How Dare They!

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Romans 12:18 (NLT)

We went on a family vacation to the beach. There were lots of us there which meant lots of laughter, lots of love and lots of attitude. You know how it goes. Family dynamics are messy and no matter how hard you try, it’s ..... well... messy. 

One day, someone did something that sent my heart to grumbling. I wasn’t mad but indignant. Why would they do that? Didn’t they understand that I needed to be treated with more respect than that? And the thoughts kept pushing through my head until....I stepped aside and said “Lord, what is wrong with me?” 

And this verse popped into my head.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3

That was the problem.  I was thinking of myself as better than others....like I deserved some treatment because of my position in the family. As I pondered this, I understood how easy it is to get side-tracked from how God is calling us to be. No matter where we are, what we are doing, who we are with, our job is to stay focused on Jesus. 

Staying connected and having refocused, I was able to let go of the me-first attitude and stay firmly planted where God wanted me....living life in my family as a servant. It was a much better day after that.

What Is Your Sign?

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)

A few weeks ago I was driving home from a weekend away and I saw a sign in front of a church that read "What If God Asked You For A Sign?" Made me pause.

What kind of sign do you think he'd ask for? Would he ask for some heroic act? Would he want me to do something really incredible to show him that I love him? Would he say to me "If you love me, you will do this one thing for me."? Would he say "I will love you forever if you only......"?

Wait. I think that's what we say to God, right? We ask for proof that he is there. We ask for proof that he is who he says he is. All the while, God is there providing for us and loving us just because.

God does ask us for a sign.  But it’s subtle. When you do it, it’s quiet and sometimes not even noticed. But, it speaks volumes. Everyone will eventually see it but it might take them years. This sign says we are who we say we are, Christians. It is the sign of Love. It’s when we live like we love God more than anything. It’s when we live like we love each other more than ourselves.

That folks, is the sign that God would ask us for. If he asked you for this sign today, would you be able to give it to him?

A Minute In It - Praising God!

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Read through the Bible text and notice all the reasons there are to PRAISE God!

1  I will praise the Lord at all times.
    I will constantly speak his praises.
2 I will boast only in the Lord;
    let all who are helpless take heart.
3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
    let us exalt his name together.

4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
    He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
    no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
    he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
    he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
    Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
    for those who fear him will have all they need.
10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
    but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, and listen to me,
    and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
12 Does anyone want to live a life
    that is long and prosperous?
13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
    and your lips from telling lies!
14 Turn away from evil and do good.
    Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

15 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
    his ears are open to their cries for help.
16 But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
    he will erase their memory from the earth.
17 The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
    He rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
    he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

19 The righteous person faces many troubles,
    but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
20 For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
    not one of them is broken!

21 Calamity will surely destroy the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
    No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
Psalm 34 (NLT)

Remembering The Bottom Line

For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

There are days....I know you may have them too...where the voices in your head bring all kinds of fears and inadequacies to the forefront. Yesterday was like that for me.  I kept hearing that the things I am doing are going to fail. I even imagined how that would look and it was frightening. 

It's not so much that I am afraid to fail, God knows I've done that quite a bit. It's more that when I hear these disconcerting thoughts, they are direct attacks on me. You are not smart enough. You don't know what you are doing. Anyone can see that this is above your pay grade. What makes you think you can pull that off? You know, those kind of happy thoughts.

And then I remember.....I'm not supposed to do this.  God is.  And I remember that I am loved. That love is not dependent on whether I succeed or not. It is not dependent on whether I get everything exactly perfect or even if I get it all wrong. God's love isn't dependent on me at all! Praise the Lord! It's who he is. 

What I need to do is remember the promises like the one in Zephaniah 3:17. I need to remember what this walk is all about. It's about Jesus. It's about his unconditional love for me that happened before I was even born. It's about the sweet, perfect love that is my gift. It's your gift too.

Today, I will rejoice in that, just like he rejoices over me.

No Matter What

We love each other because he loved us first. 1 John 4:19 (NLT)

Sometimes it is good to go back to our childhood to remember.  Recently, I was watching a Veggie Tales show with my grandson. Honestly, I'd watch it if I was alone. The old Silly Songs With Larry are awesome! And, there is always that one line that makes me pause.

During this particular show it was "I am loved no matter what so no matter what I will love." In our world we see people fighting, backbiting, being mean to each other and in general only caring about themselves.  What happened to us? Where did we lose ourselves? When did we forget to love and care for each other? When did we forget that we don't all have to agree on everything but we can still be kind and we can still love.

We should love each other because we are loved. No matter what. This is a gift given to us by Jesus and we should focus on it more. Remember the song from your childhood?

Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to him belong
They are weak but he is strong
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so

Maybe we should add a verse:

Jesus loves you this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Everyone to him belongs
Alone we are weak, together we are strong.

We need to remember that we are loved and so is every other person on the planet. God loves all of us.  We should do the same.

I Didn't Think Of That!

For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Deuteronomy 8:4 (NLT)

We were faced with a huge challenge. Things weren't going so well in my business and we were at the point where I would no longer get paid. To be honest, I was in full panic mode. I had a knot in my stomach; I was barely able to hold it together in front of other people.  Every prayer consisted of "We need your help." I wasn't sure what to do. I felt like my only option was to close the business and get another job.

One morning I woke up about three days in with the Bible text in my head "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)  Now, I don't normally wake up with a Bible texts in my head so I kept repeating that text over and over and I kept praying.

To tell you the entire journey would take a long time because it lasted for a year and a half. All that time he said "Wait. Don't do anything, just wait." And do you know what? All that time God provided. All that time we had the money we needed to help pay the bills even though I wasn't getting paid.  And the money came in from so many different avenues you just knew it was God. 

When I read this text about the Israelites clothes not wearing out for forty years, I paused.  In the past I would not even have noticed it but now I read it and think, "Yeah, that's God." When he provides he finds ways to meet your needs that you wouldn't even have thought of. Who would have thought he would keep clothes from wearing out for forty years? Who would have thought he kept their feet healthy as they walked through the dry desert? 

God is providing all the time. Whether it be funds when there are none, gifts to ease the financial strain, a comforting word from a friend, keeping our bodies functioning so we can do what he wants us to do or a text from the Bible at just the right time to keep us going....those (and so many other blessings) are all God.

Thank God he doesn't work based on our limitations. We see a problem and believe that there is no way around it. God sees a problem and sees a million ways to solve it.  That is the God we serve! 

There Is Only One But That Matters!

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Genesis 50:20 (NLT)

Tell me. When things look impossible, how do you start your sentences? Do you start them with reasons why it won't work? Do you start them with negative comments or doubtful innuendos? Or do you start them with But God?

All throughout the Bible God was showing up in unexpected ways.  He showed up in Joseph's life when all seemed lost. Through those circumstances, he saved generations of people. He showed up in Noah's life and saved his family and all the animals.

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede. Genesis 8:1

Most amazingly, he shows up in our life.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8

Today, when things look impossible, when you just know in your heart you can't make it work, start the conversation with But God......and go from there. 

Remember, "But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26

A Minute In It - Focusing Your Focus

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Read through the Bible text and fill in the blanks below.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

In my life this is true: ___________________

In my life this is honorable: _________________

In my life this is right: ___________________

In my life this is pure: ____________________

In my life this is lovely:___________________

In my life this is admirable:________________

Today, I am going to be think about and be thankful for these things.