life

Less and More

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evaluation3-copyWe are living in the digital age, and we are being aged by the frenzied pace of the world.  Technology promises to make life easier; however, these promises are often just empty and hollow distractions.

Most everyone is looking for peace and fulfillment, and they try to find it in the promises broadcast through their radios or the marketing slogans plastered on billboards.  These messages promise you fresher breathe, whiter teeth, or a newer car as the answer to all of your problems.

Money may provide momentary happiness, but nothing this world has to offer can iron out the wrinkles of a stressed-filled life.  The solution is not found in consuming a larger piece of the world, but in possessing a larger than life peace that’s found in Jesus.

The answer is less of the world and more of Jesus:  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).

The best way to keep your life from falling apart is to keep it together through the peace of God:

Since then it is by faith that we are justified, let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have confidently entered into this new relationship of grace, and here we take our stand, in happy certainty of the glorious things he has for us in the future.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that we have only a hope of future joys—we can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles. Taken in the right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance; this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope, a hope that will never disappoint us. Already we have some experience of the love of God flooding through our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.  ~Romans 5:1-5 ~J.B. Phillips

Blessings: Have You Counted Yours?

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countWhen was the last time you paused and counted the many blessing that you have?  Have you taken the time to heed the old hymn and “name them one by one?” These are the questions I asked myself after reading Psalm 68:19: “Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!”

A survey of the Psalms will reveal several verses that remind us of God’s many blessings:

  • Psalm 1 speaks of relationship: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
  • Psalm 2 speaks of faith: Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him
  • Psalm 28 speaks of prayer: Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
  • Psalm 31 speaks of God’s kindness: Blessed be the Lord, For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
  • Psalm 32 speaks of forgiveness: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
  • Psalm 33 is a promise: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

I’ll close with this link to Count Your Blessings. I hope the song will become a symphony as you reflect on the times God has blessed you.

Beating the Blues

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HopeDid you awaken this morning feeling more down-and-out and less up-and-at-it? If so, you might identify with the “woe-is-me” mentality of Jeremiah who said:

“I’m the man who has seen trouble, trouble coming from the lash of God’s anger. He took me by the hand and walked me into pitch-black darkness. Yes, he’s given me the back of his hand over and over and over again. He turned me into a scarecrow of skin and bones, then broke the bones. He hemmed me in, ganged up on me, and poured on the trouble and hard times. He locked me up in deep darkness, like a corpse nailed inside a coffin.” ~ The Message

The sure cure for a case of the Monday Morning Blues is a long sip from this energizing Cup of Hope:  Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).

When Jeremiah began to focus less on his problems and more on God, his perspective changed.  He began to realize that the high tide of God’s hope has a rhythmic presence that’s just as certain as the appearance of the moon in the night sky.  He also concluded that the faithfulness of God is as cool and refreshing as an artesian well that never runs dry—it’s new every morning.

In the Psalms, David learned that the riddles of life are never solved through the emptiness of the world, but through the fullness of God’s blessing. He said: I did not understand until I went into the sanctuary of God; and, He offered this conclusion: God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever . . . it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works.

As you work your way through today, remember that God is full of compassion, generous in grace, slow to anger, and boundless in loyal love and truth.  ~Psalm 86:15

Hand in Hand

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handsThe trials and heartaches of life can leave you weary of life and tearful; and, wary of people and fearful.  When God seems far away, remember you’re in His hand and you can handle “all things” through His strength.

When life gets tough, these 4 truths may help:

  • When you spend more time in prayer, you have less time to worry.
  • When it seems like you are in over your head, remember God is in it with you.
  • When life seems too hard, remember that nothing is too difficult for God.
  • When you’re convinced you’re lost, you’re ready to be found.
  • When you think you’re unlikeable, God thinks you are loveable.

When I was a small boy, there were times I found comfort when my parents held my hand.  When my mother grew old and unsteady, there were time we walked arm in arm so she could lean on me.  What my parents did for me, and what I did for Mom, God will do for all of His children: For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.  ~Isaiah 41:13

Life: Its Measure and Message

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Life, what is it?  In one form or another, most people have asked this question at some measure-subpagetime in their life.  It’s one of the many themes of Psalms, Proverbs, and the book of James.

  • James asked: For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ~James 4:14
  • A similar question is asked in Psalm 8:4: What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
  • David inquired about the measure of his days or the length of life in Psalm 39:

“O Lord,  make me know my end  and what is the  measure of my days;  let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

While we might be concerned about the measure of life, we should also be concerned about the message of our lives. Solomon addressed the message of within the context of character and its influence. In Proverbs, he calls attention to the person who is:

  • Ungodly man who digs up evil ~16:27
  • Perverse man sows strife ~Proverbs 16:28
  • Violent man entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good ~Proverbs 16:29
  • Proud: Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him ~Proverbs 26:12
  • Righteous man who may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity. ~Proverbs 24:16
  • A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished ~Proverbs 22:3
  • Undisciplined: Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him ~ Proverbs 29:20
  • Unjust man who is an abomination to the righteous ~ Proverbs 29:27

I encourage you take some time to reflect on the measure and message of your life, and remember that it can be:

  • Brief in comparison to eternity: Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow (Psalm 144:4)
  • Full of opportunity to make a difference in the life of another: Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices (Hebrews 13:16).

As in water the face is reflected as a face, so a person’s heart reflects the person.         ~Proverbs 27:19

The Gratitude List

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Like most mornings, I started today with a cup of coffee and my Bible. While I was reading, I thought about God’s wonderful deeds for mankind, and my lack of gratitude:

 

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

~Psalm 107:8-9

This morning I give thanks to these people I’ve never met:

  • Thomas Edison for the light that shines about my head.
  • Benjamin Franklin for the glasses I wear.
  • The Wright brothers and their work in the field of aviation.
  • Charles Babbage, the Father of Computers
  • James Watt for his inventive mind that gave us the steam engine.
  • Alexander Bell who gave the first truly functional telephone.
  • Galileo because his genius improved accuracy of the compass; without which I’d still be lost in the wilderness.
  • Henry Ford and his “moving assembly line” which allowed for the mass production of automobiles.
  • Willis Carrier for the air conditioning that I enjoy during the hot and humid summer days.

Expressing gratitude and giving thanks are themes that run throughout the pages of the Bible. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote: I thank God . . .  as I remember you 2constantly in my prayers night and day (1:3).

I encourage you to mimic Paul: Take some time today to reflect on the past year; express your gratitude, and say thanks to those who have helped you along the way and made your life a little easier.

Riddles and Such

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I spent many childhood hours in the tiny town of Sallyards.  My grandparents were some of the last people to live in this almost forgotten spot in the oil patch.

One of my vivid memories is of a black cocker spaniel.  Hardly a Summer went by that he wasn’t snake bit, and every time I visited he entertained me with the perplexing habit of chasing his tail.  I never figured out why he did it, but I never tried to get him to stop it because I laughed every time I watched him do it.

At the time, I had no idea who Winston Churchill was, but a quote of his defined the tail-chasing display.  Churchill said:  It’s a riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma.

As I’ve wandered through life, I’ve come to wonder about several things:

  • Why can you put 2 socks in the dryer, but only 1 comes out?
  • How can a black cow eat green grass and give white milk?
  • Does eating natural foods cause you to die a natural death?
  • If an illiterate person eats alphabet soup, does he know what he is eating?

Even Solomon, the wise sage of the Old Testament, found life to be perplexing:  Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless. I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 14).

The same gold and silver that garnished Solomon’s life tarnished his wisdom and life became meaningless.  His worldly affection was somewhat of a genetic infection. In a like father like son scenario, he nearly succumbed to the seductive power of the world.  His father David wrote:  But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.  For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked (Psalm 73).

After much thought and consideration, Solomon realized there is no lasting happiness apart from the living God.  He ended Ecclesiastes with these words:  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil (Eccl. 12).

Here’s a thought to keep you thinking:  If you spend your life running in circles, you’ll travel a familiar path, but you won’t get far.  You may end up like Solomon–dizzy and disoriented.