Good morning friends. I hope you are all well. We have now survived Halloween and are on to the real holidays involving turkey and trees. Yes, I am a major fan of the tree holiday and have lots of it to put up. Christmas is a time where I can look through the pinholes of life and see God face to face. What??? Walk with me through Oswald Chambers’ devotion this morning as he shows how this concept ties in perfectly with how we should live our lives.
“Our Lord never insists on obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. He prefaces his instructions with an ‘if'”. Oswald Chambers
It’s a hard concept and a personal choice for each individual. We, as humans, want to know exactly what lies in front of us so that we can make safe and sound choices. But in my opinion, that’s now how it really works. We live by faith, trusting that He will take care of us. And He does.
“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.” Oswald Chambers
Our lives may seem random and boring with the day to day tasks but Oswald reminds us that when we obey Christ, those random circumstances of life become tiny pinholes through which we see the face of God. It’s like trying to look through the holes in the fence to see the big picture.
Sometimes we can’t see anything but other times when we look with our heart we can see the love of God.
As I stare at the lights of Christmas, I am reminded of the star of hope that came to lead us in our day to day tasks so that we can enjoy the beauty of the tiny pinholes. So today, try to see where the pinhole of your day can find the face of God and see Him smile down at you in love.
I think animals want to see God too, so for a little humor this morning we see them looking through peepholes. They may march to a different drum, but they know who the drummer is.
So I remind you today to smile and know that God loves you. And always remember to show kindness wherever you go. Kindness creates pinholes for you to shine the love of Christ through.
Good morning friends. It is a dreary day but the rain is a blessing. In reading my devotions this morning, I was most encouraged by Billy Graham’s message. For some, this time of year is hard because they don’t understand the value of the Christian message during Halloween. They lock themselves away from it until it is gone instead of countering its power and sharing the love of Christ. Mr. Graham’s message today was on the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. But as I read these verses, I fully recognized a tactic I learned in college of the beginning power of your first few words written and the last few words written carrying the power of your message.
“Love is patient and love is kind….Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes… LOVE NEVER FAILS. 1 Corinthians 13:4,7-8
Halloween gives us an opportunity to share God’s love in a different way. Through Christ, we have all become encouragers of His love. I have found in my life that sometimes the best way for me to be encouraged is to encourage others – partly the reason you are subject to my encouraging notes. But I am a firm believer in 1 Corinthians 13:13…
The faith we have in Christ gives us hope to survive this earthly existence by sharing His love as we go. The Trunk or Treat/Soup Kitchen we do each year at our church shows God’s love to others that come by with hope to encourage their faith in Him. The Encouragement Team this year is participating a little differently in that we are hosting a balloon lift. We will have helium balloons for children to pray over and turn loose into the air. Each balloon will have an encouragement note attached with scripture so that wherever it goes, the recipient will hopefully be encouraged. Then the child who released the balloon, beside getting candy, will receive a small balloon on a stick with encouragement for them and their family to remember the balloon they turn loose for God to take where it needed to go.
My sincerest hope is for today and the following week is that you are encouraged knowing their is a Father in heaven who dearly loves you. And as you are encouraged remember to encourage others and always be kind.
Good morning friends. I hope you are well this morning. I am afraid the winter grays are upon us here in the midwest. At least that is how I see it. During the warmer months, the sun shines its light and warmth upon us to reflect the beauty of God all around us. As the weather begins to cool, the cloud cover appears more often. But there is beauty there also, we just have to look a little harder to see it and feel it. The brightness of the sun is replaced by bright yellow and red leaves. Pumpkins and colorful gourds are in the markets and the corns is getting dry in the field to make food for farm animals. Proof that God is there to fill our needs. We have a needs for all things from God and He wants us to be filled with them.
Many people will not understand how much we need God in all things but those of us who follow Jesus understand just how important our need and His want for us in filling all those needs are tied together.
“Economically, they may manage; intellectually, they may manage; socially, they may get by. But down underneath the surface of rational man is a vacuum-a void that can be met only through Jesus Christ.” Billy Graham
Mankind will continue to believe he can fully fill his needs without Jesus, but the void God created in our inner most depths is to be filled by God Himself. The towers of Babel we try to build to fill that void will still crumble because He wants us to fill that area with Him. It’s kind of a simple hard task – we have needs and He wants to fill them. It’s simple because all we have to do is believe, but it’s hard because it’s a lifelong process. But He is ever by our side to meet any need. I think the trouble man has is understand the difference between need and want. We want a lot more than we need.
So let us reassess our needs today and enjoy God daily gift He wants to share with us.
Dear Father, help us to understand how you want to fill our souls with the beauty of your presence to fill our every need.
Have a blessed rest of the week and weekend and remember always the power of kindness. Kindness can bridge the concerns of a day and allow the waters of kindness to flow out to others in need.
Good morning friends. What a beautiful day we have today after the dreariness of yesterday – although we needed the rain. At least we did not have the forecasted storms. This morning I am bringing you some encouragement from Billy Graham and Oswald Chambers. I read both of their devotion each morning and this morning their messages easily merge together.
“Being a Christian is serious business. Many will believe intellectually about God but then live a life unworthy of Him believing He will save them in the end.” Billy Graham
I am afraid it doesn’t work that way. Our walk in the everyday day life reveals where our true priorities lay. While we may not walk as pure as Enoch did, we must take our walk seriously.
“The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times.” Oswald Chambers It can be a truly hard thing to walk as Jesus asks us to walk because He seems to walk ten paces ahead of us. Remember, when Jesus was here on Earth, He was not doing His own walk but walking how the Father wanted him to walk. So, he fully understands how difficult it can be for us. He knows we can’t do it alone, so He comes along beside us in the form of The Holy Spirit to guide us as we go.
It is the Holy Spirit that changes our mindset in how we see the world churning around us, giving us strength and courage to face whatever comes our way. And those times when we are fully in step with God, we feel a peace about us that even we can not explain.
He doesn’t want us walking intellectually with Him, knowing all there is to know about Him. He wants us to walk willingly, heart to heart with Him and He will take care of all the rest.
So, walk humbly with your Lord today and let Him see your heart and He will ease all of your concerns so that you can continue to walk beside Him at peace. And remember as you walk, share the kindness that He wants us to share. Sharing kindness adds another layer of Joy to your heart..
I step out to the early autumn day to feel the light coolness still present from the night before. The summer has been hot and we are ready for it to move on. With camera in hand I head out to see the beauty of the day. The sun is awake but the trees are hiding its heat for we know summer is not ready to fully let go.
My gourds are still blooming but the vine has seen its better days. I find it interesting that the older sections of the vines are becoming dry and leafless while yet it determines to reach out with new life.
My neighbor still has cherry tomatoes robustly growing. They have grown over the fence daring anyone to stop their journey. The dew is quite heavy this morning beading up on the fuzzy leaves to drip further down the plant to nourish the lower limbs.
Further onward I see sweet peas displaying their rich dark red color including splashes of yellow. They too are covered in this morning’s heavy dew.
I am always fascinated with droplets of dew or water drops that cling to leaves and flowers after a shower; God’s attempt to refresh the earth.
As the sun reaches higher into the sky, the clouds begin to make their way further on in their destination wherever that may be.
The beauty of nature shows us the beauty of God as he left us these sights for us to enjoy his creation. He created all of it for Himself to enjoy but then gave it as a gift to us so we could enjoy it together with Him.
As you enjoy the beauty of this earth, remember the beauty of you, as you are part of His creation as well. We are all beautifully and wonderfully made.
As you remember the beauty of everything around you, remember the beauty of kindness and share it as much as you can.
Good morning friends. Today in the Mid-west it is a wet and gloomy day. No rain but just heavy humidity and gray clouds. It is a great day to visualize and understand the true joy of Christ. In my reading this morning in Jesus Calling, Sarah reminded us that joy is not dependent on what we see, what our circumstances are or how we feel. We can be on top of a mountain enjoying the beautiful sunshine or in the bottom of the damp valley surrounded by foggy gloom. Regardless of what is going on around us, we can feel the true joy of Christ.
“True Joy is a by-product of living in God’s presence.” Sarah young.
We are creatures of habit trying to gain our happiness from the things we see instead of knowing or understanding who is standing right by us, that we may not see. God’s presence in our lives not only breaks through the gloomy clouds but can reflect from us onto others as we go through this life. And there is no limit to the love He wraps around us for us to give also to others.
And although we don’t like the trials, the trials can give us perspective, understanding and hope. And Romans reminds us that “hope does not disappoint”. It strengthens our faith to survive the trials.
The Holy Spirit is ever present reminding us of His constant love even though we may be hurting from the effects of this world. That pain is not forever, but His love is. He speaks of His love all through His Word, and He showed us His ultimate love by dying for us when we didn’t deserve it. So when you face gloomy days, remember the light reflecting off of His face, just for us. He is always close by.
May you feel His love and Peace engulf your possible gloomy times. Know that the brightness of His love will melt that gloom. Embrace it and remember to be kind. Giving kindness, even when not deserved, can show others the beauty of God’s love.
Good evening friends. This is coming a little later in the week than normal but I still wanted to send out an encouraging hug even though late. For we all need hugs from time to time. Pastor’s sermons for the last couple of weeks have been on Ephesians 6. A wonderful series to assure us of God’s protection that is there for us to use. After Sunday’s sermon on the Breastplate of Righteousness, I spoke with him on how I knew intellectually I was not righteous but yet we are told to be righteous as He is righteous. But his series shows us how Jesus’s righteousness is given to us because of His love for us when we follow His lead. It got me to thinking about the word righteousness – what does it really mean? The dictionary says it is the quality of being morally right. A Christian layman’s definition is simply standing right with God.
I saw that there were over 520 scriptures in the bible that talk about righteousness, therefore it is important and I need to pay attention. But my evening devotion Tuesday night talked about another object of righteousness, a crown of righteousness.
God’s righteousness is there for all of us who love Him. So when life’s trials seem to have run over you like a bulldozer, know that God knows your heart. He has promised a reward that none of us deserve but because we love Him and are eagerly waiting for His return, he has a crown of righteousness to give us. The righteousness we have is not our own by what we do but is the righteousness of Jesus Himself that He has passed on to us.
When life may seem to be going fast and difficult for you, he wants you to reach up for His hand and He will walk with you through any trial you may face and bring you peace.
May you have a peaceful evening and remember tomorrow to show kindness wherever you can. Kindness given to others creates fertile soil for more kindness to grow.
Good morning friends. In life, we use analogies to help us create mind pictures in understanding a purpose that is beneficial for us. Kind of like Jesus using parables to help people understand His teachings. In today’s devotional with Oswald Chambers he stated :
“God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us.” Oswald Chambers
In other words, God’s purpose for man is not to develop us into wonderful people but to show how wonderful we can be when we allow His purposes to come out of us. So, be a grape today and allow the sweetness in you to flow out to others.
And remember to be kind. Its the sweetest attribute of Jesus.
When I first started blogging in 2018, this was one of my first posts. It was before I started adding pictures and scripture references. I am a firm believer in a picture being worth 1,000 words. Some will look through to just see the pictures and if I can get the message in the pictures as well, then we may reach that one person that needs reaching with a message showing kindness.
I was reading back through some of my old post and thought this message was still very relevant, so I have revised it by adding pictures and scripture references. Last month, I lost one of my precious babies, Mimi, and I firmly believe she did have a soul. I could see it in her eyes.
July 2018
You know that look you try not to show when someone makes a really stupid comment, or maybe they just need to be slapped back into reality for other reasons. You want to do the honors of the reality slap but you reframe due to the kind person that you are so you just walk away shaking your head.
I react this way when I hear people make comments about dogs or animals not having a soul. Hey, they were created first. Okay, so what defines a soul. After much research I found three “definitions”, and I use that term loosely as the soul comes from God and who can ever know the mind of God. So below are the three definitions that I thought described this concept of a soul the best:
The spiritual immaterial of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.(immortal meaning not dying but crossing over to God at death)
The principal of life, feeling, thought and action from those attributes.
my favorite – The part that consists of mind, character, thought and feeling.
Our soul is what makes us who we are. The ability to analyze a situation, and act on it through our personality or character with compassion. Now that compassion can be either gentle or strong. In scripture, the bible is descriptive in explaining God creating all life and gave it as a gift.
It is important sometimes to understand the original language the scriptures were written in so that you have a better understanding of the words used.
The above verse describes animals having hayyah (life). However, in the Hebrew it also has the word nephesh in combination with hayyah, which is the exact same wording as the description of the soul in the creation of Adam. In other words, though nephesh is only translated as “life” here, the Hebrew speaks of the soul. Animals thus have a nephesh hayyah just like Adam. Marianne Widmalm
Think of the things dogs do for us, not only with their protective abilities but all things. Think of your worst day and your dog comes to you to quietly sit by your side, sometimes with its head in your lap or they pushed under your arm to let you know “I am here”. How about the occasional lick on the face to wash away the tears you shed. Dogs KNOW the feelings of people and are especially tuned into their masters. They laugh with us when we are happy by bouncing around. Picture this, you just get home from work and are greeted with 100% tail wagging, circle turning unconditional love. How about if you trip and fall. You are immediately surrounded to assure all is well. And if you are hurt, they are by your side offering assistance.
Think of the times when this is all reversed, your dog is terrified of the vet or a thunderstorm. Now they are looking to you for love and support and when you give it, it strengthens the bond. Even when dogs are mistreated by their owners, they remain loyal. Dogs reflect God’s love for us. Always there, always protecting (even though we may not see it) and ALWAYS loving. Even when we don’t deserve it.
I saw a video on FB the other day of two dogs, one on the floor and one on the sofa. The one on the sofa had a cookie and as he bit into it, it broke in half. After eating the half in his mouth, with his nose, he pushed the other half over to the dog on the floor. Now I know not all dogs would do this but why would even one? Because of its inner being, the soul.
Think of the times our dogs let us know of dangers heading our way. We understand that the dangers may not be real for us but still the dog sees something they feel is not right and they let us know. How many times has your dog looked at you asking the question “Do you not see this?” Yes, we do. But we know how to handle the wind tossed scary plastic bag that is moving up and down the street. We laugh at them sometimes but they are always in protective mode – some more and some less – because of their love for us. And the more we love them, the more they love us. An ever evolving circle. Kind of like hoe God loves us..
My whole point of this is to remind us (in my opinion) of dogs and all animals having the gift of a soul. Everything that has breath is a creation of God and the soul is a gift given out of love to all living things. All of it reflects God’s love for all of creation.
And to help drive my closing comment – even though I know it is a controversial point – how can any creature who shows love and shows kindness NOT have a soul. Its part of the inner nature of God.
Good morning friends. This morning I bring you needy ducks. As I walked close to the river at the park, I saw them coming. Running as only ducks can do knowing people may have something they want. I stopped and watched them come closer.
As the braver ones up front stopped within two feet of me, they waited expectantly, softly quacking and muttering. This reminded me of how expectant some people can be of a church or Christianity as a whole. Only to stop short, mutter softly, not understanding what the real gift is that could be given.
I had nothing to give these ducks so pretty soon they turn their backs to me, complaining as they go and slowly waddle back out of the sunlight to the shade of the trees.
Too often I see people coming to the church to get out of a jam. The church will do what they can only to see the previous pattern of this person’s life repeat itself. Some will get so disgruntled that they go back to the dark shade of the trees without truly understanding the benefits God can give them with His light.
“God uses the reaction of your life to your circumstances to fulfill HIS purpose as long as we continue to walk in the light.” Oswald Chambers
We as a church, not necessarily the church we attend, but Christ’s church, must be willing to allow our light to shine thus so, for seekers to see it, want it and learn to walk in it. Oswald Chambers reminds us that it is the work that God does through us who understand this light that counts for the kingdom. Now that our churches are trying to reopen from this virus, it is that much more important for our light to shine. Not just for those we know who already understand the light, for we all who enjoy seeing it as well, but especially for those who are seeking the light. If we can show others how to quench their thirst with the river of light instead of the darkness of the shade trees, then they can be refreshed and encouraged.
As our churches and lives begin to reopen, allow God to work through you to help refresh others, giving everyone some much needed hope of survival in this life. Let’s let our light shine, showing all how to reach up for Jesus’s open hand. It is there waiting to be grabbed as He is anchored with the Father. Their love together can calm any fear, soothe any hurt and encourage you beyond measure. Reach up for His hand.
And as always, I remind you to be kind. Kindness comes from Christ, so let our kindness be a light to someone needing it.
For the Love of 