The Storms of Life

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            On our return from a recent vacation, we drove through two heavy rain storms.  Cars and semi- trucks inched along. Visibility was approximately three yards. Then, all we could see were the outlines of vehicles in front of us. Most vehicles turned on their hazard lights in order to be seen.

            This rain storm was possibly the second worst one we had ever been in. One time in Kansas, we had to stop under an overpass on I-70 and wait for the rain to diminish. That time, visibility was zero. We couldn’t see beyond our windshield wipers.

            These storms caused me to think of the storms of life we have faced and come through.

Family illness       Friends moving away

Unemployment     Loss of family through death

Loss of a child        Personal Illness

            As each storm comes to us, God stands with us. We are to trust Him, seek His guidance, and ask for His presence to endure.

            After the issue leaves us, we should give Him praise. When we look back on our lives, we can see growth- mental, emotional, and spiritual.

            When we or those close to us go through these storms, we cannot ask God to take them away. Because God may have a lesson for us to learn through those times.

            As I think about this subject. I realize how precious God is to me as I reflect on all the ‘storms’ He has brought me through and how I sometimes made them worse by not stepping back and allowing Him to do His work. Yes, I had to learn this lesson, sometimes it was a hard one for me. However, God was patient with me and always forgave me for wanting to do things my way.

Dual Citizenship

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“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, “

(Philippians 3:20, ESV)

            Several years ago, the mother of a friend of mine explained to a group of us that, at one time, she and her husband had dual membership in two local churches.

            The church where they raised their family was the one I knew them from. That congregation helped plant a church in the northeast part of our town. This couple and their eldest daughter and son-in-law helped establish the church plant.

            The apostle Paul states that our citizenship is in heaven. What does this mean to us who believe in Jesus Christ? Simply stated, we have citizenship in heaven as well as our native or adopted countries. As citizens of our earthly country, we find ourselves concerned about its state of affairs.

            Since we asked Jesus into our hearts, our desire has been to be used to enlarge His kingdom. We are not to be as concerned about our earthly home as we await our admittance to our heavenly home.

            We assist Jesus in building His kingdom by praying for those around us, reading and studying His Word, choosing to allow God to guide us through our days (especially, the difficult ones.) Sometimes we have to let Him choose our words and our behavior. When we are the better person in an issue, people in the world notice our behavior and wonder what causes us to stay controlled. We may or may not do any more than plant the seed. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”(1 Corinthians 3:6, ESV)

            When we donate to a mission projects, para-church organizations, or mission trips, we aid in helping spread God’s grace to others. As we grow in the Lord, we learn what community is all about. We are all God’s children, we confer with those who work in the field.

            Having dual citizenship for a Christian makes one realize that he or she has the responsibility to live for the Lord at all times. As we grow closer to the Lord, we learn that we are to emulate Jesus Christ each day He gives us.

            Is there something we can be more faithful about in living for Him here as we await our time to enter Heaven?

God’s Working in People’s LivesJ

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            Today, my visitation partner and I did our bi-weekly trip to see the shut-ins we visit. We see a lady at the assisted living facility near my home. Also, we try to see a gentleman in a memory unit of a retirement home a bit to the south of our first stop. Then we went to one of the nursing homes. This is the one where I was for right at three months.

The lady at the assisted living is a quilter. She had pictures of items she has made over the years. Quilts, wall hangings, a jacket that won a prize at a quilt guild show. I have seen her wear that jacket. She has stories about her family she shares with us about the quilts, the names of the designs, how she made them. She made one from a long dress she got in Hawaii. She has written on the back of that picture that she wants that on her casket when she goes to be with Jesus.

The gentleman at the memory unit was not having a good day. The lady who let us into the building remembered us and knew who we were there to see.  He was still in bed. My partner popped her head in and told him we just stopped by for a second. We really didn’t stay but about a minute.

When we go to the nursing home, I try to always stop by the therapy gym to smile and say hi to the ones who are working. We went to the room of the first lady we always see. She and her roommate are always glad to see us. The roommate has a tie to our church as well. This roommate showed us a gift she received for Mother’s Day. A crocheted lap blanket. The card attached to it said it was from the staff of the facility.

Suddenly, the activity director comes into the room to let me know I just missed her daughter-in-law. This daughter-in-law helped me when I fell and broke my ankle. Back then her mother-in-law couldn’t get over how I came to the facility she worked at.  Today, we asked her about the ‘blankets’, did someone make them. She told us the following story.

Her budget had been cut because the census was down. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do for Mother’s Day gifts to the mothers. She received a phone call from a woman who was new in town. “Do you have need of gifts for the mothers at your facility? I was wondering if they would like lap blankets. How many would you need?” The activity director told her 25, she made 30. Each of the blankets came with a ribbon and a bow on them.

This woman, new to our state and our town, made a random phone call to a nursing home that she had not been in and blessed the activity director and each of the 25 or so mothers in that facility. I don’t know this benefactor’s name but I do give praise for her. I’m certain there is a place in heaven for this lady.

Reaffirm Love as a Part of Forgiveness

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            “You should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I write that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything . . . so that you will not be outwitted by Satan for we are not ignorant of his designs.” 2 Corinthians 2:7-9, 11(ESV)

            We continue to look at Paul’s thoughts on forgiveness. He tells the believers at Corinth and us to reaffirm our love for those who have offended us. Sometimes we forget to remind them that we confront them about the hurt they caused and actually make the problem bigger. A dear friend, now living in heaven, used to say she would, “speak the truth, in love,” when she had to counsel someone in a sticky situation or one who had a concern.

            Looking back on those times, I realize she was tempering her remarks with her concern for the souls involved, especially the ones to whom she talked.  She lived close to the Lord and studied her Bible daily. She walked her talk.

            Living in our present world, we have to be aware of the enemy’s presence in our daily lives, our homes, our business world, and our church families. His style is to divide and conquer. When we are aware of his tactics and seek to stop him, we are able to grow closer to the Lord.

The Apostle Peter tells us to, “Be sober-minded; be watchful.Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8, ESV) I believe this admonition is something we, all of us, take to heart.

Forgive and Comfort

International Forgiveness Institute

“Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. . . . so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything.” 2 Corinthians 2:5, 7 (ESV)

Paul wrote these words to the believers at Corinth. His message is simple, forgive the sinner. As a young mother, I heard a senior citizen woman tell us she had read that if we hold grudges, those hard thoughts would eat at us from our insides.

            I have known some people who did not have a forgiving nature. After a while, that attitude seemed to work on them. They seemed to find fault with everything and everybody. They evolved into people no one wanted to be around.

            How can we maintain our relationships with those around us while staying close to God?

Prayer

Through prayer, I recently had to conclude I had to be the bigger person in an issue and not stand my ground about a necessary task I had chosen to undertake. This most recent instance of being instructed to do this is not the first time God has spoken to me about this. If we have any issues with another person, we need to pray about it before we seek guidance from another person and definitely before we confront that person.

Bible Study

            I am reading Fervent by Priscilla Shirer In one chapter she talks about how we can defeat the enemy and the hurts he causes us simply by forgiving the person whom we think has caused our hurt. When I read the topic scripture, I realized how important it is to forgive another, even if we have to do it through the Lord. She gives stumbling scriptures to pray as we confront our own stumbling places in our spiritual make-up. More about this book will come later.

           

            God looks out for His children. He is still in control, no matter how events look to us. He sees the big picture, we only can see what is in front of us.

Mothers of the Bible

 

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. Due to the ravages of time both my mother and stepmother are no longer with us. I have been thinking about those mothers we read about in the Bible.

EVE: Eve is the first mother in the Bible. She and her husband, Adam, lived in paradise. God provided created them and gave them the Garden of Eden for their home. He gave them full access to the products of the garden, except the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Now, in the garden was a serpent that played on Eve’s curiosity. He twisted the truth and beguiled her into sampling that fruit. She shared it with her husband. Because of her curiosity, they had to leave paradise. Because of Eve’s curiosity, sin and its consequences entered our world.

SARAH: Sarah was married to Abraham, a patriarch of the faith. She became the mother of a nation. ¹. However, she became impatient as she waited for God to give Abraham a son. She took things into her own hands and concocted a plan to speed things along. She gave Abraham her maidservant. That servant produced a son. Because of Sarah’s impatience, our world experiences the consequences today.

Now, please don’t get the idea that all the mothers in the Bible are flawed. There are some who I find admirable.

HANNAH: When we first meet Hannah, she endures taunting from Peninnah, her husband’s other wife. Hannah was childless. In that time, this causes people to look on one without children as a failure^{. 2}. Hannah endured the harsh comments until she had to pray to God about her desire for a child. She told Him, if He would grant her request, she would give that child back to Him. God heard and honored her heartfelt plea. Hannah Kept her promise to God and, after Samuel was weaned, she presented her son to Eli the priest. Hanna’s fervency in worship, effectiveness in prayer and willingness to follow through on a commitment gives us the reward of having her and her son, Samuel’s story as a part of our heritage. God rewarded her with three other sons and two daughters. ^3.

ELIZABETH: Elizabeth, a relative of Mary’s, was the first one recognize the Lordship of Jesus. Elizabeth was of advanced age and was childless. Her husband Zechariah was a priest. During one of his tours of duty at the Temple, he ‘was chosen by lot’, went into the holiest part of the temple. While there, he heard God speak to him. Their baby was to be a Nazarite—one set apart for God’s service. He pointed the way to Jesus. She reminds me of steadfastness and obedience.

Mothers are not perfect. But they are mothers. I know one who is a new mother who had difficulty with her pregnancy, then some difficulty with getting back to health after the birth. She is new to all the things mothers do to care for their child or children. I know another mother who did not really know how to be a mother. However, her children are well behaved and wonderful to be around. One mother I know will turn 100 years old this fall, Lord willing. She is a joy to be around. She doesn’t talk much unless you talk to her. But I know she has wisdom about many different areas of life.

1.      Life Application Bible, Tyndale House Publisher, Wheaton, IL 60189, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 49506. © 1991 page 39

2.      IBID page 434  

3.      IBID page 437

Interview with Martha

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Quiet Spirit: Today, we have our last interview of this series. Martha of Bethany is with us today. Thank you for coming today.

Martha: It is a pleasure to be here, thank you for having me.

Q.S.: Tell us about yourself.

Martha: I lived in Bethany on the eastern slope of Mount Olivet, near the Jericho road. Bethpage and Bethlehem are nearby. We could walk the short distance walk to Jerusalem.

Q.S.: How did you meet Jesus?

Martha: My brother Lazarus, my sister Mary, and I heard of the miracles He performed. Those who witnessed these miracles and heard His preaching were either pleased with Him or were angry about His ways. We decided to go hear for ourselves. What he said made sense to us. We embraced Him.

After that, whenever Jesus came through our town, we opened our home to Him. He became like one of the family. We had him stay in our home.

We permitted Him to use our home as a central base for His disciples when they returned. I always prepared a meal and gave them a place to rest.

Q.S.: Was there a time that you learned something from Jesus that was especially for you?

Martha: Whenever He came to our home, I always served a big meal, almost a banquet, as a welcome. One time, my sister Mary just sat and listened to Jesus. She didn’t help me do anything. Her behavior got under my skin. I was frustrated! I spoke my mind. I asked Jesus to tell my sister to help me with the meal.

He told me I was anxious and troubled about many things. He let me know, nicely, that Mary chose what He called the better way. I let up on Mary that day. I vowed to have simpler meals in the future. I realized no one would remember what I served them. However, those who listened to Jesus could tell many others what he said.

Q.S.: Are you thankful for what He did for you? Please explain why.

Martha: Yes, I am very thankful for what Jesus did for me. Because I was able to relax more. I heard the stories Jesus shared with the people who flocked to our home and listened to Him. I began to better appreciate those around me. Also, I will always be thankful for the miracle He performed when he raised my dear brother Lazarus from the dead, but I have taken too much of your time. Maybe, I can tell that story at another time.

Q.S.: Thank you for sharing your personal story with us.

During this series, we have heard stories of thankfulness from those who encountered Jesus and received health and life-giving counsel. They each expressed that they were thankful. My questions to you are this: Has Jesus performed a miracle in your life that you are thankful for? Has He done something today that makes you thankful? Have you taken the time to express your thanks to Him?