Hope

     Never, can I remember the tremendous turmoil and division which ravishes our country today.  Because of the immoral, rebelliousness, and destruction being caused, it would be easy to write-off our country as hopeless.  Yet, as a Christian, I know there is hope in all things, and I will always have hope.  For me, hope means the following:

H-ope - an expectant attitude for the return of Jesus, the King of the Universe
O-ptimism- a confidence in the future knowing God is in control
P-ositive -a clear concept, without a doubt, that "all things work together for good" with God as the center
E-eternal life- being promised by my faith and belief in Jesus as my Savior and by my belief in His death and resurrection.  "He is Alive!"   He is my "Living Hope!"

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NASB) "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Proverbs 23:18 (NIV)  "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."

Ephesians 4:4 (NIV) "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called."

Colossians 1:27  (NIV) "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles glorious riches of this mystery, which Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Cordless phone

 

There are some very creative people who come up with just the right sayings which make a person think.  This one gave me pause for consideration.  If everyone would keep Jesus as close to their person as their phones, the world would be a greater place. 

 

 Daily- Pause and Think!

The first cordless phone is ever available.  It is free!  There is no downtime, unless we chose it.  

  

 

 From the beginning men called upon God.

Genesis 4:26 "And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord."

 

God's promise is sure.  He is just one phone call away.

Jeremiah 29:12 "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

 

February, The Love Month

     It is almost time to turn the pages of the calendar to a new month, one which represents love and romance.  On February 14th, women around the globe visualize red hearts and winged cupids.  Men are "expected" to remember their loved ones with romantic cards, vases of flowers, balloons, or boxes of chocolate coated candy,  to name a few.  If I had to guess, it was not a man who started this tradition.   The blame could possibly be placed on card companies.  If not them, they quickly jumped on the bandwagon to promote their sales.  Just last night Hallmark advertised on a commercial, "caring makes the world go round." 
     That is actually a true statement!  Caring and love does make the world go round.
      "Love is in the air."  "What the world needs now is love, sweet love."  These are all saying about love. 
     Yet, when I think of love, I think of my God and His Son, Jesus.  This is where love is truly centered. 
    1 John 4:8b  "...for God is love." 
     Jesus demonstrated the greatest love of all:    
    1 John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his live for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." 
    John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.
   

    1 Corinthians 13 is the chapter which enhances on what love is, and if we would all follow these guidelines in our daily lives, it would be greatest "box of chocolates" ever. 

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails...
¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 

 

 

The Heavy Load

     I am sure there are times we all say, "Life's not fair."  Our burdens are too heavy, or others have more.  Yet, how we handle our hardships define our character.  Jesus was a perfect example for His people.  He chose to leave His heavenly Father for us.  He carried a heavy load, and, I believe, He knew about the cross as a very young child.  All that He did, He did for us.  He could have said, "I don't want to do this.  It is not fair that I have to die for others."  But He didn't. 
    

    The Heavy Load

 

The cross, a heavy load;

  In Him, a promise abode.

 Born with no bed to call His own,

  A King, without an earthly throne;

A babe, in flight, among the multitudes,

  A child, Herod sought with fortitude.

 

The cross, a heavy load to bear,

  but God was with Him there.

 

The Son, baptized, yet tempted;

A heart Satan couldn't break or empty.

A teacher, wandering the land,

 scorned by those who knew not God's plan.

 

The cross, a weight, a heavy weight

  for the One, so great!

 

A man praying alone in Gethsemane,

  "Let this cup pass from me."

A soul sorrowful until death,

  asking God's will with labored breathe.

A Savior, denied, rejected by the world;

On His shoulders our sins were hurled.

A man upon the cross, opening up heaven's gate

  to seal the believer's fate. 
 

Oh yes!  The cross, a heavy load to bear,

  but God was there. 

                                      Mary Nell Jameson

 

           God is here for us, too, if we will just call upon Him and place our trust in Him.  One of my favorite chapters is Psalm 23.  "The Lord is my shepherd;...Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me...."

 

 

 

God's Will

     I never claim to be a good writer, but I enjoy the challenge to present some helpful thought that will make someone's day and help bring them closer to God.   My thoughts and writings are often a spin-off from something I have seen, heard, or read. 
     Today, the writer of the daily devotional I read shared two thoughts that will help me and I am passing them on.  I plan to consider them often and tuck them into memory so they can sink deeply into my heart. 
     I have often wondered, "How do you truly know God's will in everything?"   Number one is to seek God's Word daily in order to get insight into His will.  But here are two thoughts the author of In Touch shared which will help make daily choices easier:

"1.  Will Christ be glorified in this choice?
  2.  Can I do this in Jesus' name?"

To quote the author further, "If the answer is no, then don't follow that path."


    

Fruit of the Spirit

       My desire, though I fell, is to become more Christ-like.  When I was saved, the Holy Spirit entered my life and set about leading and guiding me.  I have to make choices every day on what fruit I am to produce, and Galatians 5:22-23 plainly teaches me, while the Holy Spirit works within helping me to yield and turn from my stubborn ways. 
     After looking at several biblical versions of Galatians, I found no differences in interpretations and can make no excuses for poor behavior.

  The King James Version says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, .. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 The New International Version says it almost the same, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


I found in the Living Bible, "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  ²³ gentleness and self-control; and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws.


The New Living Translations writes, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!


Finally in the American Standard Version I am told, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.
    
    My prayer is that I will become more productive, grow better fruit, and reap the harvest.    I pray that all people across this land will accept Jesus and become more Christ-like.  I pray that prayers will return to the classroom, that people will seek to live by the fruit of the Spirit. I pray for our newly elected President, Donald Trump and Vice President, Mike Pence.  I pray they will be led by the Spirit so that they will lead our great nation according to the will of our Almighty God. 
     Only by living by the fruit of the Spirit will our nation heal itself, come together in love, and our current divisions be resolved.   

Joy

     There is no greater feeling than having joy in my heart.  For those who walk around with a frown, disgrumbled with life, and have no joy or great pleasure and happiness, let me just say, I will strive to avoid you at all cost. 
     Why?  It is not that I do not like you, but the fact is, you have the ability to remove my joy if I let you.  It is, in some cases, human nature to take on the feelings of others. 
     Let me explain.  When I was working, I often went into the office with a smile on my face and joy in my heart.  I would walk past a co-worker and say, "Good morning!"  I often received a grumbled back, "Good morning..." but I could tell there was no joy to that greeting.  That person just did not want to be there.  I instantly knew I would get no laughter that would lift my spirits further but rather a dissertation on something like, "what's good about the day?"   If I allowed that feeling to pass on to  me or stop and listen to the negatives of life, my joy was going to "fly out the window."  I much preferred to seek out someone who was enjoying what life had to offer.  

      One of my favorite verses is Psalm 118:24, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." 
There are so many other verses that tell us to rejoice; among them are:

     Psalm 96:11  Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is it."     
     Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!"

     To quote the writer of IN Touch, "When we, through wisdom, allow God to do His work in our life, we will begin to experience blessings, see His power, and feel His love in new ways,  And this new growth brings great joy?"

 

 

The Burning Bush

     I wonder if one reason a lot of us don't get close to God is that we are waiting for a "burning bush" experience.  Or is it that we are afraid we will have a "burning bush" experience and be asked to do something out of the norm?  
     When Moses first saw the burning bush out in the wilderness he thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."  In the course of the conversation, God said to Moses, "I am who I am."    Later God said, “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation."  
     For me, even if I never have a visual "burning bush" experience, I know that God never changes and His Word never changes.  From generation to generation, He is who He is. 
     I know God wants me to know Him.  He wants daily fellowship with me.  If I give God my daily devotion, I do not need to witness a visual burning bush. That burning bush experience is in my heart, and I have an opportunity to pass His name on to the next generation. 

The Light

     In my studies on the Treasure from the Parables, I was reading in Matthew about the 10 virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of the virgins were wise and took additional oil to keep their lamps burning; the other five did not take the extra oil, and their oil ran out.  By the time they returned with the oil needed to light their way, the door was shut and they could not enter into the wedding banquet.  They missed out.  They had not prepared. 
    In essence, what Jesus was saying was that if you do not believe in Jesus, you will not have an understanding of God, not be prepared, and you will miss out on eternal life.  The door will be closed. 
     Jesus said in John 8:12,  "...I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

              The Light!

You, Oh Lord, are the light of the world.

  with power to command the earth to unfurl;
At your will, darkness turns to light,
  the sun and stars shine bright.

Your light, Oh Lord, is the lamp unto my path;

  giving wisdom to fear your wrath.
Your light! A  lamp unto my feet;
  your love, so sweet! 
A light, giving understanding;
  wisdom expanding. 

You, Oh Lord, are the light of the Cross,

  shedding brightness, overcoming loss.
A light saving souls;
  making people whole-
A light of understanding, a light proclaiming God's glory
Your mighty light! The life-changing story!
                            Mary Crisp Jameson

Achilles' heel

     Ever since Adam and Eve, there have been flaws and weaknesses in the human race.  So easily, we succumb to our own personal ones.  I often have to stop and talk with God to ask Him, "Please forgive my thoughts and change my heart and my mind."  I so want to keep the clutter and litter away from A Friendly Shade and out of my life.   
     Thinking through the Bible characters, I see Samson, who was blessed from birth, but his Achilles' heel was his uncontrolled lust which led to his destruction.  Joseph's brothers had a problem with jealously, which lead to a life of guilt and shame over what they had done to Joseph and their father.  Not only in scripture but in life today, there are so many who do not strive to overcome their weaknesses and self-destruct.
    I pray that I will stop and talk with God more often.  The choice is mine to seek strength to overcome the sin which infiltrates my life; sin which will destroy my blessings and my walk with God.   I pray that I seek strength to overcome my Achilles' heel.  The choice is mine!
          
    
    

I Am With You

     No one likes to stand alone.  We all need to know someone has our back.  That is just exactly what God does when we love and obey Him.  Not only is He powerful and all knowing, but He is everywhere!  Many times God told His people,  "I am with you." 

In Exodus 3:12 when Moses said, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"  God replied, "I will be with you."

In Judges 6 when Gideon asked, Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family?" God said, "I will be with you."

In Jeremiah, when Jeremiah was called and responded with, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak, I am only a child."  God said, "I am with you."  Several other times in Jeremiah, God states, "I am with you."

In Genesis God told Isaac, "I am the God of your father Abraham.  Do not be afraid, for 'I am with you' ". 

In Isaiah 41 it says, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

In Haggai we find, "Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.

 

In Matthew 19-20 we find, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

Again in Acts 18:9-10 the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. ¹⁰ For I am with you,..." 

    

     Knowing that God is with me strengthens me daily. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Declutter

     I don't make new year resolutions, but I do create goals.  One of my recent goals is to de-clutter my home at "A Friendly Shade."  
     I guess one of the hardest things to de-clutter is my closet.  It is hard for me to decide to toss good but unworn clothes.  For that reason, I am about to try something I read.   The article said to turn every clothes hanger backward.  Then, when I wear something I like, place the hanger the right direction.  At the end of the season, if the hanger is still turned backward, it is time to remove that particular garment from my closet.  Hmmm, wonder if this will really work?
     There are other things at A Friendly Shade which I also need to de-clutter.  Actually, rather than de-cluttering I just need to prioritize.  By that, I mean put God first.  Instead of getting up early to start projects of any kind, I need to start with God's Word.  If I can do that, I believe I can de-clutter  more effectively.  I will no longer be thinking so much as the world thinks.  I will no longer be so much into accumulating things which need de-cluttering down the road. 
     In de-cluttering,  my house be cleaner, and by placing God first, my mind and spirit will become cleaner, with God being the deepest desire of my heart rather than worldly possessions.   


    
    

Wealth Management

      There are all kinds of New Year resolutions made every year.  Most deal with either diet or money.   I think, aside from a closer relationship with God, those should be at the top of our lists.
     As I get older, my health becomes a major concern, and it is effected a great deal by my eating habits.
     Then in my retirement years, I can look back and see how much wealthier I would have been had I had better spending habits. 
     There is much said, scripturally, about finances and the need to be good financial managers.   Proverbs 21:20 (NLT) "The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get."  To be honest, as I opened my closet this morning, this verse hit home with me.  I have hangers of clothes in my closet, some of which I have not worn in quite some time.  Then I have some which are like brand new.  I usually end up grabbing the same outfits every week because they are the ones I really like to wear.  The others hang there in the hope that I might chose to wear them once or twice a year.  Just look at the money I could have saved had I not hit that sell rack  as I was "floating the mall!"
     Then Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the  lender." (KJV)  Nothing could be more true!  Those credit card bills and bank loans come around much too quickly.  I am sure when we open our mail and see those bills, we are wishing we had not bought that gadget taking up shelf space or that we had not gone out for that expensive meal last month, or even spent quite so much money this past Christmas.   What happened to budgets!
     For those who struggle with poor spending habits, remember Hebrews 13:5, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
     It is not too late to begin, now, to curtail bad spending habits.  It gets harder the higher those credit card balances become.  I, for one, have never been an advocate of credit cards.  As a banker, I believe they are one of the worse culprits to our worldly debt.  I am, however, a great proponent to savings accounts.  I can never express enough the need, no matter your debt situation, to start some kind of savings even if it is the smallest amount.  Whatever you have to do - skip a lunch, skip that case of cokes, skip that shopping trip.   Put that extra tidbit of money into your savings account.  
     I like the quote, "Out of sight, out of mind."   Have a percentage of your paycheck direct deposited to your savings account.  If you don't see it, you won't spend it.  Then leave it there!  Add to it weekly, monthly, yearly.  Watch it grow.  You will be encouraged to add more. 
     Never forget, ask God to help you. 

    

 

 

Timing

     In the final days of the first week of this new year, I am still reminded of my blog a few days ago on being "too late."  However, my thoughts were taken another direction on the subject this morning as I read In Touch regarding how "timing is critical."  
     I thought back to last year and wondered how many times I missed an opportunity to serve as Jesus did.  How many times did I fail to say, "I am sorry," when I should have?  How many times did I walk past a needy person in need of a simple hot cup of soup or provide a friendly smile to someone having a bad day?   How many times did I fail to ask forgiveness and lost a close relationship?  How many times did I ignore my fellowman when they had lost a loved one?
     Psalms 130:2 cries out, "Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications."  I know God hears me when I call out to him, yet, how often do I sit quietly in praise listening for His voice?  I should be calling out, to quote In Touch, "God, what would you have me do? God, I am willing to do as you direct."
     The right timing begins with listening and hearing God's quiet nudge.  So today, I pray for a listening ear, a discerning mind, a loving heart, and courage to action. 

Gift of Life

     In this first week of 2017, I am still thinking about all the effort everyone makes with gift giving at Christmas time.  There is so much shopping, so many excessive bills created, so many cardboard boxes to throw away, and so much shredded wrapping paper.  Many of the gifts go unused, hidden away in closets, returned, or even some broken within weeks.  Often, we are not even told we got it wrong, which means no second chance this year to give that one gift our loved ones will love forever.
     The important thing to remember about gift giving and Christmas, is that we do have a God of second chances.  He never gets it wrong.  When God sent His Son to die on the cross to save us He gave us the greatest gift of all - one that cannot be returned once accepted.  He gave us the gift of grace. 
     With this gift, we may become broken in tribulation, but God is always with us.  We may once again sin because of our sin nature, but God's grace forgives.  The amazing thing about His gift is that, because we are His children, we are motivated to serve Him.
     In considering the gift of grace I came up with the following acronym.

G -race - gift of eternal life to those who believe in Jesus and His death on the cross for us
I -nheritance -gift of abundance of God's blessings and His promises
F- aith - gift of peace and comfort by believing in God and His Word
T- hankful- gift of peace and joy, knowing God's love surrounds us daily.

     In my reading of today's devotional in In Touch, the writer gives Romans 5:2 and makes a quote which I would like to share:  "Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God." 
     The writer states, "This is no puddle of mercy that barely wets the toes, but rather a mighty ocean."
 
    
    

The War Within

     I believe we all fear war.  We don't like to think of the useless loss of lives or the unknown outcome.
     Yet, I have to admit, I fight, as we all do, a battle everyday.  It is a war within myself because of my sinful nature.  I praise God that I do not have to struggle the battle alone.  I praise God for His grace which takes away my fear.  His grace is greater than my sin, and I am justified by my faith in Him.
     There does not have to useless loss of lives in order to win the war.  All any of us need to do is trust God and believe in Him.  Accept Jesus as your Savior.  Accept the Cross and His mighty grace. 

Romans 3:10 "...There is none righteous, no, not one."
Romans 3:24 "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Never Too Late

     The year 2016 has come and gone.  If I didn't get all I intended to  accomplish done in 2016, it is too late now.   But wait!  Maybe, it is not too late!  I can still start in 2017 to make the most of every day.  I still have time to start afresh.  All those unfinished tasks and ideas are still lying around.
     Most of all; however, I think the important thing in 2017 is to find joy.  Life is a gift, and I need to live it wisely, and to live wisely I need to seek God first, then let all the other things just fall into place.     
     Really, there is only one important thing everyone should do before it is "too late."  That is, to believe and accept Jesus as Savior of your life.  If you  die before doing so, it will be TOO LATE!

     Philippians 3:13-14 ..  "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."