integrity

True Character

/ The WheatandTares
*no association or ownership of pic

Character isn’t revealed in the joyful moments.

Character isn’t unveiled in the easy, smooth, congenial patches of life.

Character gets put on display when the hard settles in like a cold, hard rain.

When the days are gray and the sunshine is hidden from view.

When the lights have been painted black and the doors have been slammed shut.

This is when character gets exposed with the spotlight of scrutiny.

These are the times when words are cheap and actions cut to the core.

So, take note what you do in the little things when the sun is bright and the crowd is loud.

Pay attention to the thoughts that harbor within the inner bays of idleness and the daydreams that yield in the hours of solitude.

For these are what will avalanche into the overflow of courage and virtue when crisis arises and all eyes are on you.

…each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

1 Corinthians 3:13

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.

Proverbs 22:1

I’m Not Okay

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

There is a modern day push to tolerate all things, no matter what it might be.

To remain silent even when injustice is being propagated.

There is a peer pressure within society that you may speak, so long as your words aren’t too strong, too forceful, too conflicting, or God forbid, too spiritual.

Yet, I want to ask, WHO SET THE RULES?

WHO claims you are right and I am wrong?

WHO gets to choose what is common decency, kindness to mankind, justice to the abused?

Kindness does not begin where your intolerance ends.

Common decency does not get defined only by those with a specified ambition and agenda.

Justice does not get unbalanced weights to apply innocence to evil and evil to righteousness.

There has to be an absolute foundation on which to stand.

There has to be a voice that rises above the muck and mire.

There has to be an outcry for purity, holiness and truth.

And there must be a gathering of like minds who are bold enough to speak that truth with love.

Stop being a doormat.

Stop being used a vessel for wrong.

Stop being weaponized to destroy the innocence of all humanity.

You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 25:13-16

Hear this, you who swallow up the needy,
And make the poor of the land fail, Saying: “When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, Falsifying the scales by deceit, that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— Even sell the bad wheat?”

Amos 8:4-6

These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

Proverbs 6:16-19

Be Like Jesus

/ The WheatandTares

So many say, “ I want to be like Jesus.”

So many preach, “You must be like Jesus.”

And so many more believe it’s such an easy task.

They claim we simply must be more kind, more loving, and more peaceful.

Yet, when love is proclaimed so elementary by pointing fingers at others and declaring what you must do,

I believe we are neglecting to look in the mirror at our own souls to see what we must do.

When kindness is demanded from others so readily, and it is said to be performed so smoothly,

I believe we are avoiding the reality that our flesh never truly desires to be gracious and kind.

No one is born good. We are not birthed in righteousness.

Our natural tendencies do not lend themselves to be like Christ without first dying to self.

If we long to truly be like Christ, we must remember He had a wilderness where He was hungry, tempted and had to be bold in faithfulness.

If we truly long to be like Christ, we must remember He had a Gethsemane where He was alone, discouraged and had to be brave in love.

If we long to truly be like Christ, we must remember He had a cross by which He was broken, disgraced and had to be truthful in kindness.

If we truly long to be like Christ, we must remember He had a Judas by whom He was betrayed, ambushed and had to be confrontation in peace.

When we profess others should be Christlike, we need to actually know who Christ is and what He did.

When we confess a desire to be Christlike, we need to actually recognize who our Savior is and what He did.

When we assert there is a common ground with a mighty King, we must acknowledge and embrace what must be crucified within us to become someone we are never capable of becoming

Without first, surrendering all to Him.

This is to be Christlike.

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:9-11

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:32

Grasping at Heritage

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

I recently lost my grandmother of 94 years, and I miss her so. She and I were a lot alike in so many ways, and often growing up, she was more like a mother to me than a grandmother.

She taught me how a young lady should carry herself and how to really love your man.

She taught me that a gentle word really can turn away wrath and a loving touch can bring harmony to a chaotic world.

She taught me how to be classy and be okay with tradition, religion and “the way things have always been.”

She taught me that you’re never too old to try new things, as she traveled to Jamaica in a missions trip at 80 years old.

She taught me that if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish just about anything, as she lived by herself for almost 20 years in a great big bay front property after my grandfather’s death.

And the most important thing she ever taught me was that a relationship with Jesus Christ and with the joy of the Lord being your strength, you can live out your days with laughter and peacefulness, no matter what the storms of life might bring.

I am thankful for the heritage she offered, and I will gladly pick up the mantle she left. She may not have always done everything right, and she’d have never wanted you to call her the picture of perfection.

But if I can live my life with as much dignity, class, integrity, charm, joy, love and peace as she had, I will call myself a blessed woman.

What heritage are you grasping hold of today?

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:30-31

She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:25

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

Proverbs 31:26-29

Significance

/ The WheatandTares

We all want to have significance. Don’t we?

But what will you do to get it?

Will you beg, borrow and steal?

Will you sweat, toil and sacrifice?

Will you push and prod, stepping over or on those who get in your way?

Will you eat humble pie and serve those around you to become great?

To what measure will you strive to succeed and become significant?

And to whom are you seeking the same and acknowledgement?

Remember this:

What you bow down to on your way up the ladder of success will OWN YOU on your way back down.

Choose wisely.

Choose sparingly and carefully.

For too many owners makes the slave exhausted and weary…

And the success so much less to be desired.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:19-20

Where Does Your Heart Heal?

/ The WheatandTares

Where do you go when you’re hurting?

What do you say? What do you do?

Are you the person who rants and rages over everyone and everything?

Even the child who simply wanted a hug?

Are you the person who sulks and simmers deep in the cave of your own selfish desires?

Pulling away even from those extending love?

What do you do when you’re bleeding from your wound?

Do you let it bleed, spilling over to every street corner, ever merchant, every friend?

Do you bind it up tight, removing the life, restricting it to imminent death?

What do you do when all is lost, all is shattered, all is betrayed?

Your responses in these moments of certain reality will determine your future and your impact.

Reply well, and you’ll become a king.

Return wrong, and even the gutter snipes may not want you.

As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!” Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’” David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

2 Samuel 16:5-12

Got Character?

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

What do you do when things don’t go your way? Do you pitch a fit, and throw a tantrum, get mad and not speak to anyone?

What do you say when you are falsely accused, maligned or slandered? Do you strike out in revenge, slander right back and fight and claw to bring about your own deserved justice? Do you take the “martyrdom high road,” and manipulate the ones accused with guilt and shame to bring retribution? Or do you recede into nothingness, pretending you don’t care, it doesn’t matter, and you don’t matter anymore?

How do you react when everything falls apart, and it seems the world is closing in around you? Do you cry, scream, become apathetic or create scenarios of denial all around you?

Life brings with it sufferings, unfair events and painful injustices. Sometimes, it will kick you in the teeth and, just for the fun of it, kick you again when you’re down. Sometimes, it just is what it is, and there’s not a blessed thing you can do about it.

What you do in those critical moments will determine your character, integrity and stability in handling far more than that moment for all to see and know for a lifetime. What you say and do in that moment can make an impact for life.

So, I ask you again… what do you do in those crucial moments? What do you say? How do you respond? How do you react?

Power of Our Words

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

The words we choose to use will bring life or death, and it is up to us to choose the right one. For the last few weeks, I’ve been doing a study on the power of our words, and today a friend shared an incredible video to illustrate this fact of power portrayed through the letters we string together to communicate with our world.

This video got me to thinking… What if you could actually see the impact of your words on a daily basis? What if, when you spoke, the skin of your child turned brighter and healthier or darker and less healthy, all depending upon the words spoken? What if the hair of our spouse became glossy, healthy and beautiful or dry, brittle and profusely damaged, all dependent upon the conversations we had with him or her? What if mold built up within our homes when we spoke ill words and fragrance was spewed when we spoke kindness? What an interesting orbit of living we might have.

I believe if the immediate impact of our communication was seen more easily, it might just alter our interaction with the world around us…

I watched this video this morning, and it led me to several others who performed the experiment. I will share it with you at the end of this post. It is amazing. Our words have so much power, and we must choose wisely to bring life and not death into the lives of those we love.

*Note: I did not create nor do I own or possess any part this video. This comes straight from YouTube.

Where Are You Leading Them?

/ The WheatandTares

millstoneLet us never lead a little one to stumble. I have found that this Scripture can be interpreted in so many different scenarios. Literally, it can mean leading small children away in their faith (or in other things, for that matter). It can, also, mean distracting new converts from their new commitment to God’s calling, and it can even be mature Christians being directed down the wrong path by prideful, egotistical or ambitious fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

As Christians, we must be so careful not to lead “little ones” astray from the Word of God and from what He has in store for their lives. The Bible says it is better for a millstone to be wrapped around your neck and you thrown into the depths of the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble! In case, you don’t know what a millstone is, it was one of the large circular stones used to grind grain in grist mills years ago.

milllstone2

markcommentary.blogspot.com

When we are called into leadership, when we are called into teaching capacities, and even when we are placed in situations by God to help someone learn more about Him, our number one goal should be to lead them closer to Him not away from Him! We can only do this as we seek His face and listen for His answers to their questions and wonderings.

Whether we are a parent, a mentor, a teacher, or simply a friend, we should never take lightly a position of influence in someone else’s life. We should boldly walk in the authority He gives us but never because of our own wisdom, strength or abilities. We should approach it with buckets full of humility and grace, lest we get filled with pride and lead one of His precious ones away from what He has in store for them.

Let us be ever prayerful and ever mindful when it concerns someone who is impacted by our words and deeds. Let us always be humble and full of grace, and never let us take lightly the positions of leadership and influence He gives us in someone else’s life.

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.” Mark 9:42

 

Where Are the Davids?

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment


I saw this post today, and it made me think of another “battle” David faced… I wonder if this statement could also be made, “Sometimes, God will put a Saul in your life, for you to find the David within you.” So many times, we are reminded of David’s battle with Goliath and how he had the courage to face the great giant, relied on the strength of the Lord and defeated that foe with a simple, smooth stone and a sling. 

Yet, what about the battle he faced with Saul for so many years? It has been said it took 13 years after Dabid was anointed king for him to receive the crown, and most of that time, he spent in service to King Saul who hard him and who, eventually, tried to hunt him down to kill him! How often do you and I stay in service to someone who actually hates out guts? Have you had your “boss” try to throw a spear at you or have his soldiers on a manhunt for you? I doubt many of us have had to flee for our lives, hide out in a cave, and yet, when that same evil king shows up, alone in that cave, David refuses to take revenge on the guy who has made his life so miserable!

Too often, as Christians, we may get upset over the petty little stuff posted by our “foe” on Facebook, and we sling words around like firey darts to all who will hear. We’ll run that person’s name in the dirt just because they hurt our feelings or said an unkind morsel of gossip. 

Yes, I know these situations can be bad, and I know, sometimes, unkind words from someone we believed to be our friend can feel hurtful enough to make our heart ache, but we’ve not been to the point of shedding blood! We’ve not been to the point of losing all we have for the sake of the battle we face! Yet, too often, we respond in kind rather than responding as David did. 

He gave us a great example to follow. When he had the chance to kill King Saul, to put to death the very man who had destroyed his peaceful living, and who could possibly destroy his hopes of becoming king, he refused to touch God’s anointed. After all, he had been anointed King by the prophet. Understand, he had an army of men surrounding him, he had the ‘popular vote’ to do what his flesh desired. He had a right to take his throne, even by force, right? Yet David said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” 

Then, listen to what he said to King Saul when he confronted him, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it. Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

He decided to speak truth yet allow God to judge between he and the king. He never tried to hide his feelings of injustice, but he didn’t raise a hand of violence against King Saul. He decided it best to allow God to fight his battle for integrity and justice! How often do we do that?? 

We can learn so much from David, the man after God’s own heart! 💗
Scripture references: 1 Samuel 24