Our Needs

As we observe our world around us, we see certain people having great needs. Some of these are basic to living--food, clothing, shelter and a job to provide these for our families.

We all have a greater need in our lives, a need for God. We need to have a viable, living relationship with Him. A friend is scheduled for surgery in a bit over two months. A friend of church member is having surgery tomorrow. Both of these ladies--one of whom I know--are scared. My friend knows she is right with God. We talked this morning about the need to stay right. The lady at church will most likely have a similar conversation with her friend. We who call ourselves Christian should not be ashamed to ask the state of another one’s soul, a hard question, because we are commanded by God to care about them.

Another great need we have is the need for God’s guidance. With the present state of our nation we have to seek His guidance at least daily. We need to turn over the reins of our lives to Him. When we do this we have to realize we relinquish our control for His. When I’ve done this I’ve had some very interesting times.

We need to communicate with Him. When we have a need, spiritual or temporal, we need to learn to talk to God first. Yes, its all right to share a need with a friend after we pray about it.

We are to glorify Him. In all we do, we are to remember that we are His. We are to work together, pray together, sing together. Then we are to go outside the doors of our churches and our homes and represent Him to a dying, hurting world. Food pantries, Clothes Closets, Humanitarian Aid Agencies, Coat Give-Aways all are avenues to represent God to those Jesus called ‘ the least of these, my brothers.’

We need to be holy as He is holy. As believers we shouldn’t use words He doesn’t like, ever. We know God hears all. We shouldn’t even think these words. But if we happen to we are to repent, say we are sorry and get back to living for Him.

Also, we need to ask God to forgive us. When we realize we have missed the mark set by God, we need to contritely ask Him to wipe our slates clean. As Christians we have to claim ownership of the sin we see in our world and the problems that sin has caused.

We need to be humble before the Lord. When we stand before the Lord on our day of judgment, we will be filled with awe for seeing Who He Is and a the same time we will be humbled by his having us in His presence. We should approach Him with humility now.

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me. O Lord, and know my heart.

Lord, look into the crevices of who I am.
Lord, shine a light beam into what
makes me tick.

Father, expose my sin for what it is.
Those hurtful words I spout.
Those mean-spirited actions I perform.
Those self-serving ideas I have.

Father, let me see myself as You see me--good or bad.


Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Assess me, challenge me, examine me.

Please help me when I feel uneasiness.
Stand with me when I am fearful.


See if there is any offensive way in me.

Lord, please analyze my inner being and search
for anything that You don’t approve of.

Jesus, then show me the things You don’t like in
me--things that sadden You.

Lead me in the way everlasting.

Instruct me how to live for You so I
can live with you in Heaven.

God Protects His Children

There was a workday at church today. The idea was to spruce up the place for winter, The list seemed quite long. Work went on inside and outside the building. I haven’t been able to assist with this type of project. I was present for another meeting.

The head of Trustees, a lady, showed me this blackened, partially melted electric gadget she called a timer. One of the tasks on the to-do list was to replace it. When she showed it to me she said, “We came close to having a fire.”

All I could say was, “Praise the Lord for his watch care over us.” She agreed with me. I went back into my meeting and shared with the adults present. They also agreed with us of our need to praise God for his protection.

I remember two years ago, getting off work early because I had worked in someone else’s place the night before. I came home happy for the extra time off, My husband told me to call the utility office and get someone out to our house to repair an inlet cable into our home. Whenever the wind blew, the cable rubbed against the edge of the conduit and created a spark. We have aluminum siding. The conduit and electric meter sit on the outside of our bedroom window. Had any spark caught, we might not have known what happened.

God does protect his children even when they don’t realize it. We have to rely on Him to help us through each day. Each day we may have something we can’t see possibly cause us harm. A friend had a wreck in her car yesterday, she’s thankful no one was hurt. An elderly man suffered a stroke this past week. Some of us who know this man and his wife are thankful they have family to help them through this. A gentleman receives two phone calls from friends who were very important to him when he was growing up. God put this gentleman on their hearts. I am thankful for His prompting them to call and inquire how things are going.

The idea of God guiding and protecting His children even when they are unaware was brought out by Ron Mehl in his book “God Works the Night Shift.” In it he tells of all the times God meets our needs and we don’t even realize. I read this book a dozen years ago. I need to dig it out and read it again. Some things never stop being timely.

About Anger

For as the churning of the milk produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.
Proverbs 30:33 (NIV)

We all know people who keep those around them upset. They are quick-tempered, easily riled and not fun to be around.

In her book, Irregular People, Joyce Landorf Heatherley tells us we all have at least one person in our lives who keep things all stirred up. These people aren’t happy with themselves. They are angry and don’t know why. Maybe they have undiagnosed health issues or unresolved or unrecognized emotional problems.

Most of these issues in angry people can cause us to feel helpless when we have to face them. We have to rely on God to lead us. Bible study allows us to “hide [the] word in [our] heart.” [see Psalm 119:10]

Sometimes we become angry when we deal with those who keeps things stirred up. The Apostle Paul told the Ephesians “in your anger, do not sin. [Eph, 4:26] This anger, called Holy Anger or righteous indignation, is acceptable because we become angry about issues Jesus would take issue with.

In today’s world we hear a lot about anger management classes. We, as a society seem to have let go of good judgment and let things be said and done that inflict hurt onto others.

In Jesus’ model prayer he taught his disciples there is a passage that makes me pause. “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” If we as God’s children put His will first while we are on earth, would we have people stirring up anger and producing strife?

God’s Focus/Our Focus

There are times in our lives where we experience events that don’t turn out as we believe they should. When these happen, we can be devastated. We didn’t get the promotion or the job we thought we deserved. We wanted something nicer than what we received for our birthday.

We tell someone about the bad feeling we have. “I should have gotten that. . . because. . . .” What we don’t always realize is that God may have other plans for us. Maybe that promotion could bring more stress into our lives. That job you want might not be what He has in mind for you.

We might even argue with God. “But, God. . . I would be perfect for that position.” “God. . . I could do that job better than the one who’s doing it now.” When we debate with God we show selfish pride. We also disrespect God.

Those around us suffer physical or emotional hurts and we react. We say things purely from our point of view. Like the friends of Job, we open more wounds for the victims. They become more confused due to our misguiding them. There again, we are operating from what we want to say.

But when we follow the Lord, we belong to Him. We view all events and happenings through His eyes. He becomes our guide in how to think. We learn to react to stimulus as He desires.

The process of changing our focus is a part of sanctification. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, sets us apart from our past habits and points of view to allow us to reflect Him. It is our job to yield to the workings of the Holy Spirit. It is His to change us into who we are to become.

Preparing to Walk the Walk

As we grow in the Lord, we are to emulate Him. All we learn and all we hear about the Christian life are to be incorporated into who we become. This growth is a process. It rarely happens overnight. During this growth period, we discover new aspects of who we are.

Our Bible reading and study figure into this new formation of our inner being. Prayer adds to the change we undergo. Service also makes us more like Jesus. When we begin this walk we don’t realize to what degree we can change.

When we turn our lives over to God, we actually give Him control of who we are and who we become. We are no longer in control. This surrendering of self can be scary to one who doesn’t realize the necessity for doing it. The more we give up of ourselves, the closer we resemble Jesus.

One essential reason for relinquishing control of our lives is to get to know Jesus better and to be able to serve Him better in expanding His Kingdom. Some believers feel the need for accountability partners to help them when they feel inadequate. Others rely on the prayers of the faith community to aid in their spiritual growth.

A former pastor told it very well, “As Christians, we are either progressing in the faith or we are falling back. We never stand still.” We need to remember this.

Our preparation for walking the walk is vital. We need to be knowledgeable of the Word and able to apply it to our hearts. Also we need to spend quantity time in prayer with Him. Finding an accountability partner or a prayer partner could help us all stay on track.

Faith-based Ministries

Yesterday at church, our Missions Committee had a Missions Emphasis Sunday. The committee invited several faith-based ministry groups to attend, setting up information tables in our foyer. The second Tuesday of each month the church has focused on one ministry effort as a part of missions.

Sixteen faith-based ministries had displays for the congregation to study. Those in attendance were asked to consider signing a Faith-Promise pledge for 2009 for missions giving. The rationale behind this new plan is some of these groups have needs all year long and the wait until we have them scheduled can be very difficult.

With the economic picture as bleak as it is, this seems to be the best way to help those who are spreading the word of Christ. As a volunteer in a faith-based ministry, I am aware of the need of being able to address the issues of the focus group with some amount of ease.

This is a faith promise pledge. I have never done one. I am told it works like this: I make a promise based on faith, not really knowing how God will supply the funds for the pledge.