God's Way~

Greetings~

The great Fernandez purge of 2014 is still ongoing, and I found something over the weekend while I was cleaning out a box. It was Rayray’s Christmas wish list from 1999. It’s a small list of only 83 items, one of which is a “Persian cat for mom.” This list is cute or maybe it's troubling. I’m not sure, but I do know there are some gifts that are better than all the stuff on that paper.  

Galatians 5:22-23 “What happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”

We get ourselves on the gift list by living life God’s way, and believe it or not, it can all be summed up in one sentence: Love others as you love yourself.  

Six words – that’s it! The antidote for everything we read about yesterday – loneliness, joylessness, dissatisfaction, emotional garbage, a brutal temper etc…is to love others as you love yourself. 

I saw an article on-line yesterday entitled: The Secret of Being Happy. One of the keys to feeling bright and full of sunshine is to serve others.

That’s really no secret at all. The Bible encourages us over and over again to take care of others, put others first, and to love others with the same energy as we put into our own self-preservation. 

When we do this we can expect everything it says in those verses above. I especially love the phrase “exuberance about life.” It’s actually so much more than being happy. It’s excitement, fervor, vitality, zest, eagerness, exhilaration, cheerfulness, AND happiness all rolled up in one!

That sounds so appealing to me. And that’s the kind of life I want for those I love as well.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for encouraging us to think about others and reach out to others. Somehow, by blessing others, we walk away being blessed with the kind of life that’s worth living. In Jesus’name, AMEN~

 

 

We Have a Choice~

Greetings~

 

Yesterday we learned that we have been set free and Galatians 5:13 says, “It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life.”

God has called us to be free, and because we are free, we have a choice.  We can either live God’s way or our own way.  And what is God’s way anyway? And what is our way?   

Verses 19-21 provide some eye-opening insight: “It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.”

Like my husband would say, “Hot dog and a corn bread!”

Those are some powerful words, and none of us wants any of that.  But when we look around at what is happening in society, maybe even right next door, or GASP! in our own homes, it’s frighteningly evident that a bunch of us – to a certain degree –  are trying to get our own way rather than doing it God’s way. 

Isn’t life hard enough already?  Yet some of us live with divided homes and an accumulation of emotional garbage.  I have lost track of how many marriages I know that have ended up in turmoil because one or both spouses felt they had a right to be happy no matter what the consequences.  So many folks desperately grab for any little thing they think will bring them peace, but they are joyless.  They buy this and buy that, but still feel crushing sadness.  Both my kids grew up playing sports, and I would often see parents have toddler-like meltdowns because their child wasn’t doing good enough, or chosen first, or accepted into a prestigious tournament.  They were so sure that being the best of the best was the answer to living a satisfied life.  But look at all the famous and successful people; I can’t think of one person who I would trade places with.

This passage is really saying that when we fail to plug into Christ on a daily basis and seek His blessings and guidance, we wind up doing things as we see fit, and the results are disastrous.

Fifteen years ago this month I had a conversation with another mom from my kids’ elementary school where she said, “My son is a Jesus fanatic.  I wish he would tone it down.”

I briefly debated in my mind what my response should be.  I figured that part of being a Christian is that we are to be Christ’s biggest fans.  If I can yell with glee when the Miami HEAT wins a game, can’t I get excited about eternal life?  Yet this mom, whose kids were all in a private Christian school, by the way, was bothered by her Bible-reading, Jesus-trusting, praying son.  I could have cried.

I simply replied that I had never heard of a mom who could be upset that her son was loving and honest.  That I had no idea what a “perfectly balanced Christian” should look like.  That I didn’t know where to draw the line of trusting Him too much as opposed to just enough.  I remember thinking that maybe she would have been happier if her son were sleeping around and taking drugs.  I didn’t get it then, and I still don’t understand.  Everyone I know wants joy, blessings, peace, commitment, and love.  And the first step is to stop trying to get our own way and do it His way, which we will finally explore tomorrow.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, If we look around there is an abundance of dissatisfaction and misery.  But we choose You and the joy You promise.  We choose You and the peace that comes from trusting You.  We choose You and the very health that permeates our bones when we pray.  And in case someone we love is not quite there yet, we pray for You to fill them up with joy, peace, and health anyway.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~     

It's a Growth Process~

Salutations~

 

Galatians 5:22-23 (The Message version)

 

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”

Yesterday we learned that there is a better way of doing things, and it's God's way. Doing things His way--no matter how difficult and frustrating--leads to gifts. And these gifts appear the same way fruit does in an orchard--little by little.

 

It's a growth process. You don't plant an apple seed and then see a million apples the next day.

 

The good news, however, is that eventually there's a harvest.

 

So my shout out to you today is to give yourselves a break. When you momentarily lose your mind and overreact at something--rein it in next time. Love more, be kinder, be gentler, be good, do good, have joy, promote peace, and before you know it your orchard will be the most fragrant and fruitful of all. So much so, in fact, that others will take notice.

 

Your spouse, kids, relatives, friends, neighbors, and even complete strangers will marvel at how you can be so jolly all the time. Keep in mind that this takes a dedicated effort. None of us starts off perfectly lovely all of the time. Practice really does make perfect.

 

Start thinking of all the challenges in life as an oppotunity to bear fruit.

 

Tomorrow we will look at one of the number one causes of being unhappy and what all this talk about fruit has to do with it.

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We want to do things Your way but we get in the way of it ourselves with our very human limitations. Strengthen us to do the right thing because we all need and desire the gifts You bring when we do. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

God's Way~

Good afternoon all you lovely saints. This past weekend one of you celebrated one of the greatest highs of life—your child got married! Your exact words to me were, “It is a tremendous blessing that my daughter married such a godly young man from such a fine Christian family!”

 

Amen to that!

 

Maybe getting from point A to point B wasn’t perfect or problem free, but a final assessment of how it all went down reminds me of a great Bible passage.

 

Galatians 5:22-23 (The Message version)

 

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”

 

What is “God’s way?”

 

God’s way is primarily about seeking Him and loving one another. It means we include Him in all our decisions and then exercise patience and forgiveness with others. It means we put Him and others first and put ourselves second. It means we pour out our troubles and complaints to Him and keep our traps shut in front of others for the greater blessing of keeping the peace. It means we practice simple kindness. It means we make sacrifices. You all know exactly what I mean.

 

Our efforts are rewarded with gifts. Go back to the verse and look at all the things we receive when we get on board with His way. Exuberance about life? Sounds awesome! Serenity? I sure could use more of that! Able to marshal and direct our energies wisely? You mean there are unwise ways in which we direct our energies?

 

All this week we will dissect this passage, but today let’s thank God that He is a giver of gifts to all those who are willing to live His way.

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We all desire to receive the gifts You are willing to bring into our lives. Help us to embrace Your way of living. We all desire to have orchards filled with delicious and satisfying fruit. In Jesus name, AMEN~