Category Archives: Love & Works

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September 16, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Joy, Love & Works, Salvation: A New You, Sharing Our Faith, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! [Psalm 145:10 (ESV)]

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. [Isaiah 60:1 (ESV)]

“I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” [Lesbia Scott]
I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green;
They were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one too.
They loved their Lord so dear, so dear, and his love made them strong;
And they followed the right for Jesus’ sake the whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest, and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
And there’s not any reason, no, not the least, why I shouldn’t be one too.
They lived not only in ages past; there are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store,
In church, by the sea, in the house next door;
They are saints of God, whether rich or poor, and I mean to be one too.

cathedral of st francis - Santa Fe8546webAs a girl, one of my favorite hymns was, “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God.” I joyfully sang of the doctor (Luke), queen (Margaret of Scotland), shepherdess (Joan of Arc), soldier (Martin of Tours), priest (John Donne), and the one slain by a beast (Ignatius of Antioch). Although I wasn’t anxious to be devoured by lions, the thought of being in company of such a stellar cast of Christians gave me great joy. The fact that I, simply by knowing Jesus and by loving to do His will, could be one, too, was even more exciting.

Although it’s been years since last singing it, I thought of that hymn when touring the Cathedral Church of St. Francis in Santa Fe recently. Several saints had been beautifully depicted in the stain glass windows. It was a sunny day and the light shone magnificently through the colored glass. I was reminded that the saints of the New Testament weren’t dead; they were living individuals who had dedicated themselves to the worship and service of the one true God as revealed through Jesus Christ. In fact, all Christians are called to be saints of God—to live their lives in a way that reflects their faith in Christ. We all can be saints of God if we allow the Son’s light to shine through us as brilliantly as the sun did in those windows.

Saint: one separated from the world and consecrated to God; one holy by profession and by covenant; a believer in Christ. [Easton’s Bible Dictionary]

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV)]

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September 14, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Love & Works, Today: Make it Count

BENIGN NEGLECT

Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? [Proverbs 20:6 (NLT)]

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. [Proverbs 17:17 (NLT)]

What a person desires is unfailing love. [Proverbs 19:22a (NIV)]

Remember that children, marriages and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get. [From “Life’s Little instruction Book,” by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.]

DSC01958webIn July, I wrote about the weeds that had taken over our long-neglected garden. It wasn’t just the garden that suffered in our nine month’s absence; the beautiful antique silver in the china cabinet had tarnished. Although I pass that cabinet several times a day, I’ve ignored the gradually darkening silver for nearly three months. I had good intentions and meant to get out the polish but other activities kept presenting themselves. Now, with less than a week before leaving again, polishing silver hardly seems worth the effort and the task will be postponed until next summer.

While the silver can wait, relationships with friends and family don’t survive that sort of benign neglect as easily. Unfortunately, we all tend to grow complacent in our relationships, especially the long-standing ones, and we stop making the effort necessary for them to flourish and grow. Relationships, like gardens, need to be watered and fertilized and, like silver, need to be taken out, dusted off and polished on occasion.

My silver has neither feelings nor legs so, whether polished or not, it isn’t going anywhere. Stuck in my cabinet, it will still be there next summer, as will my weed-filled garden. People, however, can leave unsatisfactory relationships to find other, more satisfactory, ones. I certainly plead guilty to being inattentive and careless in my relationships. There were so many friends I meant to call, so many people I meant to see, so many things I meant to do for friends and family, but something else always seemed to interfere and my good intentions remained just good intentions.

Do you have any relationships that could be suffering from benign neglect? When was the last time you told your spouse or a dear friend you loved him or her? When was the last time you did an unexpected kindness or joyfully made a sacrifice for a friend or family member? When was the last time you offered a willing ear or lightened a loved one’s load? When last did your actions say, “You are important and I cherish our companionship?” When was the last time you worked on your relationships, watering and feeding them so they’d blossom? When was the last time you looked at your relationships, savored their beauty, and took the effort to make them shine? I’ve got a few calls to make; how about you?

Love cannot endure indifference. It needs to be wanted. Like a lamp, it needs to be fed out of the oil of another’s heart, or its flame burns low. [Henry Ward Beecher]

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. … Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. [1 John 3:11,18 (NLT)]

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September 9, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Love & Works, Nature, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Today: Make it Count

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Steamboat Springs, CO-cropweb
Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. … He committed the same sins as his father before him, and he was not faithful to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. [I Kings 15:1,3 (NLT)]

Nadab son of Jeroboam began to rule over Israel in the second year of King Asa’s reign … But he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. [I Kings 15:25-26 (NLT)]

“Where are the Flattops, Hahn’s Peak, or the Sleeping Giant?” we wondered. Smoke and haze from the fire-ravaged Pacific Northwest were obscuring the view of our favorite Colorado landmarks. The mountains and crystal clear skies had disappeared because of fires raging some 1,500 miles away. Reduced visibility from the smoke caused air traffic delays in Denver and posed respiratory problems for cyclists racing through the mountains. Satellite images show that smoke from these fires has covered a portion of at least twenty states. On our return east, the haze was still visible as we passed through Iowa.

Fire has a way of causing far-reaching collateral damage and so does sin. The chronology of kings in Israel and Judah are filled with stories of how a father’s sinful example was followed by his son and led the people to sinfully disregard God’s commands. Today, the abusive father is likely to have an abusive son, the adulterous spouse’s divorce hurts the entire extended family, toxic relationships poison everyone near them, and the children of an alcoholic carry emotional baggage that affects their own children. When the bad stuff hits the fan, it tends to spatter all over innocent people. Well, I’m not abusive, adulterous, toxic or alcoholic so I can’t spread sin, pain and sorrow, or can I? A few poorly chosen words, a sharp retort, a tidbit of gossip, a rude gesture, a bit of spitefulness, impatience and rudeness can also have far-reaching effects. That saleslady with whom I was clearly annoyed might well be irritable with her next customers who then will be short-tempered with the people they meet later. By the end of the day, my thoughtless act of rudeness may have created a negative chain reaction that affected dozens of people.

We talk of paying it forward when doing a kindness that will reverberate with more kindnesses. Unfortunately, it works that way with sin and unpleasantness, as well, and, sadly, paying unkindness forward with more of the same is probably far more likely to happen. Any time we fail to live as Jesus did, any time we allow Satan a foothold in our lives, any time we forget to respond with love, whenever we are inconsiderate of other people, that ugliness, just like the fires in the northwest, can spread far and wide.

Father, guide our words and actions so that the love of Jesus is clearly seen and felt by all whose lives we touch today.

The greatest need in the world is the transformation of human nature. We need a new heart that will not have lust and greed and hate in it. We need a heart filled with love and peace and joy, and that is why Jesus came into the world. [Billy Graham]

He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. [Genesis 19:28 (NLT)]

This wickedness is like a brushfire. It burns not only briers and thorns but also sets the forests ablaze. Its burning sends up clouds of smoke. [Isaiah 9:18 (NLT)]

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September 8, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Love & Works, Obedience, Today: Make it Count

DINNER GUESTS

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place. … to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. [Job 2:11-13 (ESV)]

Tanzania sculptureLabor Day weekend at the cottage was to be our last opportunity to enjoy time at the lake until next summer. Family would be visiting most of the time and the little guys were sure to keep us on the run. Closing the house for the season also meant a lot of chores: the house cleaned, sporting equipment brought up from the lake, deck furniture scrubbed and stowed, windows washed, the pantry emptied, and so on. The last thing either of us wanted was more work.

Before the kids and grands arrived, we had one day to quietly (and leisurely) finish up some tasks. It was also the only day we’d be free to spend any time with our neighbors until our return next June. The husband is suffering from a debilitating form of dementia so time with them is precious. By next summer, the man we’ve come to know and love may no longer even remember us. The easiest thing for us would have been to take them to dinner at a local restaurant but the noise would make it difficult for our hard-of-hearing friend and the crowd would cause him discomfort. While dinner at our house was the obvious solution, neither my husband nor I felt we had the time to spend shopping, prepping, cooking and cleaning up.

The Bible is filled with stories of friendship and people who found time for one another: Ruth and Naomi, Jonathan and David, Elisha and Elijah, Abraham and Lot, and Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Even Job’s three friends spent several days with him sitting at his side. A friend loves at all times, not just when it is convenient, so we knew we had to spend time encouraging and loving on our neighbors. Somewhat reluctantly, we invited them to dinner. Panic briefly set in as we scoured the kitchen to see what provisions we had. Cheese and homemade cookies for the appetizer and dessert were found in the freezer. We had enough tomatoes for a salad and the refrigerator held the ingredients for two easy make-ahead side dishes. A quick trip into town would provide the entrée in the way of an already prepared rotisserie chicken. Typically, our dinner party preparations are more complex, involving lots of prep work, but the Holy Spirit reminded us that friendship has nothing to do with an impeccably set table or a gourmet meal; friendship is breaking bread together in love. Perfection isn’t necessary in friendship; presence, however, is. Friendship is accepting and loving one another in our imperfection. While it’s good to remember friends in our thoughts and prayers, real friendship actually sits beside them whenever possible. Jesus gave his life for his friends and few of us will ever be asked to do as much as that. A little inconvenience now and then is a small price to pay for the blessings of friendship and the opportunity to share Christ’s love.

Father, thank you for the blessing of friends—brothers and sisters connected to one another, not by blood, but by their love for one another. Thank you for gifting us with people with whom we share good times and bad, sorrow and joy, laughter and tears, health and illness. May we never hesitate to be as generous with our time as our friends are with theirs. Guide us to love in the way we hope to be loved and to do for one another in the way we want to have done for us.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. [Proverbs 17:17 (ESV)]

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. [1 Peter 4:8-9 (ESV)]

 

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August 25, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Knowing Him, Love & Works, Obedience

THE FIRST MUST BE LAST

He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” [Mark 9:35 (NLT)]

Jesus’ disciples believed him to be the long-awaited and promised Messiah. Like most of the Jews, they originally believed that the Messiah would bring a new kingdom into this world: a new government for Israel that was not under the rule of Rome. The disciples began to think about their status in this future kingdom, much like close supporters of a presidential candidate start thinking about an ambassadorship or even a place in the presidential cabinet. The gospels tell us that they argued over which of them was the greatest and who deserved the best position in this new realm. The mother of James and John even had the nerve to ask Jesus to give her sons special status in his coming kingdom. She was like a presidential candidate’s financial backer who requests that a family member be given a cushy or high profile job in the new government. It seemed that everyone around Jesus was jockeying for a choice position in his kingdom.

It took a great deal of time and teaching, however, before the disciples truly grasped that the Kingdom of God of which Jesus spoke was not going to be here on earth. Jesus told his disciples that leadership would not be determined by power and influence but by service. The good leader is not the most prominent, ruthless or esteemed person, said Jesus; the good leader is the servant. This was a new concept of leadership: attending to the needs of people instead of using them for your own purposes, caring for others instead of having them care for you. Instead of looking for ways to earn honors and privileges, Jesus tells us that we should be looking for ways to serve others and minister to their needs.

Just because you’re in the driver’s seat … doesn’t mean you have to run people over. [From “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow]

But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as ransom of many.” [Matthew 20:26-28 (NLT)]

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August 5, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Sharing Our Faith, Spiritual Gifts

THE GRACE PROJECT – PART 2 (RECEIVING)

And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” [Acts 20:35 (NLT)]

columbine - mhspIL0549-2-cropwebWhile our pastor was preaching his series on God’s grace, an acquaintance asked me to pray for her friend (who we’ll call Faith) and her friend’s twenty-month old daughter (who we’ll call Hope). Faith was a single mother with no family support. Baby Hope, underweight and slow in her development, was failing to thrive for no apparent medical reason and scheduled to undergo a series of medical tests. Because she’d missed so much work due to her daughter’s illnesses, Faith had lost her job.

When our pastor offered each congregant a ten dollar bill to use to spread God’s grace, I just knew that money was intended for Faith. When the time came to accept the cash, however, I hesitated. The church was struggling to pay down their mortgage. Why should I take money from it when I had enough of my own to give away? I didn’t feel that I could accept the church’s money when they had such a great need themselves.

The next week, ten dollar bills were offered once more and, again, I wouldn’t take one. Instead, I decided to send Faith some of my own money. While I could certainly afford it, that just didn’t feel right; that wasn’t part of God’s plan. The point of the exercise wasn’t just to give someone something; it was to accept something we didn’t deserve and then to pass it along. I knew that sending my own money bypassed the first part of the lesson.

Every day, as I prayed for Faith and Hope, I continued to be troubled by my refusal to accept the church’s money. A week later, I attended a class about spiritual gifts. Unexpectedly, the pastor gave me ten dollars to illustrate a point about the acceptance of God’s gifts. I had to laugh when it appeared that I could no longer escape that ten dollar bill! All I had to do was accept it, which I finally did. The next day, it was sent to Faith along with a note of encouragement and a promise to keep her in my prayers.

I’m glad God is so persistent—there was a lesson I needed to learn about accepting His gifts and He wasn’t about to quit until I learned it. Our God is loving and generous and, no matter how difficult it seems, we should be gracious enough to accept His gifts and use them wisely. The Apostle Paul quoted Jesus as saying that it is “more blessed to give than to receive.” While that’s undoubtedly true, for many of us, it much harder to receive than it is to give!

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the many gifts you lavish upon us, your children. May we always accept them with enthusiasm and grateful hearts and share them with joy and love.

As God loves a cheerful giver, so He also loves a cheerful taker, who takes hold on His gifts with a glad heart. [John Donne]

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)]