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“Oh No, I’m Bleeding!!”

Open wounds

Have you ever cut yourself and you were bleeding all over?  It seems like a ridiculous question because of course, the answer is yes.  We all have had some time in our life where we have injured ourselves.

Whatever profession you have decided to take there are always risks.  When you are learning anything in life there is a time when more accidents happen.  And hopefully, you learn something in the process so that the next time you’ll remember what you don’t want to do.  But even if you are seasoned in your profession you never know everything.  You are always learning.  If you come to the place that you think you know everything there is to know in your profession, you really are not a blessing to anyone.  Know it all’s are not learners.  And just because your seasoned doesn’t mean you still don’t have accidents.

I have a young friend who is learning construction.  As my friend has been learning, he has had several accidents that have resulted in blood.  And some of his accidents could have been really bad.  There are other times where there could have been a serious accident but he was spared by the hand of God.  I think he may have two guardian angels.

It made me think

It made me start to think about how this is a good example of our spiritual lives.  When you become a real Christian, it is a process.  You may be wondering what I mean by a real Christian.  Well, you may have grown up in and around Christians but that does not make you a Christian.  What makes you a Christian is your own connection with God.  We cannot have a connection vicariously through our parents or anyone else, it has to become our own.  How would that work in your profession?  It would not!  You have to learn yourself with the help of the master teacher.

Spiritually speaking God should be our teacher.  He is that Master and can truly teach us how to be a Christian.  Can we learn from others?  Yes!  But ultimately we need to be learning from the Master.  When you get a job there may be others that know things within your profession that you can learn from but you better be sure it lines up with the master teacher (your boss) or later on there will be some repercussions.

I have followed what others said and it turned out to be wrong.  Or I have even given wrong advice that turned out to be wrong.  The one that gets the most reprimanded is the one that did it wrong, not the advice giver.  Why is that?  Because the master teacher (boss) says you should not rely on what others have told you but go to the one that knows, your boss, supervisor, etc.

So how does that look when it comes to our walk as a Christian?  We can learn from others but we always need to be sure that it lines up with the Master Teacher.  In the end, when we follow the advice of others and do not follow through with checking it out with the Master Teacher, we will receive the repercussions of our decisions.  We are responsible for our own decisions.

Growth takes time

Just like when your learning a profession it takes time, so does growing as a Christian.  In any profession, there are those times that we may choose to do something that we know isn’t the best thing but we know that we can get it done more quickly.  It may not be bad in and of itself but our master teacher (boss) has said he wants it done a certain way.  And most of the time, in the end, we may have made a mistake that could have caused us harm or someone else.  It is the same in the Christian walk.  Sometimes we choose deliberately to do something that we know is not pleasing to the Master Teacher (God) but we think we know best but in the end, we discover God always knows best.

Then there are those times that we are going along at work and after the fact, we realize we have made a wrong move.  Sometimes the consequences are minor but sometimes more severe.  In our Christian walk when we are walking along there are going to be times that we make a mistake that we did not even realize until after the fact.  It could be that we are still in the growth process and the Lord has not revealed it to us yet or it could be we did something without thinking.

In whatever case we find ourselves, I am so thankful for a God that is forgiving.  We can come to Him with a contrite heart and He will forgive.  And just like God is so merciful to us we should be merciful to others.

One of the faults that can break down the camaraderie in the workplace is to have a superior feeling.  If others around you feel like they can’t ever do anything right and that you feel superior to them it breaks down any relationship.  This happens within the Christian walk as well.  We have to be careful not to be pointing our fingers at others and thinking ourselves superior because we are following this rule and that rule.  The fact is we can be lost just because we have an attitude of superiority.  In the workplace, you can end up losing your job.  In the Christian walk, you can end up losing your salvation.

We need to allow everyone to grow as God leads them.  And God leads everyone on a different path because everyone’s journey is different.  The best thing we can do for someone is to love him or her and pray for them.

Growing

So how do we keep growing?  When we start in a profession there is definitely a learning curve and the same is in our Christian walk.  So do I eventually learn it all and don’t have to keep learning?  The answer is no.  This applies to the workplace as well as the Christian walk.  When we stop learning we become stagnate.  No matter what profession you have chosen there are always changes that take place due to new technology.  And if you don’t keep learning you’re going to fall behind and eventually probably lose your job.  The same is true in our Christian walk if we don’t keep learning we stop growing in our knowledge of the truth.

Some may say it isn’t really the same because our profession changes because of new technology but God’s truth has always been the same.  My question would be, has the technology always been there but we are just learning about it?  I would say the affirmative yes.  It has just taken someone to come along and discover the technology.  We all have the opportunity to discover the “technology” of truth from God’s Word but we all discover it differently because that is how God works.  We should not rely on people to discover the truths of the Bible and then tell us, we should be discovering it ourselves.  Because even if someone has discovered a truth in the Bible we are supposed to study for ourselves and see if those things are so.

Dear Father,

I am so grateful for Your saving grace.  As I cling to You and stay in Your Word You will lead me into all truth.  Keep us faithful to You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Stay connected to God each day.

Love you all.

What accidents have you had in life that you can draw a lesson from?  I would love to hear your story.  Share below in the comments.

 

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“You Can’t Trust Your Vision!!”

Have you ever looked at an example and everything seems so right so you followed it?  Your eyes, senses and every fiber of your being made it seem right but you discover after a time that it was totally wrong.

I am working at a print shop.  I run the digital copy.  You have to set everything up on the computer that speaks to the digital machine and thus you make your product.  It sounds easy but there are a lot of things you have to make sure you do right or it could turn out wrong.

One of the most important things is to read the jacket.  Every job comes with what we call a jacket.  Inside the jacket can be artwork or a sample of what the job is.  But the most important information is on the outside of the jacket.  It gives specific information.  For example, what kind of paper to use, what size the paper should be, whether your printing black and white or color, or whether it is printed on one side of the paper or two sides, just to name a few.

The other day I got the jacket and scanned over it.  I seen it was a spiral bound book.  In the jacket was a sample so I pulled it out and look at it.  I thought, “Great this is going to be an easy one because the pages are just one-sided.”  I was in a rush to get gone because I had an appointment to go to.  So I set it all up and started printing.

After it was done printing I had a question so I went to the guy that has been training me in and he looked at what I had failed to pay close attention to, the front of the jacket.  The sample was a one-sided print but the instructions on the jacket was a two-sided print.  I missed comparing the sample to the instructions.

I went to my boss about the mistake.  Here I had printed several pages and it was wrong.  When He looked at the jacket and the sample.  He even had some confusion on what it needed to be.  The jacket instructions seemed a little confusing.  But after looking things over thoroughly and talking to the one that had put the job together I figured it out.

This reminds me of our Christian walk. We have an instruction book, the Bible.  We need to be thoroughly studying the “jacket” (Word of God).  We cannot go by what we see or hear.

In this world today there can be so many things that we can get caught up in.  It can sound amazing and look amazing but is it really a true “sample” of truth.

There can be so many false things that are out there for us to get caught up in.  Some of those things may be perfectly harmless in and of themselves.  But is it keeping us from focusing on the things we really should be, the true directions for life (God’s Word).

It says in Matthew 24:24, “For there shall arise false Christ, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”  We are in a time where we need to keep our focus on the study of the Word of God.  So that we can be so grounded in the true information that we will not be thrown off by what we see or hear.

I don’t think we begin to realize how closely Satan can make things look so real and right that it is very deceiving.  We cannot go by our senses.  We have to go by the truth of God’s Word only.

I could have totally done the job correctly if I had just gone by the instructions written rather than looking at the sample.  I would have been way farther ahead.  If I had been thoroughly studied in the truth of the jacket I would not have been thrown off by the false of the sample.

In the same way if we stay focused on the truth of the Word of God we will not be thrown off by the counterfeits that come our way.  But if we are spending our time focusing on the world and it’s counterfeits we are going to be unknowingly swept in to untruth, which can lead to final disaster.  The devil doesn’t care what rabbit trail he gets us going down, just as long as we are not focused on what we should be.

I was grateful that my boss was so understanding.  When we come to God and admit our mistakes, asking forgiveness He is so understanding as well.

Just like I needed to look at all the aspects of the jacket to know the truth, here a little there a little.  The same is true of the Bible.  We can’t make our decision based on one verse.  We need to study it carefully, here a little and there a little.

I also could not have figured out the jacket unless I had gone to the one who had put it together.  We are not going to understand what we study in the Bible unless we go to God asking for guidance.  Then the Holy Spirit will come and enlighten our eyes.  And those things that have seemed confusing will become clear.

Dear Father,

Help us to realize how important it is to stay focused on Your Word.  Help us to realize the sensational things that we can get caught up in can lead us in a direction to take us off the focus we should have.  Thank You for Your love and Your patience with us.  Continue to guide us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Keep in the Word, it is the safest place to be.

Love you all.

Have you experienced a “rabbit trail” in your life at times?  What happened to help you get back on track?  What do you do to try to stay on track?