Part #1 of 2.
WEARING RELIGIOUS MASKS
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
I ponder: what do I do when I am hurt? How can I
handle injustice? How do you handle hurt?
I must learn to trust God,
God turns messes into messages.
God can turn great test into great testimonies.
With God chaos is curable.
God can, if we will let Him.
GOD HAS A PLAN!
I found this next part written in a Bible I retired five years ago. I retire a Bible when I run out of space to write.
It may be obvious you have been hurt, and the cards
life has given you are not fair.
The situations we are facing are not fair.
We seem so powerless and just thinking of our case
brings much pain and many tears.
There appears no resolve?
Often our enemy will have us to relive and revisit
our hurt over and over, the hurt seems to take on a
life of it’s own.
It becomes self feeding.
So the unjust treatment will become a life
threatening cancer.
What happens in me is far more important than what
happens to me.
Rarely can we change others opinions and the external
pressures that will mount against us.
So the best and most practical escape is to ask Jesus
to change what is within our heart.
We must remember when things get rough, it is the rubbing that polishes our hearts to bring out the shine.
There is no peace pill?
As we let the terrible hurt polish, the Jesus’ reflection in our daily life shines greater.
The Bible contains a record of a man that was critically hurt at least 7 times in his life.
The Bible records, how we should handle hurt.
We see the trail of tears that seem to follow this man.
His family was dysfunctional before his birth.
The dysfunctional family got worse after his birth and the birth of his baby brother.
This man had every excuse in the book to hate and develop a vengeful life style within his family.
This man made a willful choice to not allow the dysfunctional family and all the pain he faced to dictate his attitude.
He knew your attitude in life can determine your
altitude.
So Joseph becomes the great example and lesson on proper behavior when life mistreats you.
Again Joseph could do little to change the attitudes of his brothers.
His family could not speak peaceably to one another. (Gen. 37:4)
Remember they were a religious and God fearing family?
The family problems had dictated a spirit of hate in
the practice of religion.
Let me also say that Joseph’s family was not totally
to blame.
Joseph had an arrogant, overbearing attitude.
The trouble with being arrogant is you devalue
others.
Joseph’s dreams were good, they sustained him in hard times.
But the way he choose to tell others about his dreams
and how they would be humbled at his feet, while
true ---
Joseph was not modest and his attitude help worsen
the family’s woes.
Joseph’s lesson was after life mistreats,
you must focus your heart and concentrate your mind
and apply all your efforts to become a better person.
We must grow above the hurt.
Joseph taught you waste your efforts if you spend all
your time dwelling on the hurt or trying to undo
seasons of hurt.
Be the best person you can be.
I know many licking wounds that happened years ago.
You must get up and travel to a higher plane.
God had a plan for Joseph and his family, even when
the plan was not visible to the eye.
Down near the end of his life long of mistreatment,
Joseph says:
(Gen.50:19-20) Fear not: for am I in the place of
God? But as for you,
ye thought evil against me;
BUT GOD meant it unto good,
to bring to pass, as it is this day,
to save much people alive.
All the hurt was used by God to build a man and save a family.
We must be the best person we can be.
Dwelling over past hurt and disappointments will
never build better people.
Be the best person you can be, learn to overlook the
circumstances.
Can you see?
Can you see God has a plan?
The enemy cannot overcome you unless you play his
plan of bitterness and revenge.
Vengeance belongs to God.
To take revenge and to get even is stealing, and
stealing is breaking a command.
We must quit reacting to pain and hurt.
Faith does not react!
Faith acts!
If we always react in pain and hurt, we reveal the depth of our personal commitment to Jesus Christ is very shallow!
If you open and squeeze a tube of toothpaste, you
will get toothpaste?
As life squeezes you,--- what do you ooze?
I know: What ever is in you?
You will ooze hurt, bitter, guile, and pain.
Or you will ooze love and sweet forgiveness.
Why waste valuable time and energy demanding and waiting for others to change?
Why not willfully and lovingly submit your self to
change.
Give it all, give it all to Jesus.
Trust God. Trust the plan of God.
Healing can never come by placing demands for others to change and lay at your feet.
We have this attitude:
I am right and you are wrong!
Anyone can see how right I am?
Well, this may depend on the eyes and attitude of
those that are watching?
Proverbs 4:23 hides a deep lesson.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are
the issues of life.
I can take you to a family where four generations have refused to talk to the generation before them?
All active in the church, yet without the ability to
see their pain dictates their behavior?
Can you see?
Matthew 6:21 Where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.
Is your heart a garbage can of daily living?
Is your heart full of the garbage of pain,
disappointment and hurt?
Are the words and actions of yesterday, driving your
emotions and life today?
Read the sad verse of Romans 2:5.
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart
treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of
wrath and revelation of righteous judgment of God.
Where is the long suffering? Kindness? Forgiveness?
Wrath is long term anger.
Jesus warned us, to not let the sun go down on our
anger.
Anger prolonged becomes wrath. This is a sin?
To bad, we all know how to blame others?
We know how to pass the buck?
We have learned how to retaliate? All of these
attitudes are destructive time bombs.
Hebrews 12:12-15 is well worth reading.
Paul addresses the root of bitterness and how it
springs up and defiles many.
Roots are hidden from the eye.
Roots are buried in dirt.
Bitterness is buried in much dirt of the pain of the
past.
But the sad thing few realize is bitterness is
inclusive.
Other can see!
I have a fear, more will be in hell over bitterness and unforgiveness than all the other sins combined.
Why? Bitterness is hidden and very seldom repented.
Bitterness wears a religious mask?
There is rain. After a while, the grass grows.
After a while, the cow eats the grass.
The cow chews the grass over and over.
Some more rain, the cow has eaten the grass and drank
the water.
After a while, the cow grows and is with the Father.
After a while, there is a baby cow.
After a while: there is milk for the family.
But the milk came after: a while.
God wants to bless you, His blessings are not instant, but they are sudden.
Suddenly the sound of the wind, but they had to
tarry.
God stretches your patience, but God is growing your
soul!
Jesus never demanded his rights.
He never yelled and screamed at the others,
--- I am right, and your are wrong.
As a matter of fact, he replaced the man’s ear,
that one in ignorant zeal cut off.
Jesus choose to glory in the cross.
The cross mellows and tenderizes in kindness,
patience, and forbearing others.
Amos 3:3, How can two walk together unless they agree?
Good question?
Bitterness and the lack of reconciliation are killing
families and the church.
Psalms 133:1 How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
We must grow up and become leaders illustrating we can --- we can overcome --- we can turn the cheek --- we can forgive.
Emotions can play games in the head of the believer,
we must take charge by faith.
STUDY JOSEPH!
Study David!
David had many opportunities to attack Saul.
As a matter of fact, David or David’s men had many
opportunities to kill Saul.
David refused to take God’s plan into his own hands,
he trusted God to lead and make a way.
David had the opportunity to stir up strife and he
refused.
Why?
If we survive the last days, it will be because we have learned to trust God.
We have to learned to trust God’s Bible.
We have to learned that good comes out of bad.
God, please teach us to put aside earthly problems and brotherly strife and to be overcomers.
God, keep us together.
Keep us working together.
What would happen, if we really believe
Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work
together for the good to them that love God,
to them that are called according to HIS purpose.
Eph. 4:27 Neither give place unto the devil.
Give the devil no place to make us bitter,
allow the Spirit to make you better.
If we saw God’s purpose and plan, we to, like Joseph could feed the brethren that so hurt us.
GOD HAS A PLAN.
His servant,
Wade Martin Hughes Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
Please help me pass this message to others.
This is part #1 0f 2
