My Best Friend

  Another Believer and I have been involved in a Bible Study.  A couple days ago we were asked to name a mentor, a woman who is energized for the Lord, one who we look up to and enjoy spending time with, and is quick to ask if we’ve looked into the scriptures whenever we are faced with some kind of issue that has us rattled.  I did come up with a woman such as this, but I also came up with a young man I know well who also fits this description.  Many times I’ve said, “I’d love to have his strength; his faith.”

Is there someone in your life who you can count on in any situation?  This person is often called a friend, even a best friend.  I remember for years wanting a “best friend” and for whatever reason, I never seemed to have one.  Oh I had friends, all right.  I had lots of them.  But to say I had a best friend, just didn’t seem to be available to me.

There’s a story about two sisters who had a discussion about friends, that was especially difficult as they became adults.  They were as different as day and night;  had different perspective on lives, different views on faith, attitudes, and things; and people in general.  There was a discussion one night where one sister asked if they could be best friends.  The other sister said, she would always love her as a sister, but best friend relationships aren’t chosen that way.  They are developed over time, nurtured on both sides and it grows into the relationship it becomes.  This relationship can stand the test of time and is the groundwork for sharing secrets, pain and happiness.  

    We are about to celebrate Easter.  It’s the celebration of Jesus who gave his life’s blood for the whole world.  The concept that God could love us so much as to offer his Son as the ultimate sacrifice is mind boggling.  Yet this is truth.  

Do you know of anyone who would be willing to die such a cruel death on a cross where feet and hands have nails pierced through and then left to hang there until dead?  My mind rejects this picture yet, again, this is truth!

Jesus, our Messiah, who gave His life willingly, wants the kind of relationship that says ‘You are my best friend!’  He loved, He served, cared for the poor, had compassion, understood pain and grief, knew the power of temptation, had the authority to forgive sins and was willing to go to the cross to offer a path of salvation.  His love is even greater than that of a mother, who from a human perspective has the kind of love barely describable.  God’s love —Jesus’ love— is a perfect love, without any faults or human frailties.  

So I challenge you to look at your relationships.  Do you have a “best friend” who you can always count on?  Are you that kind of friend?  Do you know Jesus as your ultimate “best friend?”  I hope you do.  If not, I encourage you make Him your personal Savior and Best Friend right this moment.

Photo Credit:  https://www.pexels.com/search/friendship/

Aligned With Christ

  My friend shares the story of how his father taught him about the importance of having the proper tools for his trade, bricklaying.  The plumb, a type of pendulum which assures the builder his project is both vertical and perpendicular ‘to the true horizontal level’; a level which has a reservoir containing liquid which must be completely centered; a square which assures perfect right angles; and a string which ensures a ‘straight line and uniform level.’

With the combination of these tools, the mason can lay blocks without discrepancies in corners, height, and horizontal and vertical lines which are vital to a properly built structure.

As he told the story I couldn’t help but remember when my husband and I had our house built back in the 80’s.  Construction is foreign to me, but I was fascinated as I watched our mason lay blocks for our basement.  It was very hot, yet this man lifted those twelve inch blocks and set each one carefully on the wet cement he’d mixed, below it.  He would stop and regularly check to make sure everything was level.  The work was hard and exhausting. Our basement was strong, solid and totally aligned.

This concept of of being vertically and horizontally aligned can also apply to our spiritual life.  I’ve heard it said  more than once, that if our lives are not aligned in Godly fashion horizontally we will not be aligned with Christ vertically.

That can be a challenging concept to process; but the idea of having lives which follow God’s precepts and commands is a must.  We are human and certainly will have failings.  We can’t possibly do everything right.  We have thoughts, moods, emotions, desires, careers, circumstances, people in our lives, and a hundred other diversions which tantalize our habits, lifestyles, relationships and more —-all of which affects our choices.

And to make all this even harder is satan and all his minions who are actively trying to make our lives filled with worldly attractions and distractions to confuse us and create doubts about who we are, who we belong to, and how we are to live.

As a Believer we have the tools like the plumb, square, level and string to guide us in keeping our lives aligned with Christ on the horizontal level, along with keeping our Spiritual life aligned with Christ vertically.  

When we live our lives deliberately for Christ based on his Word which is a huge tool for success horizontally, our relationship with God from a vertical direction can be where it needs to be.   Our relationship using his Word, other Believers, prayer, corporate and/or individual study enables us to grow stronger every day and stand firm, because our foundation is concreted in what is right and good.

The world will try to chink at our edges, or in those spots which may appear weak.  Our support groups and inner guidance from God, along with using the right tools, can keep the cracks filled with good material to ward off the evil attacks on our world that is ever changing.  

Photo Credit:https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/bricklayer.html 

Spiritual Growth Takes Effort

  During the sermon last week the Pastor said something to the effect of ‘Getting saved is vital to getting into heaven; but it doesn’t stop there!  We are each supposed to grow in the Spirit and have a relationship with Christ.’

We all have to start somewhere and our salvation is where we begin our Christian journey.  God promises to never leave us and will answer our prayers when we call on him. We have a brand new life in Him.  We are reborn—‘born in the Spirit’!

When we are born physically, as infants we rely completely on our parents/caretakers to provide for all our needs.  This includes housing, clothes, food, emotional health, medical care and everything in between.  We, as tiny babes, can only ingest milk that requires very little work for our little bodies to do, except accept the nourishment which helps us grow.

As we get older we are introduced to chunkier baby food, perhaps a different milk, juices and other foods which only require gentle chewing.  After all, we are still getting our teeth!

By the time we are five years old we are enrolled in an educational plan, which carries us through elementary, middle school and finally high school.  We graduate and then make choices which determine which road we will take, sometimes for the rest of our lives. It may be college, join the workforce or military, get married or become an entrepreneur.  There are lots of options and decisions! We have grown into an adult and are ready to face the world head on, believing we can handle whatever the world -or life- throws at us.

Being a Christian isn’t much different.  While our parents nurture and guide us from infant- hood into our education and finally into adulthood; the Spirit nurtures and guides us into mature Believers who are able to follow the plan God has for us, if we are willing. 

We ‘grow’ much as the small child on milk and soft foods first; doing our best to feed our mind, soul and emotions with God’s Words.  We develop into middle school students, and even high schoolers, as we continue to grow with our peers in youth groups or study groups as a young adult.  Our leaders, along with the Spirit, helps us understand and build on our prayer life, how to dig deep into the Bible, our road map for life; and how to ‘grow’ our relationship with Christ.

Finally we’ve reached adulthood and are able to put the teaching we’ve been given to teach others, and share our faith with the knowledge we’ve learned.  But still we aren’t finished.

Just as adulthood doesn’t stop when we reach 21- or whatever your ‘adulthood mark’ may be— our spiritual life as an adult never stops either.  There is always something to learn, something to share, God’s voice to hear, and choices to make.  All these things fold together to make us mature Christians who are able to accomplish whatever task and plan God has planned for us.

Ultimately it takes a lot of effort to ‘grow’.  But just as education and life experiences molds us into the human adult we have become, so God’s Word and our relationship with Him transforms us into the Believer and servant for Christ, we were meant to be.  It’s here we are better ready to answer the call from God for whatever plans he has for our lives.

Photo Credit:  https://stock.adobe.com/search/images?k=spiritual%20growth 

The Cricket's Song

   

  It’s only the end of February but I saw daffodils blooming in my yard this past week.  I was elated.  That tiny miracle puts a song of joy in my heart!  I expect it to turn cold again, but it reminds me Spring is not that far off!  That said, I couldn’t help but think of other Spring events which I completely enjoy!

I totally enjoy the sound of crickets — as long as they are outdoors, or used as a ring tone on my phone!  One Spring day in the wee hours of the morning I was being awakened by the sound of a cricket in my bedroom — and no, it wasn’t my phone; it was live!

In the dark, I went quickly to retrieve my bug spray.  As quietly as possible I creeped to where I thought it was, and sprayed lightly, hoping the effects would put an end to the piercing  sound.  I crawled back into bed to hear, only moments later, the weak song growing stronger and stronger. It hadn’t worked, and I was becoming frustrated.  I just wanted to sleep!

Again, I sprayed, a little hardier this time.  The sound stopped and again, I crawled into bed hoping for sleep.  But again, the weakest sound began turning into a hearty song.

I thought how very much like that cricket God wants us to be with Him in prayer. Even when things don’t seem to be going our way, and obstacles beset us, He wants us to keep praying heartily to him about our concerns, difficulties and desires.

Just as that cricket hid itself from the poison spray that would have cost him his life; we are to hide in God with constant prayer so we can be free from the poisons of life all around us.  Distractions are in abundance!  

My goal has been to have devotions in the morning before I do anything else.  So I get ‘done’ (make up, hair, etc),  and get my coffee with the intent to get to my Bible and have prayer.  But oddly enough, while I’m waiting on my coffee to brew for a moment or so, (I hate walking away and having something weird happen with the coffee maker--and yes, that has happened), I pick up my phone and check the weather, or even facebook!   These are distractions and that’s NOT putting God first!

Even Jesus in Luke 6:12 found it necessary to pray.  He even went into the hills to be apart from distractions and spent the night in prayer!

If we lift our prayers heartily to our Lord and Savior, believing he hears us, cares about our needs, desires and concerns, surely he will answer.  The obstacles, ‘poisons’, doubts, distractions and fears of life will still try to claim us, but we can rest in the knowledge that God is beside us, every step of the way.

  We must be patient in faithful prayer, so we don’t become victims of affliction or even apathy.  We must sing our song of praise heartily and joyfully, just as the cricket raised his song to let the world know he was there.  Like this small insect, we can wait in joyful hope for answers to our prayers and guidance for our lives, because we serve a God who promises to always be with us! 

Photo Credit:  https://www.pexels.com/search/cricket%20insect/ 

A Life of Distractions

     I am reading a book about ‘eliminating hurry’.  It’s all about how we as a society, worldwide are so busy we find we don’t have enough hours in any given day to complete all the items on our list.

Obligations rule!  We have our 9-5 jobs (sometimes longer hours—and sometimes holding two jobs); and then we have our social life if we can drag ourselves out after we’ve reached home; and let’s not forget our kids who are each in one or more activities at school, and youth group activities in our local church.  On top of all this is trying to keep up with domestic duties and staying connected to our spouse and extended family.  It’s exhausting!

What makes this worse, is in the midst of all these ‘doings’ someone will ask us to help with a project that has nothing to do with the already long list we are currently trying to juggle.  If you are anything like me, saying no just isn’t an option.  I’m not good at it; in fact I loathe saying no.  I feel weak and incapable when I say no.  Still 'how on earth', I have asked myself 'am I going to get this done'?

On top of everything I mentioned earlier, distractions are everywhere! We are obsessed with staying on top of the news worldwide!  Our phones are part of everyones accessories to enable us to check what’s going on all over the world, as well as, every state in the Union.  We want to know what’s happening in the political world, on Wall Street, and the one I’m most guilty of, checking the weather.  

We want to know what’s happening in our social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter or other social media platform!  We need to see if someone has commented on our post or posted something we need to be aware of, or we find ourselves scrolling to ‘catch up’. Then we need check our emails or play a game.  It keeps us entertained and busy, if nothing else!

When our lives are so full of all this activity, we are told to downsize and do what is only really important, in order to maintain balance.  In theory, this is spot on.  But picking and choosing can be hard.  Many of us end up expending our physical, emotional, and other energies trying to keep up.  

One area which often gets neglected is our Spiritual energies. We put God—our prayer life, reading His Word, devotions and even church itself on a shelf because there just isn’t enough time to get it done.  We may not do it intentionally, any more than we’d neglect our families, but we feel like we have no choice.

Lack of nurturing our spouse and children however, is just what satan wants, because as that breakdown continues, so does relationships until divorce seems the only option.  The marriage is destroyed, as are the relationships with our children who are often caught in the middle.

Our lack of Spiritual nurturing sets satan giddy with glee.  As we neglect our personal time with God, we are breaking down that important relationship, too.  The longer we continue, the easier it is to do next time, regardless of any considered intentions.  The Bible remains on the dresser until we have to dust it off before we even pick up, We have no clue the last time we actually prayed, or even read a devotion. 

Does this sound familiar?  Where is your Spiritual life compared to all the other ‘lives’ you live every day?  Is it time to re-evaluate? Where is Jesus in your life?

Photo Credit:     https://www.freepik.com/search?format=search&page=3&query=lack+of+concentration 

Living In our Flaws

      My friend tells the story of how as a young person, she struggled with acne, not an uncommon scenario for many teens.  Still every morning she was careful to cover the imperfections and flaws because she worried their view would repulse whomever she spoke with.  She prayed for years that God would remove the blemishes, what she considered ‘defects’ because she wanted people to like her and could only see herself through the lenses of other’s scrutiny.

Unfortunately, my friend is not alone in her ‘almost obsession’ of dealing with acne.  Our culture is so riveted on looking just like the ‘made up, icon beauties’ on TV, they can’t accept that not everyone is not perfect.  And that’s part of the point.  Those ‘beauties’ on TV have make up artists that remove the tiniest ‘blip’ that shows up on their skin before they set foot in front of a TV camera.  This sets the ‘beauty’ access line in our young girls minds, at a very high standard, and it’s false!

These feelings of inadequacies create anxiety in our children.  They must feel like the lepers in the Bible must have felt.  They had spots on their skin and were excommunicated; they were unclean and could not be with their family and friends on any local level.  These young girls in today’s world can be traumatized and become unable to communicate with kids their own age in a face to face world.  So they hide out in their rooms and only socialize over the internet, which can create it’s own cruel and dangerous world!

As my friend mentioned above, she grew in her faith, and her prayers changed, even though the condition did not seem to get any better.  Instead of asking for a ‘glowing complexion', she began asking God to help her believe that He loved her just the way he created her.  God’s standards of perfection and beauty are considerably different than any culture around the globe!

He is not about being popular in our little cliques with those people we would like to hang out with.  God is about what we have in our heart.  Our exterior appearance has nothing to do with our heart, if we are a Believer.  Our challenge is to focus on Him rather than on what the world around us chooses to see as important.  

The old adage, ‘beauty is only skin deep,’ is true.  Over time we all change.  We get older every day and we eat foods that aren’t good for us, which also can change how we look.  Many take drugs or smoke cigarettes, both of which affects our outward beauty, as well as other health habits and even our DNA and genetics!  

For those young ladies (and young men) who don’t know Jesus, their struggle is staggering.  They want so badly to become ‘liked’ because of (or in spite of) how they look,  they resort to using all kinds of creams and medicine, sometimes surgeries to create what they believe will outwardly make them acceptable and perhaps even beautiful to those around them.

God doesn’t look for the most beautiful person on the outside, like our world does. Rather he looks for the person with the right heart for his purpose and calling; and this is where blessings from the Sovereign God start! He loves us just as he created us.  Therefore we no longer need to 'live in our flaws' and be defined by the skewed beauty definition, so prevalent in our world!  

Photo Credit:  free inadequacy pictures 

Going The Extra Mile

  I love it when my grandchildren visit and give hugs!  That’s just what they do!  Often it’s in the coming and the going and I’m all about the hugs.  It seems regardless of any kind of ‘anything’ that could have gone wrong during my day, those hugs just melt my heart!  It’s also heartwarming to find a nice note in my mailbox from a random friend and just because!  It’s nice to know I was thought of!

Valentine’s Day is next week and people across the globe are searching for the perfect gift for their loved ones.  It varies from person to person, family to family given traditions, cultures and even funds.

But being kind is always a good gift!  It doesn’t need to be pricey, or elegant, grand or large.  Giving of yourself is often the best gift of all.   The formula for being kind is really simple.  Ask yourself what might make them smile?  What might they need this very moment or day?  Try to accommodate. 

Giving the gift of homemade food is always a good option; as is being mindful of their likes and dislikes, opening a door for them, sharing yourself in friendly conversation, remembering their birthday or other special days, sharing a conversation over coffee or tea, or having a shoulder to 'cry' on,  and lots of other options.  You need only be creative!

Going the extra mile, however, might include sending a ‘thinking of you’ card which you’ve personalized with a note or other decoration and certainly writing their name in it or even making them one by hand.  When you’re out to lunch with someone, buy them dessert; if you find a book they might like, purchase it and write a note in the front; when you offer to pray for someone absolutely do it—and offer to pray with them right then.   Buy (or make) a small gift they might like and wrap it in pretty paper before giving it to them.  The options can go on depending on your creativity!

Jesus was always doing kind things for people.  He taught them, he listened to their questions and answered them, and sometimes he went the extra mile.  He healed the lame, gave eyesight to the blind man, raised the dead, fed 5,000 and ultimately gave his life for whole world, offering us the free gift of salvation.  

What an amazing example Jesus is.  Even now, He goes the extra mile.  When we ask for something he still listens and responds.  Often times we get caught up in our expectations (or lack of) and miss the gifts God has for us.  Our finite minds can’t possibly comprehend the possibilities of God plans and surprises for us, his children.  Sometimes he answers in ways that is so much greater than our perceived options; and so spectacular we couldn’t even have  imagined it.

` I encourage you over the next couple weeks, to get creative and be kind; and beyond that, go the extra mile and see if you as ‘giver’ and whomever as the 'recipient', aren’t both blessed.  Let others see Jesus in you!

Photo Credit:  free pics of loving