Category Archives: Family, Friends & Fellowship

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February 3, 2016

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Faith & Hope, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Grace & Love, Joy, Knowing Him, Thanks & Praise

BECAUSE HE LOVES US

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time – to show us his grace through Jesus Christ. [2 Timothy 1:9 (NLT)]

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. [Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)]

passion flower (scarlet) - NBG736webOne morning, while getting ready to go out for a day with my friends, my husband brought me a small box. Upon opening it, I was stunned to find a beautiful silver and inlaid stone necklace that I’d admired more than six months earlier. When I asked what the occasion was, he simply replied, “I’ve been waiting to give it to you and thought it might match your outfit.” Flabbergasted at seeing the jewelry, I felt undeserving of this lavish gift and regretted my sharp words earlier that morning. It wasn’t my birthday, Valentine’s Day or our anniversary and I had done nothing special to deserve such a gift. It was just a beautiful, “Because I love you!” present. When we’re surprised with a gift like this, a gift from the heart, we tend to question our worthiness to receive it and feel uncomfortable because we have nothing but our thanks to give in return.

We are all undeserving of the most wonderful gift we have ever received: Jesus Christ. God gave His only Son and sacrificed him for our sins. That is the most magnificent and unwarranted gift ever and we did nothing to deserve this splendid present. In fact, we have done much that is wrong. That, however, is the astonishing thing about God’s grace: it’s not something we deserve and it’s not something we earn. It is something given to us by God simply because he loves us.

Thank you, Lord, for the gracious gift of your Son and our salvation. As unworthy as we are, fill us with your Holy Spirit. Empower us to do your work and honor this precious gift by the way we conduct our lives.

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. [2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NLT)]

Copyright © 2016 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.

 

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January 28, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Joy, Love & Works, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

SMILE – IT’S GOOD FOR YOU

smilecrop-horzWhy are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God—soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God. [Psalm 42:5 (MSG)]

Good news! There’s something more satisfying than a Snickers or Dove Bar and it’s non-fat, sugar-free, and zero calorie! Apparently, smiling stimulates our brain’s reward mechanism far better than chocolate! I’m sure this is good news for all those who made (and didn’t keep) New Year’s resolutions about health and wellness. According to “healthy aging expert” Mark Stibich, smiling boosts the immune system and lowers blood pressure. It reduces stress, elevates our mood, helps us have a positive outlook, and feel good. If that’s not enough to convince us to smile, he adds that a smile makes us look more attractive, appear younger, and seem more successful. Smiling certainly takes less effort than dieting or going to the gym and has much the same effect.

When in Florida and I walk through the park taking photos for the church website, I see how easily a smile can change someone’s looks. Since taking pictures of the congregation, my entire concept of beauty has changed—there is nothing more beautiful than a smiling face. No matter what the person’s age, no amount of plastic surgery can equal the beauty of a smile! Beauty has nothing to do with youth, a flawless complexion, perfectly coifed hair, wrinkle-free skin, fashionable attire or a model’s figure. Beauty truly does come from within and shines out through a smile. Physical beauty is only skin deep but someone’s inner beauty radiates out from the heart through his or her smile.

Now that I’m in northwest Colorado and attending our mountain church, I continue to notice smiles and must agree with Dr. Stibich’s final claim that smiles are contagious. At both our Florida and Colorado churches, we always pause to greet one another early in the service—and that greeting isn’t just a little courtesy nod to one’s neighbors. People walk from row to row, chatting, shaking hands or hugging one another. Sometimes, we’re slow returning to our seats but not because we’re uninterested in the day’s music and message. It’s the smiles! Along with the handshakes and greetings, there are smiles galore and those smiles are infectious. Once we receive a smile, we have a smile and simply have to pass it along to someone else, and so it goes. No matter how serious the sermon, no matter what is happening in my life or the world around me, I have never left either church without joy in my heart and a smile on my face.

What do smiles have to do with God? It’s certainly not necessary to believe in God to wear a smile and lots of non-believers smile quite nicely, at least when life is going well for them. A believer, however, fixes his eyes on the Lord and can wear a smile even when life has dumped a big load of bad. Having a relationship with God—resting in His peace, experiencing His joy, having a grateful heart, being confident of salvation and knowing we’re safe in His hands—that just can’t help but bring a smile to anyone’s face.

If you haven’t done a good job of keeping those New Year’s resolutions about health and fitness, don’t give up—keep trying. In the meantime, do yourself (and the people around you) a big favor by smiling. God is love and sharing a smile is just about the easiest way possible to share His love with the world—and get some valuable side benefits, as well.

Smile at each other. smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other—it doesn’t matter who it is—and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other. [Mother Teresa]

O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing! He forgives your sins—every one. He heals your diseases—every one. He redeems you from hell—saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown. He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal. He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence. [Psalm 103:1-5 (MSG)]

A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day. Proverbs 15:13 (MSG)
smiles

 

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January 27, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Temptation & Sin

BRAGGING RIGHTS

Beware of doing your good deeds conspicuously to catch men’s eyes or you will miss the reward of your Heavenly Father. So, when you do good to other people, don’t hire a trumpeter to go in front of you—like those play-actors in the synagogues and streets who make sure that men admire them. Believe me, they have had all the reward they are going to get! No, when you give to charity, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be secret. Your Father who knows all secrets will reward you. [Matthew 6:1-4 (PHILIPS)]

snowy egret and tri-colored heronA recent “Close to Home” comic, by John McPherson, certainly hit close to home for me. While the wife stretches in preparation for a run, her husband is strapping a Fitbit to the dog’s legs in readiness for some Frisbee tossing. The caption read: “Determined to put 100 miles on the Fitbit before his wife did, Stu got a little help from Pepper.” Having no dog, I’ve never cheated at my step count, but I do want full credit for every step I do take. Once, after having taken over 15,000 steps, my Fitbit died before the steps were logged onto my phone. When a new battery brought the device back to life, my step count was at zero. I was visibly upset because just my knowing how much I’d walked wasn’t enough. I wanted official web recognition for those miles because I wanted bragging rights—I wanted my husband and the rest of my Fitbit friends to be impressed.

I think of a friend who told me she was getting active in a variety of good causes so that her obituary would be long and impressive. Even dead and gone, she wanted bragging rights. Sometimes, we want bragging rights in our faith. Our faith journey, however, is not a competition to see who can pray the longest, knows the most Bible verses, volunteers for the most committees, gives the most money, or has the loudest “Hallelujah!”

In Matthew 6, Jesus warned his disciples about seeking a good reputation through outward showmanship. Their new life was not to be about impressing people but rather about having a relationship with God. Good acts done for personal glory are hypocrisy. When our giving, serving and conversation is led by the desire to impress others with our Christian behavior, we become the hypocrites Jesus described. When we strive to be perceived as more pious, generous, faithful, or loving than others, we become self-seekers, not God seekers. While scripture tells us to serve the Lord with gladness, it never tells us to serve him with fanfare. No matter how good the cause or worthy the work, bragging rights or boosting our worth in the eyes of others should never be our motivation for what we do.

Granted, we should be good examples but there are only two who need to know how much we believe, give, pray or serve: God and ourselves! Life is not about having a long impressive obituary—it is about living the life God intended for us in the way He wants it lived. When my Fitbit cheats me of steps, it really doesn’t matter because I know how much I’ve walked and that’s all that counts. When I serve the Lord, no matter in what the capacity, God already knows and no one else needs to know. His approval is the only approval any of us should seek.

And then, when you pray, don’t be like the play-actors. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at street-corners so that people may see them at it. Believe me, they have had all the reward they are going to get. But when you pray, go into your own room, shut your door and pray to your Father privately. Your Father who sees all private things will reward you. … Then, when you fast, don’t look like those miserable play-actors! For they deliberately disfigure their faces so that people may see that they are fasting. Believe me, they have had all their reward. No, when you fast, brush your hair and wash your face so that nobody knows that you are fasting—let it be a secret between you and your Father. And your Father who knows all secrets will reward you. [Matthew 6:5-6,16-18 (PHILIPS)]

 

 

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January 26, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Plan, Patience & Perseverance, Spiritual Gifts, Temptation & Sin, Today: Make it Count

COMPARISONS

Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won’t need to compare himself with someone else. Each of us must bear some faults and burdens of his own. For none of us is perfect! [Galatians 6:4-5 (TLB)]

julias and clouded yellow butterflies When I log the number of steps I’ve taken each day, I often compare my total with that of my Fitbit friends. No matter what I do or how far I’ve walked, one friend is always far ahead of me. True, a little friendly competition can be good for us when it makes us challenge ourselves and work harder. Walking with this friend, for example, challenges me to step up my pace. Too competitive a spirit, however, can hurt us. Last year, bound and determined to record more steps than she, I devoted a week to out-walking this woman who is nearly thirty years my junior. I ended up with a stress fracture and, to add insult to injury, she still logged more steps!

Comparing ourselves to other people can lead to more than a stress fracture. We usually end up thinking we’re either inferior to or better than the other person. Either way, comparing puts the focus on us rather than our goal and love ceases to be our motivation. We’re commanded not to covet and comparing ourselves to others often leads to jealousy and coveting. By trying to out-walk my friend, I was coveting her youth and fitness. I was focusing on what I wasn’t and wanted to be (a beautiful athletic young woman) rather than what I am and can be (a healthy fit older woman).

When comparing ourselves to others, we also risk becoming pride filled. Even though I can’t out-walk my friend, I usually manage to out-walk most of our other Fitbit friends. I confess to having felt rather smug about that until I remembered that their goals may be quite different than mine and they probably don’t have the free time for fitness that I do.

God created each of us with unique strengths and weaknesses and gave each of us our own custom-designed race to run and track on which to run it. Some people will be faster and some courses will be easier but that’s God’s business, not ours. Instead of comparing ourselves to anyone else, we should be thankful for who and what we are. Rather than trying to be better than the other guy, perhaps we should just try to be the person God wants us to be! The good examples of others can encourage us and our good examples can inspire others, but we must never get bogged down by comparing ourselves or by trying to run someone else’s race. If we must compare, how about comparing ourselves to Jesus? A word of warning, however, it’s a guarantee that we’ll be found wanting in that one!

Be all you can be. [U.S. Army slogan from 1980-2001]

I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. [Philippians 3:12-14 (TLB)]

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January 11, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Grace & Love, Joy, Love & Works, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith

RAINDROPS FALLING ON MY HEAD

Celebration community beach church
As you serve the Lord, work hard and don’t be lazy. Be excited about serving him! [Romans 12:11 (ERV)]

Do your best to be the kind of person God will accept, and give yourself to him. Be a worker who has no reason to be ashamed of his work, one who applies the true teaching in the right way. [2 Timothy 2:15 (ERV)] 

It rained in southwest Florida yesterday. While that is of little interest to most of you (especially if you are experiencing an Arctic blast in the north), it was of concern to our church. We have one of the most beautiful churches in the area—designed by God (with a little help from the park district)—but it has a leaky roof. Actually, since we meet outside in a city park, we have no roof at all! While God and the weatherman seem to cooperate most Sundays, every once in a while our sanctuary has mud puddles and the chairs are wet. Many find shelter in the nearby gazebo while the early birds crowd onto the band shell with the band and singers. The truly hardy (and latecomers) hunker under their umbrellas in the rain.

Pastor was asked if there would be an abbreviated service because of the weather. As long as we were without tornado warnings or lightning, the service would proceed as planned. If, in spite of the inclement weather, people came to our church, a full worship service is what they wanted and what they’d get. Without a doubt, I am sure there was a least someone there yesterday who desperately needed the entire service, not just a Reader’s Digest version that had been condensed because of the weather. I’m sure there was at least one person whose heart was moved by the words of Amazing Grace and more than one who needed to hear every word of Pastor’s message about truthfulness. There probably were many more who craved laughter and truly needed to hear each one of his jokes. There were many who were there, not just for music and message, but also for Christian fellowship. Along with worship, they needed the welcome, kind words, smiles, handshakes, and hugs that came with the service.

Yes, we are saved by faith alone. All the work in the world does not mean salvation and even our grandest efforts will not get us into heaven. That doesn’t mean, however, that we are not to put our best effort into everything we do for the Lord and His church. God expects a first-class effort, not a half-hearted attempt, even when it’s raining.

While those who passed by the park may have seen a rather bedraggled group of church-goers gathered together and trying to stay dry, I think God looked down from his heavenly throne and saw a grand cathedral filled with joyful worshippers. He didn’t hear just a few voices raised in praise, he heard a choir much grander than that famed one in Utah! He saw people expressing love—for one another and for Him. Yesterday, God was just pouring a little of his goodness down on us and I pray that His goodness continues to grow because everyone did his or her best during worship service. After all, “Into each life some rain must fall.”

Be still, sad heart, and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary. [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]

May the clouds in the skies above pour goodness on the earth like rain. May the earth open up to let salvation grow. And may goodness grow with that salvation, which I, the Lord, created. [Isaiah 45:8 (ERV)]

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December 22, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Holidays & Holy Days, Love & Works, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith

THE ALONE

Take care of any widow who has no one else to care for her. [1 Timothy 5:3 (NLT)]

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. [Isaiah 1:17 (NLT)]

great blue heron
In Netflix’s The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, there is a funny scene in which Jacqueline, a recently divorced out-of-touch wealthy socialite, complains that her husband got their maid in the divorce. “I’ve been in this dress for two days because there’s no one here to unzip it. I took a shower in it and now it’s rusted shut.” I thought of her grievance as I struggled to get dressed last night. Needing my husband’s assistance, I joked that I’ll have to keep him around since we don’t have a maid.

I then thought about the widows and divorcees on our street who have no one to zip and unzip or hook and unhook all of those closures on the back of their clothing. How do they cope? Do they discard a major part of their wardrobe when they lose their spouse? Do they arrive at work or parties partially dressed? While that’s a possibility, what about when they get home? Do they wake their neighbors at midnight or, like Jacqueline, sleep in their attire? Dogs and cats are a great comfort but, without opposable thumbs, they aren’t much good at zippers or buttons.

The Bible is very clear about caring for widows. Granted, the plight of a widow thousands of years ago was far worse than today. It was a man-ruled world, women had minimal inheritance rights, and honorable employment wasn‘t readily available. Yet, today one in three women still live in poverty or at the brink of it, so there are economic issues to address. It is more than just a person’s economic status, however, that should concern us when we think of people who’ve lost a spouse, whether through death or divorce.

As I walk through the park each Sunday taking photos before church, I am struck by the number of people (both men and women) who used to be part of a pair and now are alone. I am painfully aware that one half of every couple eventually will be widowed. There are many men whose experience in the kitchen consists of making a PB&J or opening a bag of chips and a tub of dip. There are some men who ran corporations but never ran the dishwasher, washing machine, dryer or vacuum. There are women whose husbands did all the driving, who’ve never handled the finances or done the taxes, and never eaten out alone or taken a trip by themselves. There are many who will sit alone at their table tonight, who have no one to complain to when customer service doesn’t serve, who have no one to laugh with at the funny YouTube video, who have no one with whom to share their deepest secrets, and have no one with whom to walk while holding hands. I’ve been part of a couple for nearly half a century. Believe me, if my husband goes before me, I will miss him for far more than his assistance with zippers and hooks.

God’s tender concern for the bereaved is declared through all of Scripture. While today’s widowed may not necessarily need our legal and economic protection the way they did in days of old, they still need our love and compassion. The command to care for the widowed is as valid today as it was centuries ago. As we gather with family over the holidays, let us not forget those without family, whether men or women, single, widowed or divorced. May we keep them in our prayers but, more important, let’s reach out our hands in friendship and love (and maybe with an offer to help with difficult zippers!)

This is a time to celebrate before the Lord your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you. [Deuteronomy 16:11 (NLT)]

Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the Lord—rejoice in his presence! Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. [Psalm 68:4-6 (NLT)]

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