In our day of many negative news stories, we need a reminder of what we should dwell on. I’m not saying we should completely ignore the news. We need to be informed, but dwelling on the ugliness in our world will drag us down. Negativity can also push us to believe lies. We need discernment to think correctly.
God provides a way to keep our minds on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and commendable. His word gives guidance for every situation. God did not give us details on how to handle every situation, but He gives the principles we need.
As we navigate the rough terrain of 2020, we need to seek God to keep our minds focused on what will bring peace. God’s peace. Philippians 4 gives good advice.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for providing truth and the principles we need to seek the truth. Please help us to think on the correct things.
One of the biggest battles we have fought in the last 4 months is fear. The fears are as diverse as the population. Much of the fear is turning into anger. Anger at anyone who disagrees or doesn’t seem to understand. There are facts, misinformation, and opinions being shared at every turn. Each of those sway our emotions again and again.
How do we survive times like this? How can anyone sleep at night? King David wrote Psalm 4. He had experience in many difficult situations, frequently counseling himself to trust in God. Psalm 4:8 shows how he could “lie down and sleep.” He knows that God is in control. God is the means of our safety. I am all for making wise choices, but no matter how good the choice is we don’t have ultimate control over the results. With all the disagreement lately, our choices have been somewhat limited.
Friends, whether we believe it or not…whether we live it or not, God IS in control and will provide safety when we ask.
Dear Heavenly Father, we are facing so much fear. Please help us to turn to You instead of turning against each other. Please guide us in following You. Thank you for the safety that You provide.
As I read what the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3, I could easily think he is talking about today. We have so much division in the church (and our society). Difficult times often reveal underlying issues. I wonder if we live as though Christ is our foundation. Or do we try to add to the foundation Christ has laid with our own wood, hay, and stubble?
Friends, we would weather storms better if we remembered that Christ lays a perfect foundation. If we tune ourselves to Christ, we will find His foundation to be much more stable than ours. I hope this is what you want to do. Times are tough. We are all struggling with many different hardships. We need to remind each other to cling to Christ. He is the only way to walk through good times and bad.
My hope with this blog is to encourage others as I walk (sometimes tripping) down the path God has set me on. I need much of the encouragement that I share. Sometimes I write about things my friends are going through. We all need the help the Bible and prayer give. I hope you will come along for the ride and share what God is teaching you as well.
Dear Heavenly Father, there is so much hurt, fear and anger in our world right now. We have division every where we look. Please help us to cling to Christ and show one another how much You love us. Thank You that You have a plan and You are trustworthy.
There has been a lot of uncertainty over the last 4 months. Things have changed so quickly and, in some cases, drastically. People are reacting in fear on both sides of each viewpoint. There has been bullying on both sides. There are people who care on both sides. Many times, in a crisis, true character (or lack thereof) is revealed. I believe we are seeing a lot of that right now.
One piece of misinformation that is being spread is the amount of control we really have in any situation. The book of Proverbs reminds us that God is the one who “establishes our steps”. We can make plans, but we need to seek God throughout the process of making those plans.
Dear Heavenly Father, please guide me as I make plans for my life. Please help me to remember that I belong to You and my life is in Your hands. Please strengthen me as I wait on Your timing. Thank you for being so good to lovingly lead those who choose to follow You.
“complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus”
Philippians 2:2-5
I have heard, “100 pianos tuned to the same tuning fork will automatically be in tune with each other.” As someone who seeks to live according to the Bible, this saying has stuck with me. Those of us who claim to serve Christ should automatically be in tune with each other. However, too often we give notes of discord. I fear this shows that we are not in tune with Christ.
If you claim to serve Christ, look at Philippians 2. It gives us the example of Jesus to follow. We will be much more in tune with each other if we do.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the example of Jesus. Please help me to live in the humble mindset that Jesus’ showed. I want to live in unity.
I am definitely a person who likes to take action. Give me a problem to solve and the tools to solve it and you will find me a happy person. When there are problems and I don’t feel like I have the tools or know how to solve them…well I wouldn’t say I am happy.
One thing I have learned, whether I feel I can solve a problem or not, is that I need to start with prayer. I think we don’t believe prayer is action. However, when I stop to pray, I am doing something. As I humble myself before Christ, He changes my heart. He removes wrong thinking and strengthens correct thinking.
I sometimes wonder if God chooses to withhold because we don’t ask, or we ask for wrong reasons. James 4 talks specifically about our sin issues. Verse 2 says “You do not have, because you do not ask.” What if we spent more time asking for appropriate requests? The Bible clearly shows us what is right and what is not. We just need to spend time reading and studying God’s word to make sure our thinking is correct.
Dear Heavenly Father, I need Your help to continue spending time in prayer. Please give me the wisdom and Scriptural thinking to pray correctly. Thank you that you will give wisdom freely (James 1:5). We have so many hard things going on right now. Please help me to focus on You and Your way. Please let me encourage others to do the same.
I love the lessons God sends through ordinary things. I have often wanted to write about perspective – how we view what is happening in our little piece of the world. We have had a heightened sense of different perspective the last few months. Data can be interpreted more than one way. Opinions are strong and sometimes confused with facts. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary gives the following definition (it is #2 on their list): “belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge.” An opinion is a viewpoint. I know that many people seek to base their opinion in fact, but the truth is none of us will know everything. We will also not know what we are missing. We don’t know what we don’t know.
My featured image in this post has two pictures of the same tulips taken from two different angles. The pictures were taken the same day, within a few seconds of each other. From one angle the tulips look like they are 6 inches apart. The other picture looks like one is right in front of the other. The truth? The flowers were 6 inches apart. I looked at them several times while they were blooming. I have dozens of pictures (they are special tulips).
We will never know everything. Only God knows everything. How can we know if we have a proper perspective? By pleading in prayer. James 1:5 tells us that if we ask God for wisdom (not just knowledge, but wisdom), He will give freely. Godly wisdom is the only way to work through the plethora of information bombarding us these days. We can navigate the maze a whole lot better when we have God’s wisdom guiding us. God will never lead us astray. We do that on our own.
How do we work through interacting with others whose perspective is different than ours? With humility, gentleness, patience and love. As I humble myself in prayer God will guide me through the sometimes turbulent waters of relationships. He will give me what I need to manage.
Dear Heavenly Father, we have so much hurt right now. We need humility, gentleness, patience and love. Thank you that Jesus gave us the perfect example of this behavior. Please help me to live this way to Your honor and glory. I want to serve You effectively.
I am thankful to see a little bit better news these days, although sadly much negativity is still circulating. The reality is that bad things will happen. We live in a sin cursed earth (read the book of Genesis to see the origins of that). However, even though we see ugly, hard things around us there are many blessings.
I have heard a saying, “Blessings come to those who notice.” There is Biblical truth in those words. We can get too focused on the negative and miss the positive. I’m not saying that we pretend the bad things never happen, but I think we need help to keep a proper perspective.
I love to tell stories – positive stories – stories of blessing. I have told several in my blog. God sent me some more this week. The picture behind Psalm 34:8 was sent to me by a friend who was thinking of me. #heartwarming! Another day I saw a friend at the grocery store. I had a big grin on my face as I waved through the window to get her attention. We talked for a few minutes. I was smiling for a while after our conversation (especially when she waved at me at the next store). That evening God painted the sky yellow, orange and pink as the sun was going down. I love the beauty of sunset. All of these happenings were hugs from God – blessings God sent my way.
I am still processing the negative things that God allowed in my life this week. He is using those to perfect me (James 1:2-4). However, I want to notice and claim God’s goodness to get me through each day. Blessings hold great power when we allow God to work.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the blessing you send my way: friends who know and love You, all the beauty in Your creation. Please help me to keep a proper focus on the blessings in my life and encourage others to do the same. Please give me the strength to view the challenges correctly and not let them weigh me down.
I expect that most of my readers are those who share my faith in Jesus Christ. We claim to have the Bible as our foundation. Over the last several weeks, I have been concerned about the many things we throw out on social media. I don’t object to looking at various news articles or watching videos with different perspectives. I have learned and benefited by seeing different points of view. I think we need to share the hurts of others and seek to show comfort. I shared last week how I want to help make a difference. The problem with making a difference is that we are all different and don’t readily agree on what is needed. Those of us who claim to serve Jesus Christ have a book (called the Bible) to remind us how to help.
Ephesians 4:2 gives us a list: humility, gentleness, patience, love. I find the first 4 the hardest when tensions are high, and I feel backed into a corner. Do you?
I am thankful for God teaching me about prayer. The more I pray, the more I am willing and able to live humbly, gently, patiently and show love. Pray is a powerful tool when we understand that God is the power behind the tool.
Dear Heavenly Father, we are weary of the ugliness we have seen. We have tripped trying to navigate the challenges. Please help us to live Your way – to make a true difference.
This week has been a doozy. We continue to struggle with the “side effects” of the stay at home orders. As I navigate my piece of this, I have tried to be careful what I read, watch, and share. However, I have been watching and reading about two doctors from Bakersfield, CA who spoke up with their opinion of our current situation. They have been under attack. They weren’t trying to make waves. Their goal was to take care of their patients and be examples in their community. That has stuck with me. I want to make a difference. I’m not likely to change the world, but I hope to be an appropriate example where I live. Hopefully, direct someone to the truth.
As I thought about what I wanted to write this week, the news flooded with the story of George Floyd, a black man who died when a police officer knelt on his neck. Then the city of Minneapolis (and many others) became the site of rioting and looting. People, who are no doubt hurting for multiple reasons, are lashing out at this injustice.
With all that has been going on and the addition of this horrible situation in my home state, words truthfully seem futile. I knew that I still wanted to pursue my original thoughts. Be an example – lead by example – lead towards truth.
I can’t change people’s hearts and minds. The evidence that George Floyd died wrongfully is overwhelming. I don’t know the heart of the police officer, but I pray that he acknowledges his wrong and accepts lawful punishment. I pray that those rioting and looting wake up to their own ugliness and learn of God’s love. I pray that those who manipulated through the pandemic situation are held accountable. I pray that we learn and move forward appropriately.
What I can do is to speak the truth of Who God is. That is my goal with this blog. He does not force us to choose the right path. He has the power to change wrong and ugliness, but He has allowed us to choose. The truth is that we all choose sin at some time. All sin is ugly and deserves to be punished. The truth is that Jesus died to save us from sin (Romans 6:23). If we confess our sin and trust in Jesus, we will be saved from the eternal effects of sin (Romans 10:9-10). We ALL need this.
There are many Bible verses that tell what God does for those who follow Him. I am sharing 3 with this post. We are facing hard times. We need to turn to the truth of the Bible to make a difference that will matter for all eternity.
Dear Heavenly Father, it feels as though multiple powder kegs were lit and blew up. We have so much hurt and pain – all based in sin. Please convict us and forgive us for the wrong each of us has done. We are in desperate need of Your help. Please help me as I seek to show truth – Your truth – the only truth. Please break through the barriers that keep people from knowing You and how much You love them. Please help me to be an instrument of Your peace.
Pleading in Prayer 