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? Indeed, we all go through phases when we are not at peace. Careers get in the way, illness occurs, and our lifestyle's general business disturbs tranquility. 

            When we are not at peace, which is in control? Years ago, during 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 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? Well, peace is elusive and hard to grasp or even define. The search may be everlasting. Paul's message to the Romans is reasonably straightforward. Throughout our lives' ups, downs, and general activities, 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 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 everyday issues.

Amen 

 

Endless Love

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us,

that we should be called children of God!

And that is what we are!"

(1 John 3 vs. 1) 

            Are we made in His image? Are we the children of God? It is hard to think of ourselves like either when trudging along through life. We are taught to be humble. Being a child of God is easier to swallow than being in His image. 

 When my first child was born, it amazed me how much love I felt in my heart. Karen meant more to me than anything I had ever experienced. It was unbelievably good.           

When my wife was pregnant with my second child, I was anxious and feared that there would not be enough love in my heart, certainly not to the same extreme. I couldn't believe that I could feel the same way.           

Back to the two questions- the answer is yes. There was plenty there, and for the third and the fourth child, the first grandchild, and through the ninth grandchild. God's never-ending capacity to love, and we have the same power in that sense.           

The word is "Love your neighbor as yourself," and we have the God-given capacity to do it! 

Thought for Today: Today, let us recognize our capacity to love, care, and respect everyone we meet.

 Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, we have love in our hearts that you have shared with us and pray that everyone can find this love and that we can take a step forward to world peace.

Amen                                      

 

Call Him

 

"The Lord said, 'Call to me, and I will answer you.'"

 (Jeremiah 33:3) 

            It is easy to go through a busy day without acknowledging the presence of God in our lives. Sometimes when we get to the end of a day and look back, the day seems un-Godly. We have not done the best job of caring for ourselves when that happens. That is our fault.           

Confusion and stress seem to find their way into our lives. We will have busy and stressful days, and bad things will happen to us. It is advisable to put ourselves first for a part of each day, which requires a bit of selfishness. Alone time shared with God will make us better workers, parents, and people. There is nothing selfish about that.           

Henri Nouwen called it a still place "…This still place is where God can dwell and speak to us. It also is the place from which we can speak in a healing way to all the people we meet in our busy days." We all need to think about that. 

Thought for Today: Let us remember to be selfish, take a break, and allow God to support us. 

Prayer for Today: Let us pray that God will be present in our lives as we pursue the opportunities before us. Amen

 

Try Harder

 Pray for world peace.

We need to share Christian love with joy. When we do, we all benefit and live better lives

 

Pray for world peace. I pray that you may find personal peace and joy in life. 

Young at Heart 

"Be happy, young person, while you are young,

and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.

Follow the ways of your heart..."

(Ecclesiastes 11:9)           

            Some people seem at peace. They avoided the rat race of life and found the happiness most were seeking. The interesting fact is they cross all socioeconomic boundaries. The common thread is always their faith. They believe things will work out. 

            The strong message here is that the things that bring peace, serenity, and happiness to our lives are found in spiritual growth, and they can be found in yours. 

Thought for Today: Today, avoid the rat race by praying for serenity and doing what we need to obtain peace. 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, thank you for the opportunities before us. We pray for serenity and love and the chance to promote peace in our community.

Amen

 

Pride and Humility

 

Pride and Humility 

“Before his downfall, a man’s heart is proud,

but humility comes before honor."

(Proverbs 18:12) 

            My mom used to use some interesting terms and expressions when describing humanity. One of her favorites was “foolhardy” when someone did something out of line. Another was that “It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Somehow, when we are proud in the context of today’s text, we are not paying attention. When we exhibit false pride, it helps us grow to appreciate the realities of life. 

            We are often overconfident, especially when we are young. Somehow, that is God’s way of teaching us. We constantly have to monitor our pride and confidence. The elders of society have knowledge and experience but are not always correct. Technology and society are changing faster than fifty years ago. Therefore many of the rules of life have changed. 

In our spiritual lives, the rules have not and will not change. The ethics, love, and traditions taught to us by Christ will endure regardless of technology changes and cash flows. We need to take inventory of our pride and be honest. We need to hold up our values to serve the Lord in an ever-changing world. 

Thought for Today: Every day is the first day of the rest of our lives. The mistakes and experiences of our past are nothing more than learning experiences and enable us to move forward with confidence. Today, let us focus on being humble and dealing with the realities of our worlds. 

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, today we give thanks for the lessons we have learned and our loves. Thank you for putting it before us through all that Jesus taught us and what we learned from the past.

Amen

Infants

 

Infants 

“Brothers and sisters,

I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit

but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.”

(1 Corinthians 3 vs. 1) 

            My confession to you all is that I cannot quote a lot of scripture; do not know a lot of biblical history; have never visited the holy land; sometimes skip my Friday bible study to play golf or work out. At best, I am an infant in Christ.           

That is good because it leaves plenty of room to grow, to keep trying, and a reason to keep writing. There is growth ahead when we do the right things. Our life is a spiritual journey without limits or an end. That’s an excellent thought.           

As a young engineer, my mentor used to quote Aristotle, “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” It is true with our faith. The more we learn, the more the mystery and the higher our thirst becomes. That may be the best part of it all. 

Thought for Today: Recognize the opportunity to grow in the Spirit, that we are in our infancy and have room for exciting growth. 

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, we are grateful for your presence in our lives and the peace brought to us through faith. We will face challenges today and go forth with the knowledge that you will be with us.

Amen