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March 2, 2015

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Bible Stories, Fear & Doubt, God's Promises, Miracles, Trusting God

WOULD YOU HAVE TRUSTED?

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen. [Philippians 4:19-20 (NLT)]

In a time of famine, the prophet Elijah went to a poor widow and asked for bread. She told him that she had none and had only enough flour and oil to make one last portion of bread for herself and her son. This would be their final meal; after it was gone, they would surely die of starvation. Elijah, however, persisted, telling her to make bread for him first, and then bread for herself and her son. He assured the woman that there would be enough flour and oil left for them all until the famine was over. The widow didn’t try to reason with the prophet and suggest, “If what you say is true, how about my son and I eat first and then I’ll feed you?” She simply did as Elijah asked. She trusted him and they continued to eat for many days. Just as Elijah promised, there was always enough flour and oil left for another meal. It was a miracle.

What a story of trust this is. The widow trusted Elijah completely. She fed him first with no guarantee that there would be anything left for her or her son. Because she trusted, the Lord provided. Without trust and the widow’s simple act of faith, there would have been no miracle. Had it been me, I wonder if a miracle would have occurred. Would I have trusted in God’s provision? How difficult is it for us to take that first leap of faith and trust in the Lord that He will provide.

They cried out to you and were saved. They trusted in you and were never disgraced. [Psalm 22:5 (NLT)]

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February 27, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Plan, Prayer, Trusting God, Worry

ONE BITE AT A TIME

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Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. [Matthew 6:34 (NLT)]

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! When that elephant is on our dinner plate, however, that advice can be difficult to remember!

It was snowing and we were skiing in knee-deep power on an unfamiliar mountain. Totally lost, we ended up on a double-black diamond. With no alternative trail, we stared down a narrow steep run covered with ferocious looking moguls. Powder, steep, narrow and moguls: any two of the four pose no problem and three out of four are a possibility. Doing all four in one run? No way! All I could do was look down at the end of the trail and concede defeat. Defeat, however, wasn’t an option unless I planned on staying frozen in place until the spring thaw. I had to continue forward. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit intervened and reminded me of words spoken years earlier by a ski instructor: “You can get down anything if you take it one turn at a time.”

Too often we see the big picture when, in fact, we should look at the little one instead. We can become overwhelmed by both goals and challenges if we look too far ahead. We end up conceding defeat without even trying. “How will I ever get through the terrible twos?” cries the frustrated mother. “One temper tantrum at a time,” is the answer. “How will I ever get this huge Bible read?” asks the new Christian. One page at a time. How will I get through several months of chemo-therapy? One session at a time. How will I put together a 1,000-piece puzzle? One part at a time. How will I become a published author? One word at a time. How can I ever climb to the top of that mountain? One step at a time. How will we get to the Promised Land? One mile at a time. How will I get through a lifetime of sobriety? One day at a time. How will I endure this incredible pain? One hour at a time. As insurmountable as any challenge or goal may seem, it is merely a succession of small manageable bits and pieces. How do we do it? We do it one prayer at a time.

God will give us what we need for the moment and that’s all we really need. We don’t have to become anxious about getting to the bottom of the ski run or to the top of the mountain. We just have to manage to make the next turn or take the next step. We won’t be alone; He’ll be right there with us. When we tire, we can rest in His presence until God strengthens and restores us enough to make the next move. Our progress may not be fast or graceful and there may be a few stumbles or setbacks along the way. If we’re following God’s plan, however, He will get us where He wants us to be, one turn (or one bite) at a time.

God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry. [Deuteronomy 31:8 (MSG)]

People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit. Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing. [Isaiah 26:3-4 (MSG)]

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February 26, 2015

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

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

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The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” … The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” [Luke 10:27,29 (NLT)]

“Where is she coming from?”…“How could anyone in his right mind think that?”…“How bizarre!”…“Would you look at that?”…“They’re so different.”…”She’s weird!” We’ve all had reactions like that to various people; some may even had reactions like that to us! It’s challenging to think of them as our neighbors and we’re pretty sure we wouldn’t want them living next door!

God loves everyone, so why is it so difficult for us? We don’t seem to have a problem loving ourselves, but it’s loving others that poses the problem. Naturally, it is easier to love those who are more like us. There’s a commonality; we may share similar experiences or ethnic backgrounds. Perhaps we enjoy the same authors, live near one another, have similar interests, or attend the same church. We can better understand why they speak, think, eat, dress, worship, or relax the way they do. Being pretty practiced at loving ourselves, it is easier to think of people who think, look and act like us as neighbors and to love them (at least a little bit).

The love part, however, gets increasingly more difficult the less like us someone happens to be. In fact, sometimes we’re needlessly afraid of people simply because they’re different. They may not speak our language, look like us, or even eat the same food. Like it or not, however, most of the world’s population is not like much like us. Or is it? We all share one thing for sure: God’s love for each and every one of us! That’s something we all have in common with more than seven billion people. Since nearly a third of them are Christian, we share the love of Jesus with a good number of them, as well.

Father in heaven, God of love, help us see the similarities rather than the differences among your children. Replace any judgment in our hearts with understanding, any anger with forgiveness, and any anxiety with confidence. Trade our pride with humility, our pettiness with generosity, and our self-centeredness and selfishness with love so that we treat everyone as a “neighbor.”

It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine? … Won’t you be my neighbor? [Fred Rogers, “Won’t You be My Neighbor?”]

The Bible makes this clear. Be as loving as you can, as often as you can, for as many people as you can, for as long as you live. Why should we do this? Because. [Kate Braestrup]

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [Galatians 5:14 (NLT)]

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February 18, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, Patience & Perseverance, Prayer, Trusting God

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. [Psalms 40:1 (NLT)]

I subscribe to several websites that send daily Bible verses or inspirational messages. Not long ago, I unsubscribed from one. For several days, all they’d sent was a blank page. I gave up on them correcting their technical difficulties and cancelled my subscription. My husband, however, did not. Either he had more faith in them or, more likely, didn’t know how to unsubscribe. Either way, he faithfully looked for their messages daily. “Oh ye of little faith!” he said to me today. The messages have returned and are as inspirational as ever!

Even when I didn’t get their emails, their website was still functional. Bible verses were posted daily and I certainly could have made the effort to go to their site every morning. Although I missed the verses, I didn’t make the effort; I wanted the work done for me. Until this morning, it never occurred to me that perhaps, instead of their website having mailing issues, our email program could have been at fault and needed updating before the messages could again be received. I just gave up when I didn’t get what I wanted right away.

God doesn’t ever have technical difficulties or website issues, but sometimes it seems as if He’s forgotten us. At times, His silence seems deafening and we give up on Him. Let’s remember, He never gives up on us; He is always there for us. He sends us messages in His own way and in His own time. While they may seem late to us at times, they’re always on time to Him. If it seems that He is silent, maybe we just have to go to Him to receive His word. Or, just maybe, He’s speaking to us and we’re just not getting His message; we’re experiencing technical difficulties!

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. [Psalm 27:14 (NLT)]

For I am waiting for you, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my God. [Psalm 38:15 (NLT)]

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February 17, 2015

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Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith, Trusting God

FISHERS OF MEN

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” [Matthew 4:19 (NLT)]

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When we’re fishing for souls, we can learn from our fisherman friends.

Trust your guide: He knows where he’s taking you and how to get you home.
Obey the guide: Cast your line when and where he tells you.
Have patience: A good fisherman is willing to wait for the fish to bite.
Use the right lure: The same bait won’t work for all fish.
Be quiet: If you’re too loud, you might scare away the fish.
Be adaptable: There’s more than one way to catch fish.
Don’t get discouraged: Remember, tomorrow is another day.
There are no age or gender limitations: Everyone can go fishing!

Of course, there are some differences between fishing for people and trying to catch fish: no license is required, there are no limits on the size of our catch, and God never throws anyone back!

There is never a bad day for fishing; some days, however, turn out to be bad days for catching! [Scott, a fisherman friend]

“Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” [Luke 5:10b (NLT)]

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February 14, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Holidays & Holy Days, Love & Works, Thanks & Praise

FOR THOSE WE LOVE – Valentine’s Day 2015

“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.” [Matthew 19:4-6 (NLT)]

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Father, thank you for my spouse; please don’t let me take my life’s partner for granted. Prevent us both from allowing the obligations and frustrations of each day hinder us from making time for one another. Give us forgiving hearts when the other’s words or actions cause anger or grief. May we never allow people or things to keep us from walking the same path, hand in hand, for the rest of our lives.

Father, for those who are not blessed with a partner at this time, give them plenty of friends and family to fill their hearts and lives with love and joy.

In every marriage more than a week old, there are grounds for divorce. The trick is to find, and continue to find, grounds for marriage. [Robert Anderson]

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. [1 Peter 4:8 (NLT)]

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. [Ephesians 4:2-3 (NLT)]