Testimony

2 Corinthians 8:21 Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

I went grocery shopping the other day, and when I got home and began putting the items away, I realized I was missing my bananas.  I looked at my receipt to make sure that, yes, I had purchased bananas, but now they were no where to be found.  So I called the Store and spoke to a gal that I have known for over 20 years and told her that I was missing an item I had purchased.  My husband was still at work, so she told me to tell him to come on back to the store and get the bananas.  No receipt required.

She said that, because she knows my testimony.  She can trust me.

Three days later, my husband and I got into the car, and found the missing bananas.  They had fallen out of the grocery bag and landed under the seat.  I was horrified!

I felt like Achan and the hidden treasure!  I knew I had to make this right.

I went back to the grocery store, found my friend, showed her the receipt for the purchased bananas that had been lost and then found and explained to her that I needed to pay for the 'replacement bananas' my husband had picked up the other day.  Of course, my friend laughed about it, but then when she looked at my stricken face, she patted me on the shoulder and said, "This must have been bothering you all week!"

She was right.  

It did bother me.  My friend trusts me to be honest and I did not want to do anything to break that trust.  Would she have ever known that I had found the missing bananas?  No, but I knew, and more importantly, God knew.

What about you?  If you get a little extra change back at the store, do you keep it, or do you hand it back?

I learned a lot that day.  I learned that I have a testimony in my community.  I learned that people trust me, and that I do not want to ever break that trust, even if making it right can be embarrassing.

I also learned that should I ever miss a grocery item again, the first place I look is under the seat of my car!

But that's just me!

"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved."  George Macdonald

  

Laughter

I have a very distinct laugh, or, so I've been told.  I was in a store the other day laughing with one of the clerks that worked there, and a friend of mine walked up to me and said, "I thought it was you."  I asked her how she knew I was here, and she lovingly said, "I heard your laugh."  I was identified, not because my laugh was obnoxiously loud, but that it belonged to me.

I have the legacy of my Mom's smile and laugh and for that I am truly thankful.

My Mom had a laugh that was contagious.  She brought joy to those around her.  She felt her joy  way down deep into her very bones, and wrapped those around her in her happiness.  My Mom use to tell me, "Honey, if you're going to laugh, then laugh!  Share your joy-it will uplift others!"

And so I do.

Laughter can lift a hurting heart.  It's a response to an emotion that let's others know, 'Hey, it's going to be ok.'

I miss my Mom's laugh....until I begin to laugh, and then I know that she is still right here with me.

So go ahead and laugh.  I am...but that's just me!

Proverbs 17:22a A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:

"Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion"  Unknown

"Laughter is the most beautiful and beneficial therapy God ever granted to humanity."  Chuck Swindoll

Every Thing

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

As Creator, Jesus made every thing with a purpose and for a purpose.  Nothing is ever wasted, and there is nothing He cannot use to further His Kingdom.  Scripture is full of examples that God has used for His Divine purpose, from people, places, animals, weather, rocks, and yes, even trees.  

We all have heard the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19.  Children in our Sunday School classes sing about the 'wee little man who climbed up in a sycamore tree to see what he could see.'  A tax collector, a cheater, a man who was small in stature, desperately climbed a tree to see the Saviour walk by.  Little did he know, that Jesus would be calling him out by name...personally, to dine with him in his home!

I recently read a devotion by Heidi Gaul about what spoke to her heart during this encounter in Scripture.  Heidi writes this, "It's not Jesus or Zacchaeus that captures my attention-it's the tree.  God had planted it years earlier for that specific purpose: to grow until one day a short man in need of salvation would climb it to see His Son."  She went on to say, "It's time to recognize the 'trees' in my life-the people and things Jesus has planted in the path of my salvation, and it's time for me to be a 'tree.'  Who can I help see the Saviour?"

I love that!

Think about it for a minute and let it really sink in:  Our Creator God planted, nourished and  grew a tree in that specific spot, in order to give this cheating tax collector a view of Jesus, Who already knew the exact place and time He would be standing, in order to meet the need of a lost Soul.  How very much like our loving Saviour, to meet our needs at the exact moment we need them!

I'm reminded of another tree-the tree our Creator planted that would grow into the very tree used to hang His Son on the Cross, to die in my place, for my sins.

There is a purpose for every thing.

Nothing is wasted-

I want to be a tree!  But that's just me!

Heidi Gaul is a Christian Author who writes devotionals for Guideposts and many Chicken Soup for the Soul.  The above quotes are from Mornings With Jesus 2021, Saturday, January 30th, Page 30.

You can connect with her at www.HeidiGaul.com and Facebook.com/HeidiGaulAuthor.

Quarantine

In the Old Testament we read that those who had leprosy were examined by the Priest, and then were placed without the camp.  The person who had leprosy had to walk around shouting, 'UNCLEAN!  UNCLEAN!' to keep others away from them and to avoid spreading this disease. 

The Old Testament had Priests, today we have our Local Health Department which sets guidelines for the protection of others.  We may not have to shout, 'UNCLEAN' but we sure feel that way. 

I've been exposed to Covid.  So, like many others, I have been quarantined in my own home.  It's not so bad, really.  I mean, I still have the comfort and luxury my home provides for me.  But I've noticed...although my physical needs are being met, loneliness begins to creep in.  I miss seeing my friends.  I miss seeing their smiles, giving them hugs and being hugged in return.

I'm thankful this will only last for 10 days.

During this time of isolation, we have the privilege of technology.  When we are separated from our friends, regardless of the circumstances, we can still reach out with a phone call, email or a text, and still feel like we 'belong.'   I'm thankful for that.

But then I am reminded that for some people, loneliness is an every day occurrence.  And it's not because they have been quarantined, but for the simple fact that they are alone.

Do you know anyone like that?  What are you doing about it?

Even though I am the one quarantined, I'm doing my part to reach out to others to let them know that I am praying for them and that they are loved and cared for...let's remember to not forget others!

But that's just me!

A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth:  and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!  Proverbs 15:23

"I'll lift you and you lift me, and we'll both ascend together.'  John Greenleaf Whittier

"A helping word to one in trouble is often like a switch on a railroad track, an inch between wreck and smooth, rolling prosperity."  Henry Ward Beecher

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