Category: Relationship

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Seasoned with Humility

Are you ready? This morning’s seeds will season any life.

Meekness: humility, gentleness. Who doesn’t need more humility demonstrated in our lives. Think of how many arguments would be ended before they started if each of us were a bit more humble – if we didn’t feel it was necessary to defend ourselves to those who didn’t understand or to “stand up for ourselves” so we wouldn’t be taken advantage of. Yes, we all need to plant seeds of meekness.

Jesus is our example of meekness and humility. He is the Son of God but he took on the form of a man to come to earth for us. He experienced ridicule and persecution from the very ones he was coming to die for. He didn’t defend himself not even at the judgment hall before his crucifixion. What he did defend was his Father; he stood unflinchingly strong on the Word of God. He didn’t back down and in fact, verbally battled those who came against and spoke contrary to God’s word and His nature.

“Blessed are the meek (humble): for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” James 4:10

“Young people, I have something to say to you too. You should accept the authority of the elders. You should all have a humble attitude in dealing with each other. “God is against the proud, but he is kind to the humble.” So be humble under God’s powerful hand. Then he will lift you up when the right time comes.” I Peter 5:5-6

“God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient.” Colossians 3:12

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

When we plant meekness and allow it to grow we will be like Jesus and make of ourselves no reputation but represent and defend the name of Almighty God.

“Think as Christ Jesus thought. 6 Jesus has always been as God is. But He did not hold to His rights as God. 7 He put aside everything that belonged to Him and made Himself the same as a servant who is owned by someone. He became human by being born as a man. 8 After He became a man, He gave up (humbled) His important place and obeyed by dying on a cross. 9 Because of this, God lifted Jesus high above everything else. He gave Him a name that is greater than any other name. 10 So when the name of Jesus is spoken, everyone in heaven and on earth and under the earth will bow down before Him. 11 And every tongue will say Jesus Christ is Lord. Everyone will give honor to God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 NLV

You’ve heard the term “stage mom”, well Jesus had a “disciple mom” to deal with. She wanted her sons to have important roles in the kingdom that Christ was setting up. See, many thought that Jesus came to set up a physical kingdom which would overthrow the Roman rule and as such they were looking for places of distinction in this kingdom.

“The mother of James and Johncame to Jesus with her two sons. She knelt down and started begging him to do something for her. 21 Jesus asked her what she wanted, and she said, “When you come into your kingdom, please let one of my sons sit at your right side and the other at your left.”

22 Jesus answered, “Not one of you knows what you are asking. Are you able to drink from the cupthat I must soon drink from?” James and John said, “Yes, we are!” Matthew 20:20-22 CEV

The most important people in the kingdom sat at the king’s right and left side. Jesus, however, knew that His kingdom was a spiritual one and not one on earth. So when he asked the question if they were willing to drink of the same cup as Him he was referring to the suffering of his death. James and John didn’t realize that and so they answered that they were able to do that.

The reason Jesus pushed through fatigue, ridicule, and hardship was because He had put on a coat of humility or meekness.

“And if you want to be first, you must be the slave of the rest. 28 The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescuemany people.” Matthew 20:27-28 CEV

Who is it we can serve today? Serving those we love can at times may be more difficult than serving strangers. When we serve the same people day in and day out we can develop a resentment if we aren’t careful. We begin to ask, “what have they done for me” or “do they even appreciate what I’m doing”. Questions like this are a true sign that there are some weeds in the garden trying to choke off the fruit that grows from the seeds of humility. Pull them out immediately!

How? By thanking God for bringing such wonderful people into our lives and by thanking Him for giving us the opportunity to love and care for them. Recognize and accept the wonderful assignment we have been given, an assignment that no one else in the world has been trusted with nor can they do it any better. God has prepared us for this very thing.

Be grateful for the ability and the opportunity to serve others, it’s what makes us more like Jesus.

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Let the Planting Begin

Now that the ground in our garden is prepared, it’s ready to receive seeds. We will be planting a variety of seeds and our garden with have a bountiful harvest.

I have a number of packets of seeds that I have found in Scripture and there may be others that you think of that I have overlooked. Remember it’s your garden and you choose what you would like to harvest. Here’s a few of the seeds that I would like you to consider; gentleness, peace, joy, love, self-control, faith, grace, humility, and discipline. Sounds like a pretty good variety to me.

This morning let’s start with gentleness or kindness.

Gentle, kind people are like Jesus – listening, reaching out, touching, being moved with compassion. They are willing to lay down their interest and well-being for that of those around them. Truly gentle people are willing to let you have the last piece of pie and not remind you of it later. They are content to sit and listen as a child or elderly person go on and on about their day without thinking of what else needs to be done. Truly kind people, like the boy scouts, help little old ladies across the street and rescue kittens out of trees.

O Lord, how I need this packet of seeds to be planted in my garden and to tend it carefully so it grows and matures. There are times I am truly kind and lay aside my own agenda, without forethought, for others but I have to honestly confess that many times, it is an act of will – knowing this is the right thing and not a natural reaction of God’s character flowing through me.

“A kind and gentle woman gains respect, but violent men gain only wealth. 17 People who are kind will be rewarded for their kindness, but cruel people will be rewarded with trouble.” Proverbs 11:16-17 ERV

“As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. 3 Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3 CEV

“God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. 13 Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:12-13 ERV

“A gentle answer makes anger disappear, but a rough answer makes it grow.” Proverbs 15:1 ERV

“Patience and gentle talk can convince a ruler and overcome any problem.” Proverbs 25:15 CEV

“Don’t quit your job simply because the boss is angry with you. If you remain calm and helpful, you can correct even great mistakes.” Ecclesiastes 10:4 ERV

“Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest.” Matthew 11:29 ERV

Now make sure that all those seeds are planted well in the soil of your heart. Water them, make sure they get plenty of “Son shine” and you’ll be bringing in a harvest in no time.

Be a gentle giant today – I’m praying for you!!

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How Does Your Garden Grow

Each year about this time I begin to plan my garden. No, it’s not a big garden, just a few rows but I love tending it and watching it grow.

 

I try to make it better than the previous year’s. Last year I decided to plant both vegetables and flowers in the same garden area. I loved the color of the flowers while I was waiting for the veggies to grow large enough for harvest.

This year I will revamp that a bit and place the flowers in the back row and keep the vegetable up front so they are easier to tend. Since it’s such a small patch there’s no need for a rototiller just a hoe and some good ol’ fashioned hand labor.

We had such a warm winter I was all but ready to get my vegetable starts in the ground and then the last week  turned off cold with frost nearly every morning so I must wait a bit longer. Don’t want the tender plants to get frost bite.

Isn’t that the way life  is for us. We want new experiences, new growth but we don’t want anything to harm the good that we desire to cultivate.  Some of the new growth needs to be pulled out because it will be detrimental to the good that we desire to see. Weeds of jealousy, anger, greed, gossip, bitterness and lying might spring up and have a beautiful flower but they are deadly and must be removed.

“Put out of your life all these things: bad feelings about other people, anger, temper, loud talk, bad talk which hurts other people, and bad feelings which hurt other people. 32 You must be kind to each other. Think of the other person. Forgive other people just as God forgave you because of Christ’s death on the cross.” Ephesians 4:31-32 NLV

Jesus taught his disciples that His Word should be treated like seed. Good seed. But if the ground, our hearts, aren’t prepared properly we won’t get the harvest that we desire.

“ The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 23 The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was planted.” Matthew 13:31-33 CEV

So the first thing we do in Gardening 101 is prepare the soil. Break up the dirt clods, remove the rocks, pull out the weeds, fertilize it and then give it a good soaking of water.

“If you plant goodness, you will harvest faithful love. Plow your ground, and you will harvest with the Lord. He will come, and he will make goodness fall on you like rain.” Hosea 10:12 ERV

Preparing the soil is dirty work but it is well worth the effort. Get ready for a bountiful harvest!

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Becoming a Good Soldier

Just yesterday I asked you to imagine that you were there when Jesus healed the leper. In the very next verses we observe a conversation that Jesus had with a captain in the Army. He was a man of rank, deserving of respect. A man who commanded others with authority.

“5 When Jesus was going into the town of Capernaum, an army officer came up to him and said, 6 “Lord, my servant is at home in such terrible pain that he can’t even move.”

7 “I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied.

8 But the officer said, “Lord, I’m not good enough for you to come into my house. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. 9 I have officers who give orders to me, and I have soldiers who take orders from me. I can say to one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes. I can say to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I can say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he will do it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was so surprised that he turned and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you that in all of Israel I’ve never found anyone with this much faith!…

13 Then Jesus said to the officer, “You may go home now. Your faith has made it happen.”  Right then his servant was healed.” Matthew 8:5-13 CEV

I want you to listen to what the captain said. “Just give the order, and my servant will get well. 9 I have officers who give orders to me, and I have soldiers who take orders from me. I can say to one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes. I can say to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I can say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he will do it.”

Just give the order! The captain recognized that Jesus had authority, authority over sickness, he may have heard about the leper that had just been cleansed. If not, he had heard of other miracles of healing that Jesus had done. That’s what brought him to Jesus. The captain was a man who knew that commands were obeyed and not rationalized or debated.

And Jesus marveled at the captain’s faith. He didn’t need Jesus to come and make a big deal about healing his servant, Jesus just needed to speak the Word, give the order, and it would happen.

Do we have that kind of faith in God’s Word? In Psalms 138 it says that God exalts or honors his Word above his name. Isn’t that the way it is today? A person’s name only carries respect and honor if his reputation is good. If he is a man that doesn’t keep his word then it tarnishes his reputation. But when his word is good he has authority.

God’s word has authority to change lives. Why? Because He has never lied, His word has never failed. He rescues, he heals, he saves and he does wonderful things.

“You were in serious trouble, but you prayed to the Lord, and he rescued you. 20 By the power of his own word, he healed you and saved you from destruction. 21 You should praise the Lord for his love and for the wonderful things he does for all of us.” Psalm 107:19-21 CEV

A good portion of what happens at boot camp, or so I have been told, is getting the new recruits to follow orders. They are taught to respond to the commands given by those in charge without hesitation. Enlistees rise and go to bed when they’re told; they fall out for formation and march for endless hours. They endure PT and weapons training. They follow commands. Hesitation on the field of battle could result in injury or death and so they submit to training.

“Timothy, you are a son to me. Be strong in the grace that we have because we belong to Christ Jesus. 2 What you have heard me teach publicly you should teach to others. Share these teachings with people you can trust. Then they will be able to teach others these same things. 3 As a good soldier of Christ Jesus, accept your share of the troubles we have. 4 A soldier wants to please his commanding officer, so he does not spend any time on activities that are not a part of his duty.” II Timothy 2:1-4 ERV

I don’t know of anyone who has ever said that boot camp was fun. However, it does bring discipline and respect. The training is a valuable life lesson, learning to trust the Word of your commanding officer.

I think one of the hardest things I have and still experience is giving up my way of thinking for God’s way. In some respects I am still in boot camp and learning to follow orders. Paul mention that Timothy would have his share of troubles as a good soldier. I agree. It’s troubling when friends and family don’t understand why you act the way you do because you are pleasing your commanding officer. It’s troubling when you don’t get hired for a position or get fired from a job because you won’t lie for the boss or fix the books to make sales look better. Those things don’t please our commander-in-chief.

Oh, to have the mindset of our Army captain, “just give the order”.  Here was Jesus order to his disciples and to us:

“ This is what I command you: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 The greatest love people can show is to die for their friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I tell you to do.” John 15:12-13 ERV

Lord, I desire to follow your commands today. I will follow Your orders and  please You as my commanding officer.

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If You Were in Their Shoes

When you read the Bible, do you read it as if you are there? Do you take time to look around and see what was going on and how people are affected by the story that is being revealed? Can you imagine what you would do if you were in their shoes? I am always amazed as I read the account of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, and then the first couple of verses of Matthew 8.

Here Jesus has been teaching all day. The hillside is covered with people, children are playing and adults are trying to hear what Jesus is saying. Jesus has positioned himself in such a way that his voice carries down the hillside, without the amplification that we have today.

“Blessed are those that mourn for they shall be comforted…You are a light on a hill, don’t hide under a bushel…Heaven and earth will pass away but my Word will never pass away…Forgive, be faithful to your mate, don’t seek revenge…Give to the poor, pray often, don’t make money your master…don’t worry…God knows what you need, seek Him first and everything else will be added…take care of the beam in your own eye before you try to remove a splinter from your brother’s…ask & it will be given, seek & find, knock & it will open…bear good fruit…build on a solid foundation (the Word) and you’ll make it through the storms…”

All day long Jesus preached, the multitude listened, now the teaching is over and Jesus heads down the hill with his followers. But this is where the story runs into a road block! A leper, who has obviously been waiting at the bottom of the hill, can’t contain himself. He comes running and puts himself right in front of Jesus.

Unclean, unclean! I can see the shock and repulsion on the face of the people. This leper should not be in close contact with all of us good “clean” people. Wow! Weren’t you just listening – about removing beams and judging not? But this leper had been listening. He heard Jesus say, “ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find”.

It seems all the others on the hillside had heard words, words, words. Amen. But this leper had heard a message that would change his life forever. It brought hope and faith so he came to ask and to receive. What would you have done if you were in his shoes?

“Jesus came down from the hill, and a large crowd followed him. 2 Then a man sick with leprosy came to him. The man bowed down before Jesus and said, “Lord, you have the power to heal me if you want.” 3 Jesus touched the man. He said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” Immediately the man was healed from his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened. But go and let the priest look at you. And offer the gift that Moses commanded for people who are made well. This will show everyone that you are healed” Matthew 8:1-4

He received!!! He asked and he received. Jesus did tell him to go show himself to the priest and have them declare him clean. He needed that pronouncement according to Jewish law to be able to go back home and live among his family and friends again. And he needed to offer sacrifice.

All the people that heard Jesus preach on the hillside that day but only one came to Jesus to receive! I guess it amazes me because for many years I just heard words, words, words about Jesus; of the things He had done, the way He lived and I read the stories in the Old Testament and thought how neat that would have been. I did let it impact and change my life to a small degree but then the Holy Spirit became my teacher and started showing me that what happened in the Bible was available to me today.

My life has been forever changed and I can identify with that leper. I was unclean but one touch from Jesus has cleansed my life forever! To God be the Glory!

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Got Your “Catchers” On?

I know you’ve experienced it – been on your cell with someone, telling them something that is really important to you and you realize they aren’t listening. When that happens I’ve been tempted to say “I was just stepped on by a huge green elephant” to which I know their reply would be something like “Oh really, that’s nice”. Yep, they’re not listening!

When the kids were little and we wanted them to pay attention to what we were saying we would tell them to “get your catchers on”. That meant we are about to say something you really need to listen to so catch every word we say.

I’ve been doing a lot of listening the last few days. People have needed to talk and they’ve needed someone who was willing to listen. Listening doesn’t mean giving answers or advice, it means listening. Yesterday afternoon, Dave came in and he was telling me something. I had been watching TV so I grabbed the remote, put the program on mute and asked him to repeat what he had said. I wanted to listen and not be distracted.

Just this morning while I was reading Proverbs 23 I came across 4 examples of Solomon giving instruction to listen.

“Listen to your teacher and learn all you can.” Verse 12 ERV

“Open your heart to teaching, and your ears to words of much learning.” Verse 12 NLV

“Listen to instruction and do your best to learn.” Verse 12 CEV

Three different translations saying the same thing – Listen!

Then there was this verse:

“So listen, my son, and be wise. Always be careful to follow the right path.” Verse 19 ERV

And this one:

“Listen to your father. Without him, you would never have been born. Respect your mother, even when she is old. 23 Truth, wisdom, learning, and understanding are worth paying money for. They are worth far too much to ever sell.” Verse 22 & 23

And finally,

“My son, pay close attention, and gladly follow my example.” Verse 26

You see that? Solomon was making sure we had our catchers on. Jesus did the same thing with his teaching. He gave his followers a head’s up during his sermons. It went something like this:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 KJV

Repeating the phrase verily, verily was not a waste of words, it was spoken for emphasis and it meant I am telling you a great truth, listen up, pay attention. As you read through the Bible look for these clues. It’s ALL important and we can learn something from each Scripture we read but take to heart when the writer says listen.

When I was in high school I was on the speech team and loved going to competitions. I was assigned a topic once and needed to explain the difference between hearing and listening. We all hear, unless we are impaired but we don’t all listen.

“Hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear. If you are not hearing-impaired, hearing simply happens. Listening, however, is something you consciously choose to do. Listening requires concentration so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences.” University of Minnesota, Duluth

The King James Bible is written in Old English and is filled with words like thee, thou, come hither, whithersoever, etc. and can be a little more difficult to understand but there is one phrase that I really like, “hearken diligently”. Simply put it means to listen up.

“Listen to and obey (hearken diligently) all the Laws I am telling you today. Love the Lord your God. Work for Him with all your heart and soul. If you do, 14 He will give the rain for your land at the right times, the early and late rain. So you may gather in your grain, your new wine and your oil. 15 He will give grass in your fields for your cattle. And you will eat and be filled. 16 Be careful not to let your hearts be fooled so you turn away and work for other gods and worship them.” Deuteronomy 11:13-16 NLV

God promises to bring blessings into our lives when we “hearken diligently” to His word. He has so many good things for us, we need to listen.

I’ve encouraged you in the past and will again, when you are reading the Bible don’t focus on how much you read, rather concentrate on the content. What you are reading is really God talking to you. Are you listening?

Get your catchers on!

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Follow the Shepherd

Yesterday when we were talking about being a beggar or a believer, it came to mind that some folks think God is out to get them or at the very least to make their lives meager, unhappy and empty of anything good and enjoyable but that is the exact opposite of who God really is. They think that to follow the Lord they would be destine to life a sub-standard life, a beggar’s existence.

All you have to do is follow Jesus through the streets and byways of His earthly existence to see how He came to give live and life more abundantly. (John 10:10) From the very beginning, His life was for one purpose, to bring God’s love to us and to die for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins and enter into a “sonship”, to be adopted by God the Father and become joint-heirs with Jesus.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God and those that come to Him MUST believe that He exists and that He IS a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.”

God rewards us for seeking Him – do you get that? He rewards us with eternal life, with peace, joy, love; with health and healing; with supplying all our needs and prospering us so we can be a blessing to others; with His power & authority to overcome the works of the enemy. But it takes faith – not faith in what I’ve done to be good enough to have God love and bless me but faith in God and His unconditional love for me, His love that is extended toward me knowing that I can NEVER be good enough to earn it on my own. If we could earn it, there would have been no need for Jesus to die. Faith is an act of receiving what has already been done, not a work or effort that we must accomplish.

Let’s go back to the verses in John 10. Jesus was comparing himself to a “good shepherd” and contrasting the way a shepherd is with a thief and with a hired hand who have no vested interest in the flock.

“The man who guards the gate opens the gate for the shepherd. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep, using their names, and he leads them out. He brings all of his sheep out. Then he goes ahead of them and leads them. The sheep follow him, because they know his voice. 5 But sheep will never follow someone they don’t know. They will run away from him, because they don’t know his voice.”

6 Jesus told the people this story, but they did not understand what it meant.

7 So Jesus said again, “I assure you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All those who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will be able to come in and go out. They will find everything they need. 10 A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good.

11 “I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.” John 10:3-11 ERV

We lived in an area that had some pretty big bands of sheep and I grew up where sheep were a part of the agricultural community so I have a casual observation and knowledge of shepherds and how they care for their sheep. Shepherds will fight with all they have to protect the sheep and keep them out of danger. They continue to move the sheep from one pasture to the next so that they have good nourishment and stay strong. (You see sheep will eat grass to the ground and then begin eating the dirt with the roots of the grass if they aren’t moved to better pasture) A good shepherd will make sure the sheep have plenty of fresh water and will doctor the sick and feeble ones. No wonder Jesus compared himself to a shepherd – He was always using examples that folks could relate too.

Jesus went through the streets as a shepherd; he healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out devils, fed the hungry, opened blind eyes, rescued a prostitute, taught fisherman how to fish, brought wine to a wedding, forgave sins, restored a tax collector’s reputation, spoke out against the hypocrisy of religion and taught people everywhere about the amazing unconditional love of the Father.

Jesus mindset was always to glorify the Father by what he said and did. He lovingly cared for and provided for those who listened to his voice and followed him.

He’s still our shepherd. Follow His voice!

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Keep It Sweet

When our oldest daughter was in kindergarten, the alphabet circled the room. Each letter of the alphabet had a scripture verse to learn with it. Each verse started with a different letter of the alphabet and all these years later I still remember the verse for the letter “D”.

“14 Do everything without complaining or arguing.” Philippians 2:14

Do ALL things without complaining…Really God, ALL things! Yes, all things. Because as the verse goes on to say we will then be a light in the dark world. If we, who believe in Christ Jesus, and have received His wonderful gift of sonship go about complaining all the time, what will set us apart from the world? How will they know that there is victory and hope if our lives don’t reflect that Christ is living in us.

“15 so that you will be blameless and pure, children of God without any fault. But you are living with evil people all around you, who have lost their sense of what is right. Among those people you shine like lights in a dark world,” Philippians 2:15

It’s so easy to complain about our kids, our mates, our jobs, our health, our finances, the politicians, the weather, etc., but we must resist that temptation and live in what God called us to do.

Paul, who wrote this verse while he was in prison, had been beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, and run out of nearly every town he preached in but he didn’t complain. In fact, he would sing and praise God in the midst of his adversities. He called them “light afflictions”.

When we start to complain about having to pick up after the kids again – remember those who have no children and would dearly love to clean up a mess. Those without a job…those who have lost a mate to death or unwanted divorce…those battling serious health issues…those who live in a country where you are imprisoned for speaking out against the gov’t or even shot in the streets.

King Solomon wrote in Proverbs that having a joyful heart, a heart that is void of complaining, was like having a good medicine.

“Happiness is good medicine, but sorrow is a disease.” Proverbs 17:23 ERV

There was a Disney movie in the late 1950’s called Pollyanna. Pollyanna always had something good to say no matter  how bad the situation was. She brought gladness to the most sullen souls in town. Her attitude helped people see past their disappointments and brought them healing from their pain.

“Your words can be as satisfying as fruit, as pleasing as the food that fills your stomach. 21 The tongue can speak words that bring life or death. Those who love to talk must be ready to accept what it brings.” Proverbs 18:20-21 ERV

When we speak words of life, words without complaining we are a testament to God’s power in our lives. We have so much to be thankful for – to do all things without murmuring or complaining (old English terms)! And rejoice in the Lord always because He is the one who can and will cause us to be victorious.

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Saved by a Jam Jar

Do you think the Lord talks to people today? You know in the Bible He sometimes talked to people with a voice from heaven or in a dream. Sometimes he sent angels and then, of course, there was Jesus living on earth and speaking with people on a daily basis but what about today?

I told you the story about praying for my friend and her family. I was on the tractor and just really “felt” like they were in need and so I began to pray. I continued to pray for them until I was at peace. There are other times when I think “I should call them/I should write them a note”. What about the times when I feel I should just do something nice for someone?

So many times our response is “that just dawned on me” or “I don’t know what made me think of that” or “it just came to my mind” or what about this one “it was just intuition”. I have learned through the years that these are all ways of the Lord speaking to me and I need to be still, listen and then obey.

At one of Jesus’ teachings he referred to himself as the good Shepherd who cares for his sheep (that would be us) and He said this

“ My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 CEV

We need to be more attentive to the Lord’s voice and then we need to be obedient. I’d like to tell you a story that happened to me personally.

Several years ago we were back in Iowa working for some friends. I had gone home from the airport early and planned to get some of my own chores done. I set up the ironing board, got out some shirts and got started. My friend, Melody, stopped by to drop off some papers. I got light headed but thought it was just the heat so didn’t mention anything to her and she left.

I got back at it and I hadn’t been working very long when I was hit with a terrible pain in my abdomen. It was so severe that I almost passed out. I began to pray and kept myself conscious. Then another pain came, it drove me to my knees and another and another. I crawled to the bathroom thinking I was going to throw up. All the time I was praying “Lord, I need help!”

Unknown to me, in my neighbors kitchen, Jan was washing dishes and there on her counter she saw a empty jam jar. I had made jam a week or so earlier and had given them a jar. They had finished it and now the empty jar sat on her counter top. She told her husband “I’m going to take that jar back to Kristi”. He asked, “Now?” and she said “yes, I need to go now”.

There should have been no urgency in returning an empty jam jar. She could bring it over anytime but she just sensed “I need to go now”. She didn’t know it but she was on a mission from God! Jan was the answer to my prayer for help! How silly was that – God used a jam jar to save me.

When she got there and saw what terrible pain I was experiencing, Jan helped me get my phone and I was able to call Dave and he came with Melody and they took me to the ER. From there it was a trip by ambulance to the nearest large city and a 6 day stay in the hospital while I recovered from acute pancreatitis. I don’t even think about what would have happened if Jan had put off returning that jam jar.

How many times have we had “a thought” and pushed it aside as being silly or unimportant? Maybe it was a prompting to do a kindness for a stranger and then we held back because we wondered what will people think. It could be that phone call we’ve been meaning to make, a word of encouragement that needs to be said or a prayer that needs to be whispered. Or maybe it was something we’ve done that didn’t turn out well and we’ve said “I just KNEW I shouldn’t have done that”.

“But He, your Teacher, will not hide Himself any more. Your eyes will see your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:20-21 NLV

It doesn’t take much to send a short text that says “I was just thinking about you and wanted you to know I prayed for you. I love you.” Or a quick call to say “Is there anything you need?” Jan could have thought, I don’t want to bother Kristi. She just got home. I’ll go later. She didn’t know she was the answer to my prayer but she was obedient to what her heart said and that’s exactly what I needed.

There was a young boy by the name of Samuel whose family had taken him to live with the priest in Israel. His parents had dedicated him to the serve the Lord. One night he was asleep and he heard someone call him. He thought it was the old priest, Eli, so he got up and ran to Eli. Eli was sleeping and said he hadn’t called Samuel so Samuel went back to bed. After he fell asleep, he heard the voice again. Same result – go to Eli, no he didn’t call and back to bed. A third time it happened and this is what Eli told him.

“ When the Lord called out his name for the third time, Samuel went to Eli again and said, “Here I am. What do you want?”

Eli finally realized that it was the Lord who was speaking to Samuel. 9 So he said, “Go back and lie down! If someone speaks to you again, answer, ‘I’m listening, Lord. What do you want me to do?’”

Once again Samuel went back and lay down. 10 The Lord then stood beside Samuel and called out as he had done before, “Samuel! Samuel!”

“I’m listening,” Samuel answered. “What do you want me to do?” I Samuel 3:8-10 CEV

Now there’s the right response. We’ve all had times that we have missed God speaking to us, no point in getting condemned or upset about it. No point in looking back. The right response is “I’m listening Lord, what do you want me to do?”

I know I need to listen better and so I encourage you to listen and obey.

Maybe someone you know needs a jar of jam!

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Can You See It?

Our sight is one of our strongest senses. We depend on it for so much of what we do. In fact, we go to great links to make sure we are able to see things clearly. We expend time and money on eye exams and getting our vision corrected. Lasix, contacts, glasses – all big business.

However, from God’s perspective, our physical vision isn’t nearly so important as our faith vision.

“Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That’s why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen.” II Corinthians 4:18 CEV

Over the years I have learned to walk by faith, trusting God’s word more than I trust the things I can see with my physical eyes. To some that is foolish but we need to realize that we all trust things we cannot see each and every day. We trust that there is enough oxygen in the atmosphere for us to keep breathing properly but we’ve never seen the oxygen. We trust that there are sound and picture waves being transmitted but we can’t see them until we have the right receiver.

We experience gravity and thrust all without site. And electricity exists even in places where they have no power plants or knowledge of how to conduct it. You see there is so much in our lives that we “take for granted”. Why then, does it seem so far fetched to put our faith in God’s word and believe it even when we can’t see it?

“Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us.” II Corinthians 5:7 NLV

Learning to live a life of faith in God is like learning to walk. No child ever just stood and moved across a room confidently, without wobbling, the first time they were upright. No, there’s the pushing up, standing for seconds then sitting down. This is followed up pushing up and holding on to something; then learning balance and after great encouragement from Mommy and Daddy, letting go and taking those first treasured steps.

Scripture tells us that faith is a continuous growth process. Faith comes from hearing God’s word.

“As you have put your trust in Christ Jesus the Lord to save you from the punishment of sin, now let Him lead you in every step. 7 Have your roots planted deep in Christ. Grow in Him. Get your strength from Him. Let Him make you strong in the faith as you have been taught. Your life should be full of thanks to Him.” Colossians 2:6-8 NLV

God operates in faith. Did you ever stop to think about that? He had faith that what he said would happen. Let there be light and there was light! Our faith pleases God and He rewards us for our faith.

“Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. 2 God was pleased with the people who lived a long time ago because they had faith like this.3 Faith helps us understand that God created the whole world by his command. This means that the things we see were made by something that cannot be seen…6 Without faith no one can please God. Whoever comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who sincerely try to find him.” Hebrews 11:1-6 CEV

I’m going to tell you one story about a man who put his faith in God and it changed the world. This man’s name was Noah. God told him that he needed to build a boat. A huge boat. This was a foreign concept to Noah; he wasn’t an experienced seaman. And then the instruction continued; build the boat, gather the animals, it’s going to rain. The earth had never experienced rain at that time. This wasn’t just going to be a rain, it was going to be a world wide flood.

By faith, Noah built the ark. He and his family and the animals were saved.

“Noah was warned by God about things that he could not yet see. But he had faith and respect for God, so he built a large boat to save his family. With his faith, Noah showed that the world was wrong. And he became one of those who are made right with God through faith.” Hebrews 11:7 ERV

I’m sure Noah was ridiculed by his neighbors for being stupid or senseless, an old fool, but he believed God’s word and was obedient.

When you believe God and have faith in His word there will be people that think the same of you but believe God anyway! You can trust Him just like Noah did.

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