A Balanced Life

I recently heard Steve Blow talk at our church, on “Prune, Balance and Open Mind.”. I started thinking about how important it is to have a balanced life. We build a lifestyle on past lessons and decisions, but it also depends on our dedication day by day to things worthwhile. We cannot live off yesterday’s successes, or last week’s prayers. Each new day is both a challenge and an opportunity. As each day unfolds, we must pause and remind ourselves to commit to those things that will broaden and enhance our lives.

We also want to live our life so that we have the respect of many. Then we will be able to speak effectively to others about Christ. Gilbert wrote,

“You’re writing a gospel, a chapter each day,
By the deeds that you do, by the words that you say;
Men read what you write, whether faithless or true,
Say what is the gospel according to you.”

Starting today, let’s look at life as a daily commitment to a more balanced life and one more dedicated to God.

The following is copied from an ‘Our Daily Bread’ Devotional.

Take time to work…..Work is the essence of who we are, it is the price of success.

Take time to relax…..To avoid stress make a quiet escape from your routine -take a short walk

or meditate.

Take time to think…..We have a creative side-revel in your uniqueness.

Take time to listen to others…..Always be receptive to different viewpoints.

Take time to read…..It is the foundations of knowledge.

Take time to love…..Think about others. It’s Godlike

Take time to dream…..It’s a road to greater vision. Good things come to those who wait.

Take time to laugh…..Laughing helps lighten life’s load. It is better than medicine.

Take time to worship…..Be reverend. Pray, it’s a source of power.

Take time too plan…..Set priorities. It is the secret of being able to have time for the first nine things.

Stop Pouting - Start Praising

As I was walking around Chambrel this week, I tripped on a patch of uneven concrete and fell face forward. scraping my nose & forehead. I’m not a pretty sight.

As I grow older and my health declines, there are days when I really wish there was a PITY CLUB that I could attend. Yet instinctively I know how foolish it is to balk at burdens and to fret because unpleasant experiences come our way. Who needs pain or frustrations?

From an yellowed clipping, I gleaned these words of helpful commentary by O. G. Wilson.

“Like all men, the believer is exposed to physical difficulties and disease. In those days he turns to complaining and self-pity, the ‘song of the Lord’ is hushed to silence. ‘I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed,’ says the psalmist.(Psalm 77:3). It is always so. If Satan is allowed to drive a little wedge of complaint into the soul, at once all its inner fortitude and strength ebbs away.”

O. G. Wilson continues: ‘I saw a man who was sick, hungry and unable to take a step and yet whose smile was as cheery as the chirp of the first robin of spring. Then I met a man radiantly happy , from whose eyes all sight had been lost due to an accident. I visited a rest home where a penniless man was singing joyously the triumphant songs of grace.’

The Lord knows I need to change my attitude. A spirit of discontent shows a lack of positive faith in Christ.

Here are some suggestions for overcoming a complaining attitude. This alternative gives God an opportunity to work creatively, both in us and in out circumstances.

Remember that your troubles did not take God by surprise. He is still in control.

Believe that God has a solution , a provision, or a gift of wisdom to match your difficulty.

Pray, affirming your faith in God and expressing your confidence in His loving purpose for you.

Wait with expectancy and availability, trusting God to work out His perfect will.
Praise Him -even before He acts
.
Finally, if you find yourself wearing ’a spirit of heaviness,’ try changing into ’the garments of praise!’ Stop pouting and start praising!

I thank you God for mercies shown (and)
For your great love that I have known.
I’m grateful for the life you’ve blessed (but)
Sometimes I forget, I must confess
To give my praise to you alone (who)
Died on the cross-our sins to atone.
We need to shed all pretense-all façade (and)
Remember redemption is a gift from God.

The Tie That Binds

The church that I attend is First Presbyterian Church, Garland. Every few years they hold an
eightieth birthday party for all those members that have reached 80 years or more. As I fellowshipped with those present, I reminisced about all the years we had worshipped together and played together. The many times we upheld one another in time of need.. It seems there is a special bond between Christians. Not just those members of FPC but Christians everywhere.

This brought other occasions to mind. One such occasion was when I made a trip to Greece following the ‘Footsteps of Paul.’ In Philippi at the Gaggitas River where Lydia was baptized, (Acts 16: 12-18), we had prayer with another tour group and joined hands and sang, ‘Bless be the Tie That Binds.’ There wasn’t a dry eye in the group.

Another time I was in Hamburg, Germany visiting a cousin who regularly worships in a Lutheran Church.
While sightseeing downtown Hamburg on a Sunday, the time came for worship, so we attended an ecumenical worship service especially for travelers’. It was one of the most inspiring worship services I ever attended.. There were people from at least 25 different countries. All praising one God, Lord and Savior of us all.

Still another occasion was when I was on a tour celebrating Martin Luther’s 500th Anniversary. We visited the cities where he lived, studied and preached. This was a time before the Berlin Wall came down., and Germany was divided. We were traveling mostly in the GDR, German Democratic Republic, which was a socialist state. One of the first cities we visited was Eisenach, where Luther lived from 1498-1501. We were grateful to be able to worship and partake of the Lord’s Supper at St. Thomas Church in Eisenach, the city Luther always referred to as his ‘Beloved City.‘ Of course, we couldn’t understand the words that were being spoken, but we felt the Spirit making us one as we worshipped together.

If life gives us Christian friends,
Who are faithful to the end,
Then life has given more than gold.
The greatest joy a heart can hold.
If Christian friends are ours to share,
To understand, believe and care,
Our Lord God surely knew,
Life would be complete and true.

Chosen by God

On the first day of school, a teacher asked the children to form a circle and to close their eyes. If she tapped you on the shoulder, you were to move quietly to the center of the circle. The teacher explained that the children she chose would be her helpers for the year. I wondered if she liked me and if I was worthy. Then the touch came, I opened my eyes and moved to the center of the circle. Then I watched the wisest teacher slowly , lovingly touched every student in the class. We were all worthy. She needed us all and loved us all.

I forgot where I read this, but I was impressed with the ability of the teacher to understand that we all need to feel worthy. In the same way God reaches out & touches every shoulder and calls us all into the circle.

Sometimes we wonder if God can use our meager talents. It is knowing that God loves us and thinks we are worthy that we can act in terms of our own nature and set our own goals.

Let Go- Let God

What makes the sky so very blue?
The sun to shine so bright?When clouds of doubt are far and few,
Your soul is winging flight.
What makes a friend so dear, so true?
A neighbor warm your heart?
When in need, concern shows thru
A love you cannot part.
What makes the world an exciting place?
A never ending challenge?
When yearning and learning set the pace
With mind and soul akin.
What makes each day fresh and new?
From morning until night?
When you LET GO and LET GOD thru
Then everything is right.
Wilhelmine

Strategy for Daily Living

An article which I recently read said that we readily accept an expression such as , “As a man thinketh so is he.” However, first we must know our self., and to know our self we must cross-examine ourselves to find out our weaknesses and shortcomings and try to correct them. Do we measure up to the “Fruits of the Spirit,” and do we guard against the five great enemies of :“Peace.”

Galatians 5:22-24
“ But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Many people have interpreted the meaning of these words by paraphrasing. We need to be careful lest we accept the paraphrasing instead of the scripture.

The’ Fruits of the Spirit’ in all righteousness, and truth enable us to pursue our own objectives without fear of failure, censure or criticism.

Love … Knows no limits to its endurance. People always like to be with those who care about them.

Joy/Happiness…Is when the positives satisfactions outweigh the negative experiences.

Peace…Comes when one completely decides for God.

Patience…Enables you to hear a person’s cry for help.

Kindness, Goodness … Doing good is the only certain happy action of a man’s life.

Faithfulness…In an all-seeing and personal God, an alliance with the Almighty.

Self-control…Is using caution and self-restrain.

Beware of situations that generate the five great enemies of PEACE; Avarice, Ambition, Envy, Anger and pride. To guard against these enemies we first must understand them.

Avarice comes from believing that you need certain things when you probably don’t

Ambition arises from dissatisfaction with yourself and your activities.

Envy comes from an irrational comparison of what others have achieved and what you have achieved.

Anger can envelop you and destroy your incentive.

Pride develops from a need to impress yourself and others with qualities you lack.

Don’t waste your time with the enemies of peace. Pursue the “Fruits of the Spirit.” Life is made up of little things, in which a SMILE can win and preserve the heart.

Smiling is infectious, , you can catch it like the flu
When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner, and someone saw my grin,
When he smiled I realized I’d passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile, then I realized it’s worth,
A single smile, just like mine, could travel around the earth.
So, if you feel s smile begin, don’t leave it undetected,
Let’ start an epidemic quick and get the world infected
Theresa Edwards

Holy Spirit

Bill has an ongoing ssssssssssst connection with another resident here at Chambrel. Let me explain. When they greet each other during the day, they aim their pointer finger at each other close enough to connect . I’m not sure what this does for each of them other to say they are on the same wave length and they care about each other.

While serving as pastoral counselor at Baylor Hospital I had similar experiences. After holding hands while praying with a patient, he embraced me., thanked me, and said: “I really felt the spirit connecting us.”

Another occasion ,when after a time of friendly conversation, I said: “Let’s have a word of prayer,” the patient immediately began praying.

Something that connects two people must be the ‘Holy Spirit’. God’s Spirit works in our hearts to make us instruments of blessings to others. He puts an opportunity to do good in our path and says to us, ”Just do what I want you to do, purely out of love for Me.”

The good news is that as believers we possess the Holy Spirit. What Jesus accomplished for us, the Spirit works out in us. Christians need the Holy Spirit for everything.

The Spirit of God enables the people of God to understand the word of God. With the help of the Spirit we can apprehend the truths of the Word of God and appreciate their beauty and significance.

There have been times when visiting a patient , prayer has been refused.

In Zech.4:6 we read that success comes, not by human might or power, but by God’s Spirit. Our responsibility is to speak out faithfully in His name and leave the results to Him.

AS believers in Jesus, we sometimes become frustrated when people, who are not believers refuse to trust in Him. When that happens, we must remember that our role is to obey the command to tell others about Christ; the Holy Spirit’s work is to convict and save them. People need to be born of the Spirit; we can neither believe for them nor redeem them. The Holy Spirit imparts new life from above. We witness faithfully and prayerfully, and God performs the miracle of salvation.

Drop a pebble in the water,
Just a splash and it is gone;
But there’s half a hundred ripples,
Circling, on and on and on…..
Spreading from the center,
Each splashing, dashing wave
Till you wouldn’t believe the volume
The splash from that one pebble gave.

FORGIVEN

The Sermon this past Sunday was on FORGIVEN, PRAYER and GIVE, three things this preacher thought were the most important things in our lives.

As is usual, I critiqued the sermon and ‘Forgiven’ brought to mind so much more than what was said.

We read in the scriptures that we ‘all sin and fall short of the glory of God.’
Accepting yourself , I think, with all the good and the bad that make up your character, comes only after you realize God has accepted you - just as you are. Then and only then can you forgive yourself for all the wrong things that you do because you know that God has already forgiven you.

But, God does want to hear our confession and request for forgiveness. It is hard for us to admit when we are wrong, not only with our relationship with God, but with one another. Yet, if God so freely forgives us, then we surely should forgive each other.

That requires an apology. All of us make mistakes. When we do things that hurt other people, our behavior or our words become a barrier between us. If we don’t apologize, the relationship is fractured.

This is a story about Leonardo da vinci who was a gifted artist. It is said that just before he began his painting of The Last Supper, he had a quarrel with a fellow artist. Leonardo felt so bitter toward his rival that he determined to paint the face of his enemy as the face of Judas. In that way he would take revenge on the man. By picturing him as the betrayer of Jesus, he would make his face the object of scorn to all who viewed the painting.

The face of Judas was one of the first that da Vinci finished, and everyone could easily recognize it as the face of the painter with whom he had quarreled. But when Leonardo began to paint the face of Jesus, he could make no progress. Something seemed to be hindering his best efforts. According to the story, he finally came to the conclusion that the frustration he was experiencing was due to his continuing hatred of his enemy. Leonardo immediately painted out the face of Judas and began again on the face of Christ, this time with the success that the ages have come to acclaim.

As long as we hold on to anger and hatred in our hearts, the Holy Spirit cannot bring Christ into our lives. God wants to forgive us. But he forgives our sins only if we confess. This pattern also applies in human relationships.

We’re not perfect, but we try
We’re doing the best that we can.
We’ll always say that we are sorry,
We know that you’ll understand.

So lets accept ourselves and each other
Without guilt or scolding or fear.
All that is past has been forgiven
When God made it all disappear