Tag Archives: scripture

Don’t Let it Fester

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A few days ago I shared a joke which had come my way. It was about people being angry and not talking to each other, but it was written to be humorous and indeed it was.

However, anger is a poisonous emotion to the one who harbors it. There are many, many things that make us angry in day to day life, whether in the media, a family, a workplace, friendships, and yes, even in a church.

The thing about anger is to feel it, acknowledge it, speak about it if we must, but then try to get rid of it as soon as possible. It can be healthy to realize that there are things that do make us angry, that everything in life is not fair, or just, or even acceptable. We may justify what makes us angry, but whether or not we are justified is something only we can decide after a good long soul search.

Anger is a very natural reaction to unnatural behaviors. But a festering anger can itself cause unnatural behaviors in the person who harbors it, and it can be poisonous…very poisonous.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger…Ephesians 4:31

Easier said than done, but healthier in the long run…don’t let it fester.

 

 

 

I Am Strong

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We may experience weaknesses of many varieties such as physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, financial, moral, etc., but there is an antidote, and that is…strength.

…let the weak say, “I am strong” (Joel 3:10)

Its a new Sunday…enjoy.

Fun in a Mailbox

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Smiley

Sometimes a chuckle will come out of nowhere just when you need one. I love to laugh but don’t always find something to laugh about. I found the following on an advertisement in my mailbox yesterday.

THE SILENT TREATMENT

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5 a.m. for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, “Please wake me a 5 a.m.”. He left if where he knew she would find it. The next morning the man woke up, only to discover it was 9 a.m. And he missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn’t wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, “It is 5 a.m. Wake up.”

How many wives are having a little “tee hee”? How many husbands are groaning?

…do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Ephesians 4:26

 

My Happiness

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The other day I caught myself humming a song recorded by Connie Francis in 1959, My Happiness. It was one of my favorites of the time and it popped into my head on Wednesday, January 6th. Why? Because I was feeling very happy. It was my birthday. I’m always happy on my birthday and look forward to it every year. This birthday was kind of special in that it was the first day of the last year of the seventh decade of my life. Am I happy to be saying good-bye to the seventies? Not so much, knowing there are fewer years ahead of me, but there is also a whole new decade coming up, in which, God willing, I hope to experience even more happiness.

For one thing there is a brand new family member coming to meet me in July, my eighth great-grandchild expected on July 3rd. Also, another one of my grandchildren is getting married in 2016, setting the scene for even more great-grandchildren.

Having had a few weeks of unpleasant health problems at the end of my seventy-eighth year, on my birthday I found out that although the diagnosis and prognosis are not excellent, at least they aren’t fatal, and medication should contribute to better control and more comfortable living.

I’m looking forward to enjoying my seventy-ninth year and all that it holds in store, while being mindful of Proverbs 15:13 – A happy heart makes the face cheerful…

My Happiness is still playing in my head. I don’t mind if it stays there for the next three-hundred-and-fifty-eight days.

 

100 Years and Counting!

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I was delighted to hear that one of our church members recently celebrated his one hundredth birthday with not one, but two celebrations.  This delightful gentleman is of tall, straight stature and occupies a third from the front row pew every Sunday. He continues to drive, and up until a few years ago, drove “old” people to their appointments. He keeps fit by doing “the bicycle” every morning, walking every day, except for icy weather, and climbing up and down stairs during television commercials. He belongs to a community center where he enjoys shuffleboard and other activities. He is pleasant to look at, pleasant to speak with, and travels a few miles out of town every weekend to visit his daughter.

Because of being “under the weather”, I missed the church celebration of his Big Day, which I hear was a huge success with lots of food, two giant cakes, and a pile of birthday cards. I hope I’m well for his one hundred and twentieth!

So the Lord said, “My spirit won’t remain with human beings forever because they are truly mortal. Their lifespan will be one hundred and twenty years.” (Genesis 6:3 ISV)

 

 

 

 

 

Not Alone

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It is one of those years when Christmas is not going to be very merry for some people. There are those who have lost loved ones over this past year, or even over a few years, who, although surrounded by family and friends will still feel alone. It comes with the territory; their special person is no longer with them to share the season with. There will be no special gift to think about, no one to decorate the tree with, no one to put their pinky to the wishbone with them. Each year gets a little easier, but for those spending a first Christmas without their loved one, this will be the most difficult.

Let there be some consolation in the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:20, “And surely I am with you always…”

If we believe in those words, feel the memory of love, submit to the peace of the season, we will realize that in most ways we are not alone.

 

 

Help My Unbelief

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You know what? I’m no theologian, clergy person, or Bible scholar, but I am a strong believer with an abundance of faith, and tend to take God’s promises seriously. However, I am not naive enough to expect that even though my motto is “All Things Are Possible” that all things are going to be possible. There are some limitations to human expectations and experiences.

It’s wonderful to pray for and with people who, despite limitations being a possibility, still hope enough to entertain the possibility that their prayers can and will be answered. Believing is a huge part of experiencing answered prayers.

There are those of us who pray that our belief and faith will trump the doubt on the recipient’s part, and so go ahead and pray for miracles. Some will say that this gives false hope. False or not, all hope is conducive to positive feelings which help people expect the best outcome for their situation…come what may.

Alexander Pope wrote in An Essay on Man, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast”…

Mark tells the story of the healing of a boy with an evil spirit since childhood. The boy’s father begged Jesus, “…if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” The boy’s father responded, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Jesus then relieved the boy of the evil spirit. (Mark 9:14-29)

Help my unbelief…what a pleading, positive and powerful prayer.

What Love is Not

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Many couples include in their marriage ceremony 1 Corinthians 13, what love is. “Love is patient, kind, it protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres…” and that is all good and wonderful. However, it should also be included in the lives of those who choose not to go the marriage route; it still applies; after all a relationship is a relationship; and love is love.

But what happens when things do not pan out after the love bug’s bite fades to a scar, the itch of passion has been soothed and the romance blinders come off? It has been said that love is blind; and maybe it is, because now our perfect person is slightly less so, as is the pleasing personality that first attracted us. We are no longer the center of attention, the object of affection, the beauty of the beholder. We are, alas, merely human, and our partner will continue to love us despite our human failings…or not.

Here is what love is not: love does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil and never fails. Never fails? you say. That’s right…never fails, because love accepts our failings and idiosyncrasies, and makes allowances for what was not apparent in the infatuation stage. Love does that..if it doesn’t…it isn’t love.

Love is patient, love is kind, love trusts, love hopes, love perseveres.

Love is the antidote for what love is not.

Call on the Power Inherent in You

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Deep within us is a vast reservoir of untapped power waiting to be used…so wrote Norman Vincent Peale. I also wrote about this power within in my poem, All Things Are Possible, in 1984: to wit, all goals can be reached, all dreams can come true, when you call on the Power inherent in you. 

Here are a few Biblical points on power:

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV)

A wise man has great power...(Proverbs 24:5 NIV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…(Acts 1:8 NIV)

…I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you….(Romans 9:17 NIV)

And then there is this poem which I wrote in 1998:

THE POWER OF YOU

If you would be more powerful

release your ego

let it soar

let the roar of you subside,

look inside,

see the power of you

released

to empower others.

©1998

Empowering others does not decrease our own power, but on the contrary, seems to enhance it so that we are ready at a moment’s notice to boost those in need of a surge.

Go ahead, call on The Power.

 

 

 

 

 

No Matter What

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Here is a verse that had me baffled for awhile. The promise is so promising that I didn’t expect to experience anything but wonderful events in my life.

However, what followed after reading Jeremiah 29:11 in 1995 was anything but promising.

Through the years, I suffered broken bones, business loss, cancer, heart disease, and the death of the second love of my life,

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

These are the plans you have for me Lord? Forgive me if I don’t seem too excited to embrace them!

But embrace them I did. My bones healed; caregiving replaced retailing; I survived lung cancer and heart disease, and grief gave way to peaceful acceptance. Prosperity isn’t always of monetary value. Believe me, I am prosperous in more ways than one.

The point is to keep on believing in God’s good, despite the disasters life throws at us.

Through it all, my faith stayed strong…no matter what.