Who's afraid of the big, bad bully?

"Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." - Psalm 82:4 (NIV)

In recent weeks, bullying has become a major topic of discussion in the news and other circles, mainly due to tragic circumstances:

• Last week in Detroit, a 7-year-old boy killed himself apparently after being the victim of bullies.
• A 17-year-old boy in the Tampa, Fla., area was left brain-damaged and paralyzed after he tried to kill himself after students at his school taunted him because they claimed he was gay.
• In Kingwood, Texas, a couple withdrew their twin 11-year-old sons from school after the boys had been bullied for their ethnicity. They had been born in India, and according to news reports, bullies at their middle school had taunted them regularly, calling them "terrorists" and punching one in the eye and shaving his eyebrow.

Efforts have been amped up in recent years to combat the apparent growing tide of bullying, though sometimes they have been counter-effective and amount to bullying themselves.

A main example of this came last month.

Sex columnist Dan Savage, who says he is gay, created the It Gets Better Project, in 2010, aiming to reduce the number of suicides among teens who had been bullied because they were gay or believed to be gay. However, at a high school journalism conference in Seattle, Savage profanely spoke out against Christians and the Bible, saying they were responsible for attitudes against gay people. A group of students attending the conference, walked, leading the organizer, the National Scholastic Press Association, to call his remarks "inappropriate," and Savage to later apologize.

So what should be the proper response to bullying?

The Bible is pretty clear in saying that we should live in peace with one another and that we should work to protect those who cannot defend themselves:

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." - Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV)

Jesus himself said that we should love our neighbor as ourselves (see Mark 12:31) and take care of those around us (see Matthew 25:34-40). Anything less is cowardly and a sin against God (see Revelation 21:8).

In addition, 1 John tells us that anyone who claimed be in the light (a follower of Christ) yet hates his brothers is not truly a follower of Christ (see 1 John 2:9)

He also said we should love our enemies (see Matthew 5:43-48) and not strike back with similar violence (see Matthew 5:38-41).

At the same time, true peace can only come through Jesus Christ. John 14:27 tells us:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (NIV)

Have peace...

Sources: 20th Century Fox, Permanentstressrelief.com

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." - Proverbs 14:30 (NIV)

It can be argued that most people deal with some stress in their lives.

This stress can come from a variety of sources. Maybe it's a job that you do not know will be there next week, but you continue to go at it because you have mortgage and bills to pay. Maybe it is the stress of dealing with the diagnosis of a major health issue such as cancer or HIV/AIDS. Maybe you are a parent who has a child who continues to deal dangerous with the wrong kind of people at all times of the night. Maybe your marriage is in trouble, and likely to fail with some miracle. Maybe you are a student who is struggling in class with aspirations of getting into the school of your dreams.

The effects of that stress can not only cause worry, but also be damaging to your health. According to WebMD, 75 to 90 percent of all doctor's visits are for some stress-related ailment, including headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems and depression. The same article also said that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, said stress is a hazard of the workplace, costing American industry more than $300 billion each year in lost productivity.

So what to do about it?

Jesus said those who are weary should come to him for rest:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Psalm 55:22 tells us to "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." (NIV) 1 Peter 5:6-7 says we should humble ourselves and give our burdens and care to God, because he cares for us.

Yes, even Christians deal with stress in a fallen world, and Christians do have many of the same problems as anyone else does. However, followers of Christ can look ahead to the point where God "will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."(see Revelation 21:4)

Until then, the Bible tells us to do this:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

Leaning on Jesus

"'I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.'" - John 15:5 (NIV)

There has been many a time where Christians have been accused of using God as a "crutch," where they are unable to stand or do anything without God.

Somehow, that has been portrayed as a bad thing.

Throughout the Bible, it is proclaimed that we should rely on God, for he provides the strength that is necessary to live in a fallen world. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us,

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (NIV)

The prophet Isaiah said for his fellow Israelites to "trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock (Isaiah 26:4 (ESV))" even after they had been conquered and oppressed. In the beginning shortly after he created the world, God provided for his newly formed man and all of the animals (see Genesis 1:29-30). Later, as people were abandoning Jesus after a particular difficult teaching on his being the "bread of life" (see John 6:25-59), one of his apostles, Peter, told him,

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." - John 6:68-69 (NIV)

In his comparison of himself and his people described in John 15, Jesus said he is the vine and we are the branches. A tree's branches cannot survive apart from the tree - anyone who has picked up dead branches following a storm can attest to this. We are the same way in that we cannot survive and do much of anything apart from God and by extension, Jesus Christ.

That includes being saved from our sins. In John 14:6, Jesus is quoted as saying,

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NIV)

That is because Jesus was the final sacrifice for our sins (and remember every last one of us have sinned) when he went to the cross. And we need to accept that gift is repent of our sins (see Mark 1:15) and confess that Jesus is Lord (see Romans 10:9-10), then we will be saved.

Questions? Concerns? Do you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today? Please feel free to contact me today and we can talk.

Hard work pays off

Source: Winningmoney.net

"He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment." - Proverbs 12:11 (NIV)

Ok, let's be honest here. Who bought at least one MegaMillions lottery ticket a few weeks ago when the jackpot reached a record $640 million? While winning the lottery is a nice dream, the odds of actually doing are astronomical. According to various published news reports, the odds of winning the jackpot, which ultimately went to three winners in three states, was one in 176 million.

The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that hard work is what will ultimately provide for our needs Psalm 128:2 tells us,

"You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours." (NIV)

Proverbs 14:23 says,

"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." (NIV)

That is not to say that just by working hard, you will achieve great wealth and blessings from God, a teaching often referred to as prosperity theology. Across history and even today, hardworking people often have been abused and taken advantage of despite their efforts and their faith in God.

Does that mean they should have more faith in God? Of course not. The toil of working hard and not necessarily getting what you have worked for goes all the way back to Adam and Eve, who were cursed by their original sin in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 3:17-19). With sin in the world today, good people do not always get what they want, as most of us learned as children.

At the same time, there are some who are prone to being lazy and not working, and the Bible has strong words for those who do not work.

"One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys." - Proverbs 18:9 (NIV)

The New Testament also had particularly strong words for those who were not working because they believed that Christ was coming very soon. In 2 Thessalonians 3, the Apostle Paul wrote that the followers of Christ, later to be called Christians, were to stay away from "every brother who is idle" (see 2 Thessalonians 3:6), particularly in light of so-called "preachers" who came through, gave some teaching and expected those who heard their message to take care of them. To ensure he was not counted among them, Paul worked as a tent maker, ensuring he was upright in the eyes of those who heard him teach about Jesus Christ. He had this warning for those "lazy Christians:"

"For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'If a man will not work, he shall not eat.'"- 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV)

God does view work favorably, as taught in the Bible. We are told to work as if we are working for the greatest boss in the world, God himself, because in the grand scheme of things, we already are.

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." - Colossians 3:20 (NIV)

Free to think in Christ

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." - Acts 17:11 (NIV)

A friend of mine recently posted this photo on Facebook, commenting that this was a bogus thing to say. I have heard others in the past comment on this teaching, saying this translates into meaning Christian believers should be mindless robots who cannot think for themselves.

For the record, the Bible is completely against this kind of statement.

 

Isaiah recorded that God told him, "Come now, and let us reason together" (Isaiah 1:18) even as the nation of Israel was rebelling against Him. Proverbs 15:22 says, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." (In other words, talk and think things through). And 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." In other words, know the Word of God and how to use it. In addition, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, "Test everything. Hold on to the good."

The Bible does allow us to think, contrary to popular opinion. As noted in the verse from Acts at the beginning of this note, the Bereans were noted as having "more noble character" than their neighbors, the Thessalonians because of their eagerness in reaching the teaching on Christ from the Apostle Paul. However, they were noteworthy because they looked at the Scriptures themselves.

 

In other words, they didn't take what Paul was teaching them at face value, as has been the mistake of far too many Christians in the past and in today's church. They looked at the Word of God, testing Paul on what He said. If what Paul was teaching them was not from God, then it would have been revealed to them from Scripture.

 

We can have that same reasoning, because God not only gave us all brains, but He allows us to use them as well, all for His glory (Colossians 3:17). That is true freedom.