Spiritual Contentment

What a beautiful morning! The sun is shining and there are blue jays and a cute little brown bird playing tag between the maple tree and the holly bush outside my window. They are having a great time flying in figure eights back and forth. They appear to be content and happy
in the space that God has created for them.

The question that comes to mind then is, am I content in the space that God created for me? Sometimes I would say yes. Other times, well, not so much. But then I have to ask why, what makes me unsatisfied, discontent or empty?

I have found that in my search for satisfaction and fulfillment at times I am looking for the wrong supply. When I am sad, I retreat to quiet. When I am burdened or feel overwhelmed by circumstances I go shopping trying desperately to find something to fill the hole or ease the pain, soothe my conscience. Problem is none of that, not even buying the coolest
piece of technology, cutest purse or gooiest dessert will satisfy the need I am trying to fill. There is only one place, one source of love and comfort that will bring joy back into my life; Jesus.

It says in the Bible that He alone is the Way the Truth and the Life (John 14:16). That He heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3). That He fills us (Col 2:10). He completes us (Phil 1:6). He provides all that we need ( 2 Cor 9:8). His promises are genuine. He is faithful. I can trust Him with all that I am, all that I need, all that I will ever do for the glory of His kingdom. I can know deep in my heart that He will not abandon me in my time of need or in times of triumph. He is always with me. And He sends
me angels dressed in friendship to be the arms of comfort I need when a real live flesh covered hug is what I crave. Thank you for being there when I need you and thank you for listening, or in this case reading, the ramblings of a sometimes confused but faithful child of God. Thank you for being an Angel in my life.

Bad Habits We Cannot Afford

It's a new day and with it comes new opportunities to do the things we may have not done so well yesterday. I know that sometimes I 'shut down' inside or 'back away' when I feel as though I have failed someone, especially God. When I haven't spent the time with him like I should, it's like any other relationship. It becomes easier with each passing moment, each day away to just let that relationship 'rest in the past'.

It becomes habit. A bad habit for sure, but a routine none the less. It's just like friends or even family members in some cases that maybe we haven't talked to as often as we should. First it is a few days, then those days become weeks, weeks become months and before you know it, years have passed. We may speak to them in passing, send a card on their birthday or at Christmas and then one year we forget.
Just once, but instead of making contact, we say "I'll wait until their birthday" and then that passes. The routine is set. Then out of embarrassment, or busyness or apathy we just move on.

Our relationships with others are important. The connection to other human beings are a large part of how God built us to be. Our relationship with Jesus is much the same. When we step back from church, then we start disconnecting. We rationalize and say that we have good reason or we will go back soon when we find the right place, the right pastor,
the group to go with. But in our minds we say we are okay because we still read the Bible and pray.

Then that routine breaks down because priority is given to other things. We cannot afford in this lifetime, since it is the only one we get here on earth, to let our relationship with God become unimportant or take a back seat. It has to be priority. It has to come at the beginning not the end of our to-do list. Finding a place of worship and committing to being a vital member of that body is what each of us are meant for. We may be different
appendages or pieces but we all have a job to do that God gifted us uniquely for. If we don't act on it or search for it then we are letting God down and leaving a hole in the body of Christ that is shaped just like us!

I pray we all find the right place for us. Pray for God's guidance, for Him to get you out of bed in time for service and for Him to show you what to do when you get there. He is faithful. He will not leave us alone in the dark!

The One’s that got Away!!

Yeah, the birds are singing this morning!  That always makes me feel a little less weighted down with life.  The birds remind me of God and his promises to care for us.  He cares for them and they sound very happy today!  That's encouraging!

 

Friendship is something that we all enjoy, something that we all participate in and something that we should never take for granted.  As I read the message in our devotional book this morning I thought about the 'ones that got away'.  It's almost like a fishing story that a 'great' fisherman' would tell about the big one that eluded his hook and made it back to safety in the water.  Except, in this case it may not be safety that they made it back to.  It may very well be eternal death.

 

The people I'm thinking about are not just the individuals that I shared some time with at college, or high school, or at professional function.  They are not just the ones at church that came in one door and left out the other and never came back.  These people are souls that God put in front of me and gave me the opportunity to share Him and His story with and I failed miserably. 

 

The faces of these same people are in my minds eye reminding me that maybe if I had taken those few moments to drop them a note, send a card or even now in this fast paced society type a few encouraging words in an email, maybe we would still have a relationship and just possibly I would still have the opportunity to share my hope with them.  I realize that I cannot carry all of the burden for a failed relationship on myself.  I know that

I alone cannot keep a relationship alive that the other party must also be willing to participate.  But, I do know that I have been guilty of letting life get in the way.

 

Truth is we all are busy.  We have jobs, family and situations that need our attention.  Priority must be set and sometimes we simply do not have enough hours in the day to accomplish all we would like to.  I just know that in deep in my heart, I feel the loss of past friendships.  I do however believe that my grief has been rewarded because I have been blessed so abundantly with friendships now that I am overwhelmed at times just thinking about it.  I know too, that I never want to take it for granted.  So, to you, my friends I say, I love you and thank God for you. Remember we are blessed by God to be together and we must always try to be good stewards of that blessing.

 

Painful Stretching

Okay friends, no 'four letter words' are adorning my yard this morning, yeah!  I know that some of you actually like the white stuff, but for me, although I think it is beautiful and peaceful looking, it usually just brings headaches and stress.  I am also not particularly fond of cold weather in general since I have to wear many layers in an attempt to stay warm.  But that is enough rambling about weather.

 

In our devotion today it talked about financial problems and learning to make good decisions. I loved the quote for the day:

 

God often allows us to be in situations that are too much for us so we will learn that no situation is too much for Him. --Erwin Lutzer, Pastor and author

 

I know that each of us has been in a situation, short term or long, that has overwhelmed us in one fashion or another.  Sometimes it is dealing with financial decisions or recovering from mistakes.  Other times it could be experiencing  a loss of some kind or just an out and out stretching of the soul and faith through a new position,  a job or lack of job.

 

In any case, the one thing we all have in common is our dependency on God.  We have to seek His guidance and truly expect Him to work in our lives. In that same measure we must also be willing to follow His lead and not think that we know a better way.  In recent months I have been stretched and I am feeling the pain of that.  With each day, I feel the marginal elasticity of my will battling with the immeasurable strength of His grip pulling me in the direction I need to go.  For me, control is difficult to let go of yet I know I have to allow Him to lead in all areas of my life.  It's not easy or comfortable at times but it does give me peace when I do lay my ideas and plans down and wait on Him.  When my limited

mind wraps itself around the reality that God, in his infinite wisdom and knowledge, does indeed have the best plan and His plan is to prosper me not to harm me, to give me hope and a future I am encouraged.

 

The difficulty then lies in realizing that His plan may not be the same as mine and letting go of my idea of how things should be or what I should do.  I pray that today I can grasp that concept and lay my will at His feet, put myself in His hands and just hold on for the ride of my life.  He WILL guide me.  He WILL protect me.  He LOVES me and has a plan for my life.  I must keep repeating this to myself until it sinks in.  I pray that we all grab hold of His hand and never let go.

Choosing to Love

Happy Valentine's Day!  The day that most everyone is reminded of love, giving and receiving of love and all it's imagined to be.  The only problem with that is that most of us have a romantic idea of what it is supposed to look like.  In fact, love is a choice and not an emotion.  It is based on our ability to show kindness and compassion to another human being without regard to any warm and fuzzy feelings

that may be evoked or even their ability to reciprocate in kind.

 

I was reading "Love Dare" last night.  If you saw the movie Fireproof then you may remember Caleb's father explaining this concept of love being a choice to his son.  Many of us have heard other's say or even have said ourselves that "we follow our heart".  But, if we are following our heart, then who or what is leading it?  For us to make the choice to love others, our spouses, our children, our friends, then we must be willing to love unconditionally.  To love unconditionally means it can't be based on feeling or emotion because those change quite rapidly in some cases depending upon circumstance and action.

 

No, to love without regard to emotion, we have to lead our hearts by making a choice to do so. We must make the decision to follow God's command to love one another as He has loved us.  I'm pretty sure that He doesn't love us based on emotion.  If He did, most of us would be out

of luck because we will have disappointed Him at some point and that would leave us out in the cold.  He loves us because He chooses to.  Therefore, we must choose to follow His command and example.

 

The only way we can truly do this is by allowing God to love through us.  For us to love others as He has loved us can only be accomplished through His power and influence in our lives.  We have to always be eager to act on His behalf in the interest of others by showing kindness, compassion and hospitality. "When God's people are in need, be ready to help them.  Always be eager to practice hospitality" Romans 12:13

 

So, today my friends, I am seeking God's guidance and strength to make the choice to love you, my husband, my daughter and others without regard to emotion.  I will love you all because I choose to follow the example of Christ.  I will love you by showing kindness and compassion.  I will love you even when you don't do what I want or what I think you should.  Sometimes that may mean that I will tell you, in a loving way, if I believe you are not seeking God and following Him.  And, I hope you will do the same for me.  None of us are perfect, far from it in my case, however we all are beloved children of the Almighty and we need to

be loved and cared for by others.

 

I love you through Christ, because of Christ and on behalf of Christ!

Gleaning Faithfully

I am still studying the book of Ruth.  Today I was reading a sermon by Charles Spurgeon.  He made a very interesting point about the 'gleaning' that Ruth did and how that could be applied to the spiritual life of a Christian.  Ruth gleaned for food.  She spent her days stooped over picking up what was left behind by the work crews harvesting grain in the fields.  She worked hard and only took short rests to  refresh herself.  Working from sun up to sun down,

she never stopped until her arms and hands were loaded to capacity.  She was not afraid of the hard work and she did not shun her duties.  She did not expect a  hand-out and did not expect her job to be easy.

 

As a Christian, do we expect our 'gleaning' of the fields to be easy because God will bless our efforts to increase the Kingdom?  I think sometimes we do.  When something does not come easy, or if it requires a bit of effort, than we automatically think it is not God's will.  I'm not sure that is an accurate attitude.  There are many instances in history and accounts in the Bible where work was involved.  God does not promise us an easy road, just that He will be with us as we travel that road.  He does not promise us that no work will be involved, just that He will bless us for work that glorifies and grows His Kingdom. And, He does not

promise us that there will not be any "apparent failures" to our efforts.  Sometimes it may seem like a failure to us, but He has a bigger plan and what we see as a mistake or lack

of success may in fact be a part of His overall picture.

 

The fact that we take the time to know Him, to study His word and to try our best to follow His example shows Him our heart.  It will increase our faith and ultimately His kingdom when we share that relationship with others.  So don't be discouraged by a set-back.  It may in fact

be a set-up for something in the future.  Keep gleaning from his word, from the fields in your circle of influence and be willing to step out on faith when he calls you to glean else where, even outside what you are comfortable with.  He will be beside you all the way and he will

give you what you need to be successful, by his plan and in his time.

Ruth’s decision…

I was reading a commentary last night on the Book of Ruth.  I have been drawn to this small but very meaningful, 4 chapter story of a stranger, an outcast who decides to follow a God she really did not know.  Ruth was a child of Moab and grew up worshipping idols.  She met a man named Mahlon and married him and was introduced to the God of Israel. There are not many details given about their relationship, but I believe, just as the commentator who wrote the account I was reading, that it is safe to surmise some things.

 

Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, must have been a great role model.  She must have taught and treated Ruth very well for even after her husband and his brother and father had died, Ruth was still willing to go with Naomi back to Judah.  A foreign land where she would expect to be treated as an outsider, an outcast.  But instead, since she embraced this new God and the ways of his people, she was rewarded for her faith.  She was redeemed.  Her kinsman-redeemer, Boaz was willing to put himself out

for her.  He accepted her and took her in, married her and made her his own.

 

Does any of this sound familiar?  Boaz is the precursor for Jesus.  He redeemed a lost soul in spite of where she came from, or what she had done.  Ruth had faith in God, and because of that she was accepted.  Is that not the same for each of us?  God loves us, and extends his grace to us, but we have to have enough faith to accept his gift and be redeemed by the blood of Jesus. There are all kinds of interesting tidbits in the story of Ruth. She is the great-grandmother of King David and therefore in the line of Jesus.  She had no idea that her decision to follow Naomi was important, but it was. She had no inkling that her choice to follow God would be pivotal, but it was.  And, she had not a clue that the man whose field she gleaned in would be her redeemer, but he was.

 

Each choice we make, no matter how small at the time, may be important.  (No pressure here.) But it occurs to me that we need not take things for granted and weigh our decisions out against the Word of God.  You never know how it may affect generations from now.