Month: July 2018

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” ( Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Does your life get in the way of living? Do you ever feel like closing the door and shutting out the world?  Most people have had these feelings. I know I have, though not as often as before I retired. Jobs, children, husbands, dinner, laundry, the bills, etc. seem to demand our attention-all at once.

Solomon wrote about there being a time for everything, every activity under heaven. He also expressed his frustration with the meaninglessness of things in life- “a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.” He spoke of those who hoard wealth and never have enough or those who lose all they’ve worked for leaving nothing for their children.

You may be in a place where you’re feeling the exhaustion and futility of doing all you do. You may have lost the joy of living.  Remember what Jesus did. “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16).  Jesus must have been busy, too. The gospels indicate that He was busy teaching, healing, and answering questions, but he took time to pray.  If Jesus needed to talk with His Father, how much more do we have that need?

Solomon concluded that what really mattered was to “fear God and keep his commandments.” Before you throw away your “to do” list, think about what Max Lucado said in his book, Cure for the Common Life. “Worship can happen everyday in every deed. We can make a big deal about God on Sundays with our songs and on Mondays with our strength. Each time we do our best to thank God for giving His, we worship. ‘Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering’” (Romans 12:1, MSG).

What would happen if we thought of our schedules as our service lists, our offerings and sacrifices given in worship to God? I remember the time in my life when I made this change in my thinking.  It changed my harried attitude to a happy attitude. My focus changed from doing things to being God’s servant. The schedule and “to do” list didn’t change, but how I approached it changed.

In their song, Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory, Joe Beck and Carl Cartee remind us that all creation sings to the honor of God’s Name and our prayer should be, “Don’t let me miss the glory!”

God desires our worship through work and our lives lived to praise His Name. We can look forward to the day when our time on this earth is over and He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

“That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him” (Ecclesiastes 3:13-14).

“Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father. . .” (Proverbs 27:10a).

I visited faraway friends last week. I try to visit at least some of my friends from my former states of residence once a year.  This month, Adela Bajko left this earth for her reward in heaven, thus the reason for this trip. Her husband, Paul, died last August and I’d visited Adela once since that time. It was my hope to visit again this summer. She was almost 98 years old! She lived a full and fulfilled life. She and Paul survived the war and time spent in a displaced persons camp. They eventually came from Poland to the USA, received their college education, had a family, and began a ministry.  Through it all Adela remained faithful to God and to the ministry with Paul. She  encouraged everyone around her. She was always hospitable, loving and serving others. I was blessed to count her among my friends as far back as my first year of college.

I spent the night with a preacher couple Wayne and I have known since the time we were married. They were both a source of strength and comfort during Wayne’s illness and death.  I am blessed by their friendship and hospitality. Thank you, Loren and MaryJane!

The next day I drove a couple more hours and spent time with friends known since the 80s and 90s. I enjoyed dinner with a dear friend who served many years as a Sunday School teacher at a church Wayne and I had served.  I spent the night with a couple from that same church. She worked and continues working with the youth. I cherish the many memories we share.

Another friend isn’t able to get out much, so I spent some time with her, reminiscing about our hours of planning and doing VBS and other children’s classes and activities. We talked about how life changes and the hope we have in Jesus, the One who never changes. I don’t know if I’ll get to see her again on this earth, or any of the others, for that matter. I’m glad we all share the same hope.

I finished my day of visiting by meeting a realtor friend for lunch at a restaurant. She helped us buy and sell a house while we lived there.  Our lives have both changed since I moved from there, but she has stayed in touch and I’m grateful.

Friends are important to me and I love it when they come to visit. There’s nothing quite like sitting down, face to face, with a friend who you’ve shared life with. I’m looking forward to the time I can take another friend trip.  May God bless all my friends! Even when I can’t visit often, God is present with us.

“A friend loves at all times . . .” (Proverbs 17:17a).

“. . . there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”(Proverbs 18:24b)

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5: 13-16).

Grandson, Braidon, has been with me for two weeks. His mom has arrived for his third week. As you can imagine, it’s been a busy couple of weeks for me. Both daughters are with me for a couple days, along with two more grandsons. With so many high school and college-age grandchildren, it’s difficult to get everyone together at the same time. I’m grateful for the few days with those who can come. The summer heat is upon us and I am very thankful for air conditioning.  I grew up without AC and survived, but I would be suffering without it today.

My summer reading includes a book by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson, names many recognize as gifted speakers and writers. The book titled, Living a Life on Loan: Finding Grace at the Intersections, explores how serving others provides opportunities for our lives to intersect with other’s lives.

The authors include a section about being salt and light. “Salt and light make a difference in their surroundings.” No one is surprised by that quote but I don’t stop and think, very much, about how that applies to what Jesus said:  You are the light of the world and you are the salt of the earth. This is how Rusaw and Swanson expressed the meaning of what Jesus said.

“Jesus is saying that if you are a person who has discovered God’s love and        grace in your life, you are a person of influence. Not that you could be, might be, should be . . . but that you are.  Jesus compared you to salt and light. His questions are ‘What good is salt that loses its flavor?’ and ‘What use is a light that is hidden?’ Such salt and light have no influence.”

So I have to ask myself, does my life make a difference when it intersects with other’s lives? Do I act as salt by enhancing the flavor or preserving the good in life? Am I lighting the way for anyone or revealing the truth of God by the way I live? The way I live should align with the way Jesus lived and with the truth of God’s word. “A life lived as if it’s on loan from God should be attractive and authentic” (Living a Life on Loan, p. 117).

I need to be more aware of life’s intersections and learn to put other’s needs ahead of my own. I must have a servant’s heart! Jesus did. He said he came to serve, not to be served. I surely miss that mark often. My selfish heart forgets to serve or ignores the need and I’m neither attractive nor authentic. How are you doing at the intersections?

“Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2:9-10).