Watch

It was Friday in a popular vacation spot. We were having dinner with friends. We'd waited 40 minutes for the table and our waitress served too many tables.  The youngest member of our party was a toddler. It was getting late and she was hungry.  She was becoming impatient.  Her mother was a wise woman and told her "Look at that door.   Watch for our waitress.  She will bring our food from that door."

The little girl "stood watch" over that door. She was not distracted from watching the door.   She expected our waitress with a tray of food to appear at any moment.  And she made sure her mom watched with her.  Her eyes only left the door to see if mom was also watching.  If mom's eyes had strayed she reminded her to watch.

She made me think.  Do I watch for Jesus to come, to deliver, to meet my needs?  Do I show others how to watch?  Do I encourage others to keep steadfast in their watch?  And when Jesus comes do I rejoice like my young friend when the food arrived (finally!)?

In the first chapter of first Thessalonians, Paul commends the Thessalonians for welcoming The Message and becoming a model to other believers.  They spread God's message, lived their faith in God, turned from idols and waited for Jesus to come rescue them from the coming wrath.

w elcome the message

a s an example to others

t urn from distractions

c oncentrate on Jesus

H e will come!

 

 

Relief

I was driving home in southern Iowa the other day in a torrential rain storm.  The windshield wipers were on the highest setting but I kept trying to turn them up.  The rain was so heavy I wanted to pull over to the shoulder.  Visibility was so bad that if someone followed tail lights they might hit me along the side of the road. So I kept slowly driving.

I came over a small rise and saw 40 cars pulled over and I was so relieved.  It was the relief you feel in the safety of numbers!  So I pulled over and breathed deeply.

The sense of relief at the sight of others doing want I so desperately wanted to do made me think of the church.

In a community of believers we learn from others' failures and victories.  We gather together for safety.  There is comfort in distress.  We are not alone.

In second Corinthians chapter one verse four, Paul reminds me that God comforts me so I can comfort others. 

When the "going gets tough"  I go to church. It's not to find God because God has never left me.  He was definitely with me during the torrential downpour.   I go for blessing of comfort, safety and relief of others like me. I learn from others and hopefully encourage others. In Hebrews chapter ten verse twenty-five, I am reminded to encourage others

I could certainly get tough and go with just God but why?  Why miss the additional blessing God has provided when He gathers  the believers together to share comfort and encouragement.

When the going gets tough, go to God and church.   

OneThing

While we are on vacation, Dick and I walk together with our dog, Makena.   Actually, Dick and Makena walk together and I am a few  paces behind.  My pace is just a bit slower. 

Since I am a bit behind them I have the opportunity to observe them.  Makena looks up at Dick while she walks with him.  I assume it is so she can see which way he will go but there is a touch of worship in her eyes.

Makena prefers to walk with Dick as she is definitely his dog.  Whenever a door opens she looks for him.  She looks to him for comfort and protection.  She has one thing on her mind- her friend, Dick.  I have always said that if Makena was a woman I should be jealous.  Her heart belongs to Dick.  Her perfect day is a day spent next to his side. When he is home she follows him everywhere.

Since Dick has retired we have been reflecting on past memories.  I flipped through some old files and found a message I'd given in Montana in 1996.  As an illustration I had  used the old cowboy's advice in the movie "City Slickers."  His secret for success in life was to find your "one thing" and pursue it as your passion.  In Philippians 3, Paul gives a similar admonition:  "one thing I do...press on  toward the goal...for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (definitely my paraphrase!)

Our one thing in life to pursue must be Jesus.   As Makena looks up to Dick for direction, she looks for Dick  to spent time with, and she looks to Dick protection, we should do the same in our relationship with God.

We should look up to God to direction and affection,

We should look for God at work around us, and

We should look to God for protection and comfort.

Look up...

Look for...

Look to...

 

 

Happy Day

Happy Day

Tomorrow I will remember a significant event in my life.  It taught me about God's love. It was an experience that I credit with making me a better person.

A little boy arrived in my life.  The first time I held him he grabbed onto my shirt with both hands.  It may have appeared as if he grabbed my shirt but he grabbed my heart.  He will hold it for the rest of my life. It may have been love at first sight but it was really love at first grab!

Every year, I thank him for making me a better person.  When I experienced that unconditional love, because I knew he loved and trusted me even though we'd known each other a few seconds, I changed.  I became less selfish and more merciful. I saw the world full of potential.  In a small way I understood unconditional love and the way God loves me.

My paraphrase of Jeremiah 31:3 would be: ...God has loved me with an everlasting love and has drawn me with loving dependability.

God is always ready to receive my love.  He already loves me, in spite  of me.  I  need to grab hold of God with both of my hands, just like that little boy so many years ago. That day, he grabbed my shirt and did not let go.  We rejoiced that immediately he knew he was home even as we unwound his fingers from my shirt to slip him into the car seat.

The little boy grabbed my heart for the rest of my life.  God will love and has loved me for all eternity.  Why do I try to live on my own?  I have the opportunity to trust and depend on the One who defines trustworthiness and dependability. I lived to be trustworthy and dependable for a little boy but God already is trustable and dependable.

I  choose to live up to a little boy's trust. How could I choose otherwise?  I strive to live up to God's love for me.  How could I choose otherwise when God provided the cure for my deficiencies in our relationship when He gave us His Son, Jesus.  God loves me and made sure I have the opportunity to experience Love.

I know I am a better person because of God and a little boy.  Happy Day!

God

Reaches

And

Believes in me.

 

Life is a Salad!

Chopped romaine hearts, grilled chicken, blue cheese, peas, chopped carrots, 3 bean salad, broccoli salad, pasta salad, sunflower seeds, bacon bits and a touch of vinaigrette dressing.  That’s my idea of a tossed salad!  I love salad bars.  I’m known to put unusual items in my salad and try most anything atop lettuce. I think it’s because I can build a salad my way and not do any of the work to prepare the ingredients.  So I think I’m being healthy but maybe I’m a bit lazy at the same time.

    I noticed reading in Hebrews Chapter10, five times the writer begins a statement with “Let us”.  Being a salad girl, I thought “lettuce”!  OK so now you know my mind works on the edge of normalcy!  Anyway, in the midst of a call to persevere, the writer gives us five actions that start with “Let us”.

    I also love “to do” lists.  I made a “to do” list for those times when Life “tosses me a loop” and I need to endure. As a reminder to me I made an acronym for SALAD.

    Seek God first.  “Let us draw near to God...”  Too often when the circumstances take a turn not in our favor, we try to fix it on our own or maybe we even try to blame God.  I want to remember to first run to God and explain the situation and give Him the chance to take control of the situation.  God has given us this privilege through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and through Jesus’ representation of us as our advocate as the writer of Hebrews reminds us at the beginning of Chapter 10.

    Adhere to Hope.  “Let us hold to hope...”  In those stressful times, I want to remember that God loves me and in spite of what the world may say or look like, I have the Hope that Jesus provided for me. 

    Love others.  “Let us spur one another to good deeds...”  When the going gets tough, I often need to take my focus off myself and focus on others.  I’ve found it helpful to put my troubles in perspective by doing a good deed or expressing my affection for someone else.

    Always be with believers.  “Let us meet together...”  Too often I see believers during stressful times avoid the fellowship of the church and believers.  The enemy tries to make us feel like the believers will be too judgmental but most often I find my church family to be encouraging and tender.

    Do encourage others.  “Let us encourage others...”  When we can be a bit open and honest with our trials or circumstances, we can help others in similar situations to remember these action steps.

So when Life happens, and gives you a “toss”, make a SALAD.  It will take the toss out of tossed salad!

Good News!

I recently received really good news.  The 100 pound monkey I’d been carrying on my back for a year and half was gone!  Wow!  I felt like a prisoner released from the cell.  I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.  I didn’t consciously realize how much the situation weighed me down.

The word ‘good’ has been tainted by the world for me.  In my grade school, the grading system was  E was for Excellent which corresponded to an A.  G was for Good or a B. S was for Satisfactory or a C.  So in the back of my brain good is second best.

My news was good news!  It reminded me of the best Good News.

Whenever I think of The Good News, I play the “tape in my head”, and hear Charlie Brown recite Luke 2:10.  The Angel said to the shepherds, "Do not be afraid. I bring you Good News that will cause great joy for all the people.”  The angel announced the birth of our Savior, our Deliverer, our Best Friend.  This was really, really good news!

God’s Good News is so great is will cause great joy for all people!  We all need the Savior, the Deliverer and the Best Friend.

The Bible over and over tells me God is Good.  From the beginning of Genesis to the last word in Revelation, God wants us to be the best and have the best because He is Good.

Don’t fall for that trick of the world! God is not second best.  There is nothing better than what God has given us.  Forgiveness, Love, Life, Grace, and more than words can express.  Take time to consciously thank God for removing the weight of sin and rejoice in The Good News.  It was Great News when Jesus arrived on earth as tha baby but it’s Great News yesterday, today and tomorrow.

God is Good, Really, Really Good.

Thanks!!!!

"I don’t want you to leave." She said. I responded, "You are not supposed to make me cry first thing!" We hugged, sniffed and then wandered apart before we both started blubbering. It was the beginning of a great day!

Yesterday, the church celebrated my husband’s 17 years of ministry. We laughed, we cried, we sang, we hugged, we smiled and we prayed. It was incredible to hear them relate the effect of God’s ministry through Dick. It really made us glad.

During one of the video messages, a former member related the impact of Dick’s sermon of how God lavishes us with His love. For the past several days, I knew I wanted to write on the lavish but could not put my finger on how to express it. At that moment, I realized that while FBC lavished their love and praise on us, we were all reminded that that is a mere fraction of the love God lavishes on us.

I tried to find a lavish experience in my past. I thought about that first cruise when I reveled in the meals that I did not cook or clean up and my cabin where I never made the bed and on a couple occasions didn’t even hang up my clothes. I think of my rain shower head and how I feel refreshed and rejuvenated every time I step under it.

Dick’s sermon illustration years ago was 20 boxes of chocolate covered cherries given to a woman who dearly loved them.

These examples only qualify as lavish to a handful because we all have different definitions of lavish for our own life.

Lavish is just barely used in the Bible. It is defined as extravagant, profuse and prolific. In Ephesians chapter one Paul tells us that God has lavished His grace on us. Thanks God we need your forgiveness and grace.

In I John chapter 3 John tells us God has lavished love on us as His children. I had great parents who gave me lots of good things. God has given me everything good I need. Thanks God for giving me so much Good.

I noticed in my journal that I had used the word lavish in regard to Ecclesiastes 5. The writer talks about the toils and trials of life and concludes, "...when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart."

So God gives me enough "Good" to be glad, satisfied and provided. No need to evaluate or compare my life to any other standard if God has made my heart glad.

G od

L avishes

A ll my

D ays

Gladness. That’s what we felt yesterday after being lavished by God and FBC! Thanks!!!!