Stay Connected“I am deeply appreciative of everything Michael shares from personal experience. To me, it is the most reassuring and helpful of all.” A listener.
Conversations about love wrapped in stories from my biggest failures. Learn with me the best ways to be kind when your spouse, kids, parents, siblings, and friends are being turds!
Copyright: © Smalley Institute Copyright 2018 All rights reserved.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 (NLT). Peace is the birthright of every believer in all circumstances. It is found only in God and is maintained through having a close relationship with him. The point here is to find peace, rest in Jesus before ever trying to obey his commands. Otherwise law keeping becomes a terrible bondage. Many whom Jesus addresses are weary and burdened precisely because of their efforts to keep the Law (cf. Acts 15:10). Jesus grants rest to his people by giving them his law (vv. 28–29)! In fact, the subject of the very next passage is that God revealed the fourth commandment to grant rest (the meaning of the word sabbath). Jesus’ yoke is easy!
Carl Lundquist in Silent Issues of the Church, writes: Henry Wingblade used to say that Christian personality is hidden deep inside us. It is unseen, like the soup carried in a tureen high over a waiter’s head. No one knows what’s inside—unless the waiter is bumped and he trips! Just so, people don’t know what’s inside us until we’ve been bumped. But if Christ is living inside, what spills out is the fruit of the Spirit. "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace." Romans 8:5–6 NLT
Anyone who has lived or worked in a skyscraper knows tall buildings sway in the wind. There’s no danger; the engineers know it will happen, but the sway is uncomfortable for people inside. When engineers and architects designed Citicorp Center in New York, they decided to do something about it. At the top of the fifty-nine story building, they installed a machine called a tuned mass damper. The machine, writes Joe Morgenstern in New Yorker magazine, “was essentially a four-hundred-and-ten-ton block of concrete, attached to huge springs and floating on a film of oil. When the building swayed, the block’s inertia worked to damp the movement and calm tenants’ queasy stomachs.” When the winds of life gust around us, there is a stabilizing force in the heart of every believer that calms his or her fears. It is trust in God. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” John 14:1
Some of you are not going to like this one because it’s something you struggle with everyday. Personally this is finally something I don’t really struggle through a lot. I think my blessing is that I’ve gone through so many insane things that it has made it easier for me not to freak out about the future. However, let’s not bring up: self-discipline, thoughts, lying and a whole bunch more! The point is take a deep breath and trust Him. All of us are in the same boat dealing with the waves of this fallen world. But if worrying about the future is your thing, the truth is that uneasiness and anxiety about the future is a faith problem and grounded in a lack of trust in God and what he has promised.
The difficulties and struggles of your relationship are going to tempt you to give up. The evil one is going to flood your mind with thoughts like, “Does God even love me? This is never going to get better. I can’t keep doing this!” Never stop praying. Never stop believing. Never stop hoping in Jesus. Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-3
For me this statement, isn’t just about prayer. Even though yesterday we talked about how important prayer is and how it should be the beginning, middle and end of everything we do. Jesus suffered. If you keep reading in Matthew 26:36 you can see how his best friends in life let him down. They just couldn’t stay awake. Jesus Christ’s life was characterised by suffering. There are two things you need to learn today, two things that can free you from suffering.
"That does not mean that one needs to be persistent because God is reluctant to give. The point of the parable is not that God, like the person in the house, must be persuaded to give. Just the opposite. One needs to be persistent because God longs to give good gifts to his children, and he is sure to answer." (Schreiner, T. R.) “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9 A Beautiful Garden of Prayer by James Henry Fillmore and Eleanor Allen Schroll in 1920: There’s a garden where Jesus is waiting, There’s a place that is wondrously fair. For it glows with the light of His presence, ‘Tis the beautiful garden of prayer. In my own life, and what I’ve often heard from others, “I’ve got nothing left but to pray...”. When are we going to stop treating prayer as a “last resort”? It should be the primary way we work on change for ourselves and others.
“But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.” Matthew 5:39 Obeying the commands is a heart issue. If you don’t make it a heart issue, you’ll do your best to find a way around the commands of Jesus. We can’t ignore these demands by Jesus. Obedience is the fruit of loving Jesus. How does Jesus want you to love others? ?We are no longer under the rule of reciprocity! This is about freedom from hurt and unmet expectations. You actually don’t have to hit back, you can walk in freedom because of what Jesus did for you. In Jesus you are: Defended Restored Healed Set free Redeemed Cared for You are loved! You are accepted! You matter! And now go and give what you have received to others!
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12 In chapter 7:1-12 Jesus is addressing your attitude toward others and God, specifically being judgmental. There’s two types of judging: Hypocritica Healthy Once you get your own junk, how you approach others about theirs will be different, more compassionate and understanding. You know that God is the actual judge and you are merely trying to help out a fellow disciple of Jesus. How does Jesus want you to love others? Positive acts of love defeat a judgmental spirit. This one statement is a grand summary of all that Jesus taught about relationships with others. He wants you to be Compassionate Forgiving Understanding Empathic Frankly! All the things you are wanting from others! It’s really about turning your complaints about other people and how they are treating you into acts of love for them. How is this possible? Trusting in Jesus that he will empower you to pull it off. Think of it as a miracle, because it is.
Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied. Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” Luke 7:40-43 Those who realize they are in the most need of forgiveness are the ones who will respond with the most love and gratitude. Jesus wasn’t trying to point out that Simon was somehow rude, but that the woman showed “extraordinary” love. People who assume they are all good will never experience the kind of love Jesus is offering because they don’t understand their own brokenness. How does Jesus want you to love others? Recognize your need for forgiveness and give that to others. Be lovingHave gratitude: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Do you really not understand your own junk? "But the point of the entire story is that her love is the result of her forgiveness. That love and gratitude flow from forgiveness is clearly the point of the parable (vv. 41–42), and the woman’s actions of love toward Jesus stem from her experience of a forgiveness that has already been received. (Schreiner, T. R. (1995). Luke. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 816). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
