Category Archives: Love & Works

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March 1, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, God's Promises, Love & Works, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin

BEATITUDES AND ATTITUDES

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. [Matthew 5:3-9 (NIV)]

Lion Monument - Lucerne I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to unplug the televisions until after the elections in November. It doesn’t matter which party or which candidate, the conduct and rhetoric has become nearly unbearable. Today’s Bible reading took me to Matthew 5 and the Beatitudes—those declarations of blessedness given by Jesus at the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount. I couldn’t help but contrast His words with the behavior of our politicians, their supporters and the news media. I then remembered A.W. Tozer’s observation that, if we were to take the Beatitudes and turn them inside out, we’d have the “very qualities which distinguish human life and conduct.”

Our society doesn’t seem to admire those who are modest and meek; we seem to prefer those filled with bombast and swagger. Rather than grief and heartache at our failures, we prefer witticisms, applause and celebration of our successes. Rather than meekness, humility and respectful behavior, we seem to favor assertiveness and pretentiousness. Instead of seeking justice, we pursue self-interest; instead of striving to rectify wrongs, intolerance seems to reign. Rather than compassion, there is indifference and vindictiveness instead of forgiveness. Deceit, guile and vulgarity are more prevalent than frankness, honesty, and morality and it appears that we admire instigators and agitators more than conciliators and negotiators.

Although there has been a large amount of condemnation, disparagement and attempts to discredit one another, I don’t think Jesus was thinking about that sort of mocking and persecution when he gave His message and I doubt that God is blessing anyone for their abysmal behavior just because it results in their disgrace or embarrassment. If we expect blessings for persecution, it should be for following Jesus and righteousness sake and not for pursuing power and self-righteousness.

Pride, greed, selfishness, arrogance, ruthlessness, dishonesty, bickering, and meanness—all of these are contrary to the Beatitudes. I admit that I need to remove the plank in my eye before criticizing the specks in the eyes of others and confess that much of my life is also spent on the opposite side of the Beatitudes. I imagine a part of your life is spent there as well. Let us never forget that Jesus’s words were neither His suggestions nor His opinions—they were and are God’s Truth.

Lord…Deliver me from the urge to compete with another for place or prestige or position. … Deliver me from pose and pretense. Forgive me for thinking of myself. Help me forget myself and find my true peace in beholding Thee. That Thou mayest answer this prayer I humble myself before Thee. Lay upon me Thy easy yoke of self-forgetfulness that through it I may find rest. [A.W. Tozer]

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. [Matthew 5:10-11 (NIV)]

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February 17, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Love & Works, Sharing Our Faith, Spiritual Gifts

HOSPITALITY

Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. [Leviticus 19:33-34a (NLT)]

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. [Romans 12: 13 (NLT)]

Hospitality: the act of being friendly and welcoming to guests and visitors
Hospitable: providing good conditions for living or growing [Cambridge Dictionary]

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Good news for those who panicked at yesterday’s message about hospitality—Christian hospitality isn’t limited to house guests and dinner parties. While hospitality can include a welcome into our homes, it also can be as simple as a welcome into our lives. It can be as effortless as a “Hello” or “How are you?” and as easy as a handshake, hug or smile.

When in Florida, I take photographs on Sunday mornings for our church’s website. We often have more than a thousand worshippers, many of whom are visitors. The worship setting is out doors in the city park, the dress is casual, dogs are welcome, and the service and music are somewhat unconventional, which all make for some great photo ops. Since I’ve never considered myself a photographer and use a simple point-and-shoot camera, I hesitated to accept the assignment when given to me. God (and a nameless friend), however, would not let me say “No!”

At first, I kept my distance and felt a bit like a voyeur as I shot using just my telephoto lens. Going up to strangers and actually speaking to them, let alone photographing them, took me way out of my comfort zone. God, however, kept nudging me and, instead of shooting people from afar, I started venturing up to them and asking to take a photo. Eventually, I realized that while my name tag identifies me as “photographer” my true job is that of welcomer, answerer of questions, listener, encourager, dog fan, baby admirer, direction giver, and friend. The camera just affords me the opportunity to walk through the park to fulfill those other rolls. I’ve hugged a woman who confided she was too sad to have her photo taken that day, comforted an upset mother, explained to visitors what we do when it rains, invited people to evening communion at the beach, pointed the way to the refreshments and food pantry drop-off, taken photos for people with their cameras, reassured many women my age (and older) of their beauty, thanked people for their service, and prayed with strangers. In short, I’ve practiced hospitality and love. I now understand that the number of photos taken is nowhere near as important as the number of people greeted.

Welcoming people into my home and at my table is something I enjoy and do well. Not all of us, however, have homes, resources, family situations and time that allow for home hospitality. Nevertheless, we are all called to practice hospitality and are given numerous opportunities to do that outside of our homes. While they may not be like the foreigners mentioned in Leviticus, there always are people who need a welcoming smile or a kind word. This sort of hospitality, this way of showing love, has proved a challenge for me, but it has been a tremendously rewarding one. I now understand that God’s purpose in having me take pictures has less to do with the church website and a great deal more to do with teaching me about love and service. Hospitality is simply servanthood at its basic level: treating everyone as you would like to be treated and loving others as you love yourself. Whether we are gifted with hospitality or not, we all can be hospitable!

Thank you, God, for the teaching tasks of life. Keep them coming; there is much I still need to learn!

And he will answer, “I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.” And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. [Matthew 25:45-46 (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 13, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Love & Works, Sharing Our Faith, Today: Make it Count

THE LIZARD TRAP

She looks over a field and buys it, then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden. First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. [Proverbs 31:16-17 (MSG)]

brown anole - floridaThe Proverbs 31 woman (or man) has what our Florida pastor calls “opportunity awareness.” Where others may see an unplowed field, he or she sees a vineyard. Their vision is not just of what exists now; it is of what can exist in the future. A perfect example of “opportunity awareness” was demonstrated recently by a child who sold a lizard trap to our pastor after church. This little boy gathered up plastic containers from that Sunday’s treats and cut small holes in their lids. To catch a lizard, one just had to put a little food in the box and a lizard would climb in and be trapped. He even had two lizards in another container to demonstrate his product! This little boy didn’t see a plastic carton destined for the recycling bin—he saw a way to capture lizards (and to earn some money).

God presents us with opportunities all of the time; we just have to open our eyes to the possibilities. Spencer Smith worked for 3M and was trying to create a super-strong adhesive when he discovered a somewhat useless un-sticky glue. A solution without a problem, it was nearly five years before one of his colleagues saw its possibilities. A choir member, he tired of losing the paper bookmarks in his hymn book. He tried coating his paper markers with Smith’s glue and Post-it Notes were the result. George de Mestral took a look at the burrs that got caught in his dog’s coat when hiking. Instead of seeing an annoyance, he saw the possibility of making a fabric fastener that would mimic the burrs’ microscopic hooks. His idea was met with resistance and laughter but, since his vision resulted in Velcro, I imagine he was the one who ended up laughing. Caleb and Joshua saw a land with promise but the other scouts saw only giants. When the Apostle Paul sat in a Roman prison, he didn’t see barred doors; he saw an opportunity to write to the early church and to witness to the jailed and their guards. Surrounded by a crowd after he and John healed a crippled man, Peter saw a congregation to whom he could preach.

So what do these inventors, an eleven-year old budding entrepreneur, Israelite scouts, and early Christian evangelists have to do with us? The French scientist, Louis Pasteur said, “In the field of observation, chance only favours the prepared mind.” These people saw more than what was right in front of them—they saw possibility and potential and, more important, they were prepared to do something about it. God continually presents us with fields that seem barren, boxes that look empty, things that don’t work the way we anticipated, burr-like annoyances, unbeatable foes, locked doors, and people with questions. Yet, in all of these circumstances, God provides us with opportunities to serve and witness for Him with our lives and words. Every situation (both good and bad) comes with an opportunity to be Jesus to someone. But, as Pasteur pointed out, we need to be prepared, both to see and to do.

Remember as you go about your day that you may be the only Jesus some of your friends, neighbors, and family will ever see. [Wanda Brunstetter] 

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. [Thomas Edison]

Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. … Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. [Colossians 4:2,5 (MSG)]

Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. [Galatians 6:10 (MSG)]

Copyright ©2017 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
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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)]