Forgive and Love

 Forgive and Love

 

"Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."
(Psalm 103: 2-5)

 

            Grace means that we are forgiven. We all have, in our history, reasons to be forgiven and memories of being forgiven. I pray that all readers find the previous statements true and ask that we think about the many times in our lives when we were down and out, possibly guilt-ridden. Within a family or social structure growing together spiritually so that faults are forgiven creates great landmarks in our lives.

 

            Children often misbehave. Fight over toys, sneak a treat before dinner; the simple things. We almost always forgive them after a consequence. That is a great example of our love. As teens, some behaviors are  more extreme, but we again forgive the behavior and show our love.

 

            When we were growing up, we often had disagreements with our siblings, friends, and neighbors. Most of the time, we forgave each other and grew from the experience.  That's just life. However, each time we forgave someone or were forgiven ourselves, we created a landmark in our lives.

 

            Forgiveness and love are what create family and social landmarks in our lives. They create memories that make us what we are. To be a positive and happy person it is important to be aware of the many times that God's will has generated forgiveness in our lives and be grateful. We have all experienced His grace through these landmark events.

Thought for Today: Realize that God forgives us for our sins. We pass forgiveness to others who have wronged us. Through the act of forgiving others, we receive the reward of "good feelings" and a growing relationship. Let us focus on being tolerant and forgiving of other’s unique qualities and behaviors.

Prayer for Today: Dear Loving God, often we find ourselves offended by the behaviors of others. We have noisy neighbors, careless drivers, inconsiderate fellow employees, and many other factors in our lives. Sometimes it is difficult to be a good Christian when dealing with irritants. This week we pray that we can behave as Christ would behave when tested by our society. We pray that we may display tolerance and love for all. Amen

Independence Day in the USA

 

Independence Day

 

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves
be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

(Galatians 5:1) 

            Independence is what makes America great and our many freedoms make this a great place to live. Our constitution is based on our ability to self govern. Below is a quote from Abraham Lincoln about our system. 

“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.” 

Pray for the future of America. 

Thought for Today: Today let’s celebrate our independence by obeying the Lord’s commandments. 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father, our country celebrates its independence. Our freedoms are based on your laws and our abilities to obey them. Today we pray for spiritual growth, honesty, integrity, and ethics.

Amen

God is with Us

 

"Now Moses was a very humble man,
more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth"
(Numbers 12:3) 

Like Moses, we are not always enthusiastic about what God wants. We are a humble lot, conservative, and considerate of other's views and feelings. We are humble before God.

        However, in our lives, we are often asked to perform tasks that require an assertive posture. Many of us are leaders in the community, at work, and church; often in roles that require strength while still being humble. That is a challenging task!

   God's response to Moses was "...I will be with you." and he will be with us always.        

When you are feeling hesitant and inferior, God says, "I will be with you."

When you are wondering if you can make it another day with the job stress, He says, "I will be with you."

When you're faced with a tough decision and wondering what to do, He says, "I will be with you."

When you are experiencing great joy, God is with you.

You may be a bit reluctant, as was Moses, but we need to remember that as we go through life, God is with us always.

Thought for Today: We need to remember that we are not alone. Through our faith, we have help meeting our obligations. So take control of situations humbly and allow ourselves to be led through the tasks ahead.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father we thank you for being with us. We are often confused in a world of activity. Often when things go well, we feel that we controlled the situation. We pray that we can recognize your involvement in our everyday lives and have the forethought to give you thanks through our actions and prayers.
Amen

 

Love and Hospitality

Love and Hospitality

 "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears re-lieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour that I first believed.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
a life of joy and peace."
(Amazing Grace, Vs 4 & 5)
(Words by John Newton, 1779)

           There are almost as many ways to find joy and peace as there are people. It can be found anywhere at any time. It is something that we all measure in our own way. As Christians we have the tools to and knowledge to reach out and find it.
            However, often we let our every day tasks and challenges disturb our peace. This past week it seemed that the traffic situation was a threat to many people's tranquility. The construction season combined with heavy rains slowed things down to a crawl. Frustration seemed to replace grace on the highways.
            A Good News friend wrote a book called Finding Grace. In regards to traffic his comments were "...leave early, take the pretty route and listen to good music." He is right on.
            As Christian's when we find our tranquility threatened, we need to use our tool kit; prayer, meditation and even a chat with a friend. They all will work. God did not put us here to be frustrated. Experience grace as He wants you to.
Thought for Today: This week let us all keep grace at the forefront of our daily prayers. Let us expect the daily challenges and be ready with our tool kit. This week let's experience grace and joy every day.
Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, we recognize that your joy and tranquility are always available and you are always with us. This week we need you to help us daily. This week we pray that we may keep you on our mind and in our thoughts as we work through the challenges of our Christian lives.

 

Perseverance

 

Perseverance 

“Therefore since you have been justified through faith, we have peace with God...

we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our

sufferings. Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance brings character, and

character brings hope. And hope does not disappoint us."

(Romans 5:1-5)

             The keyword this week is perseverance. Our lives are a constant search for serenity or peace. Where does it hide, or do we hide it on ourselves? Certainly, we all go through phases when we are not at peace. Careers get in the way, illness occurs and the general business of our lifestyle disturbs tranquility. 

            When we are not at peace, which is in control? Years ago during some stressful times, my daughter gave me a daily meditation book and suggested I pay attention to it. Not reading the morning newspaper and replacing the news with meditation resulted in a more positive start to the day. I no longer knew the baseball scores, how Tiger did, or better yet, how many negative things occurred in the world yesterday. Meditating gave me a level of peace at the start of the day. 

            So where does persistence fit in? Well, peace is elusive and hard to grasp, or even to define. The search may be everlasting. Paul’s message to the Romans is fairly clear. Throughout the ups, downs, and general activities of our lives, we must be persistent in our faith and keep God in our lives. Through the grace of God, we will find the hope, peace, and tranquility we desire. 

Thought for Today: Today let us review our long-standing frustrations. The demanding boss, the developing teenager, the morning commute, whatever is in our lives. Let us pray for God's guidance on how we should help Him deal with the frustration. If He is involved, we will be less frustrated. 

Prayer for the Week:  Dear Lord, I give thanks for the many blessings that are present in my life; the good friends, the lifestyle, the rain, and flowers. There still are many issues that need attention. I pray for your guidance to work through these every day issues.

Amen

 

Spiritual Growth

 

Spiritual Growth 

“I gave you milk, not solid food,

for you were not yet ready for it.

Indeed, you are still not ready.”

(1 Corinthians 3 vs. 2)

 

            Several years ago June and I decided that our families would not remember us as angry old people. We decided that based on our time spent interacting with elderly people as Stephen ministers. Since then we have concluded that the two major causes behind the frustration are reluctance to change and spiritual growth. 

            The change piece is probably universal. We will grow older, we will lose some of our youthful capabilities, some friends, and have battles to fight. Consider Edmund Vance Cooke’s humorous poem published in 1923:

“This world is nothing but a bubble, don’t you know,
A mighty lot of trouble, don’t you know:
You live, you sigh and then you die, don’t you know.”

 

My friend John says it this way, “Life is a bitch, then you die!”

 

            Recently my friend Vince and I worked a family fitness event. We arrived at 5:30 AM at 25 degrees with a gray sky. It started raining at 7; snowing and blowing at 9; windy and cold with 5 inches of snow at noon for clean up. Vince commented that this was nothing compared with his next venture. 

He was going to his parent's place to do a few odd jobs that his dad could or should not risk doing anymore. He said that somehow dad would get angry, be disagreeable, and be dissatisfied. He could not understand why. In my usual big mouth way, I asked him about his dad’s spirituality. The answer was that mom and dad go to church every Sunday. 

            This lead to my favorite discussion: religion versus spirituality. You see, there are a lot of people who attend church every week that do not experience spiritual growth. In a recent discussion, it was said that too many religious people just never get to know the Holy Spirit. I believe that the people who are edgy, angry, or uncomfortable fit that description. 

            In summary, the Lord wants us to be happy, cheerful, and appreciative. He has given us the tools and we need to use them every day. The tool we have is faith and the Holy Spirit. We need to keep them in mind and our hearts to be happy. 

Thought for Today: Today let us drink our milk but demonstrate with our happiness and spirit that we are ready for the Lord’s solid food. 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we pray for all who are experiencing anxiety and anger. We pray that they may find peace and tranquility through the Holy Spirit.

Amen

  

New Beginnings

 New Beginnings 

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation;

the old has gone,

the new has come!”

(2 Corinthians 5:17) 

            Today is the first day of the rest of your life; believe it. Every day is a new day, a chance to start over. Yesterday is past, tomorrow the future and today is a gift from God. It is up to us how we are going to use it. We can choose to carry around our old baggage or harvest new joys. It is our choice. 

            Using a golf analogy, life is match play, hole by hole versus day by day. A bad golf hole in match play does not cost you the match, it counts as one of eighteen. In life, a bad day is painful and certainly not wanted and may contribute to a bad week. However, it can be a bottom, and life can be all uphill from there. We can turn bad into good.           

            If you are reading this today you are on the right track, giving yourself the opportunity for a better day. Meditation and prayer will jump-start your day and open the window to the light of our faith. 

Thought for Today: Today let us start a new beginning. 

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father we give you thanks for our many blessings; especially for a new day. We pray that we capture the joys of life that you lead us to and that we may help someone else also find them.

Amen