Blessed To Serve

 "A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9


      God calls each of us to serve.  He has a special plan for each of us.  There are ways for each of us to serve Him that no one else can...   It has been in the works since long before we were even born.   He sometimes gives us special skills or talents that can be used to build up the body or the community in which we live and work.  He calls us to serve in different ways.   Some serve in the Church, some in the community, some in both... but everyone has their very own special something that is needed.   Many of us have jobs.   Many of us have gravitated into the job or career in which we work because we felt that God was calling us to it....   Sometime we love our jobs.  Sometimes our jobs can be a real pain in the keister.  It's not always "fun" to serve.  But then again at least some of us are blessed enough to have jobs, even if we aren't always happy in them.   I have some friends who would love to be working right now, but for a variety of reasons can't.  We all long to do what God has planned for us.  Sometimes we are called to serve in a place other than the workplace.  Maybe our family needs us.  Maybe a volunteer organization needs that special something that only you can give.   We think we have to work....  sometimes we think we have to work all the time...  But as we discussed a few weeks ago, there is a season for everything.   There are times when I just dread going into work, but sometimes I enjoy it so much that I forget I am even working.  I was just talking with a friend this afternoon.  He reminded me that sometimes we are just blessed ourselves to be able to work in fields that we love.  To be able to earn our livings doing things that we would gladly do for free.  What a cool thing is that!        
       But I am also reminded that my friends who are not working, are serving God, by being there for their families and friends too.   I have some friends whom  I am so thankful for who have been able to be there only because God allowed them the free time to be there when they were so badly needed.  What a blessing.  We sometimes get so bogged down in thinking about the what if's that we don't see the blessing in stuff like that.  
       I know that sometimes I get discouraged by days full of meetings where everyone wants what you can't give them.  Or when I want to do something and go somewhere and I can't cause I have to work.  And yet on other days I am encouraged by some small thing that happens that makes me want to do the "happy dance" around the office.   What I try to remember is this.... I am there to serve God.  Not to please man.  I work at the pleasure of my Lord.   I serve at the pleasure of my Lord.  Wherever.  Whenever.  Whether I feel like it or not.  That is what I was made to do.  God knows the plans He has for us....  what a wonderful thing...   It's got to make you wonder.  
      Dear Lord,   Thanks for the opportunity to do your will.  Thanks for giving me the tools and the talents that I need to do it.  I am so glad to be able to serve.  I am thankful for others who serve You too.  Help me to remember that no matter where I am, no matter what I am doing, it should be for Your glorification or for the edification of others.   And thanks for not punishing me as I deserve when I grumble about it....   Thanks for the little things that You do just when I really need a "pick me up" to remind me that You are there with me.

Words. Words. Everywhere...

 ^"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."  Hebrews 4:12


       Dale Carnegie once said "Seek first to understand then to be understood".  Words.  They are everywhere.   And many words have several meanings.   The English language is especially difficult to master.  The bible has been translated into so many different languages that even scholars fight over what certain passages of scripture really mean...
      We need to choose our words very carefully.   Words can be used to build up, or edify but they can just as easily be used to attack or tear down.  Sometimes the same sentence or group of words can have several different meanings, depending on the situation.   If I told you to "go pack sand" would it necessarily be a bad thing?   Maybe.... but what if we were trying to stop a river from flooding and we had sand that we needed to pack into sandbags.  Then telling you to "go pack sand" would be akin to giving you direction or guidance.  
        We own the impressions that we leave with others.  If I say something to you.  And you are offended by it.  Then I am responsible for that.  I must pick my words carefully, and not speak before thinking.  And it is not limited to just words.  Looks, and actions work the same way.   And it's not just when we are with others.
        Have you ever been in your car, driving down the road when someone in the car ahead of you does something that you consider to be like the dumbest move a driver could do... is he driving like 10 miles an hour in a 25 mile an hour speed zone?   Is he waiting until the opposite traffic is in the next county before making a left turn?   Is he talking on a cell phone to make it worse?  Doesn't that just boil your blood?  Doesn't it make you want to shake your fist at him, and shout some unmentionables at him?   But then doesn't that small voice inside your head say "hey, what are you doing?"  And isn't it then that you realize that even if no one is around to get offended by what you are thinking, saying and doing... God still hears it, sees it and knows it?  And doesn't that make you feel like a real buffoon?  Yep.  Been there, done that, got the T-shirt to prove it! (only kidding about the T-shirt - but if there was one you can bet I would have it)  It's got to make you wonder...
     Dear Lord, please help my friends and I to pick our words carefully.  To guard our minds, so that You may be foremost in our thoughts and on our tongues.  And please help us to be more patient where we would naturally tend toward impatience.  And let us use our words wisely so that we might shine your light rather than our own.  And thanks ahead of time...

Out With The Old!

   "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,  he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

      There is a song that says "I'm not who I was".   Wow, is that true.   The bible tells us that if we are in        Christ then we are new creations.  So literally we are not who we were...  But I have got to admit that there are      many times when I feel like the "same old me".  When I ask myself "where is that new creation?".     But then after I freak out a bit, I sit back and think about all that God has done in my life.  And it is only then that it sinks in... my   body may be the same, but I AM changed.  No question     there.  I do not think as I once did.   I guess it's like in 1     Corinthians where it says  "When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things."  When I look at my life I normally don't see the growth.   It is only when I take a step back and look at what God has done, that I see the change.  

       I was talking with a friend yesterday.  We were talking about growing in our faith.  One of the things that I found significant was that we agreed that when we look at ourselves we don't see ourselves in the same light that others see us in.   I feel pretty confident in saying that we probably don't see ourselves as God sees us either.  I know that when I look in the mirror  I have a tendency to see the bad things in myself.  I would guess that most of you probably do too.  

        I have a few really good friends that I can turn to for guidance or advice when I need it.  Whom I count on to correct me when I go off track...  this doesn't take the place of going to God or listening to the small voice that the Holy Spirit puts inside me.  But I only mention this because at one time, in my mind I thought of those friends as "all together", as much more mature than I am and I looked up to them much more so than I do today.   Not that they aren't "together".   They are.   And I do respect and love and look up to them... but not like before.   I realize now that they are just as screwed up as I am.  It's like another song says: "There's no such thing as perfect people, there's no such thing as a perfect life."  And I know now that God uses us to help each other.   It's a two way street.  They are able to help and support me.  But ALSO, I am able to help and support them.  And my help and support is as important to them as theirs is to me...  None of us is perfect... that's why we need God.  He takes the director's chair and guides us, directs us and challenges us to live right.  That means doing His will.  We, being human, tend to screw it up pretty royally sometimes.  But God has put friends into our lives to help keep us on track... He has surrounded us with His army.... Some of them are slave drivers, others are gentle nudgers.... but they all help us to keep our eyes where they belong.

     So I am not who I was, and neither are you... Ain't it cool?  Oh yeah.   God put the people around you in your lives to be there for you.... an earthly reminder that He works through us and in us.  He knows what He's doing... even though we don't.  It's got to make you wonder...

     Dear Lord,  thanks for always being there working where we see you sometimes, but for still having our back even when we don't see you...  and thanks for the things you have done in our lives.   Thanks for dumping our old selves, and replacing them with new selves.  Even though we don't always feel "new".  Thanks for the fellowship that you have provided for us.  And thanks for the friends that you have brought into our lives.  Thanks also that even though we are all majorly flawed we can still be there for each other, supporting, guiding and praying.   Dude, You rock! Thanks.

It's not always what it seems...

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

     We have had some tremendous amounts of snow this week.  More than two feet in most of my local area.  As I look out the window I can't help but to think how awesomely beautiful it looks... but then reality sets in...(doesn't it always?)  And I realize that I have to shovel it....(I shoveled snow for over 5 hours one day).  I am reminded how dangerous it can be to drive in it...  And as soon as I open the door to step outside I am quickly reminded that it's cold out there.... So there you have it.  Beauty is not always what it seems.   
     
       People are kind of like snow in that what you see on the surface is not usually everything it seems to be.   But we often make "snap judgements" based on what we "see" on the surface.   Someone who seems to be always joyful and cheerful might really be hurting inside.  Someone who seems to be really miserable might actually be quite nice if we get to know them.   Someone whom you think doesn't care for you because they never say good morning might really just be to shy to say hello to someone they don't know well.    And sometimes there is just so much going on in a person's life that they might jump from one emotion to the next without any rational explanation. 
 
       They call it an "oxymoron" when something happens and it should be good but it could also be bad.... when two things that are together don't really belong.   I am currently finding that death is an oxymoron.  Someone dies.   We are sad and hurt very badly because we will miss them.  But yet, if we believe God's word we realize that we will see them again.  We know that they were not happy with the way they were in life, with failing health and an inability to function at the level they would have liked to be functioning at.  

      We know that death is the end of pain and suffering.  That with God, they are healthy and strong and painfree.  But still we cry.  We should be happy for them... and in our own way we are.... but still we cry.   We make jokes and laugh to hide the pain... but still we cry.    We have God to take care of our needs, but especially if the one whom has died is a parent, we feel abandoned and left to fend for ourselves.... even though we know better... and still we cry.  We feel like our heart is breaking and yet we know we should be glad that they are with God.... and still we cry.  We know that if it were us in their situation we would rather be with God... and still we cry.  It's got to make you wonder....

       Dear Lord,  please help us to see You working in our lives during all of our situations.  Please remind us that it is not always what it seems. Please help us to cling to You and to not make "snap judgements" of others.   Beauty on the surface does not always run deep.  You know what's in our hearts.  Please just wrap Your arms around us and hold us tight so that we really feel Your protection and love in our lives.  And thanks so very much for being so patient with us...