Gifts are for Giving

I don’t spend a lot of time shopping. It is not my favorite pastime. Recently, I walked into a large department store and had about 3 items on my list. It was not very long before I felt very lost and very overwhelmed – maybe even a taste of what people from third world countries feel like when they come to this country. With the help of a few sales associates, I finally was able to get most of the things I was looking for and exit the store. I breathed a sigh of relief as I headed for my car and promised to not put myself through that again any time soon.

In our commerce driven society, we are constantly told that we have a need for whatever it is they are trying to sell. And we are promised that we will find happiness if we purchase their product. But even if we are happy at first, the happiness does not last very long. The bottom line is that “things” cannot make us happy. To add to that, we have the problem of “overchoice” which Wikipedia defines as: “The phenomenon of overchoice occurs when many equivalent choices are available. Making a decision becomes overwhelming due to the many potential outcomes and risks that may result from making the wrong choice.” (Wikipedia accessed 12/18/18.) This adds to our stress and frustration as we try to make the best choice to secure our happiness.

A very wise King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes in which he speaks frequently of things being “meaningless”. In an effort to find satisfaction in life, he studies every aspect of life – relationships, health, wealth, etc. and finds that none of these things can bring happiness. He was a man who had “everything” a man could want. But happiness did not come from those things. He discovered that happiness was a choice that we make every day. “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have.” Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT He found value in reputation, wisdom from God and caring for relationships to be important building blocks for happiness. But in the end, it is a choice that doesn’t depend on anything or anyone but ourselves.

I am pondering these things as we approach Christmas Day. Vendors are at their peak in advertising as we ponder what gifts to give our family and friends. I love to give gifts. I have the spiritual gift of giving. Through the years, I have learned that gifts from the heart are always more meaningful than anything we can purchase in a store or online. Time given to others – family, friends and even strangers – has more meaning than the most extravagant purchased gifts. I have watched many people set the gift aside unopened and go for the hug and the conversation. 

So what do I need to be happy this year? Only a good, growing relationship with the Lord. I will choose to be happy and I will enjoy what the Lord gives me today such as family, friends, enough to eat and drink today, a warm place to lay my head at night and yes, even the hard things in life that help me grow and go further in and deeper still with the Lord. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

Thank you Lord, for every good and perfect gift You give me. I am grateful that You notice me and know me intimately and that You provide everything that I need each day. I choose to be happy today knowing that I am blessed by You. You are a good, good Father and I love you. Amen.

Suffering Saints

“Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me. Arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?” Oswald Chambers, November 1 in “My Utmost for His Highest”

If there is no wound, we cannot experience God’s healing touch. If there is no sorrow, we cannot experience God’s comfort. If there is no loneliness or desire, we cannot experience the intimacy of God. It is in our suffering – in our darkest moments – that we draw close to our Father and experience the depth of His love for us. Somehow in our sin-damaged minds, if things are going well for us, we tend to believe that we are responsible for that. We become arrogant and entitled. When we come to the end of ourselves in our suffering, we turn our faces to the One who can save us, heal us, and make us whole again.

Paul tells us in I Corinthians 6:19b that we are not our own. That is a hard pill for us to swallow. We want to be in charge of our lives. We want to believe that we have power in and of ourselves. We work hard and we believe that all we have we earned. But if we will stop a moment and allow ourselves to experience fellowship with the Creator of the universe and everything in it, we will come to a point of recognizing that my next heartbeat, my next breath, and my next thing on my “to do” list all belong to God. It is a humbling experience to come before Him stripped of all our self-righteousness and arrogance and realize I have nothing to offer Him except worship and obedience. And when I come to that place, my worship of Him is real and my willingness to obey becomes less of a struggle because I trust Him completely. I trust His love for me. I trust His plans for me. I trust He has my best interest at heart and will do whatever it takes to draw me into an intimate relationship with Him.

Do you notice that in Scripture the words “joy” or “rejoice” often come with the words “trials” or “suffering”?

Here is what Peter has to say about it: “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 1 Peter 1:6 NLT “Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world.” 1 Peter 4:13 NLT

Lord, help me take my eyes off of me and put them on You. Only then will I ever experience the true joy of walking in full intimacy with You and experience the joy of seeing Your glory revealed to all the world. Thank You for allowing me to suffer with You in order that I can experience the fullness of Your glory and of Your love. Amen

FOCUS II

As I was reading John 5:1-15 this morning, the word ‘focus’ kept coming to mind. Out of curiosity I went back to look at what I had written in my blog on a previous time through the book of John. Sure enough, I had written about focus. But interestingly enough my ‘focus’ was in a different place. The man was sitting by the pool called Bethesda where healings regularly took place and didn’t recognize that Jesus was the one who could heal. He wanted Jesus to be the one to push him into the water so he could be healed. (Read more at https://wonderingthrutheword.blogspot.com/2009/08/focus_26.html.) This morning I focused on the Jewish leaders and where they were focused. 

Amazingly, when a man who had been an invalid for 38 years walked by them carrying his mat, they didn’t even seem to notice that he was walking – an invalid for 38 years was walking! They were focused on their law about how much a person could carry on a Sabbath and how far he could go. And this man was violating their law. How dare he carry a mat on the Sabbath?

So I am pondering this and wondering how anyone could be so focused on one thing that they totally miss what is important in a situation. What are the ‘laws’ in our churches that keep us so focused we cannot see the miraculous workings of God in the lives of our fellow human beings all around us? Is it possible we are missing the amazing miracles of God because we are focused on our own projects or agendas? 

Are we annoyed with the child in the Sunday School class who keeps disrupting the flow of the lesson with questions because our goal is to teach the lesson rather than bring children to Jesus? Are we annoyed with the neighbor who keeps coming over to talk when we are trying to get the lawn mowed because we are more focused on our yard work than on building relationship that will lead someone to Jesus? Are we slow to spend time with coworkers who are lower in the system because we are more focused on climbing the career ladder than on building relationships that will lead others to Jesus?

Lord, help me today to be in touch with your heart. Help me to not miss the miracles you are doing all around me because I am too focused on my agenda. I want to be available to participate in your agenda for the day – leading people into your kingdom. Open my eyes to focus where you want me to focus. Thank you. In Jesus precious and holy name, Amen.