Afflicted or Merry?

"Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.  Is any merry? let him sing psalms."

James 5:13

There are two responses to two types of situations:

    When I am afflicted, (troubled mentally or physically) I am to pray.

    When I am merry, (full of high spirit) then I am to sing psalms.

I am to pray to The One Who can remove my affliction-

I am to praise The One Who brings me joy!

So, the question is, do I go to Him when I am troubled, or is my first response to turn to a friend or family member for help?

When all is well, do I remember to praise The One Who causes me to rejoice?  Or do I take my present circumstance for granted?

A lot to think about today from such a small verse...

    But that's just me!

"As sure as God puts His children in the furnace of affliction, He will be with them."

Charles Spurgeon

"Joy is not the absence of suffering, it is the presence of God."

Robert Schuller

In Truth

"The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." 

 Psalm 145:18

"The LORD is nigh"- Our Lord is near.

"Unto all them that call upon him."-This is a promise for all.

"*To all that call upon him in truth."- is a conditional promise based on truth.

God knows our hearts.  He knows when we are just going through the motions, or the mechanics of worship and prayer. God knows when we lie, exaggerate or polish up a sin to make it not seem so sinful.

But when we do that, we are pushing away the only One Who promises to draw near.

I remember when I was a little girl, my mom would ask me a direct question about something that I did. 

She already knew the truth, already had the facts and evidence of my transgression, but she would still ask me what happened.

Sometimes I would start out with a lie.  

I can still see her face when she looked at me and said, 'When you are ready to tell me the truth, I will listen."  And then she would walk away.

The absence of my mother's presence provoked me to tell her the truth.

God's presence provokes me to call upon Him in Truth.

The Lord promises to be near us...

        When we call upon Him in truth...

            Truth matters to God...

                But that's just me!

-

Good Gifts

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"   Words of Jesus, Matthew 7:11

Don't you just love giving gifts to your children?  I do.  I love it when I see a need in their lives, and I can provide it for them.  When they were younger, they would ask for certain things; sometimes we could get it for them and sometimes not.  Sometimes they asked for things that were not good for them, and so as parents, we had to discern what was best for our children to have or not have.  I especially love to surprise them with unexpected gifts.  Unexpected gifts are often times the most treasured.  To be given something when you least expect it, allows the receiver to understand grace and unconditional love.

My Heavenly Father delights in gift giving!  His gifts are always state-of-the-art and top-of-the-line.  They are not 'used,' 'second-hand,' 'left-overs,' or the wrong size.  His gifts for me are not universal, one-size- fits-all, but His gifts for me are personal.

His gifts are just for me.

His gifts are not thought-less, but thought-full.  He knows just what I need.  (even before I ask)

When I continue to be persistent in my prayers, He is faithful to answer my prayers, and to not only give me what I ask for, but He gives me more than I could ever ask for.  He goes above and beyond all expectations when giving me gifts.

And not just physical provisions and needs, but my emotional and Spiritual needs as well.

Sometimes my gift is 'no.'

I accept that gift because it is the best gift for me at that time.

Jesus is all I need.

Jesus is not only the Giver of the gifts...He is also the gift.

God is faithful to give us good things...

    Not only for our good...

        But for the good of others...

            But that's just me!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.  James 1:17

Cute Little Sayings

As I sit in my chair and look out the window this morning, in the early morning of the rising sun, the skies are a red and orange hue.  I'm reminded of an old saying that went something like this:  "Red at night, Sailor's delight, red in the morning, Sailor's warning."

Then I began to think of other cute little sayings that I have heard from time to time, either by sound bites on TV, or in everyday conversations, and realized that these sayings are in reality, shortcuts and simplified statements from verses in the word of God.

Let me give you some other examples.

The cute little saying, "A little bird told me "Actually, is found in Ecclesiastes 10:20; "Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter."

"Look before you leap." is found in Proverbs 14:15.  "The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going."

How about, "When you pay it forward, it will come back to you."  It's not 'Karma' my friend, it's the promise of God.  You can find this in Galatians 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

What about when you find yourself "between a rock and a hard place?"  That's found in 1 Samuel 14:4a.

"And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side:"

It's actually been fun to ponder what cute little sayings I have heard and compare them with Scripture to see where this thought actually originated.

There's a lot more out there, can you find them yourself?

The next time I hear a cute little saying...

    I will search God's Word...

        to see what He has to say about it...

            But that's just me!

Oh-the cute little saying about the red sky in the morning and the red sky at night, you can find in Matthew 16:2,3 from the words of Jesus Himself.  He says, "He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.  And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"

Comfort and Edify

"Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Such a short verse but packed with so much!

This tiny verse exhorts us to be mindful of what others are going through.

We are to:

    Give strength, hope and cheer to others-

    We are to ease the grief or trouble of others-

    We are to console others-

    We are to assist, support, give aid to in time of worry or trouble-

    We are to be dependable-

And those are all just definitions for the word 'comfort.'

We are also called to edify one another, which means:

    To instruct and improve in moral and religious knowledge-

    We are to uplift, inform and enlighten-

    Build up-

    Establish-

    Nurture.

I had to ask myself, "Am I too busy with 'self' and my own life that I don't see what others are going through around me?"

"Do I even care?"

"Am I too tired to make the effort to comfort and edify someone else?"

There is a right way and a wrong way to comfort and edify others:

    Not everyone needs to hear platitudes-

    Not everyone needs to be reminded to pick themselves back up by their bootstraps-

No, sometimes they just need someone to pray with them.  They need someone to sit silently by their side.  Sometimes things aren't going to work out the way we thought they would, but it's nice to know that someone cares enough to be there with you.

God help us to be discerning enough...

        care enough...

             love enough...

                 to know HOW to help those in need...

                        But that's just me!

    

Keys

 "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and of death."  The words of Jesus, Revelation 1:18

This afternoon, I put my dog on a leash, put keys in my pocket and headed out the door for our afternoon walk.  Halfway through our walk, a sense of foreboding entered my mind.

"I think I grabbed the wrong keys."

When I got home, I realized that, yes, I had grabbed the wrong keys.

Locked out!  

I had to call my husband at work to tell him that I was locked out, and could he please come home to let me back into the house.  "On my way."  he said.

I was no longer worried about being locked out, because I knew that my husband carried in his pocket the right set of keys to let me back into the house.

It brought to mind another set of keys, the keys to death and hell.

And it brought to mind Who holds the keys:  Our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to Webster, one definition of Key, is: "A means of gaining or preventing entrance, possession, or control."

A Key will lock or unlock, it will secure.  A key is access, admission, admittance, a doorway, entry, gateway or ticket.

Only One Person holds the keys.

This Person is also the Door.  

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."

The words of Jesus, John 10:9

How will you enter eternity?  Through The Door?  Or will you be locked out?

    Make sure you know the One Who holds the Keys...

        But that's just me!

9/11

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him."

Lamentations 3:21-24

On this date, since 2001, we witness tributes, read memorials, and remember the greatest tragedy to literally hit American soil in our Nation's history.  We remember lost family, friends, and first-responders.  We remember who we were with, where we were, and what we were doing when the Twin Towers began to crumble after the first attack at 7:14 AM CDT.  We recall choices made in split-seconds of time that forever altered our daily lives and continue to haunt our memories to this day.  We wonder, "What if..."

Those left behind must continue in the footsteps of the fallen, and remember where our Hope comes from.

Our hope comes from the Lord.

Jeremiah penned these verses, moved by the Holy Spirit of God, when he was pressed to the point of despair.  Have you been there?

I have.

At that time, I never thought I would recover.

BUT GOD.

There are times in our past, there are times in our present and there will be times in the future when we will feel as if we are consumed.  Take heart!  We are promised to never be completely destroyed.

We are promised to be enveloped in the Divine Mercies of God Himself.

As we remember our history on this day...

    may we always be ready to recall...

        The blessings, mercies and faithfulness of God.

            But that's just me!

"When you come to the end of your rope, reach for the hem of His garment."  Anonymous