Category Archives: Today: Make it Count

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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 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 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 12, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Joy, Money & Wealth, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

THE DOG SWEATER

dog outfit
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (MSG)]

While taking photos in the park before church, I stopped to take a picture of a costumed dog. Personally, I think God blessed animals with fur so they wouldn’t have to wear clothes but the dog’s photo would make a cute addition to the church website. The dog’s person complained that Fluffy’s Christmas outfit had not yet arrived from Amazon. The following week, I came upon the same woman and her dog was now wearing a holiday ensemble. While I took the dog’s picture, Fluffy’s person lamented that the poor thing had to wear last year’s sweater with her new accessories. Apparently the pup had enjoyed a few too many treats over the year and the new sweater was too small. I wanted to tell her how thankful she should be to have a dog, let alone be able to feed and dress it, when some people can’t afford to feed and clothe their children. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit put his hand over my mouth and I realized that the dog probably fills a very empty place in her life.

I remembered that encounter as I ever so self-righteously began this devotion about giving thanks. The Holy Spirit, however, suggested I examine my own behavior before pointing fingers or casting stones at this woman. Granted, we probably don’t stress about dressing our dogs in seasonal attire but something tells me we’re really not that different. Like her, most of us are probably nowhere near as thankful about our blessings as we should be. How often do we compare what we have with what we want? We have a new coat, but now we want a scarf, new boots and gloves to go with it. We have a perfectly good house, but now we want to redecorate, remodel or even get a bigger one. We have a spouse, but we want him or her to be thinner, tidier, richer, or not to snore. We have a good job, but we want one that pays better, has shorter hours, a nicer boss, or longer vacations. We have a car, but now we want a newer sportier model or a second (or even third) one. We have healthy children, but they’re not the perfectly-behaved gifted athletic ones we’d planned on getting.

We all want what we don’t have, often while failing to appreciate what it is that we do have. Consider those people who have neither coat to wear nor roof over their heads. What of the widowed who would welcome an opportunity to pick up after a spouse or hear him snore again, the man who got a pink slip with his pay check last week, the woman who takes two busses to work or the grocery store, or the couples who struggle with infertility? They’d be thrilled to take what we are so anxious to find fault with, change or discard. There’s nothing wrong with aspiring to improve our lives but, when we compare what we have to what we want, we’re bound to become dissatisfied. Perhaps, we should start comparing what we have to what it is we actually deserve. I know my blessings far outweigh anything I’ve ever done to deserve them. When I compare what I have to what I deserve, I’m filled with gratitude and joy.

Here’s something to consider: what if everything with which we found fault today disappeared tomorrow? Moreover, what if we woke up tomorrow with only the things for which we thanked God today?

Father, forgive us when we find fault where we should find gratitude and when we offer complaint instead of praise. Forgive our blindness to the blessings right in front of us. Give us thankful hearts and generous spirits. Thank you, dear Lord, for your limitless love and for not giving us what we deserve.

Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out. … Good people see this and are glad; bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks. If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.  [Psalm 107:1,42-43 (MSG)]

 

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January 7, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Patience & Perseverance, Peace of God, Prayer, Today: Make it Count

TEN SECONDS

I’ve told you this so that my peace will be with you. In the world you’ll have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world. [John 16: 33 (GW)]

 Jesus looked at them and said, “It is impossible for people to save themselves, but everything is possible for God.” [Matthew 19:26 (GW)]

angels trumpet Netflix’s “unbreakable” Kimmy Schmidt was kidnapped as a teen and survived fifteen years in a doomsday cult while imprisoned in an underground bunker. Once rescued, she faces a world she didn’t think still existed and for which she is completely unprepared. While this certainly is an odd premise for a television comedy, there’s much to be learned from her naive and optimistic outlook. In one episode, Kimmy (who knows from experience) explains that one can stand anything for ten seconds and adds, “Then you just start on a new ten seconds.”

While at the gym, positioned on hands and toes with my core supporting my body’s weight, I thought about coping in ten second increments. Granted, holding in plank for only one minute is nothing when compared to the challenges people face day to day, but those sixty seconds seemed unachievable when the timer started. Knowing I could easily remain in push-up position for ten seconds, however, I stopped thinking about sixty and just kept counting to ten. What at first seemed impossible, when broken into small increments, became possible.

Any 12-step program teaches the importance of taking life one day at a time. Sometimes, however, even one day seems way too long. When we’re in pain or distress or even trying to maintain sobriety, time seems interminable. While vacations pass too quickly, chemo treatments, grieving, hospital stays, healing, unemployment, financial difficulties, depression and passing a kidney stone don’t go nearly fast enough. Being a Christian certainly doesn’t mean we will avoid adversity or suffering; in fact, suffering and adversity were pretty much guaranteed for the early Christians. Suffering may develop character but, given a choice, most of us would be satisfied without more character building if it involves discomfort or adversity. Moreover, knowing that trials both test and strengthen our faith is of little comfort when we are the ones enduring those trials.

Instead of asking God, “How much longer?” perhaps we need to say, “Lord, as long as you are beside me, I can hold on for now!” We can say that with confidence, knowing that anything can be endured (and endured with joy) because of the power of the Holy Spirit, even if we can only do it one day or even ten seconds at a time.

[ONE DAY AT A TIME, SWEET JESUS (by Marijohn Wilkins & Kris Kristofferson)]
I’m only human, I’m just a man,
Help me believe in what I could be And all that I am.
Show me the stairway I have to climb
Lord for my sake, help me to take One day at a time.
One day at a time sweet Jesus That’s all I’m askin’ of you.
Just give me the strength To do every day what I have to do.
Yesterday’s gone sweet Jesus And tomorrow may never be mine.
Lord, help me today, show me the way One day at a time.

Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. [Romans 12:12 (GW)]

We ask him to strengthen you by his glorious might with all the power you need to patiently endure everything with joy. You will also thank the Father, who has made you able to share the light, which is what God’s people inherit. [Colossians 1:11-12 (GW)]

 

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December 31, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Today: Make it Count, Wisdom & Guidance

I AM WHAT?

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus. [2 Timothy 1:1 (NLT)]

This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. [Titus 1:1 (NLT)]

julia butterfly- NBG2122aweb“I am….” How would you finish that statement? I recently came across an Internet article by Mark Papadas in which he posits, “How a person finishes that statement defines who they are, their beliefs about themselves and the world, and the standards they live by.” While we commonly say that people will live up or down to our expectations, Papadas writes that, in reality, they will live up or down to their own expectations and adds that people rarely give conscious thought to what it is they expect from themselves.

The Apostle Paul certainly knew who he was and what he expected of himself. I wonder if the rest of us are that clear about our identity and purpose. Who am I? Am I a wife, mother, grandmother, homemaker, writer, volunteer, photographer, retiree, senior citizen, or friend? Yes to all but, while those words may describe me, none of them define me. We’re not our roles, resumes, paychecks, pasts or pedigrees and we mustn’t let those define us. We’re human beings and not human doings.

Who am I? I am a child a God and a follower of Christ. As such, I know He expects me to love Him completely and my neighbor as myself. As a child of God, what do I expect of myself? I should love God and man, repent and forgive, study God’s word and pray, be part of the church and spread the gospel, live an upright life and do God’s will. I want to be as much like Christ as humanly possible. Can I live up to my expectations? Probably not completely but, with the power of the Holy Spirit, I can sure try. Why? Because I am a child of God.

What you are is God’s gift to you, what you become is your gift to God. [Hans Urs von Balthasar]

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. [Galatians 3:26-27 (NLT)]

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