Laced With Grace

The New Year comes with a mix of emotions for me. I lost a cousin who was more like a sibling and my last remaining great grandparent, but I also saw God’s Word come to life at my fingertips, had the awesome opportunity to teach a Bible study with a Pastor I love and respect, attended a Christian writing and speaking conference in the heat of North Carolina and made some new friends. If I were forced to describe 2011 with one word, it would be bittersweet.

Not very Christian, right?

I know. I know, joy in all circumstances.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” – James 1:2 (ESV)

So maybe joy should have been my word for 2011. Unfortunately, that would have been a lie. While God was gracious enough to give me peace in the passing of two relatives that I lived with as a child, there was still sorrow in the loss. Sorrow for the mother that lost a mother and a child in less than a month. Sorrow for our family that had already lost so many relatives to cancer. But mostly, sorrow that I was not confident that each and every member of my family knows Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

So, this year, I prayed for a word before life – circumstances – my own frailty and weaknesses – determine it for me. I’ve seen many a Christian friend posting their words on Facebook and their blogs and there is a joy that comes with seeing God answer their prayers.

But, as I prayed about this “word” I wanted from God, I was reminded that He has given me many over my short life as a Christ follower. He has given me “special” when I felt “different,” “peace” when I felt “chaos” from the world, and “world changer” when I felt there was nothing He could use me for. He reminded me that His Word is in me, with me in His Spirit, available to guide me and give me comfort. He reminded me that He left us all the Spirit of the Word of God – of Christ Himself as the Holy Spirit is ever present in our lives. And He reminded me that His Word, the Bible, is there for me, with the right words for anything this world can dish out.

And that gave me hope.

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” – Psalm 39:7 (ESV)

My hope is in Christ.

Hope for a lost world. Hope for all my family members to come to know Christ. Hope that I will be a more vocal witness to them and to the ends of the world.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of age.” – Matthew 28: 19-20 (NIV)

I leave you with this thought:

What else matters but the salvation of the world? What else matters but that we have everlasting life? Nothing here – not food, not shelter, not wealth, not what we conceive as beauty – is more important than the life yet to come in Christ… both here and in eternity.

In that, I find hope. Where does your hope lie?

Today I have a question for you. During this busy time of year, what fruit are you displaying in your life?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22, 23

I was out doing some errands and shopping this week. As I look back on my busy day, it is easy to think of examples of times when one could become aggravated, annoyed, unhappy, etc. Lines are longer than usual. Parking lots are fuller than on normal weekdays. All of the shopping carts are taken. Stores are overcrowded with extra gift displays making it hard to maneuver through the aisles. Kids are whining and past ready to go home.

Is it easy to be joyful when you find a parking spot only to have someone else turn and get that spot ahead of you? Is it easy to be patient when there are only two registers open and five people standing in line at each one? Is it easy to be loving to the fellow shoppers who are rude and impatient?

Remember that we can’t be different on our own. On our own we will grumble, complain, and gripe just like everyone else. If we act just like all the other shoppers, what kind of example are we setting?  There are so many opportunities for us to shine for Jesus during the Christmas season.  It is only by the Spirit living in us that these fruit will become evident.  What better time than at Christmas to share His love, joy, and peace with those around us!

I encourage you to check your attitude often (both when you are out shopping AND when you are at home with your family). What fruit are you displaying this Christmas?

Merry Christmas!  Have a day of blessings!

I have been listening to a wonderful audio book (Courageous Living Dare to Take a Stand by Michael Catt). As I was listening today a verse was read that really caught my attention. I looked it up later in my Bible and have been pondering it this afternoon.

“Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” Psalm 119:37

I got to thinking about all the worthless things we see day after day. Books, magazines, television shows, advertisements, video games, internet sites, movies….the list goes on and on. How many times are we not even aware of what our eyes are seeing?

If you read the previous verse (Psalm 119:36), it says:

“Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.”

Our hearts need to be turned toward God and His ways. If our eyes are looking at worthless things, our hearts will end up thinking of those things instead of the things of God. I think the enemy likes for us to look at worthless things because they often seem so harmless to us at first. But don’t those worthless things take our attention off of God? Satan will put any distraction in front of us to get our focus off of God and our relationship with Him. I see this more and more in our society as people go crazy for certain actors, athletes, movies, and books. It concerns me greatly to see this fanaticism as well as how people don’t see anything wrong with their dedication (or is it addiction?) to these worthless things.

May our prayer today be that God will turn our eyes away from worthless things and turn our hearts toward Him.

Have a day of blessings!