Peace of Heart and Mind

In John 14:27 we read some of Jesus' words to his disciples, and to us,  "I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give."  (New Living Translation)

A friend of mine told me recently that when her son and daughter-in-law were celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary, her son said in a teasing tone of voice,  "Nothing but smooth sailing all the way!"  Every person who has been married for ten years knows well that there are rough patches in every marriage.  In fact, there are bumps in the road in the life of every person.  Unfortunately, life is not always smooth sailing.

My mother-in-law used to talk about "peace at any price."  Truly, peace is priceless, because without it we cannot enjoy anything life has to offer.  Lack of peace infects every relationship and every event we experience.  But, if we are going to have peace, we must be able to find it in the storms of life, because the winds of adversity howl and the rains fall in torrents upon us from time to time.  If we are going to have peace, not only can it not come from our circumstances, but often it must come in spite of our circumstances.

How, then, can we find peace in the middle of the storms of life?  The secret is found in a well known passage of Scripture, Philippians 4:6-7, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds AS YOU LIVE IN CHRIST JESUS."  (New Living Translation).  And never forget, when you are in the furnace of affliction, the One who was in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrew men is in your furnace too!

Father, thank You that we can experience Your wonderful peace even in the most trying of circumstances, because our peace is found in You.  Thank you that wherever we are, You are there too!!!  Amen.

Gifts from God

Scott Willis was my very good friend.  He was often described as a Renaissance man because He was multi-talented in the arts.  In fact, I have never known anyone else as greatly gifted in so many areas.  His beautiful voice ministered to his fellow church members Sunday after Sunday.  His exquisite flower arrangements gave beauty to weddings and a multitude of other festive events throughout this area.  Not only was Scott a talented painter but a great art teacher as well.  The appearances of many homes in Decatur have been enhanced by his advice on colors, decorating, and furnishings.  Scott was forty seven years old when he died, but he touched and blessed the lives of many, many people during that short time because he so generously shared his talents with others.

      Spiritual gifts and natural talents such as musical or artistic ability are not necessarily the same, but they are all gifts from God.  When God wanted the Israelites to construct the Tabernacle, He had this to say in Exodus 35:30-35, 36:1, New Living Translation,  "And Moses told them, 'The Lord has chosen Bezalel.....The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, intelligence, and skill in all kinds of crafts.  He is able to create beautiful objects from gold, silver, and bronze.  He is skilled in cutting and setting gemstones and in carving wood.  In fact, he has every necessary skill.  And the Lord has given both him and Oholiab......the ability to teach their skills to others.  The Lord has given them special skills as jewelers, designers, weavers, and embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn on fine cloth.  They excel in all the crafts needed for their work.  Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other craftsmen whom the Lord has gifted with wisdom, skill, and intelligence will construct and furnish the Tabernacle, just as the Lord has commanded."  God gifted these men for the purposes of serving Him and blessing others with the beauty in the Tabernacle, and He gifts each of us for the same reasons--to serve Him and bless others.

Father, please show me how You would have me serve You and bless someone today.  Amen.    

A Good Foundation

Matthew 7:24-27,  "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew, and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

      I am adding a screened porch to the back side of my house.  The footings are poured, and the blocks have been laid.  As I look at them, I realize again how important the right foundation is in building a porch or in building a life.

      It is easy to understand why people who are not believers in Christ build their lives on such worldly foundations as fame, power, wealth, beauty, athletic ability, good times, or possessions.  Unfortunately, other people build their lives on such destructive or corrosive foundations as greed, hatred, revenge, drugs, alcohol, or crime.  However, even Christians can build their lives on the wrong foundations.

      Notice in the parable that both builders heard God's word, but the wise builder obeyed God's word as well.  The foolish builder failed to put God's word into practice but instead went his own way and did his own thing.

      If a person is obeying God's word, yielded to the lordship of God's Spirit, we should be able to see the fruit of the Spirit evidenced in his/her life-love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.  We aren't the judge of each other because we cannot see into another person's heart.  My friend Howard Ball says,  "You can spot a Christian every time--if you are God."   But I do think God tells us to be fruit inspectors to discern where people are and what their spiritual needs might be tin order to see how we could be of help.

      The storms of life eventually come to everyone.  Those who have built their lives on obedience to God and submission to Christ will withstand the winds of adversity, but those who have built on any other foundation will one day find themselves swept away in the storm.

Father, there is only one sure foundation in life, and that is You and Your word.  May I be discerning of the needs of others and help them to build on the Rock.  Amen.

Honkers or Wavers

I Thessalonians 5:11a,  "Encourage one another and build each other up."

      All too often, we can fall into the bad habit of focusing on each others' flaws and self-righteously pointing out each others' failures. 

We all have shortcomings, but, at the same time, most people have much to recommend them--talents, personality, character, intelligence.  We could be encouraging each other, helping each other to grow and improve.  We could be enjoying each other and working together for our mutual benefit, if we would concentrate on the assets of other people rather than their liabilities, if our perspective would be positive rather than negative.

      One of my all-time favorite devotionals was written by a lady named Bonnie Lukes and was published in "The Daily Guideposts." 

Bonnie's husband was driving them home in rush hour traffic one day when their car began to sputter and stall.  She said,  "Impatient commuters careened past, blasting their horns and mouthing angry words."  It made Bonnie feel disheartened to encounter such irate behavior.

      The following day Bonnie was pushing her mother in a wheel chair across a wide, busy street.  The light changed when they were midway across.  Bonnie was relieved to see that the motorists were patiently waiting and were waving her mother across the street.  Her mother was happily waving back.  Bonnie's conclusion: " THERE ARE WAVERS, AND THERE ARE HONKERS."  My questions:  Which are you?  Which do you want to be?

      We have no way of knowing the battles that other people are fighting in their lives.  Surely we do not want to add to their burdens but instead would seek to lift their spirits.

      I don't know who wrote the following poem, but it gives us food for thought.  May it be our prayer for today.

                   "Lord, give me eyes lest I, as people often will,

                    Should pass by someone's Calvary and think it just a hill."  Amen.

The Word

John 1:1, 14a,  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.....The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."

    The Bible is God's written Word.  It tells us what God is like.  It displays his attributes.  He is all knowing, all powerful, holy, righteous, just, truthful, faithful, merciful, forgiving, full of love and grace.
    The Bible also tells us what kind of characteristics God desires to see in us--such traits as faith, courage, kindness, faithfulness, integrity, humility.  Not only does Scripture tell us about these attributes, but people in the Bible model some of these qualities so we can see how they are actually lived out.  For instance, Abraham modeled faith when he answered God's call to leave his home and most of his family and follow God's leading.  When I think of courage I remember young David facing the awesome giant Goliath with only five smooth stones, a sling, and faith in God.  For faithfulness we have the example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who refused to bow to an idol even though they knew it would result in their being thrown into a fiery furnace.  And Joseph fleeing from the unwelcome advances of Potiphar's wife gives us a very clear picture of integrity.
    Jesus on earth personified God's attributes for us.  The Bible TELLS us about God, but Jesus' life, death, and resurrection SHOW us God in person.  In Him we see how God's attributes are to be applied in a human life.  The greatest example of love the world has ever known is the cross of Christ.  So, Scripture is the written Word, but Jesus is the Living Word, our gracious God in the flesh showing us how to live and making it possible by empowering us through the Holy Spirit to follow His example.

Father, thank You for Your written Word, which TELLS  us about You and for Your Living Word, Jesus Christ, Who SHOWED us who You are and made it possible, through the cross, for us to experience the Christian life by the Holy Spirit's power within us.  Amen.