Masks

Do you wear a mask?  I'm not talking about the face covering we have all been wearing to protect each other from Covid-19.  I'm talking about the invisible masks we wear to prevent others from seeing us as the person we really are deep down inside.

The person we don't want anyone to see.

Masks come in different materials.  Some are bright, shiny faces when, really, we are depressed.

Some show courage, when inside, we are fearful.

Some are more popular than others, they are the Masks of, "I belong, even though I feel alone," and my favorite, "I'm fine," when really, I'm just trying to do the best I can to make it through another day.

Masks also have different layers, depending on the amount of time you wear one.  If you are just putting on a new mask, others might actually see you through your disguise, but if you've been wearing one for years, the layers of your mask may be many, and you will be able to fool even the most discerning friend.

How about the 'Christian Mask' when deep down inside, you know you still need a Saviour.

We wear masks because we want to be accepted, to feel as if we are apart of something, we want to belong.

We wear masks because of pride.  We don't want anyone to know we have a problem.

I want you to know that Jesus sees you for who you are and loves you anyway.

For the lost, Jesus asks you to trust Him because He already loves you.  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

For the Saved, Jesus says, 'To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.'  Ephesians 1:6

God doesn't want us to wear masks, He sees us anyway.

So let's be real.  It's the only way to truly help carry the burdens of others.

But that's just me!

Where I found Truth, there found I my God, who is the Truth itself-Augustine

Incense

And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full or odours, which are the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 5:8

Burning incense in the Old Testament was instrumental in the Worship of God.  The priests would burn this incense just outside the curtain to the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.  This incense was a sweet smelling sacrifice to God.

According to Revelation 5:8, the prayers of the Saints work in the same way the burning of incense did in the Old Testament.  Isn't that a beautiful picture of our prayers?

Prayer is Worship.  When we make our requests known to God through prayer, we are acknowledging that He is God and only He can answer and meet each of our needs.  When we pray thanking God for answered prayer, we are acknowledging that there is none like Him and He is worthy to be praised.

Matthew 27:51 tells us that there is no more veil separating us from access to God.

Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Because of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, we have an open invitation to bring our petitions straight to God.  And in doing so, our prayers become a sweet smelling savor to the One Who is Worthy of all praise.

So Christian, how is your prayer life?

I don't know about you, but I want my prayers pouring out before my Saviour!

But that's just me!

Prayer is releasing the energies of God, for prayer is asking God to do what we cannot do ourselves-

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Compassion

Psalm 111:4b The LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

Psalm 86:15 But thou, O LORD, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

Matthew 9:36a But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them.

Having compassion is when you sympathize with someone else's distress enough that you desire to alleviate their pain.  You go the extra mile and put action behind the emotion you feel towards that person.  You show kindness and mercy to meet someone's need.

Yesterday our church received a letter from a Missionary serving on a foreign field.  The conditions in that area lack basic, human needs and because of this lack a woman lost her four month old child.  When I read this letter, I wept.  After I wept I took action.  I prayed and asked God, 'What can I do to help?'  I immediately contacted our Pastor and we organized a Love Offering to be taken up on behalf of this Missionary, to help purchase the basic needs for the families he ministers to in his area.

When was the last time you saw a need and were moved to compassion?

May God always keep our hearts tender to those in need.  To show them love, give them help, let them know that we care....but that's just me!

Jude 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference.

Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

"Ye have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." 

        John Bunyan

CPR

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Webster's definition of CPR:  "Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation;  a procedure designed to restore normal breathing after cardiac arrest."

In other words, it brings to life a heart that has stopped working.

For Christians, we use the term REVIVAL. 

But let me ask you, what has caused your heart to stream-line in the Lord's work?

    Offences?

    Laziness?

    The planets no longer revolve around you?

I drove through the drive thru of Starbucks last week and I could see through their window what someone had written on their chalkboard  that hung on the wall next to their entrance.  It said, 

"Before I agree to 2021, I want to read the Terms and Conditions."

I chuckled when I first read that, because after 2020 we are all left wondering what this New Year will bring.  (No worries...God is still in control!)

We sign Forms explaining Terms and Conditions every day and most of the time we don't even read what they are!  At the offices of our health care providers, making purchases, making returns...and we agree to follow them.

And yet as Christians, sometimes in our Service to the Lord, we reject His Terms and Conditions and we write out our own.

"Ok Lord, I will do this....but only if..."

Serving the Lord doesn't work that way. 

So, what's it going to take to jumpstart your service for the Lord?  What will it take to get you to accept the Lord's Terms and Conditions?

Don't wait too long, we don't have too long to wait! 

Serving my Saviour will be on His Terms and Conditions, not mine,...but that's just me!

"One moment in eternity, what difference will it make?

Decisions that I make today, the path I choose to take?

Will I be filled with joy or shame when at His feet I bow?

One moment in eternity, I'll wish I had loved Him now."  

    One Moment in Eternity by Niki Lott

"How utterly terrible is the current idea that Christians can serve God at their own convenience."

A.W. Tozer

"No man ever served God by doing things tomorrow."  Charles Spurgeon

 

Anxiety

I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.  Psalm 34:4

Webster's Dictionary defines an  anxiety attack as: an episode of intense anxiety:  a temporary condition during which a person experiences significant levels of anxiety:  refers to a palpable reaction or process taking place at a given time.

I have a confession to make.  I have panic attacks.  Sometimes my panic attacks are debilitating.  I never know when they will occur, or where I will be when they happen.  Most times, I don't even know what triggers them.  All of a sudden my heart speeds up, my blood pressure drops.  That's a hard confession to make, after all, I'm a born-again Christian.  We aren't supposed to have anxiety, fears, worries, you fill-in-the-blank, right?  Wrong.  We are but dust, and I'm thankful that the Lord knows and understands my frame.

During a recent, mild, panic attack, God revealed something to me.  I realized that I get all worked up in anxiety because I am fighting and resisting something that I cannot control.  Instead of accepting what God is allowing in my life, and relying on His strength, in exchange for my weakness, I fight it.  

The moment I realized that, and surrendered my will to His Will. my anxiety began to fade.

Will I continue to have such moments?  Probably, but when that time comes, I will accept it, and overcome it through Christ!

But that's just me!

The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.  Psalm 29:11

"Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears."  Rudyard Kipling

"Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere."  Erma Bombeck