Listening...He calls...

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." -- 2 Peter 1:3

He has given us everything we need for a godly life...

He called us...

It's all about listening, isn't it? I mean what is the difference between the girl struggling with troubles and problems of this world on her own and the girl who relies on God to get her through those troubles and problems of the world?

God created each of us...he breathed life into us, no matter where on earth we were born, what religion we were brought up in or not brought up in, what we believe or don't believe...God created us. He gave each of us everything we need to live a godly life. He calls to each of us...

So many questions come to my mind from that statement, but all I want to do right now is focus on listening. I hear Him calling and I answer. Some days I need to listen harder than others. Some days I don't hear. Some days I ignore what I hear. Some days, like today, God seems to be everywhere, whispering through everything I come in contact with. I can't ignore it, even if I wanted to. God's plan for my salvation in Christ and the lessons that Jesus teaches us are EVERYWHERE today! I CHOOSE to listen and am reminded that he gives me everything I need to live the life he wants me to live. I don't need anything else...I don't need to look for fulfillment anywhere else or in anything else. My knowledge of Him who gives me strength and wisdom, clarity and passion, love and protection, hope and peace...THAT knowledge moves me forward to give back to him with glory and praise in everything that I do!

What is the difference between me and a girl who struggles with troubles and problems of this world on her own? I listened. I believe. I have everything I need.

Dear Father God,
I am so incredibly grateful to you today for calling me! I thank you so much that I am able to let go of the "stuff" of this world in order to listen and give you back the glory and praise that you so greatly deserve! Thank you for giving me everything I need to live the life you want me to live. Help me to give you glory in everything I do today so it is yet another whisper of your grace in the ear of someone else's ear today! Amen.

One in heart and mind...

 

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had." Acts 4:31-32

All the believers were one in heart and mind...what a wonderful and blessed thought! Today, I need to think about that possibility. Today I need speak of my faith boldly and pray boldly for things that seem impossible to me at this moment.

The verse above speaks of the beginning of Christianity...where our faith began. Look at all the things that are happening in that verse...the people PRAYED...they and the place they were meeting was SHAKEN...they were FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT and SPOKE BOLDLY. Many action words. They believed together and worked together and shared together. This was MAJOR CHANGE in the lives of these people! Can you imagine how they handled it? Do you think it was all easy? Probably not. But they had faith that God was in control. They trusted God and relied on his strength and on each other.

My dear friends, when where you have been standing has been shaken...when you know something major is happening and you don't know how to handle it...TRUST in God, rely on his strength and rely on each other. That is all we can do! Do not let fear, doubt and grief keep you from breathing. Remember what you know...God is in control! 

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

 I love my church! I love my pastor who has gotten us to this place. I love my church family who will be one in heart and mind while we love and support each other and continue the good works God has prepared for us to do.  We will pray together, be filled with the Holy Spirit, move and change together and speak the word of God boldly together. Amen.

Sunrise lessons...

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." -- Colossians 3:16

Going to work I drive east in the morning, usually right directly into the sun. And I drive west to go home, and again, right directly into the sun. Going both directions, when there are no clouds, the sun can be blinding! It can be overwhelming, especially when the sunlight is reflecting off newly fallen, bright, white snow. However, lately, there have been too many clouds, and the sunlight and the blinding light have been hidden.

Driving to work this morning, I thought about that. The sun rises every morning and sets every night. The sun doesn't go anywhere...it is ALWAYS there! The clouds can change how the sun appears, but it doesn't make it go away even if it can't be seen.

Isn't God like that...like the sun? He is ALWAYS there. He doesn't go anywhere. There are times He shows himself to me and I feel his presence. There are times He is so bright and present in my life, I am overwhelmed with gratitude and gratefulness! Those times I am almost overwhelmed by how blessed I am. I can see God, hear his promises and really KNOW He is there.

And then, there are those times when I let the clouds and storms of my life cover God's light. I have trouble feeling his presence. I search, but I can't see him behind the wall of my worry, doubt and fear. I feel as though he has left me and I long for his warmth and comfort. Some of those times have felt like a long winter that just never seems to end!

But, just as the clouds part and the sun shines bright again, God reappears in my life! I am reminded of his love and power and I push the clouds of worry, doubt and fear away. I once again am practically blinded by the warm light of God's presence in my life and I sing His praises!

Knowing that the clouds come and go, but God's light never leaves is the hope that I hang on to each day. During those moments when I think winter will never end and I long to feel the warmth of God's light, I remember that this season will pass and the sun will come out again. This is wisdom that comes from experience...experience in God's light and love. Because God granted me that wisdom I can sing with joy!

Father God, You are my sunlight in the morning! You rise in my heart and warm me, even when the clouds roll in. Thank you for showing me your faithfulness over and over and allowing that experience to grow in my heart so I can call on that wisdom when the clouds hide your light from me. Today, may I allow your light to shine through me so another can feel your warmth and be led to your bright light as well. Amen

Follow and serve...

"Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." - John 12:26

John 13:1-17 is to me, one of the most precious of all Jesus' stories in the Bible. In order to illustrate to his disciples what he was doing for them and all of mankind, and also to teach them the importance of service to others, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. Peter protests. He does not want the one who he believes is the Son of God to do something so menial and lowly as to wash his dirty feet. But, THAT is the key to what Jesus tries to teach them and us as well. None of us are above the menial and lowly tasks that are needed from us by our fellow man. Jesus didn't put himself above washing the dirt and crud off the feet of his friends, no matter where he was from, and neither should we.

Jesus wants us to see and learn that we have to "be there" for others. We need to follow his lead and serve others as he did. In order to be where Jesus is, we have to open our eyes and be aware of the needs around us.

Don't we all get so wrapped up in our own daily tasks and troubles that we don't see the needs of others? Do you go into your place of work each day and just "do the job" in your cubicle or in your office and just get through the day so you can go home? When we just "do the job" we might miss seeing the tear stains on the cheeks of one our coworkers. We might miss the sound of bravado in the voice of a customer that is hiding the fear and shame that comes from knowing there's not enough money to cover the bills this month. We might miss the loneliness that is screaming at us from the shy and quiet coworker we pass in the hallway every day.

We miss all those signs...But what are we to do for these people, even if we did see the signs? How can we help the sad, the frightened, and the lonely people we come in contact with each day? We can follow Jesus' lead and serve them. No, I don't mean bending down and taking off their shoes and washing their feet. That might get you fired! But we can listen, talk, smile offer words of wisdom and BE THERE for them. We can pray for them. We can put our needs aside for a few minutes and open our eyes to the needs of someone else. When we make ourselves available to those around us, and serve them in any way we can, God sees this and will bless us as well.

Dear Jesus, thank you for setting an example for me. Help me to follow your lead willingly and cheerfully and open my eyes to the needs of others around me. Bless me so I can be a blessing to someone else today. Amen.

The blessing of using God's gifts to serve others...

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering god's grace in its various forms." -- 1 Peter 4:10

God gives such great gifts to his children. He blesses us with talents that others can see and experience, and he also blesses each of us with spiritual gifts that others may not know we have. WE may not be aware of all the gifts God has blessed us with.

Then, of course, most importantly is God's gift of grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that grace is an undeserved gift that we cannot earn. Because it is a free gift to us, we should thankfully accept it and then willingly and freely be giving that same grace to all we meet.

Learning to be aware of and alert to the gifts that God has blessed each of us with is very important. How we handle those gifts is also very important. Why? In order to willingly and freely show grace to others, we need to serve others with our gifts. Freely and willing giving to others...harder than it sounds.

We are greedy people. We love gifts...God gives and gives and we take and take. We love to take those gifts and then many times use them for our own benefit. This leads to ambition, vanity and conceit. It becomes all about us, and letting the spotlight shine on us. "Look at me!"

Many verses in the Bible deal with the topic of humility, or being humble. We are to "clothe ourselves in humility." In return, God saves, guides, teaches, sustains, crowns, shows favor to, lifts up and exalts the humble. So, on top of giving us wonderful gifts, when we are humble in using those gifts, God REALLY blesses us!

A humble person values others more than herself and looks to the interests and needs of others instead of doing things out of selfish ambition and vain conceit. (Philippians 2:3-4) That doesn't sound like what our American culture teaches us, does it?

Showing grace and humility to others may have other advantages as well...advantages that have NOTHING to do with us! Being forgiving and putting others first is hard and counter-cultural. People aren't used to seeing that in our "dog-eat-dog" society. So, when we ARE humble and GIVE forgiveness and grace to others and SERVE others first with our God-given gifts, people are AMAZED! They wonder how we are able to do it. They wonder what we have that they don't have that enables us to be so giving. Then...they WANT what we have and reach out to God for his blessings as well.

This world is not HOPELESS! God is still touching others through his blessed children. You and I can be the instruments God uses to reach more of his children.

Dear God, Thank you for being so loving and giving to your children! Most of all, thank you for your gift of grace! Help us to thankfully accept the gifts you have given us and help us to learn how to use those gifts to willingly and joyfully serve others. Teach us to be humble and think of others before ourselves. You will bless us in so many more ways! Amen.

REAL LOVE...

"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us." -- 1 John 3:23

This week I am writing about love. Don't you think we take that word for granted? I LOVE that movie! I LOVE the Buckeyes! I LOVE cheesecake! But real love...love that Jesus commands us to give one another...is a much deeper and intimate emotion. If we are to love one another...everyone we come in contact with, how are we to do that? WHY did Jesus command us to do this difficult thing?

These are tough questions!

First of all, what does REAL LOVE mean? Paul gave us an indepth definition of the word in 1 Corinthinians 13:1-13.

Love is patient.
Love is kind.
Love does not want what belongs to others.
Love does not brag.
Love is not proud.
Love is not rude.
Love does not look out for selfish interests.
Love is slow to anger.
Love does not keep track of others' wrongs.
Love is not happy with evil.
Love is full of joy when truth is spoken.
Love always protects.
Love always trusts.
Love always hopes.
Love always endures.
Love never fails.

WOW! The word love does mean more than really liking cheesecake! Jesus knew that LOVING ONE ANOTHER is not easy. If we are to LOVE one another, which means everyone we come into contact with, we are to treat everyone with patience, kindness and not be jealous, proud, bragging, selfish, angry. We are to protect others, trust others, and forgive others.

Does this sound like the culture that we live in every day? Of course not! In our world, people are out for themselves. We are encouraged to look out for our own interests. Getting involved in the problems of others...showing others the love characteristics listed above...is messy and inconvenient.

So, I ask again...WHY did Jesus ask us to do such a difficult thing as to love one another? For one thing, God knows it may be messy, but he also knows that REALLY LOVING others makes our lives better in so many ways. Love erases many sins by forgiving them. When we love and forgive others, our hearts are healthier and more ready for the life that God promises us. Also, when we are really able to love others, people will know that we are disciples of Jesus...Christians. "They will know we are Christians by our love."

Jesus' Great Commission was to make disciples of all nations...to spread the good news of the Gospel. How better to show people we are Christians and draw others to this life of peace and hope than to live like Jesus and show REAL LOVE to everyone we meet? It is not easy, and there will be times when we fail. But, if we reach out to God, ask him for help, and try to live the way Jesus taught, we will have success! We will be able to show REAL LOVE to others!

Dear Jesus, you were such a great teacher! You showed us and commanded us to love one another so we could live the lives God wants us to live. Help each one of us live out the REAL LOVE characteristics Paul taught us about so others will see we are Christians and be drawn to your peace and hope as well. Amen.

Love God - Love one another...

This week's memory verse:
"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us." -- 1 John 3:23

This morning, I feel extra blessed because I am beginning another 12 week Bible study. When I am participating in regular study, I have somewhere to focus my thoughts, and I am directed to study God's word. It also gives me something to write about that is not coming right out of my own musings, but out of my thoughts on God's word. I love sharing that with you!

Today's lesson is all about obeying God's commands. While the old testament has MANY laws and rules to follow, 1 John 3:23 (our memory verse this week) makes it pretty simple. We are to believe in Jesus and love one another.

Jesus himself teaches the very same idea. When asked what was the greatest of God's commands, he replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  (Matthew 22:37-40)

Going back to the Old Testament for a moment, Deuteronomy 7:12 says that when we obey his commands, he will keep his promises, his covenant made long ago. And Leviticus 26:3-13 lists many specific ways God will bless those that keep his commands: He will make the ground plentiful and we will have plenty to eat; he will bring peace to our land; he will walk with us and will not turn away from us.

Jesus reinforces this in John 15:10 when he states: "If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love."

So, how will we know when we have fulfilled God's law of obedience? Romans 8:13 says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law."

When we love our fellowman, we have fulfilled the law. This makes it sounds so easy. Love one another...is that all it takes? But...we all know, loving one another is NOT that easy!

When I think of God's commands, I think of the 10 Commandments. If you look at what Jesus said about the greatest commandment, and then look at the 10 commandments, you will see they all go together! All 10 of those commands are about loving God and loving one another!

The first 4 are all about loving God: no other gods; no worshiping images; not misusing the name of God; keeping God's sabbath day holy.

The rest are all about loving one another: honoring your parents; not killing, stealing from; cheating on, lying about or being jealous of your neigbor.

That may be a simplified way of thinking, but I never thought about it that way! No wonder Jesus said we were to love God and love others! That's what God told us from the very beginning!

Dear Father God,
Today, in EVERYTHING I do, help me to keep your commands...help me to show my love for you, my love for Jesus and my love for others. In that way, you will see my obedience and I will feel you with me, keeping your promises to me. Please allow me to have and feel that reassurance today. Amen.