Kindness

      One of the most underrated qualities in the list of the fruit of the Spirit is just plain old-fashioned kindness.  God must really love to see us being kind to each other, because He has much to say about it in the Bible.

      Hebrews 10:24,  "In response to all he has done for us, let us outdo each other in being helpful and kind to each other and in doing good."

      Colossians 3:12,  "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."

      One of the first Bible verses I ever memorized came from I Thessalonians 5:15, and the version I learned was,  "Be ye kind one to another."

      If you will think back over your life, I bet you can remember many special times when you were needy in some way and someone treated you with kindness or gave you words of encouragement.  Literature is full of stories about the heartwarming and transforming power of encouraging words and kind deeds.  These can lift our spirits when we feel downtrodden and give us courage and hope to keep on keeping on when life is hard.  How gratifying, how beautiful it is to witness the transformations of a sad, gloomy face breaking into a smile, to watch sagging shoulders lift hopefully, and to see dragging feet begin to step with energy and purpose again.  What a joy and a privilege it is to be used as God's messenger to bring comfort and hope to someone by a few kind words or a thoughtful deed.

Father, may I be a channel of Your kindness and love everywhere I go. 

Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

It's not the cooking that I mind so much—

The mixing and the stirring and the baking and such—

But what usually has me all shook

Is trying to decide just WHAT to cook!

From Creation to Creator

Psalm 74:16-17,  "Both day and night belong to you. You made the starlight and the sun.  You set the boundaries of the earth, and you make both summer and winter."

      I can hardly stay inside during the crisp, sunshiny autumn days when the leaves blaze forth in apple red, yellow as gold, and brilliant orange.  One of my friends has just returned from a trip through the Rocky Mountains, and she is still misty eyed as she replays in her mind all the majestic beauty which passed before her in scene after scene. 

When our children were young, my husband and I often took them for Sunday afternoon hikes through the woods, over a soft carpet of pine needles, by gurgling streams, across green meadows, and over all kinds of rock formations.

      In our modern world we are all too often surrounded by bricks, wood, and metal and by concrete and asphalt.  Once we are surrounded by the beauty and wonder of nature, it becomes so obvious that it is God's creation.  His wisdom and power and goodness are stamped all over it. 

We have an enemy who would like for us to doubt the existence of God, but if he ever tries to throw those darts of doubt in my direction, my mind goes immediately to creation and from there to Creator.

      One of my most vivid memories is hiking a short distance into the Grand Canyon before sunrise with my family and watching the sun come up across the multicolored rock formations.  We affirmed our faith in our Creator by reading these wonderful words from Psalm 19:1-4a,  "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

Thank You, Father, for leaving a witness to Yourself in creation where all can see and know that You are, indeed, God.  Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

This time of year one thing is hard--

We have double duty in the yard.

The grass from summer is still growing,

So we're raking leaves AND still mowing.

Christlikeness

      I was reading through the Bible again in my One Year Bible when I came across a passage of Scripture with a date and three stars drawn beside it.  This was a notation to me that these verses had been of great importance at some time in my life.  I don't remember the incident that coincides with the date beside the verses, but there have been many occasions when I have needed to apply this passage of Scripture.  As I read the verses in Ephesians 4:2-3 again, I realized that they describe what, for me, is the essence of a Christlike spirit.

  These verses say,  "Be humble and gentle.  Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other's faults because of your love.  Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace."

      God has created each one of us with a special set of strengths and weaknesses.  It is human nature to want to point out the sins and shortcomings of others with glee and crow over them, bringing them up often and repeating them loudly for others to hear.  But that's just the opposite of Christlikeness.  The Bible tells us that the qualities that please God are kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love. 

Proverbs 10:12,  "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs."  Proverbs 17:9,  "He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends."  I Peter 4:8, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."  Ephesians 4:32,  "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  I Thessalonians 5:15a,  "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up."

      Our gifts and aptitudes balance the weaknesses of others, and their gifts and aptitudes fill in where we are weak.  This is one reason that people with opposite personalities attract each other so often.  God made us that way on purpose so we would need to depend upon each other and would be most effective as we work together.  As my pastor Mat says,  "Everybody has a seat on the bus."

Father, may I remember that You have made each person for a special purpose in Your plans.  Each individual is valuable, and each one has an important and unique place.  May I always treat others with kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love, as You have treated me. 

Amen.