I Chose Love

There seems to be so much in the world that divides us these days. I guess it’s always been that way. Even within groups there are divisions. But I’ve always been one to seek common ground and find ways we can all get along.

The common ground I find is Jesus’ command to love. In 1 Corinthians 12 Jesus is speaking about our gifts and the many members of the body of Christ. He speaks about the greatest of the gifts – love.

Starting at verse 31 He tells us that He is going to show us the most excellent way:

And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self- seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

There are many mysteries in life. Jesus tells me  when I see Him face to face I will fully understand. Clearly I don’t understand it all right now. And I am OK with that and I accept that. Within the church there are differences of opinions about how to respond to what is happening in the world.  I have faith and hope that I will understand when I see Him face to face. But the greatest thing I can show now is love.

When Your Old Self Shows Up – Again

I am finding it very interesting and very humbling how easy it is for me to fall back into my old ways. It tells me that I need to stay on my knees and prayed up – even regarding the areas of my life that I thought had been conquered.

Let me explain. I once had a bit of a short fuse – apparently I still have it. I am not one to blow up and create a ruckus. But I am easily annoyed and I will cop an attitude and release a snide comment or two and even perhaps walk out of the room and commence the complaining. You won’t hear me raging, yelling or slamming and banging doors or anything like that. But my mother always knew when I was super annoyed about something because she said my jaw muscle got tight. That may have been my way of trying to keep my mouth shut. I’m not really sure. But I know lately I am having a hard time keeping my mouth shut and taking my annoyances to Lord in prayer. I have tried avoiding situations that have the potential to annoy me but I can’t avoid every situation. And I can give you a whole laundry list of things that annoy me.

Now I’ve tried to examine the things annoy me and understand why I find them annoying. But the only explanation is that I am a sinner and if not kept in check, I can be a bit unpleasant to be around. And I don’t mean to be unpleasant. I will complain and I will be critical of others. The irony is that I will be one of those people that even I would find annoying. I don’t believe it is wrong to be annoyed. I think it’s normal to find things annoying from time to time but our behavior and reaction to being annoyed is the problem.

So, I have found myself lately falling back into that ‘Critical Kara’ behavior. So, when my old self shows up again, I am asking the Lord to soften my heart of those things I find annoying and look at them with compassion. I am asking the Lord to capture every wicked thought and to harness my tongue. And to stop complaining – again.

Philippians 2:14-16

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life–in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

The Truth About A Godly Life

connection2christ

I have been on a road to spiritual self-discovery for several years now. This journey began a couple of years back when I realized that I had become lazy and pretty complacent – lacking any real spiritual direction.

I have to admit I was a one-day a week Christian. I attended church on Sunday morning but church or Christ-like living pretty much escaped my notice Monday through Saturday. It wasn’t that I was living a life of deviant behavior but it wasn’t one centered on Christ.

I rationalized it by saying that at least I wasn’t showing up at Easter and Christmas only. But even though it was more frequent, God wanted more of my attention than Sundays only.

My sister and I have been reading Respectable Sins together. We have a set time each Saturday to discuss what we’ve read. This week we learned about the ungodly life.

Jerry…

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The Truth About A Godly Life

I have been on a road to spiritual self-discovery for several years now. This journey began a couple of years back when I realized that I had become lazy and pretty complacent – lacking any real spiritual direction.

I have to admit I was a one-day a week Christian. I attended church on Sunday morning but church or Christ-like living pretty much escaped my notice Monday through Saturday. It wasn’t that I was living a life of deviant behavior but it wasn’t one centered on Christ.

I rationalized it by saying that at least I wasn’t showing up at Easter and Christmas only. But even though it was more frequent, God wanted more of my attention than Sundays only.

My sister and I have been reading Respectable Sins together. We have a set time each Saturday to discuss what we’ve read. This week we learned about the ungodly life.

Jerry Bridges, best selling author of Respectable Sins, tells us that unless you are seeking God in every aspect of your life, you are living an ungodly life. I never thought I was living an ungodly life. But if God isn’t in every aspect of my life, it is ungodly –without God. I am learning to include God in everything – every time.

It feels funny to talk to God about grocery shopping or any kind of shopping. But it has made a difference. He is helping me find good deals and helping me discern if I really need to make a purchase or not.

Would your television watching be different if you consulted God before you turned on the TV? How different would your choices be if you consulted God about what you eat?

“A person may be moral and upright, and even busy in Christian service, yet have little to no desire to develop an (deep) intimate relationship with God,” Jerry Bridges, author of Respectable Sins.

We sing songs about Jesus being a friend. Is He the friend you talk to about your most intimate thoughts?

Resolve to Read the Bible

In a little more than a week I will have done something that I have never been able to do before in my life. Actually it will be two accomplishments. First, I will have successfully completed a new year’s resolution. It was one I set for myself in 2014. And while I got a late start on it, I vowed to complete it. The second accomplishment was the resolution was to read the Bible completely through in a year.

Yes, I’m one of those people who vowed to do it for years. And each year I would start out strong and then taper off. But last year I was armed with an arsenal of high tech tools at my disposal and a spirit determined and eager to learn. With my iPad, my iPhone and my laptop, I had every device synced to my Bible app so that I wouldn’t miss a beat.

Now, I’ll admit I didn’t always understand what I was reading. On those occasions, I referred to various commentaries and dictionaries. And when my eyes were heavy, I let the soothing voice recording from Bible Gateway read to me. Even with having someone read it to me, I kept my Bible nearby. In fact this adventure prompted me to invest in a good study Bible.

I was amazed at that so many contemporary Christian songs are lifted straight from scripture. And it is interesting the number of wise old says that have come from the Bible.

I assure you it won’t be my last time reading through the entire Bible. I pray that what I wasn’t able to grasp and understand this first time around, the Lord will reveal more to me next time and the even more the next time and the next. What an incredible journey.

Author and Bible Scholar Everett T. Harris said, “No one ever graduates from Bible study until he meets the Author face to face.”

I encourage all believers to read the Bible from cover to cover again and again.

Whose Praise Do You Want?

It is a daily task to remind myself that I can’t think like the world or get praise from the world and call myself a child of God at the same time. The two cannot coexist in any peaceful manner within me. One or the other is going to get the short end of the stick.

I was reading John 12 the other day. It is a familiar part of scripture where Jesus is teaching and performing miracles. The time frame was right before the crucifixion. Many people in the land were starting to believe and to follow Christ. The many included some Jewish leaders too. However, they were afraid to openly confess that they were following Christ. They were afraid of being put out of the synagogue.

The scripture says: for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. John 12:43

Have you ever been in that situation? Afraid to speak up for God, afraid to publicly say you follow Christ. I recall a friend saying once, “I believe in Jesus but I’m not some Jesus freak.” I chuckled at that. I never explored fully what the friend meant. My guess is that the friend was worried about what people would say about him. He was more interested in the praise of people.

In my mind, to be totally sold out, wholeheartedly following Jesus, you would be seen as a freak. To live wholeheartedly for Christ means you aren’t following the world. That alone makes you the odd man out. It is an every day, every moment commitment to follow Him wholeheartedly. I don’t know about you but the things of the world have a strong and familiar attraction to them. And as creatures of habit, aren’t we comforted by the things that are familiar? Stepping outside our comfort zone takes work and effort. I have to work at it and I don’t always get it right. But I try.

I have faced the challenge of how I am viewed among friends and acquaintances. I believe right now those who have known me for years – friends and family included – are probably thinking I’ve gone off the deep end. But I have seen and I have experienced His love first hand like no other kind of love. Not even the love from my parents – and I know they loved me. They put up with a bull-headed (my mother’s term for me) child.

So whose praise would you rather have – man’s praise or God’s praise?

Not Everyone Who Celebrates Christmas is a Christian

We have become society that doesn’t want to offend anyone. And while I agree with that, I still believe in a person’s right to have an opinion – even if it differs from mine. And I’ll defend the right to my opinion – like it or not. I shouldn’t be as worried about you offending me but I should be more concerned that I am grounded and firm in my beliefs and convictions that I wouldn’t take offense.

I am not an argumentative person but I think we have watered our stand on Christianity so much at Christmas, that it hardly represents the celebration of the birth of the Messiah.

At work the employee newsletter was making an attempt at explaining the holiday traditions of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. When I read what was written about Christmas, it was so weak and made it sound like a bunch of people following the teaching of a really good guy. It spoke more about the secular celebration involving Santa Claus and giving and receiving gifts. But the article said nothing of the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh. He was born on earth of a virgin to live life and experience trials and tribulations as we do. It said nothing about how He came to be the sacrifice for our sins. If you want to know about Christmas, ask a Christian. Christmas Begins with Christ.

Many years ago Jewish woman once told me that her daughter wanted to know why Christian parents lie to their children about Santa Claus. I wish I was quick on my feet with the response of “Not everyone who celebrates Christmas is a Christian.” Remember the reason for the season.

Happy Holy Day.

I am being used . . . and I’m Ok with that

I find it interesting and fascinating how God answers prayers. I am reminded that it is not always in the way we expect. What is more pleasing to me was that it was my 17-year-old son who pointed it out to me.

In the past during the Christmas season I have always purchased restaurant gift cards and when approached by someone asking for money, I would try to engage them in a conversation and ask what the money was being used for. Often times I was told it was for food. I think probably 90 percent of the time that was the response that I received. Since I don’t carry cash around (I stopped that practice many years ago) I would offer them a gift card to a restaurant. Well my sister and brother told me that many times the recipient would exchange the gift card to someone for drugs or for cash to buy drugs. So this year, I decided to provide what the recipient needed more than anything – to hear about Jesus.

So I set about putting packets together. The packets were simply sandwich bags that had small pamphlets that talk about Jesus. I had been collecting them throughout the last several months. I also put together some information on social service organizations where someone can get some help – free meals etc. And I prayed. I asked God to use me to lead someone to a closer walk with Him. I asked him to slow my pace as I scurry from in the cold blasts of winter winds so that someone looking for help might approach me. I wanted to be an instrument to guide people to Christ. But so far there has been nothing. I haven’t seen anyone seeking help. No one has approached me on my one-block walk from the parking garage to my office building. I know they are there, but I haven’t seen anyone. Was my timing off? Were my eyes open? Was I looking friendly and approachable?

In the meantime, I was asked to serve on the live-in team for the February Walk to Emmaus. I’ve talked about my Emmaus experience before. It was the best 72 hours I have ever spent. I was away from home, away from the television, cell phone and internet. I was able to sit quietly and listen to God speaking to my heart. I heard a whole lot during that weekend. And I came out with a renewed love for the Word and for service.

In the 18 months since my walk I have been busy and involved. I have been listening and asking for direction and in general involving God in my everyday decisions. I’ve been thanking him almost moment by moment and receiving the blessings and hopefully being a blessing to someone. Thinking about significance of the season, I wanted to do something this holiday season. I wanted to do something impactful. I reminded myself it wasn’t for my glory – but for His. Even though I haven’t been approached by anyone so far this holiday season, I am being given the opportunity to make a difference and to have an impact.

I was asked to be part of the February team. I wanted to say yes immediately. Actually I did say yes right away, but I asked the Lay Director to give me the weekend to pray about it to be sure. It didn’t seem like it could be a bad decision. But in my usual fashion I began to think of a million things that I needed to take care of to make it happen. I would have to make sure my teenager was someplace safe for 72 hours and the dog needed to be well taken care of also. As I pondered about these things I continued to wonder about my earlier mission. And then as I was telling my son about my little packets and he said “I’m proud of you mom for your Emmaus work. You are making such a difference in someone’s life.” Boom. There is was. I was going to be able to help make a difference is someone’s life. God was going to use me in an Emmaus Walk. I didn’t immediately see it and I am so grateful my son pointed it out to me because he realizes its impact.

So I’m being used . . . and I’m Ok with that.

Remember Gran

Yesterday marked the eighth anniversary of the passing of my dear mother. In my head I think that it’s hard to believe she has been gone that long. But in my heart I feel like she’s been gone for a long time. I miss her terribly. We talked every day – often several times a day.

She loved deeply and fiercely her family. It was at her house that we always gathered for holidays. And it was at her house that everyone gravitated toward to hang out. She had a very natural way to make you feel very comfortable. She loved to entertain. We had many parties in her back yard and I recall at least one New Year’s Eve party. To her any occasion was a reason to have a party – whether it was a holiday, a graduation, a baby shower, a wedding or even just a long weekend. And she dressed the table for the celebration. It may not have been fine china but she set out plates, flatware, water glasses and cloth napkins.

She spoke her mind but she wasn’t mean spirited. She didn’t offer up her opinion unsolicited but if you asked, she would tell you exactly what she thought.

She taught me about service to your community. She was always quick to volunteer. She had a flair for decorating and fashion. She spent many hours at her church – the last several years she was in charge of the kitchen at church. For church anniversary, funerals, pastor anniversary and many other celebrations, she was in the kitchen cooking up dinner and directing traffic.

Although she had a sad start to her life. Her parents died when she was a very young and she was raised by an aunt and uncle, but she never let it get her down. There was no official adoption, but they raised her as their own. Her cousins became her brothers and they were her parents. We called them Mama and Bop – our names for our grandparents. She often saw her biological brothers and sister. It was a big extended family that kept the kids close. Living in a small town you can remain close.

She lived in an era where there were ladies who did what she called “days’ work.” They were housekeepers in the homes of the rich, white families in town. She and her mother would work the dinner parties too. She didn’t finish high school but she did manage to get a GED. She was a hard worker and probably the smartest person even without a college degree. I recall cleaning house with her on the weekends and I had to beg her to sit down and take a break. She was old school and cooked starch to press her curtains into crisp, stiff attention. She baked from scratch and collected cookbooks. She was the quintessential church hat lady. She owned so many hats – big hats, little hats, home-style hats. And almost until her passing she was wearing high heel shoes. She was a classy, sassy grandmother. The grandkids called her Gran.

She was a teenage smoker who developed a two-pack a day smoking habit. By the time she stopped smoking she had developed emphysema and congestive heart trouble. But she didn’t let it slow her down. We had talked early that week about Thanksgiving and planning the big feast. It was going to be a big family affair with my sister coming into town and my brothers joining us too. But because she got winded easily, we decided to host it at my house. She just didn’t think she could manage getting her house ready for the day.

As the years have passed, I often think about how much she would have loved seeing her grandchildren come into their own and enjoying success and to meet more of her great grandchildren.

Life marches on. More babies join the family and we lose more family members. And it’s near Thanksgiving eight years later. I don’t have any plans for the day. I’ll probably cook dinner for me and my son and we will honor my mother. We will remember Gran.

Who Am I To Say?

I often open a blank page in my blog and think, ‘Who am I to say anything?’ Who would listen to me? There are occasions when I hear the Lord speaking clearly to me about a topic and I feel compelled to write about it. But there are many other times when I think I should just shut it down and close it up.

And I am not writing this looking for praise or begging for compliments. But I feel humbled each time I sit in front of my laptop.

I have slowed my posts lately because I’ve been busy and because I found myself writing just to be writing. I had set a goal to post twice a week. But I found I didn’t always have something to say. Trust me, not everything I write finds its way to the blogosphere. I do not post everything. But it started me to think about why I am writing.

My son first encouraged me to start writing my blog. It’s funny because I had encouraged a few other people to write a blog. I encouraged my sister to write a blog a few years ago. She often comments on lots of posts from political issues to social issues. And then I encouraged my son last year to start his blog on fashion. But it was my son who told me I should start my own blog about my faith. Was he weary of hearing what I thought were words of wisdom for him? Perhaps but too bad, he will still get that.

But who am I to say anything about the Lord? I am not a preacher or teacher. I am not a Bible scholar. I wouldn’t even call myself well-versed in the Bible. I am a student. I am learning. I am a sinner saved by grace. I have been redeemed and He has set me free. He has blessed me beyond my wildest imagination. He has provided for me and He has delivered me. He has done what I would call miracles. He has sustained me and He has helped me overcome. He loves me and I love Him.

He is awesome and I am awestruck. He is Lord of all. He came to save. He came as a sacrifice for my sins. He walked this earth and was tempted just as I am tempted. He died for my sins. He rose again and sits at the right hand of God. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

So what do I have to say? God loved the world so much that He gave his only son and anyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life.