Life's Little Frustrations

The rain leaves the trees so fresh and green,

No dust, no dirt, all nice and clean.

One quick shower, and then it's passed.

I wish I could dust my house that fast!

Goodness and Mercy

Psalm 23:6a,  "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."

      Surely.  Certainly.  Without a doubt.  You can count on it.  Great is the faithfulness of our God.  We can trust Him with our whole hearts.

      It is easy to see that God's goodness and mercy are following us when all is going well in our lives.  But when there are health problems. financial difficulties, wayward children, tragic events, and the death of someone we love, it is much harder to see God's hand of goodness and mercy, but we can know that it is still there.  He has promised to cause all circumstances to work for our ultimate good.  It is not our circumstances which reveal the extent of God's love for us--it is the cross!  If we only remember one thing about the Christian life, let it be,  "Jesus loves me.  This I know, for the Bible tells me so."  Never doubt God's love and goodness and mercy.

      God's goodness and mercy follow us.  He doesn't just sit in heaven and observe us as we struggle through our days on earth.  He enters into our lives in intimate ways, comforting us, guiding us, encouraging us, answering our prayers--and we can count on Him to do this as long as we live.  He  will never desert us, never leave us to our own devises, never make us depend solely upon our human resources.  He is our Immanuel--God with us.

      I love the way the psalmist summed these thoughts up in Psalm 73:23-24, 26,  "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.....My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

                                                                             

Father, thank You for Your goodness and mercy which follow us as long as we live.  Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

Why are pounds so easy to gain but oh so hard to lose?

I think because it's fun to eat but no fun at all to refuse.

My Overflowing Cup

Psalm 23:5c,  "My cup runs over," or "My cup overflows."

      In David's day if a host kept his guest's cup full, it meant that the guest was still welcome, but when an empty cup was not refilled the host was hinting that it was time for the guest to go home.  If the cup was poured so full it overflowed, that symbolized that the host was thoroughly enjoying the guest, and the host very much wanted the guest to stay.  His company was greatly desired.

      God has filled my cup to overflowing over and over with so many good gifts.  He has lavished His love on me, given it in abundance, much more than enough, "a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over."  I John 3:1a says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!"

      As I come to the Lord empty and needy, He fills my cup with rest and peace, with strength and endurance, wisdom and guidance, encouragement and love, mercy and grace.  Whatever I need, He gives me.

  All I can do in the face of such generosity is thank Him and praise Him for filling my cup to overflowing time and time again.  David felt the same way when he wrote these words in Psalm 9:1-2,  "I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.  I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."

Father, how I thank You and praise You today for Your goodness and Your generosity.  Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

You can have computerized directions and a GPS, 

A cell phone to guide you, but I must confess 

I still want to have an old fashioned map 

Made out of paper and unfolded on my lap.

Oil of the Holy Spirit

During Bible times kings and priests were anointed with oil as part of their appointment to their offices.  We, too, are "anointed" as a part of our induction into the family of God.  Oil is often a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit who seals us when God makes us His children. Ephesians 1:13-14 gives us these reassuring words,  "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."

     
Just as the oil had several purposes in the lives of sheep, God's Holy Spirit has several purposes in the life of a Christian.  During the mating season the rams swagger around trying to catch the eyes of certain ewes.  If two rams desire the attention of the same ewe, a vicious battle may ensue.  The rams will charge each other with antlers lowered, and they may literally "lock horns."  In so doing, rams can become seriously wounded or even killed.  When the mating season begins, many shepherds smear a liberal amount of grease on the antlers of the rams so that when they fight their horns will slide off each other rather than inflicting harm.

      
We tend to become jealous or competitive, to fight with other people, to "lock horns" when we want our own way.  If we have an application of the Holy Spirit, however, His graciousness will make us kinder and more gentle to the people in our lives.

      
Another purpose of the oil was to aid in healing wounds.  The precious Holy Spirit comes alongside to comfort and heal us when we have been wounded by the unkindness of others or the trauma of tragic events.

Thank You, Father, for helping us live peacefully with each other and for Your healing of the wounds in our lives.  Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

Have you ever been roused from a deep, peaceful slumber
By the telephone's ring--and it was a wrong number?