Category: Character

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Full Enough?

How full is full enough? Each morning I pour myself a cup of coffee, several cups, but I only fill the cup about 2/3 full. It’s full enough.

If it were any fuller I would probably spill it on my way to the couch or if I’m not paying attention, and I’ve done this before, I spill it as I’m picking it up and then have a stain on my bathrobe. Not a good thing.

When were in a restaurant I watch to see how full the waitress fills my coffee or the water glass. I certainly don’t want to spill and make a mess while out in public. That would be embarrassing.

However, when we take the truck to the gas station and pay for a “fill-up” we want the tank completely full. So much so that a little of the fuel may spill out the neck of the fuel tank. There seems to be levels and conditions of fullness.

For the last several weeks the Lord has been dealing with me on my level of His fullness.

” I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.” Ephesians 3:19 CEV

And right across the page in my Bible are these verses.

“Christ gave these gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. 13 This work must continue until we are all joined together in what we believe and in what we know about the Son of God. Our goal is to become like a full-grown man—to look just like Christ and have all his perfection.” Ephesians 4:12-13 ERV

Is this really possible? To be filled with ALL that God is, to look like Christ, to be full-grown? It must be or the Bible would be lying to us and that would make God’s word inaccurate and unreliable. Either all of God’s word is true or it’s a lie; we don’t get to pick and choose what we want to be true and disregard the rest.

God, the Father, wants us to grow up to be like Jesus. Jesus’ life was filled with the Father’s power. God wants us to experience His power in the same way that Jesus did. He wants us filled.

“ I say this because all of God lives in Christ fully, even in his life on earth. 10 And because you belong to Christ you are complete, having everything you need. Christ is ruler over every other power and authority.” Colossians 2:9-10 ERV

This is God’s desire for all of us who have accepted Christ; Christ is our example of what God desires to do in our lives. The more we get to know His word, the more time we spend with Him the fuller we become. My goal is to be filled to the brim and running over with the power of God.

“You prepared a meal for me in front of my enemies. You welcomed me as an honored guest. My cup is full and spilling over.” Psalm 23:5 ERV

I’m not there yet – but I’m on my way!

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Pursuit of …

I have a question for you. What are you pursuing or on the reverse side of that question, what’s pursuing you?

The first answer that may come to mind is happiness. However, happiness is always changing. What made me happy at 20 is far from what makes me happy now. Some are in pursuit of a good education. Noble goal – it takes dedication, determination and deliberation.

There are those who pursue love. Admirable. We all have a desire to be loved but even that will fall short of expectation if we aren’t diligent and willing to give our all.

Being pursued isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I recall a time when I was little and being pursued by the neighbor’s billy goat. I just wanted to pet him, but he had other ideas. When I realized that his pursuit of me was not going to end well, I ran. I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me but it wasn’t fast enough. I was still butted in the bottom.

There is a pursuit that is beneficial and attainable by everyone.

“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.” Psalm 34:13-15 ESV

Truth and peace are godly pursuits. Doing good is a goal we should all seek to accomplish.

“ …pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” II Timothy 2:22 ESV

The Lord has given us all a dream, a passion in life. When we let Him lead, when we follow His direction, our pursuit with end well.

“Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.” Proverbs 16:3 AMPC

Trust the Lord with your pursuits!

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What’s Wrong Here?

I enjoy doing brain teaser puzzles and games, Word Search, Hidden Objects, Picture Differences, What’s Wrong. I think they help keep my mind and observation skills sharper.

The “what’s missing”, Picture Differences, puzzles can be the most challenging to me.

The other afternoon I was watching a news program and I saw it as a real life what’s-wrong here challenge. People were rude, uncaring, selfish, threatening, angry, and mean spirited. The commentator was expressing their disbelief over the rampant decline in this particular geographic location.

Buildings were being vandalized, garbage filled the streets, and the crime rate was higher than it had ever been. What’s wrong here?

I couldn’t help but wonder…

  • Thou shalt not kill
  • Thou shalt not steal
  • Thou shalt not bear false witness
  • Thou shalt not covet
  • Honor thy father and mother

For years some of the more liberal thinkers of our land have expressed the sentiment that the Bible and godly living is antiquated and too restrictive, so they fought to remove its influence and now, I believer, we are dealing with the consequences.

“People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. 6 If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace.” Romans 8:5-6 CEV

A line from one of my favorite cowboy movies goes like this: “Huey, actions have con – see – quences”.

That is so true! If our actions are God-directed we will have life and peace.

“But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.” Galatians 5:19-25 ERV

“There is no law against these kinds of things”. There are a lot of laws to control wrong behavior, but God makes changes in our hearts that don’t need to be legislated.

I have been challenged by God’s word, challenged to live more intentional. To allow my life to make good consequences. The world around us doesn’t need more laws; it needs lives that are intentionally focused on Christ and His love.

Lives like that bring life and peace!

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No More Excuses

I know I need to but…

Excuses – none of us like excuses. As parents we have heard our children give us a 1000 reasons why they couldn’t or didn’t do what they were told. As co-workers we hear the reasons and excuses on why something wasn’t their responsibility or in their job description.

We have a large segment of our society that won’t take or accept responsibility for their own actions but are quick to justify or excuse their actions.

It’s frustrating to say the least!

Now imagine you are God. How many times each minute do you hear excuses. The devil made me do it was the first excuse ever; I’m not qualified, I’m not talented, I’m too busy…on and on it goes. I was reminded of Moses this morning – making excuses.

“Moses asked the Lord, ‘Suppose everyone refuses to listen to my message, and no one believes that you really appeared to me?'” Exodus 4:1 CEV

And the Lord provided him with signs and an answer.

Then”Moses replied, “I have never been a good speaker. I wasn’t one before you spoke to me, and I’m not one now. I am slow at speaking, and I can never think of what to say.” Exodus 4:10 CEV

The Lord provided him with an additional answer.

Resistance, excuse #3. “Moses begged, ‘Lord, please send someone else to do it.’” Exodus 4:13 CEV

At this point the Lord is angered. He isn’t mad like we get mad but He was angered by Moses’ resistance to obeying what he has been asked to do. It’s as if Moses were saying, I know it’s you Lord but that’s just not enough.

Have you ever said something like that to the Lord? Me neither – ya, right! The Lord has given us His promise to never leave us or forsake us and He’s given us the Holy Spirit to be our strength and our guide, what more do we need? He’s even given us His Word filled with examples of His faithfulness to people in the past.

The Lord will listen to our fears, our concerns and our excuses but He will remind us that He has called us; He won’t give up on us.

“Aaron will speak to the people for you, and you will be like me, telling Aaron what to say. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will tell each of you what to do. 17 Now take this walking stick and use it to perform miracles.” Exodus 4:16-17 CEV

No more excuses – time to go and do what we are called to do knowing that the Lord’s power and promises won’t fail!

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Coals of Fire

I woke up this morning and it was chilly! Not cold, like it was in Montana or Idaho but chilly. We had gone to bed last night and had neglected to turn on the heat.

I found myself, in my sleep, tugging on the blanket and bedspread. I needed it tucked under my chin to keep me warm. I looked at the clock and it read 3:30. Ok, time to get up. When I came out to the living room, I realized why there was a chill in the air. The electric fireplace wasn’t on.

I turned the fireplace on; went straight to the coffee pot and got that started, picked up a lap robe and waited for the room to warm and the coffee to brew. Aww, comfort. I am so thankful for warmth of home.

As I sat here enjoying the increase in temperature a Scripture came to mind. You knew I was going to say that, right? Well, it did.

“If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat. And if they are thirsty, give them something to drink. 22 This will be the same as piling burning coals on their heads. And the Lord will reward you.” Proverbs 25:21-22 CEV

And then these verses came to mind almost immediately after that.

“Love your enemies, and be good to everyone who hates you. 28 Ask God to bless anyone who curses you, and pray for everyone who is cruel to you… 31 Treat others just as you want to be treated.32 If you love only someone who loves you, will God praise you for that? Even sinners love people who love them…35 But love your enemies and be good to them. Lend without expecting to be paid back. Then you will get a great reward, and you will be the true children of God in heaven. He is good even to people who are unthankful and cruel. 36 Have pity on others, just as your Father has pity on you.” Luke 6:27-36 CEV

What a lesson God is wanting us to learn! Be kind to our enemies, do good to those who hate us – feed them, clothe them, provide them with warmth. Really Lord?

He wants us to follow His example. This is exactly what He has done for each of us.

“But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God’s wonderful kindness is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven.” Ephesians 2:5-6 CEV

He showered us with forgiveness; He covered us with His unconditional love! The Father is asking us to share what we have received.

“Peter came up to the Lord and asked, “How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?” 22 Jesus answered: Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!” Matthew 18:21-22 CEV

These verses give us amazing insight into the Father’s love and forgiveness for us.

I’m glad the house was chilly. The Lord took the time to remind me of how He wants me to treat others; I’m to fill their lives with the warmth of His love.

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What Matters Most

I’m going to ask you to think about doing something. Something different, something special.

I want you to make a list, an actual physical list not just one in your head, of 10 things you want your children, your grandchildren, your closest friends and people in general to remember about you when you’re gone.

Several years ago, I brought up the same thought in one of my writings. Since then, my Mom has passed and a number of dear friends. In fact, just a couple weeks ago I was asked to speak at one friend’s memorial – the thing I could recall most vividly was her kindness and her love for the Lord.

I was reading in Joshua again this morning and was reminded what the 2 1/2 tribes of Israel that stayed on the East side of the Jordan wanted people to remember about them.

As they were returning to the land they had been promised, they stopped and built an altar, an altar that their fellow tribesmen thought was sacrilege. However, look at the reply of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh.

“…No, we built the altar to remind us and you and the generations to come that we will worship the Lord. And so we will keep bringing our sacrifices to the Lord’s altar, there in front of his sacred tent. Now your descendants will never be able to say to our descendants, ‘You can’t worship the Lord.’ But if they do say this, our descendants can answer back, ‘Look at this altar our ancestors built! It’s like the Lord’s altar, but it isn’t for offering sacrifices. It’s here to remind us and you that we belong to the Lord, just as much as you do’…The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar ‘A Reminder to Us All That the Lord Is Our God.’” Joshua 22:29-30 & 34 CEV

A reminder to us all that the Lord is our God! I want my life to have reminders that the Lord is my God.

I think people will probably remember that I was a good cook and I love to entertain. It makes me happy to have people in my home and I enjoy honoring my friends and neighbors. Maybe, people will remember this blog that came every morning, but more than anything I want people to remember my love for the Lord and His word.

Let me ask again, what things do you want to be remembered for? What matters most?

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Goodness – Gracious

My new backyard has me looking at the Superstition Mountains. Each morning and evening when I look at their majesty, I find myself using an old expression, Goodness Gracious. That’s something my grandmother would have said.

I started thinking – what does that really mean? When she said it, it would have meant
“God, you are so good; look at the beauty You have designed”.

What does it mean to be gracious? Some definitions are godly character, kindness, dignity, mericiful, compassionate. Gracious – displaying grace.

Nature is a display of God’s goodness and grace.

So what is grace?

Grace: receiving the goodness of God that we don’t deserve. It is given freely with no strings attached. The grace of God took Jesus to the cross long before we were ever born so that we could be brought into right relationship with the Father.

In II Peter 3, the entire chapter is written about the return of the Lord to earth. Peter says that some will grow weary waiting, others will call it foolish but he admonishes us to be ready. God is not willing that any should perish but He desires that all should repent. The reason it’s taking so long for Him to return is the Father wants all to come to salvation in Him. He wants everyone to experience His grace; He is gracious!

We are to grow in grace. That doesn’t mean we acquire more grace but that we understand the scope of God’s grace to a greater extent. When we are born human, we have all the “humanness” we will ever have but we grow in our capacity to understand and function in our humanity. It’s the same with our life given to us by grace.

As we grow in our knowledge of the Father, we see more clearly how His grace is given to each and everyone of us. We see that He has provided for us through His amazing love and goodness. He is merciful and He is gracious (full of grace). We are to be like Him. Growing in grace causes us to see that our failures and those of others are covered by His grace and so we can go forward, forgiving as we ourselves have been forgiven.

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” II Peter 3:18 KJV

or maybe you understand it better this way

“Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ help you to keep on growing. Praise Jesus now and forever! Amen.” II Peter 3:18 CEV

I pray that you have “goodness – gracious” moments in your day. Things that take your breath away – things that remind you of God’s goodness and grace!

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Good Seeds Good Soil

In years past this is the time I start thinking about what I will be planting in my garden. This year there will be no garden. There’s no place to put one in at the RV park.

Although I won’t be planting a physical garden with tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro and the like, I am expecting another kind of harvest.

The primary step to ensure a successful garden is the preparation of the soil. One place we lived had horrible soil. It was rocky and the base was a sticky clay. I had to break up the ground, remove the stones and then add multiple bags of good soil into my garden bed. It was hard to get a good harvest.

“Plow your fields, scatter seeds of justice, and harvest faithfulness. Worship me, the Lord,
and I will send my saving power down like rain.” Hosea 10: 12 CEV

The hard ground of our hearts needs to be broken up too; the stones of bitterness, selfishness, jealousy and anger need to be removed. Good, fertile soil needs to be brought in.

“Jesus told them: If you don’t understand this story, you won’t understand any others. 14 What the farmer is spreading is really the message about the kingdom. 15 The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But Satan soon comes and snatches it away from them. 16 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it right away. 17 But they don’t have any roots, and they don’t last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.

18 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. 19 But they start worrying about the needs of this life. They are fooled by the desire to get rich and to have all kinds of other things. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 20 The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and welcome the message. They produce thirty or sixty or even a hundred times as much as was planted.” Mark 14:13-20 CEV

There are four kinds of ground in this story that Jesus is telling – the hard soil of the road, the rocky ground, the ground with weeds and the good ground. The same seed is being spread on all the ground, it’s the message of God’s kingdom.

Hard-heartedness, lack of being rooted, anxiety and worry kept the seed from growing in each of the first three soils. The good ground is those who hear God’s message and take it to heart. These are tender hearted and the seed takes root and produces a good harvest.

I’m taking inventory – preparing my heart. Have I allowed the ground to get hard? Are there stones that need to be removed, perhaps it’s time to weed out the thorns of distraction and worry?

I want the seed of God’s word to be in a constant state of production. “Lord, I desire to have a heart of good soil that creates an environment for the good seed of Your word to grow”.

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Generosity Is God’s Gift

I have to admit that I struggled with generosity for quite some time. Not that I was selfish, I just didn’t think that the “little” I had could make a difference in someone else’s life. And then I realized that giving is a gift to the one giving as well as the one receiving.

Generosity and trust go hand in hand.

Some people are stingy and miserly because they are afraid they won’t have enough for themselves. Others react that way because they feel everything they have is a result of “their” own hard work and so they have no desire to share.

But a truly generous person realizes that everything they have is a blessing from the Lord and that they can trust God to provide ALL their needs. When the Lord instructs us to give He provides!

I was really challenged by the story of Elijah and the widow woman of Zarepath this morning. Oh, I’ve read it many times – many times but this morning I was challenged.

“There was no rain, so after a while the stream became dry… 9 “Go to Zarephath in Sidon and stay there. There is a widow there that I commanded to take care of you…Elijah said to her, “Would you bring me a small cup of water to drink?” 11 As she was going to get the water, Elijah said, “Bring me a piece of bread too, please.”

12 The woman answered, “I promise you, before the Lord your God, that I have nothing but a handful of flour in a jar and a little bit of olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather a few pieces of wood for a fire to cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.”

13 Elijah said to the woman, “Don’t worry. Go home and cook your food as you said. But first make a small piece of bread from the flour that you have and bring it to me. Then cook some for yourself and your son. 14 The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘That jar of flour will never be empty and the jug will always have oil in it. This will continue until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.’”

15 So the woman went home and did what Elijah told her to do. And Elijah, the woman, and her son had enough food for a long time. 16 The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty. This happened just as the Lord said through Elijah.”
I Kings 17:7-16 ERV

Here we have a widowed woman in a town who is down to her very last morsel of food. And she is presented with a life and death challenge. This preacher walks into town and requests some bread.

She has a choice – obey God and feed the prophet or make her bread, feed her son and starve. I’m sure she struggled a bit in making her decision. Maybe her struggle came when the Lord first spoke to her or maybe it was when she was confronted by the prophet. A mother who has already seen her husband die and now she knows the life of her son is in danger – her instinct is to protect her child.

She chooses to obey God! Struggle over – victory comes.

What are you struggling with today? Has the Lord asked you to be a blessing to someone – maybe even a stranger? Be obedient, follow the Lord’s instruction, His provision is always enough!

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A New Wardrobe

Living in the RV with limited closet space, I’ve had to rethink my clothing choices. I have never been up on the latest fashions nor am I one with a need for a variety of shoes. I thought I would be fine sharing the one closet with Dave but it has been a challenge.

A couple of long sleeve shirts, my jeans, a few t-shirts. No dresses, well, one. Jackets in a little side closet and shoes on the floor of the closet but it’s far from neat and tidy. I have to rework the space in the next few weeks. Something needs to be done.

I am fascinated by those ads that boast “these 12 essentials are all you need for a fashionable Spring/Summer or Fall/Winter wardrobe”. Twelve pieces. I could do that!

This morning I went to the expert on what to wear. No, not Dave – although he is very good in helping me pick out what looks good, I went to the Apostle Paul. He has the inside scoop on a line of fashion from the Holy Spirit. These items are a must have for anyone. Wearing this line will make anyone look good!

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:12-17 NLT

There you have it! Everything we need for this year’s fashion – tenderness, mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace and thankfulness. Ten pieces that we can mix and match to be perfectly dressed for any occasion.

Time to go through our closets and throw out those old, ill-fitting garments of bitterness, anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, lying and a mean spirit.

“But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Colossians 3:8-10 NLT

It’s the perfect time to clean out the closet – get rid of the old and bring in the new!

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