24 posts from February 2008

Please pray for my friend Dale who had a stroke this last Tuesday. My husband and I were with his family for 10 hours yesterday. I went in to see Dale in his hospital room and talked with him, not knowing if he could hear me. He is on a machine, and it breaks my heart to find out the whole left side of his brain is wiped out. The doctor is so surprised he is still alive. He is hanging on, but if he does come to he won't remember his family or anything from his past. His wife, Candy has had the burden to make a decision she does not want to do, but for Dale's sake he will slip away in time. This really has made me see life as so fragile, and how unimportant things are. I cried so much yesterday to exhaustion. He is in hospice at the hospital where family and friends can be with him. Your prayers are so welcome for Dale and his family. Thank you! elsalioness:D 

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. —John 15:13.
It’s an honor I cherish, and one I seek to live up to—but I don’t always do it. It’s the privilege of hearing my wife say, “You’re my best friend,” which she does often. As much as I love her, though, I occasionally do something that is not so “best friend-ish.”
In reality, no matter how hard we try, we cannot live up to the high standard of being a friend who never lets others down. We all fail from time to time—forgetting to do what we should or simply allowing selfishness to build a barrier between us.
As believers, we take comfort in knowing that we are called a friend of God, and He is a true friend who will never falter. Michael Gungor’s joyous song “Friend of God” captures the wonder of this relationship when it asks, “Who am I that You are mindful of me?”
Abraham was called “the friend of God,” and that friendship was related to his faith (2 Chron. 20:7; James 2:23). Jesus explained how we can receive that designation as well. He said to His disciples, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). There is no better friend, for we know that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).
Looking for the best friend ever? You can’t do better than the Lord Himself.
I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him.
Jesus is the only faultless Friend you’ll ever find.

As Jesus was teaching His followers, He quoted the sixth commandment—“You shall not murder”—and the penalty for breaking it (Matt. 5:21). Then He gave a fuller interpretation. Taking someone’s life was not limited to physical murder; you could show contempt for someone through name-calling and be just as guilty. In Jewish culture, to call someone “Raca” or “Fool” (v.22) was the equivalent of calling someone empty-headed or an idiot. It was used to demean and demote another. What makes name-calling so damaging is that it insults the God who created that person in His image!
Jesus taught His followers that the weight of our neighbor’s glory is a burden we carry daily. If we follow His teaching, we won’t be guilty of identity theft. To insult the creature is to insult the Creator.

Even though our bodies can live on what money can buy, money can’t keep our souls from withering away. In Isaiah 55, we read: “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat” (v.1).
Is it possible to buy what truly satisfies without money? Yes, the prophet Isaiah is pointing to the grace of God. This gift is so invaluable that no price tag is adequate. And the one who offers it—Jesus Christ—has paid the full price with His death. When we acknowledge our thirst for God, ask forgiveness for our sins, and accept the finished work of Christ on the cross, we will find spiritual food that satisfies and our soul will live forever!
He’s calling, “Come to Me” (Isa. 55:3). Only Jesus, the Living Water, satisfies the thirsty soul.

Numbers 5:7 "He shall make restitution for his trespass in full".
Forgive me, Lord, for all my sins,
The many wrongs that I have done;
And show me how to make things right
Before the setting of the sun.

In a self-centered world where we are conditioned to look out for our own interests above and beyond all else, such kindness was unexpected. The man’s simple gesture showed a different kind of heart and a different set of values. As followers of Christ, we are called to model a similar counter-cultural attitude toward life (Phil. 2:1-8).
In Hebrews 13:2 we read, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” What better way to represent Christ than with kindness—even to strangers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. —Hebrews 13:2

Do you feel as though God isn’t answering your prayers? Are you tempted to doubt His goodness? When I feel this way, I have to remind myself that my circumstances aren’t the barometer of God’s love and goodness—the cross is. He has shown how good He is by giving His only Son Jesus to die for our sin. We can’t rely on our feelings. But day by day as we choose to trust Him more, we learn to believe with confidence that God is good—all the time. 'Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way' Psalm 25:8. Circumstances aren’t the barometer of God’s love and goodness—the cross is.

One morning I was looking at a bouquet of flowers in a vase on an old carpenter’s bench in front of our “window on the world.” I realized the bouquet was spent; its leaves had wilted and the blossoms were falling.
The same morning I also read George Herbert and quite by “accident” came across his poem titled “Life.” In it Herbert talks about a “posy” (a bouquet of flowers) he gathered so that he could smell the fragrance. But, as he put it, “Time did beckon to the flowers, and they by noon most cunningly did steal away, and withered in my hand.”
The loss of his flowers caused him at first to see “time’s gentle admonition.” Herbert wrote that it “[made] my mind to smell my fatal day; yet sugaring the suspicion.” Yet even as the wilted flowers reminded him of his own death, he found in the metaphor something that sweetened the thought. Herbert concluded:
Farewell dear flowers, sweetly your time ye spent,
Fit, while ye lived, for smell or ornament,
And after death for cures.
I follow straight without complaints or grief,
Since if my scent be good, I care not, if
It be as short as yours.
What wisdom in this poem! Our time, however short, may be spent “sweetly”—a sweet fragrance of Christ to others (2 Cor. 2:14-16). Should not this be our prayer each day as we arise?
Farewell dear flowers, sweetly your time ye spent,
Fit, while ye lived, for smell or ornament,
And after death for cures.
I follow straight without complaints or grief,
Since if my scent be good, I care not, if
It be as short as yours.
A godly life is a fragrance that draws others to Christ.

We are travelers—pilgrims—in a world that offers no lasting peace or rest. And while there is only one eternity, we travel between eternity past and eternity future, waiting for promises of a home and a hope that will last forever—promises yet to be fulfilled.
In those times of struggle and despair when our pilgrimage of life is difficult, it is helpful to remember that though we are pilgrims who travel between the eternities, we have a Savior who is the Lord and Master of eternity. He has offered us the promise of life with Him forever and has secured that promise with His own sacrifice. This was the promise spoken of by the writer of Hebrews 11:13.
We are locked into the moments and hours and days of life, but we look ahead by faith in Christ. One day, we will experience the promises of eternity when faith will become sight as we see Him. That hope is what lifts us beyond life between the eternities to a joy that is eternal. For time and eternity, Jesus is all we need.

According to Chambers, “A warning is a great arresting statement of God’s, inspired by His love and patience.” The evidence of this is found in the many commands that are coupled with phrases like “that it may go well with you” (Deut. 4:40; 12:28).
In loving relationships, people warn one another of the inevitable consequences of foolish behavior. In unhealthy relationships, people threaten one another with punishment if they fail to live up to unreasonable demands.
As we interact with others, it’s good to consider the nature of our counsel and commands. Do we use ultimatums to preserve our own well-being? Or do we lovingly warn others to keep them from harm? Warnings are an expression of love; threats are an expression of control.