Harvest of Righteousness

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.

Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness

 and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Heb. 12:11 (NIV)

People are strange. We want what is best for our children and yet some of us see others not allowing their children the experience of learning that something they have done is wrong.

In the Old Testament God called Moses to task when he hit the rock to have water come from it. God told him to talk to the rock. As a result, Moses was not allowed to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that, while we undergo our discipline, it probably will at least be embarrassing maybe even painful. The writer says we will gain wisdom and learn of God’s ways.

God instructed Moses to speak to a rock in order for water to come out. Instead, Moses struck the rock. The water gushed forth but God was displeased. Moses chose to do this the way God had told him before. God had a different plan and Moses miffed it. Because of Moses’ error, God forbade him from leading the Israelite children into the Promised Land.

Once, when our son was small, we were visiting Hubby’s sister and brother-in-law. Our boy fell asleep on her couch. When I went to pick him up, he awakened and knocked my glasses off my face.

I reacted by smacking him on the hand. My sister-in-law got indignant. You would have thought I had hurt him. “I never want to see you do that again. I don’t like seeing kids beat on.” A few weeks later, we were at a park getting ready to watch fireworks with my dad and stepmother. Hubby had told the story. My stepmother alluded to the incident. I felt like

I was never going to hear the end of it. She just laughed and said,” If they are old enough to do it and it’s wrong, they are old enough to learn not to do it.” I never had any problem with disciplining our child around my side of our family.

Yes, discipline can cause pain but can cause us to learn things that will help us to become stronger in our Christian lives, if we accept it and learn from it.

graphic:wwwstclarepdx.org

Some Pictures of the Weekend 5/26/2014

Teddy and Cindy Lou in our rock garden.

Veteran's Tribute Sculpture at Church

The man who heads up this project.

The cross for one of our county's fallen soldiers.

The cross for one of the fallen from Indianapolis

A close up of the flags in the Memorial Day Rememberance
(My son took this last year when he was home.)

    

As seen from the intersection (3X a year)

Our side yard. 'Pansies at the Pump."       

Encourage One Another

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

 but let us encourage one another—all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)

The writer to the Hebrews advises his readers to stay in the habit of meeting with like-minded believers in worship. He instructs his readers, then and now, to both encourage others and gain encouragement by being together in worship and in learning situations devoted to the Lord.

He gives us reason to establish this practice:

· Time of Christ’s return is coming soon. We need to be ready.

· Our presence in worship gives us strength to face the future.

· Our presence encourages others who may be going through a hard time.

We live in a fallen world. We need to connect with the LORD to guide us through.

graphic:people.opposingviews.com

Bittersweet Moments

“Precious in the sight of the LORD

is the death of his saints.”

Ps.116:15 (NIV)

One of my closest friends, Martha, called early Sunday afternoon. She had stayed the night at the nursing home. She received a telephone call last Monday that her sister was heading into the very last phase of her life. Sunday’s call to me was to tell me her sister had passed.

I called our mutual friend, Ginny, who is our pastoral assistant. My purpose was to communicate our friend’s need of prayer. As I conversed with Ginny, I realized I experienced a quiet joy for our friend’s sister and yet sadness for my friend and her daughters. 

After Hubby and I had lunch, I had a graduation Open House to go to. The grandson of another close friend graduated from high school on Saturday. That friend and her family have known and worshipped with Martha for a long time. I wanted to insure that they received the prayer call about Martha’s loss.

As I sat in our living room making initial input I reflect on times when we had suffered a loss of a loved one. When my dad passed on, I found a poem by John Donne that summed up my feelings. I always remember the main thought of these lines-We all are impacted by the loss of a life because our lives intertwine with those we meet as we walk this earth.

  

'No Man is an Island'

No man is an island entire of itself; every man

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe

is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as

well as any manner of thy friends or of thine

own were; any man's death diminishes me,

because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom

the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

MEDITATION XVII

Devotions upon Emergent Occasions

John Donne

graphic: alighthouse.com

Fear No Evil

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff they comfort me.  Psalm 23:4(NIV)

Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t know how it would end? All you wanted was the best for the principal or principals involved. When you prayed, you didn’t know how to pray, so you prayed for God’s will.

King David tells the Father that he feels His presence in times of grief, stress, and personal crisis. David also tells God that he will not fear while he goes through times of difficulty.

When my stepmother passed on, I felt the prayers of God’s people. They prayed for us because they knew of her lengthy illness. When my dad left this earth almost eleven years later, some of those same people prayed for me, along with those in our new place of worship. I could feel the prayers.

The shepherd king finds solace as God protects him from other things that could attack him as he walks through the wilderness. 

In my life history, at the times of a loss, I had to hear of side issues about the person who had passed on or someone else close to the departed. Sometimes a person would remember something that happened in the family maybe 29 years ago. I found these extraneous stories hurtful. As I have grown closer to God, I know that He will shield me from further emotional hurts during my times of grief.

At Church this past Sunday , a lady raised her hand and asked us to pray for Indianapolis. Her words were sobering. "We can't go out of our houses without someone getting shot and killed."  All we can do is pray. They seem to have a new homocide each night. Please help us pray for this terrible situation. 

Dear Lord God:

   Thank You for protecting us as we go through dark valleys of grief, emotional upset, and fear. We give You praise for who You are. In the name of Jesus, I pray. AMEN

Graphic: thepsalter.com

No More Pain

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Rev 21:4 (NIV)

John the Revelator gives us a beautiful picture of what it will be like when we get to heaven.

• God will be there with us, consoling us.

• Death and the accompanying mourning will not be present. We will live forever.

• Crying and pain have no place in the New Jerusalem.

There will be a new order of things; new events will fill our lives. Things that cause us pain will not be allowed once we enter through the gates. God will take care of all these things.

I find hope in these words. In today’s world I see and hear news that try to bring me down. You know the headlines. But you and I both know that God is in control and will bring His children through until we reach the other side.

We don’t know what tomorrow brings for each of us. We have to trust God to be with us and to help us as He walks with us and consoles us in our trials and tribulations. I am reading Radical Integrity: The Story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. When he spent a year in the United State attending Union Theological Seminary in New York, a fellow student took Bonhoeffer a Baptist church in Harlem to better understand the worship of the black people. He learned that those in worship had to feel the Lord or they hadn’t found Him. I was blown away by that thought.

Sing Songs of Praise

Is any of you in trouble? He should pray.

Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.”

Jas. 5:13 (NIV)

James shares with his readers the secret to conquering trouble and disappointment; we are to pray. He also tells those same readers how they, and we, can rejoice when happiness is in the heart.

We sometimes forget to pray until we have exhausted every other avenue of dealing with a circumstance. We find ourselves praying after we have worn ourselves out with worry. We should pray first and pray until something happens {PUSH.}

From time to time, I wake with a praise song or a hymn going through my mind. On other days, I have a tune I hum. This one particular tune is from a chorus we sing at church but I can’t remember the words. But God knows the words and I believe the Holy Spirit sings that praise song to God in my behalf.

I wonder. If we each took our favorite scripture passage and found a tune that fit the mood of the words and sang it to God, wouldn’t He be pleased?

While I input this and edited it, I heard our next door neighbor’s voice outside my window. I heard a faint knock on our outer door. When I went to see for sure that they were there, she and her significant other stood on our stoop. He held their pet lizard, called a bearded dragon. I am not one to take to exotic pets. When I saw it on his hand, I stiffened. (I had to struggle to get a C in Zoology in college.) The facts they shared with us were pretty interesting. Hubby had told them I would be skittish around it. I didn’t hold it. Let’s say I was distantly curious. Why is this praiseworthy? They do our yard work and snow removal. We have known him since he was born. The real praise is they wanted us to see it.

I can praise God for this experience because He is in control of my life and my reactions to things that happen to me. 

Graphic:www.upliftingwords.com