Straight From The Heart

Conversation In Heaven Our conversation is in heaven. Or at least it should be. I need to remind myself of this on a daily basis. When I'm trying to figure out life and the messages of men, God calls me to talk with him and keep my conversation vertical. This morning in prayer I thought of drawing a straight, vertical line on a card. It will be a reminder to me that my relationship with my Father should be a vertical one. I need to remember that all my conversations need to be pointed upward. I also need a representation reminding me that no space exists between us. This leaves me no room to look elsewhere for answers. I just (only after 1/2 of a century) learned that when I bring a situation to my father first instead of anyone else, the situation resolves much more quickly. If I tell my father my complaints, issues, and heartaches rather than running to a close confident in hopes of commiseration, He works on my heart so quickly, the emotional charge or sting that I felt to match whatever situation it was that I was dealing with, dissipates almost immediately. When I don't turn the situation to Him immediately, the wheels of my mind churn incessantly. I try and figure out what this or that person said or meant by what they said; what their actions or lack thereof meant; thinking, analyzing, contemplating the hurt, the injustice, the miscommunication. This of course does absolutely no good. What it does do is keep me in a constant state of annoyance, anxiety, and/or apprehension. David penned in the Psalms not to fret, that it only causes harm. It is that spiritual mindset that my father wants me to be at constant work at. Will I be attuned to the spirit, or attending to the temporal? The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Since we are spiritual beings, and need to be spiritually minded, it only follows that we need to bring our prayers silently to Christ. This is where the war is waged, and that being said, nothing that we say or do physically can add one iota to our stature. 1 Peter 2:23 gives us an example of Jesus' silence and His conversation being only with His Father: "Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously." It's very difficult when someone reviles us not to react, or at the very least to get a word in edge wise. This verse references Isaiah 53:7: "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before it's shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth." Perhaps our Father referring to us as sheep is not a bad thing after all. (I say this tongue in cheek, of course). Jesus gave us the perfect example of what our response should be as His righteous followers. Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and as the words are coming out of your mouth you are thinking I shouldn't be saying this? Complaints about another person or situation, gossip cloaked as a prayer request, justification of your own actions? The list of verbal misconduct is endless and James tells us that the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. (James 3 - for further instruction and admonition read the whole chapter!) God exhorts us in 1 Peter 3:8 "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil." Ahh, it's that turn the other cheek again. No, it's more than that. It's the attitude of the Spirit. There is not a thing that we can do on our own without God's help and grace. If He has seen that the vessel He is molding in us needs this particular instance to deal with and be given the opportunity to make the correct choice, He will insure that we have everything we need unto grace and godliness. We only turn to the world because we want constant validation and acceptance. God gives us so much more. Again God exhorts us in Philippians 2:14 & 15: "Do all things without complaining and disputing, That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” These are great words with a promise of a blessing attached to them if we are successful. We are on a glory walk toward perfection. Of course we will never, ever attain it in this life. If we ever feel like we "have arrived", we’ll need to check our pulse. The only time that we are going to arrive at fully comprehending God's perfect will and fully grasping all the characteristics of God, we will be beyond the pearly gates, not down here chatting with our neighbor. Read the words again. The promise is that we may become blameless and harmless, without fault in the middle of this mess! In awe I read about Jesus' comment when He saw Nathaniel coming toward Him in John 1:47: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." (KJV) Would that be Jesus' response if He saw us walking toward Him today? I would love it if that were His response when He saw me walking toward Him, but I fear it would not be. Do a self-check today and be honest with yourself about where you bring your complaints. Who do you talk to when life throws continuous curve balls your way and the injustices keep mounting. When you are frightened and feel like the odds are stacked against you, do you go to a quiet place and tell your Father? I would encourage you to begin the habit - try this for a day, a week, a month, until it becomes a habit. That you will not complain, you will not gossip, you will not seek out like-minded sympathizers. Instead go into your prayer closet and share your heart with your Father. I guarantee that an audience with God will do better than what previous audiences have done for you. He is not just an ear to hear, He is the great fixer and mender of all people, hearts, attitudes, unfair situations, and the endless myriad of the host of evils that beset us. That means in addition to getting a listening ear, you will get the peace that passes all understanding in your heart and grace to walk out the rest of your issue. His Word promises it and His Word is true.