God Is A Better Healer Than A “Band-aide Fix”

     My husband drives me crazy when it comes to a minor, temporary repair.  His choice of temporary fixes is, none other than, tape.  Tape can make a great patch job, but it is only a “band-aide fix.”  When the tape is removed the surface is left with a sticky residue; often very resistant to coming off, or else, we become complacent with the fix and just leave the ugly tape in place. 

     Band-aide fixes may have their place, but in the real realm of things it would be best to do it right the first time, thus savings time, money, and energy.  If you can’t figure out how to repair it correctly, then it is time to consult an expert.

     To solve life’s problems, there is no better expert than God.  He is the One who can either help you do it right the first time, or the One who can easily remove the “band-aid fix” without leaving a residue that will not go away.  God created you.   He knows where He created you to be; He knows who He created you to be; He knows what He created you to do.

     Speaking of “band-aide fixes,” God also created this world.  It was created by One God “under liberty and justice for all.”  If our nation’s leaders would come together and seek God’s will and unite in spirit for the good of this great country and its people, we would not need a “band-aide fix,” as the President has declared we currently have.   

     It takes working together to make leadership.  It takes leaving the “I want” out in order to consider the American people and what is best for them.   It takes creating a balanced budget and stopping extravagate government spending.  The American people do not need more taxation with more government spending. We do not need a "bridge to nowhere."

     To get rid of the "band-aide fix," we also need to eliminate unnecessary spending on aide to support programs that go against what this nation was founded upon.  Legalizing drugs, same sex marriage, and abortion will not heal our land. When the Israelites rebelled against God, their “band-aide fix” lasted 40 years.   I pray that we will be able to return to the "promised land."

What My Lord Did For Me!

I woke during the night and was wondering how I could praise my God, and bits and pieces of the following came to mind until I could sit beneath my "Friendly Shade" and compose the rest.  I hope all those who read it will use it to praise and thank God for all He planned and did for us. 

My Lord

could have been born in a mansion

protected by a mighty, stone wall.

Yet, He chose to lie in a manager stall

among the cattle and sheep.

A bed of straw was where he fell asleep.   

He did it all for me!

 

 My Lord

could have lived among the rich,

wrapped in a royal robe living in grandeur.

Yet, He chose to walk among the lowly and poor.

He had no home to call His own

when He could have had a footstool and a throne.   

He did it all for me!

 My Lord

could have had a life of leisure,

served with every imaginable, elegant meal.

Yet, He chose to serve and heal.

His feet were dusty and his sandals were worn.

Still He was mocked and His flesh was torn.     

He did it all for me!

 

My Lord

could have died in luxury surroundings.

Yet, He chose a cross.

He let them drive the nails through His hands.

The earth shook and darkness split the lands.

Blood covered His body and fell beneath his feet,

so His salvation plan would be complete.

He did it all for me!

                                                                        Mary Crisp Jameson – April 2, 2013

 

It's Just Things

     It’s just things!  The drug addicted individual lost it all; furniture, job, and trust.  It’s just things!  The long time job that someone thought would last forever is gone.   It’s just things!  The house caught fire and all was lost.  There are no more family pictures, no financial records, and no more treasured material possessions.   These are just a few examples of things that can be lost overnight.  They are just things!

     Don’t get me wrong.  I am very materialistic myself, and if I lost it all I would be devastated.  I would cry and mourn my losses.  I have to remind myself daily that God is the One who is important.  We are just passing through this life here on earth.  What we have are only things!   They belonged to God in the first place; He owns it all. 

     When losses occur I still have God in my life.  This is an assurance that cannot be taken away from me.  Once I accepted Him into my life and believed in Him, I have Him forever.  He cannot be lost.   

     Because of God, as the song goes, “The anchor holds though the ship is battered.  The anchor holds though the sails are torn.  The anchor holds in spite of the storm.” 

    Our country is a gift from God.   It is to be honored and protected.  Horrible events happen; earthquakes, bombings, tornados, and a host of other events that destroy the lives of people we love, that take down homes and leave a path of destruction, but Christians continue to have a hope.  We have a promise that loved ones which are lost have a heavenly home.  We are assured of being taken care of.  We have a promise that we have a heavenly home much more beautiful and serene than anything we could ever image here on earth. 

     Earthy possessions are just “things”. 

A Full Glass

   If you were given a glass half filled with some kind of visual matter, would you say it was half empty or half full?  Most of us have heard the synopsis that if you answered, “half empty,” you would be classified as a negative person, but, on the other hand, if you answered, “half full,” you would be classified as a positive person.  However, both answers are actually wrong.  You see the glass is really not half empty or half full; it is full! You just cannot see the air that fills the other half.  

     Consider for a moment that if this same glass were your heart held up for the world to see, what would people say?  What type of substance would you choose to place in it to fill it half full?  I would imagine that if your heart were half filled with impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasures, idolatry, hatred, jealously, anger, complaints, and criticism most people would see the other half as being filled with the results of these products.  They would see emptiness, loneliness, and a seeking of some unknown desire that leaves a feeling of being unfulfilled.  Yet, if your heart were half filled with love, joy, peace, faithfulness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control, the other half would be filled with the working of the Holy Spirit.  There would be trust, obedience, and a true desire to follow the laws of God.   We reap what we sow within outselves; the rewards can be great.  What do you want people to see in your life?   

     There is a choice to be made; choose wisely.   

A Cup of Coffee

     As I was stood in line waiting for my take out order, I noticed an old sign in the back of the store which went something like this, “A cup of coffee for 5 cents but worth 10 cents.”  That had to have been an old sign, for these days it would read more like, “a cup of coffee for 10 cents but worth 5 cents.”  With the cost of things today I believe that is how most people feel.  Every time we go to the grocery store the items we are looking for have usually increased in price.  Even  our paychecks reduce annually as taxes increase.  It is a never-ending battle.

     Yet, we are assured of one thing in our lives that will never increase in price.  When we become Christians and accept God into our lives, we are covered with His grace.  There is never, or will there ever be, an increase in cost.  Grace is freely given and guaranteed to remain cost free. 

     True,  we, as humans, may think there is a cost involved and often quote, “Everything comes with a price.”  We think that we must change our lives and often our friends.  People are watching to see if we change.  But that is where the reward comes in to play.  To have God’s love and His blessings in our lives is not a cost at all.  It is an enrichment to the very core of our souls. 

    I am so very thankful that God remains with me even when I attempt to walk away and live according to “my will” and not His.  When I neglect to talk with Him daily and seek Him, that is when I pay the cost- the cost of the results of my sinful nature.   Yet through it all, God says, “Return to me.  I’ll support you through the troubles you have created.  I will love you anyway.   You may be “a cup of coffee for 5 cents” but you are worth much, much more.”