Category: Christian Living

More than I should, I enjoy being acknowledged for something I’ve done.  “Honey, look how much money I’ve saved us this week by planning out all our meals!”  “Did you notice I set the coffee pot for you?”  As soon as Neal replies, “Great job!” or “Wow, thanks!” I smile with satisfaction.  Granted, I don’t prod anyone besides my husband for praise (at least not in an obvious way), but I realize I’ve got a problem with motives here.  Ideally, I should serve because I can and should, without expecting a pat on the back.  Ironically, most of the things I seek recognition for are things I’m supposed to be doing anyway.  They’re part of my responsibilities. They’re not second-mile deeds.  In order to curb my childish desire for praise, I tried an experiment.  I would go an entire week without mentioning a single accomplishment on my part.  I mentally geared up ahead of time, reminding myself that a mature Christian woman serves out of the goodness of her heart.  How did it go?  Well, let’s just say I found creative ways to seek praise.  Crawling into bed at the end of Day One, I said, “Mmm, I love the smell of freshly washed sheets.”  Neal dutifully replied, “Me, too.  Good job, Babe.”

My youngest son, Carl, shared something with me this morning that reminded me again to work on this prideful trait of mine.  He is studying ancient history, and told me the story of Draco.  Draco, who lived around 600 B.C., was a strict and serious Athenian.  He gained a reputation for harshness.  He ordered that even the smallest offense of the law be punishable by death.  People acknowledged him because he ruthlessly demanded it.  One day, Draco went to the theatre,  and when the public saw him, they threw their cloaks to him in order to honor him.  Unfortunately, he suffocated under the mass number of cloaks.  He was smothered in praise.  What he desired most became his downfall.

Seeking praise gets to be a bad habit, an unattractive character trait.  It’s a heart condition.  It’s nothing like the service that our Lord demonstrated for us, and commands of us.  We’re to serve in humility (John 13:1-17).  We’re to serve one another in love (Gal. 5:13).  We’re to serve with grace (1 Pet. 4:10).  And when we serve, we are to desire that God gets the praise and is glorified (1 Pet. 4:11).

Prayer for today:  Lord, help me renew my heart, seeking Your glory, not mine.

She was a businesswoman and a brand new Christian.  Although the Bible doesn’t say much about her (Acts 16:13-15), I know I want to be a lady like Lydia.  I admire her for loving God, which she demonstrated through her worship.  I admire her for her sincerity, which she demonstrated when she accepted and obeyed the gospel.  But I especially admire her for her open heart, which she demonstrated by her hospitality.

Lydia’s open heart led to an open home.  She began her Christian walk by inviting Paul and Luke to stay in her home.  Her heart was in the right place.  It was ready to act.  The Bible places a great emphasis on the condition of the heart because it is the source of our actions (Proverbs 4:23; 23:7).  If we ready our hearts to serve, we will find opportunities.

Lydia followed through with her impulse.  Her offer of hospitality was probably a result of multiple emotions (joy, excitement, gratitude), and she wanted to express them in a tangible way.  How many times have we thought, “We should have them over sometime,” but never act on those impulses?  Often our hearts will be touched by a need but we neglect it until it is too late.  Lydia could’ve made excuses.  She could’ve thought, “Well, I’m only a brand new Christian.”  She could’ve decided she really didn’t know Paul very well after all.  Instead, she readily opened her home to her brothers in Christ.  We shouldn’t allow excuses (the condition of the house, the level of cooking skills, or even timidity) keep us from acting on those hospitable impulses.

Lydia’s invitation was genuine.  The NKJV uses the words “she begged us” and “she persuaded us” (Acts 16:15).  “Come to my house and stay.”  When Lydia invited them into her home, she was not just being polite, half hoping they would decline.  She truly wanted to take care of them.  She removed all hesitancy on their part by pleading with them to show her sincerity.  When I was a teenager, my family moved to a small town in Georgia.  A thoughtful, older couple came to see if we needed help unpacking.  As this couple was leaving, the gentleman said, “Well, come go home with us!”  My sister and I looked at each other, then at our parents and said, “Can we?”  We ended up spending the afternoon at their home, and it wasn’t until several months later that we learned the invitation wasn’t a literal one.  “Y’all come home with us” was a regional expression folks would say at the end of a conversation.  It really meant, “Let’s get together soon.”  These new friends were good sports because they just chuckled and took us home with them (although they did tease us about it quite often over the next couple of years).  Lydia didn’t extend a half-hearted invitation.  Instead of saying, “We need to have y’all over sometime,” we need to genuinely invite, even compel others into our homes.

Lydia’s example of hospitality is a practical model for us.  With open hearts and genuine invitations, the amount of fellowship that will result can only fill our lives with joy and spiritual growth.

Prayer for Today:  Lord, help me remember that my home is Your home so I will wear it out in Your service.

One warm day in Florida, I was walking along a sandy road with a new friend.  She had just moved into the neighborhood and we hit it off immediately.  I was eleven years old, but I still remember the Spanish moss swaying in the breeze and how excited we were to throw marshmallows to the alligators.  Two boys crossed our path.  I snickered and said, “The brown-haired one is really cute.  How’d the blond-headed one get to be so ugly?”  My new friend looked at me searchingly for a second before whispering, “That’s my brother.”

Have you ever said something thoughtless and regretted it for years?  This particular incident took place almost thirty years ago, yet I’ll never forget the hurt I saw in the eyes of my sweet new friend.  I still feel ill when I think how my cruel and unnecessary words caused such pain.  Even though she never held it against me, that conversation will probably haunt me forever.  And unfortunately, incidents of thoughtless words didn’t end with my childhood.

Proverbs 10:19 reads, “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”  This verse teaches the wisdom of learning to choose words carefully and sparingly.  When we simply start talking, without weighing our words and considering the consequences, chances are we will somehow sin.  It’s too easy to let our guards down and our lips loose.  It’s all too tempting to think others want or need to know our opinions on everything…how a program should have been run, what the leaders should be doing, a young mother’s unusual approach to child-rearing.  “There is one who speaks the piercings of the sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health” (Prov. 12:18).  Before speaking we must ask, “Will my words tear down or build up?”  “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil” (Prov. 15:28).

Our words can cause pain in the heart of a beloved spouse.  They can promote insecurity in the mind of an innocent child.  They can make new Christians feel inadequate.  They can make church leaders feel overwhelmed, or discourage zealous members who have a mind to work.  What power we have with our tongues!  James 3:9 reads, “No man can tame the tongue.  It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”  Watching our words is a lifetime practice.  The tongue can never be freed, assuming it will only do as we want.  It must always be bridled and diligently guarded.

A helpful exercise is to go through the book of Proverbs and underline every verse that has to do with the mouth, tongue, lips or words.  There are over a hundred of them!  It’s a good eye-opener to the emphasis God places on the accountability of our words.  It will expose your speech as either righteous or foolish.

To avoid hurting others with our words, we must continuously put our thoughts through a sieve before we speak them.  Sift out everything negative, critical, bitter, malicious or insinuating.  Speak only what is encouraging, uplifting, positive, complimentary, supportive and truthful.  “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles” (Prov. 21:23).

Prayer for Today:  Please help me remember, Lord, that I will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word I have spoken (Matt. 12:36).

Once I was stranded in the parking lot of a grocery store because my car wouldn’t start.  I tried everything, and was really starting to feel helpless when a kind man came to lend a hand.  It didn’t take long for him to diagnose the problem.  “Lady, I think your car is out of gas.”  Oh.  I never wanted to repeat that embarrassing situation, so I knew I had two options to keep from ever running out of gas:  never go anywhere or keep an eye on the gauge.

Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t go anymore?  You didn’t blow a tire.  You didn’t blow an engine.  No one ran into you.  You just flat ran out of gas.  How did that happen?  You neglected to keep an eye on your gauge.  You’d probably been running on fumes for a while.

When your car runs out of gas, you are forced to stop.  No matter how many things are left on your to-do list, or how many errands you have left to run, you’re stuck.  Not only that, you’ll probably have to rely on someone else to come rescue you by bringing a can of gas to get you going again.  You may not have reached the point yet where you’ve run out of gas, but are you dangerously close?  Are you running on fumes?  Has the joy left your days because you lack the energy to keep up with everything?  What can you do to keep from running out of gas?

BEWARE OF THE DISTRACTIONS.  There are several detours we often take that make us spend more time running around than we had planned.  Let’s look at two of the biggies.

Worry is a costly distraction.  If I gave you a sheet of paper and asked you to list ten things that you are worried about, could you do it?  I could!  Worry expends energy and depletes our resources.  It steals the zest that we need for real Godly living.  We know this, just as surely as we know that cars need gas to run, but sometimes we forget to check on our worry gauge.  Jesus gives a powerful reminder in Matthew 6.  He tells us not to worry about life (v. 25).  He tells us that worry accomplishes nothing (v. 27).  And He tells us that He’s got tomorrow taken care of (v. 34).  Paul wrote to Christians who had some things to worry about.  They were facing persecution, dealing with false teachers, and experiencing strife in their home congregation.  Paul advised them to worry about nothing and pray about everything (Phil. 4:6).  The result would be the peace of God guarding their hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7).  Isn’t peace the opposite of worry?

Being overwhelmed is another distraction.  How do you feel when your schedule is packed, and has been for a while?  Grouchy?  Tearful?  A little less enthusiastic?  Resentful?  Regretful?  Fragile?  It’s easy to get caught up in overcommitment. The things you’re busy doing are probably all very good, but can still cause you to feel overwhelmed if you find yourself rushing from one commitment to the next.  How can we keep from overextending?  First, be disciplined to know when enough is enough.  “If you find honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it” (Prov. 25:16).  Although honey is good, it will make you sick if you don’t practice self-control.  We need to have the wisdom and restraint to know when to say, “That’s enough for now.”  Second, don’t lose sight of your goal.  As the saying goes, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”  As Christians, our ultimate goal is to go to Heaven and to take others with us.  When faced with something you’re going to have to write on your calendar, ask yourself, “Will this make it easier or harder to reach my goal?”

LET GOD DRIVE.  Sometimes we’re just lousy drivers.  When we direct our own course, we can get lost, or at least way off course.  Notice what happened to the psalmist who tried to do things on his own (Psalm 77).  He got overwhelmed in a hurry!  What was his solution?  Remember God’s greatness.  The difference between being weighed down and running with endurance is looking to Jesus (Heb. 12:1,2).  When we take our eyes off of Him, our attention becomes fixed on other things.  Anything that takes our eyes off the Lord becomes a danger to us.  Instead we must turn to God for direction.  Filling up on His Word will keep us from running on empty.

Prayer for Today:  May I have the desire and strength to “work till Jesus comes,” and the wisdom to know what takes precedence.  

Aristotle said, “Anyone can be angry.  That is easy.  But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way– that is not easy.”

Perhaps you’ve recently been the brunt of someone’s road rage or received an icy glare from a fellow shopper when your cart blocked the aisle for five seconds.  It’s shocking how quickly some people get enraged, especially over such insignificant things.  They remind me of the verse in Proverbs, “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls” (25:28).  They’re vulnerable.  There’s no protection against the enemy getting into their hearts.

Christians aren’t immune to unreasonable anger, and there may be days when it seems every tiny thing sets you off.  It could be attributed to a lack of sleep or an extra amount of stress.  Hopefully, however, those days are few and far between.  But what if you find yourself being angry all the time?  Something aggravates you first thing in the morning, and you go to bed that night griping to your spouse.  All of your problems can be attributed to everyone else’s shortcomings.  You’re sick and tired of dealing with people.  Life seems unfair!  Therefore, your anger issues aren’t even your fault.  Or are they?

Think of a specific person you know that leads a joy-filled life.  They exude serenity, kindness, compassion and patience.  They smile.  They have a heartfelt zest for life and their service is sincere.  Is it because life has been fairer to them?  Is it because they have no problems?  Of course not.  Some of the happiest people I know have experienced great and multiple burdens.   So what’s their secret?

You can read about happy people in the Bible.  In Proverbs, there are several verses talking about people with joyful hearts.  It says they have happy faces (15:13) and they feel blessed (15:15).  In fact, their joyful hearts are like good medicine (17:22).  It’s like taking a happy pill!  So those who can smile and feel content aren’t problem-free.  They’ve just chosen to have joyful hearts.  As Duane Garrett wrote, “A happy heart is the key to a full, healthy life.”

If you find yourself struggling with anger these days, there’s an antidote.  Spend time familiarizing yourself again with God’s advice about have to have a good attitude.  The following verses are marked in my Bible as “Right Attitude,” so I can easily look them up anytime I feel the grouch coming on:  Prov. 14:16,17; 15:1, 13, 15; 16:32; 17:22; 19:11; Matt. 5:43-45; Rom. 12:9-21; 1 Cor. 10:24; Eph. 4:23,26, 31,32; Phil. 2:14,15; 4:11.

Prayer for Today:  In an angry world, Lord, help me shine the Light by spreading joy to everyone around me.

Have you ever gone a whole day without praying?  Just one day?  Perhaps you didn’t feel too badly about it because it was only one day.  Neal has been in Cameroon, Africa.  This is Wednesday morning, and I haven’t heard from him since Monday.  It has seemed like a lifetime.  Neal is always careful to check in a couple of times a day to let me know he’s okay and share what he’s been doing.  I’m not worried because the internet (or power, for that matter) isn’t very reliable in Africa, but it sure has given me a greater appreciation for the importance of communication, particularly when it comes to prayer.

Let’s say that Neal felt too busy to contact me.  I would be angry with him for being thoughtless.  Or let’s say that Neal was just distracted, so he didn’t even think about it.  I would be hurt that I wasn’t a priority, that he didn’t care enough to remember that someone at home loves him, misses him, and waits to hear from him.  I might even wonder if he still cares about me.

There have been days when my prayers never exceeded the bare minimum (expressing thanks before meals, for example).  And there have been days when I’ve been so busy or distracted that I wasn’t sure if I’d prayed at all.  God already knows what I’m doing and how I’m doing, so that’s not the point.  Prayer is an opportunity for us to show God we love Him and to acknowledge His love and care for us.  Prayer demonstrates the fact that God is a priority in our lives because no matter how busy we may be, we will always take the time to talk to the One who loves us most of all.

Prayer for Today:  “The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me–a prayer to the God of my life” (Psalm 42:8).

In Cambodia, we noticed they don’t use the words “garbage” or “trash” or “waste.”  They have RUBBISH cans.  We found humor in that and started using the word at every opportunity.  Today I ran across some real rubbish, some things that are most foul.  Out of curiosity, I wondered how many “God is” statements are in the Bible.  God is light.  God is love.  For some brainless reason, I opted to google it.  Here’s what popped up when I typed “God is…”

“God is Imaginary.  50 simple proofs to show that God doesn’t exist.”

“God is not a Christian.”

“God is dead.”

“God is for suckers!”

“God is an astronaut.”

“God is pretend.”

“God is impossible.”

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was completely caught off guard.  I felt a little queasy, then angry, and then I wanted to put my head down and cry.  I know there are people out there who don’t believe in God, who ridicule Christianity.  But to see those statements in print, to feel the vehemence behind some of them, was unsettling, to say the least.  HOW CAN THEY BE SO BLASPHEMOUS?!

And then a couple of things hit me.  First, as much as those offensive statements bothered me, how must God feel?  He offered His own Son for those very people.  Second, those statements must surely be the result of ignorance, or anger and bitterness.  That means we need to do a better job of spreading the Word and demonstrating God’s love.

I didn’t click on any of those links.  I can’t read that kind of stuff.  But I hope the reminder that Satan is active will spur me on to do my part to stand up for our Creator.

Prayer for Today:  Help me live in such a way that the world will see that I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.