THANKFUL to SHOVEL SNOW?

I really enjoy seeing how beautiful the snow makes everything look.  I do not even mind driving in it.  But moving it from point A to point B - well that is another matter. A snow drift can look pretty until you have try to move it out of the way.  Who would have believe that those tiny fluffy flakes could join together into such a heavy shovel full. Yet there I was moving snow from my driveway to the yard. I was OK with it - but not really excited or joyful - OR enthusiastic about the process. I was thankful my little electric snow blower was working and could handle the job.  I was very thankful to be done and then a neighbor plowed the street several times with his plow and he filled the end of my driveway with deep snow - again ... not one single happy thought crossed my mind at that moment.  It wasn't until later that I was able to get my attitude right. 

Part of what we all face in life are tasks or work which needs to be done.  How we do that work (no matter what that work may be) matters to God.   Martin Luther writing about the God's view of work said this: "Your work is a sacred matter - God delights in it - and through it He wants to bestow His blessings on you." Let's look at these verses together.

Colossians 3:23-24 (HCS)  Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

In this context Paul is giving instructions to slaves who are Christians. So he is not referring to someone who is well compensated for doing a job they love. He is talking about doing their jobs in such a way that the Lord would be proud of them for their efforts and their attitudes.  Paul reminds them that they are not only serving their owners they are serving the LORD Christ. No matter what the task may be,  or what work I must do, I can have it as my goal to “do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord.”  After all whether shoveling snow or vacuuming the floor - whether changing a diaper or going to my job - I must remember it is the LORD Christ I am serving.

PRAYER: Lord God I do not always enjoy the jobs or tasks that I have to do.  But I do want to respond to whatever situation I face by doing it for YOU.  Help me to be able to remember that I can honor you with my attitude and my Effort no matter what the task may be.

GARBAGE in GARBAGE out

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. That may be true on a very basic level especially if you have a really thick skin and if the person saying harsh things to you is not important to you.  That being said the words spoken to us by people who matter to us, by people whose opinion we value, can have a huge impact in our lives. They can encourage us and give us hope -or- they can crush us and wound us deeply.  James warns us about the POWER of our words.

James 3:5-8 (NET) Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze.  And the tongue is a fire! ...no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in God’s image.  ...These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. 

Commenting on these verses Hughes says this: Those who misuse their words are guilty of spiritual arson. ...The uncontrolled tongue has direct pipeline from hell.   So what hope is there? If no human can control the tongue then why even try?  I Love the fact that the Lord Jesus tells us how we can make sure there is a change in the words that come out of our mouths. 

Luke 6:45 (NAS) The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

What am I storing up in my heart - those things which lead to godliness - or things which lead to worldliness? What am I treasuring in MY heart?

Luke 6:45 (NLT)  ...What you say flows from what is in your heart.

If I want to change the way that I speak.  If I want my words to have an impact on others for good.  Then I must fill my heart and mind with GOOD things.  I must saturate my heart and mind with God’s Word as well as anything else that is godly and uplifting.  If we watch, read, or listen to anything that is full of bad language even if we NEVER use bad language ourselves it is in our minds and at moments of stress it will pop to the surface.  So I must guard what I put into my heart and mind.  Garbage in - Garbage out is true of programming and using computers.  It is even more true of the things that we put into our hearts and minds.

PRAYER: Lord God please give me YOUR words to speak.  Keep me from spewing nonsense or sinful words when I am upset, depresses, angry, or stressed out.  Please Lord Jesus help me to fill my mind with those things which are good and wholesome and pure.  Lord please take control of my mind and my mouth.  May I honor YOU with my thoughts and my words.

AMAZING WOMAN - AND A FRESH NEW LOOK

I am married to am amazing woman.  Carol has been, and continues to be, the one who encourages me, believes in me, and challenges me, to pursue God.  She challenges me to be REAL and to LIVE OUT my love for God in practical ways.  I love the fact that after 35 years of marriage there are times that I do not even bother to ask Carol about something because I know what she will say. There are also many things that regularly take my by surprise.  So each day is a new adventure, she is always changing and growing, and always fresh and new.  And I love that.  Looking at Romans 12:1 is little like that.  There is so much there that I already get and understand - and yet it is new and fresh each time I look at it.  Let’s look at it together:

Romans 12:1 (NET)  ...I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice - alive, holy, and pleasing to God - which is your reasonable service.

Romans 12:1 (HCS) ...by the mercies of God, I urge you  to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,  holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.

God's amazing Mercy is the basis of this command.  Jesus died paying the price for ALL my wickedness from my sinful thoughts, to my twisted motives, my harmful words, to ALL my sin-filled actions. Though I have earned condemnation I was offered Forgiveness.  My response should be to GIVE myself to God each and every day.  If I do it can be one of the ways I worship God.  MacDonald said it this way: “...as believer-priests, we do not come to God with the bodies of slain animals but with the spiritual sacrifice of yielded, SURRENDERED lives." Watts expressed it this way: "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my heart, my life, my ALL.”

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for Your extravagant, lavish Mercy.  You have forgiven the unforgivable in me, thank You.  Please Lord God I offer myself to You today as a sacrifice that is ALIVE, a sacrifice that is on-going.  May I be pleasing to You today.  Please accept my offering of myself as an act of worship.

WHEN SHAME COMES CRASHING DOWN...

Every now and then a memory will come crashing back into my consciousness - not a good memory - but a bad memory.  A memory of something awful, of a time when I said or did something horrible.  Something I would go back and correct if I could - but I cannot.  There are two or three of these memories which come back regularly.  Please understand I have confessed these things to the Lord Jesus and I know that they are forgiven.  Yet they come back - many times at a moment of weakness. These memories bring horrible remorse and terrible shame.  That is why these words from Romans were such an encouragement. 

Romans 9:33 (NLT) ...I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.

Romans 9:33 (HCS) ...the one who believes on Him will not be put to shame.

The stone in Jerusalem was Jesus Christ - many stumbled over Him and would not accept the fact that He was the Messiah and that salvation could be found only through Him.  But to ALL who do believe to those who TRUST in Him He gives the right to become sons and daughters of God. (Jn. 1:12) When we are forgiven and enter into a relationship with God - one of the things we can count on is that God will not disgrace us or SHAME us because of those things that we have said and done in the past.  They are truly covered once and for all at the cross. Psalm 103 tells that HE has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west.  He has FORGIVEN us and those sins are GONE forever! What an amazing God of Mercy and Grace.  So when I feel the shame of those old sins - I remember that God will NEVER remember those sins and He will NOT shame me with them.  I must choose to believe the TRUTH about my forgiveness and stand in His grace putting  behind me (100 times a day if necessary) ALL those memories that come flooding back.  How do I put them behind me?  By focusing on Jesus. I pray and thank God for His Mercy and Grace. I sing a song of worship, or review verses I am memorizing, or open my Bible and start to read.  WHY?  Why can I do this?  Because "..the one who believes on Him will not be put to shame."  Praise God what an awesome Savior we have. A song I heard many years ago says it well.

And though your body lay weary from wasting, and your eyes show the sorrow they've had.

Oh the love that your heart is now tasting -  has opened the gate, Be Ye Glad.
And there is no disease or no struggle, that can pull you from God, Be Ye Glad.

Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad, Every debt that you ever had

Has been paid up in full by the grace of the Lord,
Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus thank You that You did PAY in FULL for my sin and shame.  Thank You that I do NOT live under the crushing weight of guilt and sin. Thank you that forgiveness cleanses me from sin and shame here and now as well as forever. Amen

I choose HOPE and PRAISE in JOY and SORROW

Christmas can be a time of joy for some and a time of discouragement or others. Many times how we see it is based on the things we have experienced or the things that we are currently going through in our own lives.  This time of the year which normally brings me so much joy is different. Please do NOT misunderstanding me I am thrilled and proud as I can be that Tascha and Kathryn are serving the Lord in Quito, Ecuador.  But I miss them, I miss their laughter, and I miss the tears when we are moved by something, I miss the conversations we have, and the special times we spend together. Yes I am thankful that God has called them and that they are serving Him but Christmas will be different without them.  So these verses today were encouraging. 

Psalm 42:5-6 (NLT) Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will  praise him again - my Savior and my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will  remember you...

I love the way the Psalmist honestly says what he is feeling. He is deeply discouraged, sad and down.  But he does NOT stop with the statement of what he is feeling. He goes onto remind himself of what he should do.  He goes on to make three statements of purpose.  I WILL put my hope in God, I WILL  praise Him, I WILL remember You.  WHY?  Why can the writer say I will Hope, Praise, and Remember even during the difficult things he is facing?  After all he cannot control the circumstances he cannot change the things that are happening all around him.  However,  he can choose to Believe and Trust God.  He can DECIDE that he will put his TRUST in God’s promises.  Many times life may feel like the waves of fear and doubt are crashing over us vs. 7.  But this writer reminds that ...each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon us... vs.8.  So he speaks of commitment when he says I will choose to HOPE in God, I will choose to PRAISE God,  I will always seek to REMEMBER God - even during those times when nothing is going right and God FEELS like He is far, far away.   My prayer is that this Christmas will be all you hoped it would be and that you will be full of joy as you PRAISE God for His wonderful gift.  But then maybe you are going to be separated from those you love, or perhaps you will not be able to buy the gifts that you wish you could have.  That is when it is important to REMEMBER God, to HOPE and Trust Him, and no matter what happens ALWAYS respond by PRAISING Him.  May we see Christ Jesus and the HOPE and JOY only He can bring this Christmas.

 
PRAYER: Lord Jesus thank you that I can choose Hope and Joy no matter what. Thank You that we can share Tascha and Kathryn with others... Please give them Your Joy and Hope this Christmas.  May we all worship YOU - You are worthy.

GOD IS NOT DEAD - NOR DOES HE SLEEP (thoughts on the election)

Elections - not one of my favorite things.  Do not misunderstand I love the our country and I am thankful for the opportunity and privilege of voting.  I am thankful for the freedoms we have.  Yet it would be easy to become fearful or depressed.  One of the things that has challenged me often during elections is the reminder that I am supposed to put my HOPE in GOD - not politicians.  These verses are an encouragement to do just that.  Also that TRUE peace is found ONLY in Jesus not in politics.

Psalm 42:5 (HCS)  Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

John 14:27 (HCS) Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.

With Christmas coming this story and these words also challenged me after the elections yesterday:   It was a nation seriously divided by war. The North fought against the South.  Christians fought on both sides. How could God reign?  How could God be in Control?  The civil war had started in 1861 and three months later Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s wife died after suffering severe burns when her clothing caught fire. Longfellow was seriously injured trying to put out the flames and save her life.  The war waged on and in 1863 Longfellow received word that his son serving in the Union army had been severely wounded and crippled in battle.  He struggled with deep depression as the civil war continued.  Then in 1864 as he continued in his depression God used tolling of the bells on Christmas morning to break through with Hope.  

 
I heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play;
In music sweet their tones repeat, “There’s peace on earth, good will to men.”
 
I thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along through unbroken song  Of peace on earth, good will to men.
 
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: “God is not dead, nor does He sleep,
For Christ is here; His Spirit near Brings peace on earth, good will to men.”
 
When men repent and turn from sin The Prince of Peace then enters in,
And grace imparts within their hearts His peace on earth, good will to men.

O souls amid earth’s busy strife, The Word of God is light and life;
Oh, hear His voice, make Him your choice, Hail peace on earth, good will to men.

Then happy, singing on your way, Your world will change from night to day;
Your heart will feel the message real, Of peace on earth, good will to men.

PRAYER:  Lord God thank You that YOU are in Control, Thank You that You are GOOD and that I can trust You.  Thank You that YOUR Word and Your Promises never change.  Please Lord God have mercy on our Nation - bring revival to me, to my family, to our church, and to our nation.  Please use these time to remind us that YOU are the Sovereign Lord of ALL.  Please help me to live out that Truth with Hope and Joy today and everyday.