and very soon....Spring will be here.  Spring brings bright skies, leaves on the trees, green grass....and molehills.  Little (or bigger) mounds of dirt that show the little buggers are underground digging their tunnels.  The hills are the visual signs of the work beneath the surface.  Per Wikipedia: They (molehills) are often the only sign to indicate the presence of the animal.

I find that interesting.  We know moles are there.  However we don't always think about them....until they get busy and we see the results of their work.  Sounds like someone else I know!  As SNL's Dana Carvey's church lady used to say, "Oh I don't know boys and girls....S A T A N? 

Moles like the dark.  The devil does his best work in the dark.  Moles dig and dig and love the dirt.  The devil digs up whatever he can use against us to try and get us to focus on the mess he's making.  If we focus on the mess, we don't continue to move toward the mountain.  We can stomp on molehills.  We were given the authority to stomp on the devil. (Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”) 

In our lives though?  Molehills know no season.  They will pop up at the most inopportune moments.  Sometimes we can get so busy taking care of the molehills, we forget we were on our way to the mountain.  Pray and stomp (think Whack-A-Mole!), but DON'T STOP!

Psalm 121:1-3 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? ² My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. ³ He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber

God /Jesus do a lot of work on mountains.  God met with Moses on a mountain. (Exodus 19)  He passed by Elijah on a mountain. (1st Kings 19)  Jesus taught the people.  He went up the mountain to rest and pray.

When you start heading to the mountain, you can be sure that the molehills will start to pop up.  The molehills will attempt to keep you occupied and busy so you don't continue the journey.  You might get weary trying to stomp the molehills and give up the journey. 

However, PRESS ON and climb!!!  God promises that when we seek....we find.  (Matthew 7)

Micah 4:1 In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills,and peoples will stream to it.

Pray anyway......

I have had this thought lately that I read about prayer, talk about prayer, even write about prayer....but when it comes right down to it....I don't actually pray a lot. Oh sure, little sentence prayers as something comes up or I say someone will be in my prayers, but a REAL conversation like I'd have with a friend? It's been awhile.

I have come to the conclusion that I'm afraid that if I have a REAL conversation I'm going to find out things about myself that I really don't want to deal with. I've already come across these feelings when I read the Bible and there will be a verse or section that I really need to hear at that particular time. How many times has God been trying to get my attention for me to spend some time talking to him about my problems instead of talking about my problems? Then there is always the fear that I'll get what I ask for, what I think I want, and I'll find out it is not what I thought it would be.

So, I'm doing some research. Being afraid to talk to God is nothing new. It's mentioned in

Genesis 3:9-10 (New International Version)
9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

Daniel was afraid when his prayers were answered by an angel. I like the rest of this verse...set your mind to gain understanding and humble yourself. Maybe that's the part I need to work on!

Daniel 10:12 (NIV)
12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
From my favorite spiritual armor verses:
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

God loves me so what am I afraid of? Anything He shows me will end up being for my own good. So, no matter what starts to get in the way, I'm going to pray anyway!

Some resources I found:

ACTS, Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication (praying for others) some good info here http://www.crmin.org/prayerguide/acts_acrostic.htm

The 5 finger prayer http://biblestudyplanet.com/studies/s/s34.aspx (looks like some other cool info at this site too)

http://www.allaboutprayer.org/