Share Your Song!

       I have a friend whom I cherish.  But how I am loathe to spend time with her.  It seems whenever we chat she has the most negative disposition.  She finds fault with most every person she knows, but what’s more is she has no song of joy even about herself and her life.  Everything that seems bad in life is reflected through her.  She is sad and desolate most of the time.  When a person is so sad and filled with doom and gloom all the time, I find relationships can become very strained.

       On the other hand, I have many other friends who are almost always happy!  They are joyful and pleasant with good humor and mostly good things to say about their lives.  That doesn’t mean they don’t have bad days (who doesn’t?) or that bad things don’t happen to them.  But it’s how we handle the bad days and bad circumstances that come our way that define who we are.  Are we joyful and thankful for all we have or are we cranky and forever complaining that life just isn’t as it should be?

       While kind of person do you like to be around?  I was reminded by a friend the other day that joy is contagious!  People like to be around others who are joyful!  This is a fruit of the Spirit and don’t we all want fruits of the Spirit?

       Today’s scripture says if things are bad, then we need to pray about them, but if you are happy, then by all means let it show!  Sing the song that fills your mind! (Granted I do most of mine in my head, or hum, because it just doesn’t come out sounding the same from my voice as the sweet sound in my head!)  But the point is, a song is there!  Let others share your joy, your song! 

       We are in a world of great hurt and much worry and economic straits, but if the love of Jesus is in your heart, you have reason to sing……so sing!

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.  James 5:13

Praise and Thanksgiving!

       Yesterday was an amazing day in our church.  We had a wonderful couple renew their vows after forty years of marriage, three baptisms for those who wanted to give a public profession of their acceptance of Jesus as their Savior and we also commissioned a beautiful young woman to become a missionary in Nicaragua as an English school teacher. There is much to be thankful for and much reason for praise!

       As Karla, the young woman, spoke to our congregation about her leaving later this week for a year long commission as missionary, many of us cried with her.  What an honor and privilege to be able to touch other lives and share the gospel of Jesus!  Yet, even as our hearts wept for joy, our hearts also ached, as we knew the pain her mother would face in allowing her beautiful daughter to go into a foreign country, seemingly, all alone.

 But she is not alone.  She has God’s angels surrounding her and she can be certain of God’s presence which allows her the freedom to share His word to these precious children as she teaches.  She has the prayers and support of our entire congregation to under-gird her every step of the way. 

Will she face challenges and dangers?  I’m certain of it.  Satan is determined to undermine whatever the Lord puts before us, no matter what our gift.  This is as true for each of us as it is for Karla.  She’s going into a foreign country to face the enemy, yet we face him here every moment of every day, as well.  It is only through God’s power, we can rebuke the ultimate liar, putting him in his place, both behind and under us, so that God’s work can be done.

I admire Karla, because for me, she epitomizes what a missionary should be.  She is strong and determined to follow God’s will.  Yet again, aren’t all Christians called to be missionaries?  We need not go into another country, although that is a wonderful thing to be able to do.  Rather, for those who remain in the comfort of our homes, we are called to minister and share His gospel with our neighbors, our co-workers or on campus if we are students and our family.  We each will, as the scripture says, give an account of our service when he returns, when indeed, “Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is God.”

I hope you will join me in prayer for safety and good health for our young friend and missionary.  If you would like more information about Karla and her missionary work, let me know.

It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.              Romans 14:11-12

Finding Answers

Recently while traveling, we passed a bill board that said, “There’s a better job out there….”  I can’t really remember the rest of the advertisement, but I suspect it had to do with a specific field of labor that was offering the possibility of employment.  But as my mind kept toying with this idea it made me ask myself:   What does your job say about you?  Is money all that matters?  Is moving from location to location a good thing?  What if you’re happy with your present job, is another still better?  What if there are no jobs?  How do you deal with this created discontent?  What if you are under-qualified or overqualified?   What about training, college, commuting, or the need for the extra expense of work clothes?    

---As you can see I just came up with a whole lot of questions about a simple statement! Given our current economy, jobs are at a premium.  I don’t know if “better” is the right word, or “a job” would be more accurate!  In any case, the whole job issue, or lack thereof, creates an amazing amount of stress and concern in many, many families.  Worry is rampant all over our nation, and worry makes a body exhausted very quickly!  Many have lost their jobs and agonize about how they will pay bills that keep coming, fearful of not even having enough money to put food on the table, troubled about how they can take a sick child to the doctor or buy a tank of gas to get them to work and back, if indeed they have a job.

The book of Proverbs holds a wealth of treasure!  The scripture I read today, reassures me that when we search His word, we will find answers.  When we believe that He will answer our prayer and our needs, we can have peace.  His eyes are on the sparrows and they are also on each one of us.  If we believe, we can know that he will never leave us and will provide the means to see us through whatever trouble comes our way.

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:  for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;  for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;  for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young--  let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance--   ~~~    but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.  Proverbs 1:1-5, 33

Lists and More Lists

             I am a list maker!  It seems I make the traditional grocery list, a to do list, a should do list, a cleaning list, a reading list, a study list….and on and on!  I seem to function better if I have something concrete in front of me giving me direction and keeping me focused!  I expect I’m not the only one.  In fact, there have been seminars which teach the proper way to keep these “lists” and use them most effectively in our lives.  That being said, I have never been to one, but wonder about its teachings!   The idea is to keep our lives managed and in some kind of working order!  I, being a list making kind of person, think this is wonderful!

            The idea that God is not a God of disorder seems to hold true with that theory.  We get more accomplished if we have some kind of clue just what it is we want to get done!  There is some discussion about whether the Bible intended the word “disorder” or “confusion” in the verse from 1 Corinthians 14. (below)   Paul was, incidentally talking about keeping things “orderly” during worship.  So how does this fit in with “confusion?”  

            I think it still applies.  The Word seems to be saying that God prefers order rather than confusion, in this case, in a worship service.  Why can’t that include more than just our worship services?  If it is right for worship service, then shouldn’t it also apply to our lives?  When our lives become so full of other things, we lose focus on whom we are to worship and then our lives are no longer orderly, but all askew with things of the world interfering with our time spent with God.  Isn’t this also a form of confusion?  Isn’t this also causing disorder in our lives?  I think so, because when we are experiencing disorder then we don't have peace.  

            When we lose sight of our goals with our Savior, which include living a Christian life and furthering His kingdom, we are beginning a downward spiral of disorder that left unchecked, can become a whirlwind leaving us extremely vulnerable to Satan.  So I’ll keep my lists….and yes, I even have one for Bible study.  I have much to learn.  God is an amazing, awesome God and I will never know (in this lifetime) even half of all there is to know about him.  I know HE knows what he wants for my life and it’s my job to discover it and be the person he wants me to be as I read, pray and listen to his voice!

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.  1 Corinthians 14:33a

Do My Best, Let Him Do The Rest

            Today is a beautiful, sunny, beach kind of day.  While I’m not at the beach, being outside in the sunshine does have its appeal (and that would be even greater if it weren’t so humid!)   But here I am at the computer pecking away! Being tired today isn’t an issue, it’s the controlled discipline of being where I am supposed to be and doing what I am supposed to do!  That isn’t always easy!

Then there are those days when its rainy, dreary and dark and tired comes easy!  I could curl up with a book and read and not think twice about it…except I always seem to have so very much to do here at the computer!  I have a list of projects I’d like to complete that is staggering!   Never mind the domestic duties that are screaming my name and yard work that keeps pleading for me to come work on it,  ---that book keeps enticing me to sit back, take the day off and read!    

          

            As much as I’d like to, there is something more important than either of these.  It is the writing I have committed to.  I have given my writing to the Lord, which means I have to give it all I’ve got and then let him do the rest.  But if I don’t do my part, how is he going to do anything with it?

            I was thinking just this morning, during prayer time, about the Parable of the Talents.  Each servant was given a certain amount of money and told to care for it.  One invested well and doubled his money, another invested and didn’t do bad, but one didn’t invest it at all but buried it and the master was horribly upset!  (Luke 19)  That’s kind of the way I feel about my writing.  God gave me a gift to work with and if I’m to be a good servant, then I should invest in it well!  After all, He really is coming back and I believe soon.  I will be judged by what I have done, just as the servants in the parable from Luke.

            Of course, sometimes even knowing I must write to be productive, there are days when I do become “tired.”  It’s hard to be patient when it takes so long to see a “return” of my work!  Getting a large project finished is only half the battle!  It can take up to a year and a half or two years to get a “finished” project completely finished to publication!  ….and that’s after I have found a publisher!  It comes back to me doing my part and then letting HIM do the rest!  For to honor God, means I can’t quit.  I must keep giving him my best and letting him to the rest by believing nothing is impossible with God!

You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.  James 5:8