Life Lesson 5

             Patience is a virtue. Patience without kindness is wasted in that you must have a proper disposition when you are waiting for this or that to take place. Being patient while being bitter or irritable at the same time reveals a negative picture. Your foul disposition overshadows the patience you are attempting to display. The world is in need of kindness and goodness, not another example of an impatient temperament.

            Biblical patience must be willing to wait as long as it takes for our request to come to fruition. Along with kindness should come peace, for waiting any length of time can become an arduous endeavor. Humans can be as a whole very impatient. This instant society we live in doesn’t help the situation. As you’re waiting have you ever considered that delays may keep you from an unfortunate situation that could potentially change your life forever, say a car accident or being robbed. Learn not to question delays but understand that delays can be part of the deal. God’s economy doesn’t have built in instant gratification. The answer to the question becomes manifest to us when God knows the best time for the answer to come and not a moment sooner. Our problems arise when we misread God’s sign and push thru to an end result that was not intended.

            Displaying kindness will speak volumes regarding being a positive testimony for Christ. As a believer, to not be kind paints an incorrect picture of Jesus and how He intends us to live. If you find it hard to be kind in any situation ask the Lord for his help in the form of the Holy Spirit who is our guide and mentor. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!  

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Life Lesson 4

One morning, on my way to work, I caught myself lamenting past mistakes, consequences, disappointments, and injustices. There was no profit in that, so I slowly refocused on the present. You cannot go back in time and change history. You can however learn from the past, so it doesn’t end up repeating itself. I think you will agree, you take what is of value and let the rest go. 

            Life can be very hard, and sadness comes far too often, but there is a lighthouse for our soul that shines out brightly in the darkness of those desperate times. Tears of bitterness can turn to tears of contentment, and a heavy heart can once again become lighter than air. It depends on your focal point. What do you spend the most time focusing on, the negative aspects of life or the positive? Focusing on the wrong thing can wear you down and steal your hope. As believers in Christ we have much to find hope in. Just the very fact that Christ is returning for us should chase away any clouds of sadness from your heart. This life, with all its troubles, will not last forever, life with the Lord will.

            You can’t plow a straight row looking back, nor can you move forward when you are mired in the past. Reflect on your past if you feel the need to, but only to learn how to correct past irregular behavior and not to wallow in self-pity. Our history should be a learning tool for our future and nothing else. We can’t change it so let us revel in the fact that it is in the past and brighter days are on the horizon. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.  

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries 

Life Lesson 3

               Although God is perfect, we are not intended to be perfect at all. We are part of a learning curve with more experienced believers knowing more, having experienced more and are more aware of their spiritual gifts. At least that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I try to live my life as Christ would have me but unfortunately I fail more times than I succeed or at least it seems that way. Because of this I ascribe to the theory of the blind squirrel, which goes like this: even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. I see myself as the blind squirrel. Fortunately God loves blind squirrels too. 

            I’m very hard on myself. I demand perfection when I know in my heart perfection from an imperfect person is impossible. There was only one perfect individual in the entire history of mankind and that was and is Jesus Christ. I think I’m a lot more selfish than I should be, so even if there were such a thing as a perfect man besides Jesus I would not be that person. I am famous for overthinking things. Thinking too much tends to allow procrastination to set in. My uncertainty many times causes me not proceed at all, instead of proceeding with caution. God doesn’t require perfection from us. He knows that we are from dust* and to dust we shall return at the end of our life. He gives us tools and guidance, which we often times don’t recognize as coming from him. We need to realize that everything the Lord does for us is for our benefit and ultimate good.

            I revealed this side of myself believing that there are others somewhere in the world that are like me. Take heart brethren, God’s unconditional love embraces us all with the warm support we need to go thru this life with more successes than we will ever realize. Not perfection, but success. Success in God’s eyes is far different than success in this world. As we place one foot in front of the other and proceed forward we will gain confidence and slowly grow into exactly what God has intended us to be all along. We are all different, not one of us is exactly the same, but we are all expected to try.  The person I will become isn’t like anyone else in creation. In that respect we are all unique - one of a kind. Don’t beat yourself up, see yourself as God sees you and allow him to untap the immense potential that exists in you. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! 

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* Psalm 103:13,14 - “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.”

Life Lesson 2

            Here’s a life lesson for you. It is my contention that Christians are partially responsible for some people to turn away from God. Here’s a real life example that just took place at my job the other day. 

            Guy #1, who does not know the Lord, was told by a “religious” person, we’ll call him guy #2, that guy #1 shouldn’t be cursing, especially on that day, because it was Good Friday. Then guy #2 proceeded to drop an F bomb himself less than 5 minutes later. That would make guy #2 a hypocrite and that’s exactly how guy #1 saw it. 

            Point #1 – Chances are guy #1 may know very little to nothing about that holiday season. Point #2 – His cussing is not going to send him to hell; his rejection of Christ will. Point #3 – Guy #1 doesn’t know any better. Point #4 - Guy #2 DOES know better. Point #5 – Guy #2 was judging Guy #1 for doing something that he does as well.

             There are too many people like Guy #2 who pass judgment with their words of indictment, and they need to stop that. Once a person receives Christ the Holy Spirit will deal with the profanity issue. Sometimes we clean up our language only to have it reemerge sometime down the road. Let me repeat was I said in Point #3 above … people who don’t have a relationship with God don’t think anything of cussing and that is understandable. It doesn’t make it all right, but it is not our place to instruct him regarding what may be perceived as our regimented list of Do’s & Don’ts. Some of us need to get off our high horse before we make a fool of ourselves in front of others. We must humble ourselves. We are better than no one. We aren’t to compare ourselves to others, but rather to God. This will put us in the place where we belong, beneath the Lord and equal with everyone else. Salvation doesn’t elevate you in status; it forgives you of your sins. That makes you different in that one respect; otherwise, we are really no different than those who are unsaved. No matter how hard you try, even your best efforts will fall short in your quest to be just like Christ. In spite of that, continue striving to be a living example of our Lord, because as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Life Lessons

            Life is like a book with many chapters. The story begins and at an undetermined time the first chapter ends, and the second chapter begins. During one of the chapters you are introduced to the Lord, and he becomes a regular part of the story. There’s a chapter for childhood, one for the teenage years and a special chapter focusing on schooling, one chapter has a fixed climax when graduation occurs. There’s a chapter for college, chapter for courtship, chapter for marriage and a chapter for having children. Some chapters are light; some are dark depending on the subject. People come into your life either in the midst of a chapter or at the start or conclusion of another. 

            Having said all that, I tend to believe that some people are only in our lives for a brief time. When they move, switch jobs, or churches or simply pass away, a chapter ends and another one begins. We mourn the loss and move on. There is a chapter regarding the re-emergence of a person from your past where you discuss how much each of you had changed. Depending on how the chapters play out will determine whether you end up single, married, divorced, remarried or alone. All the while we try to figure out the meaning of this life and why it seems to be so complicated. For a large part of our life I believe we think way too hard about a lot of things and the more we think the more we become confused. Worry begets stress, which is kin to tension, which can do very bad things to your physical body. We take prescription drugs to regulate our heart, our head, our blood flow, and our nerves. 

            Some books, like their corresponding lives, are long and drawn out, others are short and definitively to the point.  Some make a big splash based on the character of the subject. Some just exist without much to say or do. Those with Christ in their lives will nearly always be more interesting. 

            It is said that our lives will be the only Bible others will ever read. I believe that is true, therefore, we should let our lives be true to what the author intended. Let your life be a worshipful symphony of truth and faith and hope and peace. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! 

In His Name & for His Glory.

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

5 Things We Need to Understand

5. We need to learn how to surrender our will in favor of God’s will, for His will for us is designed with us in mind.

 

            As followers of Christ we need to realize that God has a will for each one of us. A perfect, edifying, all-inclusive will for us specifically. Now there is a general will that involves witnessing about the goodness of God in your life in the attempt to lead others to Christ. But I’m not talking about that right now. 

            We think we know what God’s will is; maybe we do, maybe we don’t, but scripture is clear regarding God and how well He knows us. “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” (Romans 8:27 NIV) THE MESSAGE translation goes so far as to interpret this verse as such: “He (God) knows us far better than we know ourselves, ...”. That is a very true statement. He knows our thoughts and the motive of our heart. He knows what is good for us, while we do not. He knows what we should stay away from, while we do not. 

            The Lord even says thru the prophet Jeremiah that He has plans for each one of us: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) We cannot know this, for we are incapable of foreseeing the future, but nothing is hidden from God. As long as He is with us in all our endeavors, our future in Christ is bright and hopeful.

            Autonomy is the enemy of obedience. Thinking you have all the answers and a plan for your life is detrimental to a believers walk with Christ. Would you rather follow the plan of someone who KNOWS or speculate regarding your future. God is perfect in every way and cares for us too much to watch us fail, but if you insist on doing things your way instead of Gods, you will ultimately fail. You see God has your whole future lined up for you. Following His will is somewhat like knowing which rocks to step on to get across a rushing stream. With the Holy Spirits leading you can know which way to go, without having to guess.

            This concludes our look at the 5 things we need to understand, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Ministries

5 Things We Need to Understand

4. We need to understand that we are part of God’s unfolding plan.

 

            God's unfolding plan refers to the progressive and divine revelation of God's purposes and will for individuals and humanity as a whole. The idea of God's unfolding plan is rooted in the belief that God has a master plan for each person's life, which may not be fully understood at first but becomes clearer over time through faith, obedience, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For instance, the Bible states, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" [Jeremiah 29]. This verse highlights that God's plans are ultimately for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

            This plan includes the redemption of humanity through Jesus Christ, the transformation of believers into the image of Christ, and the ultimate restoration of all things [Ephesians 1]. 

In summary, God's unfolding plan is a dynamic and progressive revelation of His will and purposes, which unfolds over time as individuals and communities grow in their relationship with Him. It is a call to trust in God's sovereignty, to seek His guidance, and to be open to the ways He leads and transforms lives. The ultimate reason for man's existence is to know God and experience the pleasure of His presence, as God created humanity for His own pleasure and to share in His glory. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Source: www.gotquestions.org