Willful Disobedience

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (James 4:17, NLT)

If you've followed Key Tov Blog for very long, you know we have a wonderful dog named Bo. He is a wonderful, obedient, loving dog. He is a rich blessing to our family.

There are activities Bo loves and there are activities Bo hates. 

He loves to go bird hunting. 

He hates to get a bath.

Bo has been bird hunting a lot lately. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the last two weekends and he's hunting again this upcoming weekend. Bo will hunt from daylight to dark! 

Due to all that hunting, he needed a bath today. Bo's bath is a huge joke at my house. He runs. We laugh. He hides. We laugh. He pouts. We laugh. It is hilarious how much he hates his bath.

My middle child gathered Bo's bathing paraphernalia. Bo knows the drill. As soon as he saw his bath items come out of the cabinet, he ran to Mike in hopes Mike could rescue him out of getting bathed. Nope. And he pouted the whole time he was being bathed. My girls took him for a walk after his bath so he could dry off before coming back inside.

As always, the "joke" was on Bo. He was upset while we were all laughing at him over his behavior.

Mike and I were sitting outside on our lanai about to eat breakfast when Bo came back into the house. He ran to the door as if to tattle on the girls. Again, we laughed. Bo isn't allowed to sit near the table while we eat so we told him to go back inside. He turned around, stuck his tail between his legs, and slowly walked back inside, and laid down…right inside the door. Again, we laughed. Then he went a step further, and stuck his front paw just outside the door.

We laughed again and I said, "That's like doing what I said, but not doing it all the way, and with a bad attitude." We left him there and didn't say a word to correct him.

All through breakfast, Bo continued to adjust his body weight in an attempt to relieve the pain and pressure on his own body! All the while, leaving his leg outside the door. Not doing anything to help himself. All he had to do was move his leg and put his whole body inside!

Obedience.

Every time he adjusted and groaned we laughed at him. I thought, it would be way easier (and less painful) for him to just do what I said. The floor is way more comfortable than laying on those sliding glass door tracks!

He was mad and pouting while the rest of us went happily about our day.

Then. All the sudden. My heart cried out, "Oh Lord my Lord, for all the times I didn't do what I knew to do, but instead made adjustments here and there in an effort to relieve self inflicted pain and pressure. How many times I've ran to You and tried to get out of doing something I knew I had to do, just like Bo ran to Mike to get out of having a bath! Thank You for Your Son who taught us, "Not my will, but Your will be done". Thank You for loving me enough to teach me follow through. Lord, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me! Oh great is Your faithfulness! Oh great is Your unfailing love-love-LOVE! Thank You for showing me life lessons through the attitude and behavior of my dog! I will keep my heart and attitude connected with You and Your Word! I will attend to Your words, I will incline my ear to Your sayings! I will be willing, teachable, and obedient! Father, I pray for each reader right now. In the name of Jesus, I thank You for conviction that prompts us to get off the "tracks" we're on, stop making adjustments trying to relieve pain and pressure, and to just obey Your life giving Word! Forgive us for pouting! Forgive us for all the times we've known what to do and didn't do it. Thank You for forgiving us as we forgive others. Thank You for teaching us to operate in love, mercy, and grace to others as You have so graciously loved us and extended Your heart of mercy and grace to us!

James 4:17

Luke 22:42

Psalm 51:10

Lamentations 3-22, 23

Psalm 136

Psalm 37:23

Proverbs 4:20

Ephesians 4:32

Take out the Trash...and Leave it Out

But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. (Mark 11:25, NLT)

I recently attended a women's conference where Andi Andrew was the special speaker. To learn more about her, please click in the link below.

http://www.nycreligion.info 

During her message, she discussed how a situation had arisen wherein she needed to apologize to her daughter. Mrs. Andrew said, "I am sorry, will you forgive me?" Her daughters response was, "I will always forgive." Mrs. Andrew told her daughter, "Then you will always be free."

Unforgiveness reminds me of trash. Yep, stinky...funky...who knows what's in those trash bags. On second thought, who wants to know…eek.

When my girls were old enough to start taking out the trash, their trash removal skills wasn't exactly meeting my expectations. I had grown accustomed to Mike taking out the trash. He was like a trash can fairy. One moment trash was in the can. The next moment, the can was empty with a fresh, new liner. No more signs of trash anywhere.

When my girls first started taking out the trash...let's just say…additional training was required. A typical scenario went something like this. The bag was torn while it was being pulled out of the can, instead of carrying the bag they pulled the bag across the floor (leaving in it's trail…nasty liquid trash something), and a trail of trash (that was falling out of the growing hole as it was being dragged) from my kitchen to the dumpster as two little munchkin voices were protesting in unison, "Ohhh this is disgusting!" And "WHY do WE have to do this?!"  They would have to pick up all the stray trash, take bleach and clean everything the trash touched as well as all surrounding areas, and then scrub their little hands to remove all possibilities of whatever lives in there. As a result, my girls trash taking abilities have vastly improved, thankfully.  

Have you ever heard anyone say, "I want to forgive, but I just can't" or "Oh I will never forgive them." And the best one of all, "Oh I will forgive but I will never forget because they owe me!" 

Is it just me or does that remind you of dragging trash around? 

I've heard one of my fathers in the faith repeatedly say, "Forgiving someone is like unlocking the prison door…and freeing yourself."

If you've been having difficulty forgiving someone, declare by faith that you forgive them. If the offense attempts to arise again, declare, "Nope, I forgave them by faith, I believe I receive forgiveness as I forgive others. I refuse to waver." (James 1:6) 

Once we "take out the trash"…we do not drag it back inside. 

As you determine to forgive and consistently declare, supernaturally, forgiveness comes. What you are saying will be established and light will shine on your ways! (Job 22:28) You will no longer be dragging unforgiveness everywhere you go. You will no longer be dragging unforgiveness along the floor of your heart and there will no longer be a trail of unforgiveness funk! 

You will always be free!

Free: Not under the control or in the power of another (Mahalo google!) Who is in control of you? Father, thank You for teaching us how to walk in freedom. Thank You for forgiving us as we forgive others. Thank You for remembering our sins no more as You removed them as far as the east is from the west. But most of all, thank You for Your Son, Jesus. He is too wonderful for words! We are so thankful for Your love and the gift of Him! Hebrews 10:17

Psalm 103:12 

John 3:16

Success!

Last November, during a mainland trip to Missouri, we accompanied family and friends to the Sight and Sound Theatre in Branson and watched Joseph. The depiction of this classic was phenomenal!

Since that time, Joseph has been on my mind a lot. The bible tells us about the struggles Joseph faced. I wrote about that in a previous blog post, "In the Crack." You can read it at the link below.

http://keytovblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/in-crack.html

While studying Joseph, I also learned he:

• Was successful in everything. (Genesis 39:3)
• Was handsome and well built. (Genesis 39:6)
• Shown faithful love by God. (Genesis 39:21)
• Was the prison warden's favorite and successful in prison. (Genesis 39:23)
• Was made ruler of Egypt, second only to the king. (Genesis 41:40)
• Got married. (Genesis 41:45)
• Became a father, twice. (Genesis 41:50)
• Walked in unprecedented forgiveness. (Genesis 45:15)
• Gave his family the best. (Genesis 45:18)

Did I mention, he went from prison to being second only to the king?
Joseph was so successful in everything he did because the Lord was with Him! (Genesis 39:2)

The Lord is with us too! (Zephaniah 3:17) As we study and meditate on His Word we will prosper and have good success! (Joshua 1:8 NLT)

My prayer for every reader today is to prosper as their soul prospers and to have good success in everything they set their hand to in the name of Jesus!

Please make this confession with me today!

Father God, I thank you for always being with me! I thank You for never leaving or forsaking me! Thank You for teaching me Your Word and giving me a heart to meditate on it day and night! It is because of You that I prosper in every area of my life! I thank You for my successful life, I know all good things comes from you!

In the Crack

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor. (James 4:10, NLT)

Last week, we flew from the Big Island to Oahu. After getting our rental car and while driving away from the airport, I looked up at an overpass and saw a beautiful, colorful, bush, growing in the crack of the overpass. The picture below doesn't really show how pretty and colorful the bush was but it does give you an idea of its surroundings.

The bush was not only living in the crack but was thriving in the hard place, surrounded (on all sides except one and the top) by concrete. I couldn't see any soil and I couldn't figure out it's root system. I could see, it was positioned to receive a lot of sun. I pondered that for quite a while and I was reminded of Joseph, the man with the coat of many colors.

His brothers:
Hated him. (Genesis 37:4)
Hated him some more. (Genesis 37:5)
Hated him all the more. (Genesis 37:8)
Threw him in a pit. (Genesis 37:22)
Sold him into slavery. (Genesis 37:28)

Joseph:
Was falsely accused of rape by (of all people) his master's wife. (Genesis 39:14)
Thrown in prison. (Genesis 39:20)
Forgotten about. (Genesis 40:23)
Wept loudly. (Genesis 45:2)

Like the bush, Joseph experienced life in the crack (hard place).

Hard decisions are never easy to make.

When Joseph's life was in the hands of his brothers, they intended evil. But when the life of his brothers was in the hands of Joseph, he made the decision to not only forgive them, but went further and kept them from starving. That's some powerful character right there.

Have you ever been in the crack (hard place)? Like Joseph, you are not alone. The Lord is with you. (Genesis 39:2).

If you are currently in a hard place, position yourself to receive a lot of the Son! He will make you succeed in all you do! (Genesis 39:2)

Big Doofuss!

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21, NKJV)

Last week, Mike and I planned an interisland trip, partly business, partly leisure. We scheduled our sitter who just happens to be the best sitter in the world, thank you Julie, we love and appreciate you! Everything was all set and ready to roll and we were so excited.

We had an early plane to catch and had a lot to get done before we left for the day so our house was buzzing. It was crunch time and right before I walked out the door, Mike made a negative comment under his breath, which by the way is one of my hugest pet peeves…ever. If he is going to say something, I say belt it from the rooftop! Well, not from the rooftop, but I’m sure you get the idea.

I took a slow…deep…breath, determined to ignore what he mumbled, and determined to overcome the temptation to scream, “WHAT DID YOU SAY?!” I was home free...almost…when all of the sudden my middle child decided to loudly proclaim what he said!

That's about the time I heard Pastor Larry in my head repeatedly saying, "Choose not to be offended. Choose not to be offended. CHOOOOOSE NOT TO BE OFFENDED." I wanted to scream, "SHUT UP PASTOR LARRY!" But I couldn't because that would be like telling my dad to shut up and I just can't do that no matter how loud my flesh screams!

I remained silent. No, despite popular belief, that is not an impossibility. We were driving down the road and I quietly tried to put on my bracelet which it is a tiny bit too short so I generally ask Mike to help me. But this day, I was determined to do it by myself! He saw me struggling and calmly said, "Do you want me to help you with that?" I softly answered, "No" but he knew what I was thinking. I was thinking, "No! I never want you to help me with anything, ever again!"

That's about the time, I…again…heard Pastor Larry repeatedly saying, "Choose not to be offended. Choose not to be offended. CHOOOOOSE NOT TO BE OFFENDED." Please refer to the previous “Pastor Larry” paragraph.

As we quietly drove down the road and this mental war waged, Mike finally said, "Your eyes are so beautiful, sometimes you remind me of an Egyptian Queen." At which time I wanted to roll my eyes in the back of my head and scream, "OH SHUT UP YOU BIG DOOFUSS!" And, for good measure, also add scriptural reasons why a “compliment” of comparing my eyes to an Egyptian queen’s eyes were totally unbiblical! I didn’t know how, but for a split second I was going to use my phone to research the subject and prove my point!

But...alas…I didn't…for many reasons.

One of which, even though he used bad judgement and made a mistake…he is still the authority placed in my life…by God. I believe God called him to be my husband, this includes imperfections. God didn't give me a "mistake loophole". God has never told me, "Mike is your authority as long as he never makes a mistake." As a result, the way I respond to Mike is between me and God. Mike is affected by how I treat him; however, I answer to God for how I treat him. I chose life over death. (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Secondly, I didn’t want my girls to see me respond to their father (the authority God placed in their life) with disrespect.

So...I purposefully laughed...I laughed really hard! Then he laughed! Then my girls laughed!
(Nehemiah 8:10, Ecclesiastes 3:1,4, Proverbs 15:15, Proverbs 17:22)

See, I had two choices.

1. Break the Cycle of Offense (or)
2. Continue the Cycle of Offense

“you must make the decision that regardless of how you feel, you are not going to be offended”, Dr. Larry Ollison, Breaking the Cycle of Offense (www.faithman.org)

I felt like smacking him...but, I’ve read the book…twice. I continue to refer back to it when needed. Personally, I believe there should be an app for that! The book is life changing when the principles are applied.

• Get it.
• Read it.
• Apply it.

You will be glad you did!

Screaming Point

But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. (Mark 11:25, NLT)

Last week, one of my children was having a very difficult day. She continually refused to cooperate in school, she threw a tantrum when I told her to help her sister clean the kitchen and at one point, she screamed, “Why do moms have to be so mean?!”

It was at the screaming point that I notified her father via telephone of her struggles.

! DUN-DUN-DUN !

Our day progressed much in the same manner as it had started. That is, until right before Dad was due home. Then said child moved into suck up mode which seemed like less of true repentance and more of manipulationtance (I needed a "tance" suffix for rhyming purposes). About five minutes before Dad was due home, she said, “Mommy, I apologize for making so much strife today.” I accepted her apology and referred her to her father. 

Once their meeting was adjourned, she sincerely apologized and promised to change.

This made me search my heart, and ask God to reveal to me incidents that I need to make amends for by sincerely approaching those I’ve hurt (known and unknown). I also asked Him to show me where my attitude needed adjusting to align with His Word. He is faithful to flood my heart with light! (Ephesians 1:18)

How about you?

Are there amends you need to make by asking for forgiveness?

What about one step further? Is there anyone you can forgive today? Even if that certain someone doesn’t or can’t approach you and ask for forgiveness, you can still choose to release the offense from your heart, forgive and walk in freedom.

My prayer for you today is, Father God, in the precious name of your Son Jesus, I pray You move on the hearts and minds of those who read this blog post today. Open the eyes of their understanding, flood their hearts with light so that they can understand the confident hope You have given to those You have called! I thank You Lord, in advance for the many praise reports that will come flooding in and the lives that will be changed because of your gift of amazing grace and forgiveness. I count it all for Your glory, amen!