KINDNESS NEEDED

And be ye kind, one to another, tender hearted,

forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's

sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32

It doesn't take much intelligence to see that in our day, kindness doesn't seem to be a goal in the lives of many folks. Kind folks are usually very tender-hearted. The emotion of tenderness just seems to go hand in hand with acts of kindness. One who is given to kindness usually has a very tender feeling toward other people.   Kindness isn't reserved for folks we know personally. There are many times in a store, restaurant, gas station where we come in contact with folks we don't know who may need a kind word, smile or even help.

One of the things I had to learn shortly after Brian's passing was how to put gas in the car. In time past, years ago, I put gas in a car but not recently. Those gas pumps can be very complicated. I usually get my gas in a local place out side our IGA store. There are always lots of visitors and thus folks putting gas in their cars. In these beginning days, I know I looked like a fish out of water trying to figure out what buttons to push and getting the heavy hose nozzle near the opening of the gas tank. There have been several times when gentlemen have come up to me offering to put the gas in my car, even showing me the right buttons to push. All was done with a smile and a good bit of sympathy.

Sometimes we miss the times when someone shows us kindness that are perhaps not as noticeable. There are times we too, show or express kindness when we wouldn't put a name to it...when we compliment someone, express concern about someone's health (and willing to hear the story), expressing gratitude for someone else's kindness.

Notice that along with kindness and tenderness in the above verse is the word forgiveness. I don't think we would consider that to be an act of kindness but it really is in the strongest of terms. This is something that comes hard for us, especially when we have been deeply hurt or offended. This is a really big area where we can be like Jesus. Where would we be without His loving kindness in our lives. With Jesus' sacrifice, we see and experience kindness, tender-heartedness and forgiveness all wrapped up in one beautiful package...ours for the opening at any time, any place, under any circumstances. We are truly a blessed people.

Thank You Father for the example of Jesus who extended kindness in some of the worst of events in His own life. Help us to want more and more to be like Your Son. Strengthen us with Your Holy Spirit so as to know and serve You better. In Jesus' name....Amen 

KING WHO?

Therefore God also has highly

exalted Him and given Him the name

which is above every name.

That at the name of Jesus, every

knee should bow, of those in heaven,

and of those on earth, and of those under

the earth.

Philippians 2:10,11

My grandparents on my mother's side of the family immigrated from Scotland soon after they were married. My grandmother (Mam) always kept up with things back in the “auld country.” I loved her Scottish brogue or accent as we would call it.

I didn't hear much about the British Isles until things really began happening with the royal family. Princess Elizabeth wasn't even immediately in line for the throne...her uncle was. When her father passed away, her uncle renounced the throne in order to marry a divorced lady he had fallen in love with. In those days, he couldn't be king under those circumstances. That left Princess Elizabeth to be queen.

We barely, and I mean barely had a TV in those early days. We watched more snow than we did programs but late at night, we could get good reception if the antenna was in just the right position. I recall getting up in the wee hours of the morning to watch Princess Elizabeth's wedding. After her father died and she came to the throne, again in pj's and half asleep, we got up very early to watch the coronation of the queen. After that we have watched weddings and funerals, every one. My grandmother is long gone but I would not feel right if I didn't keep with the tradition.

Money by the boatloads are spent on all of those occasions. In every instance, “God Save the Queen(King) is sung and you had better not be seen NOT singing it. I realize it's more of a government thing but there are bows and curtsies all around. England isn't the only country with royalty and their celebrations...we just don't hear about the others.

When watching recent goings on though with folks doing their bowing and curtsies, I was reminded of the above verse The day will come when there is only one KING and no matter the person good or bad, position or life experience, knees will bow to only one person...our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

King Jesus, we worship You this day. May we never bow the knee to another entity...only You. We exalt Your name above all others and love You more than we can say for all You have done for each of us. In Your precious, royal name..Amen

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

and all that is within me, bless

His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all His benefits...

Psalm 103:1,2

It's the time of year that graduates of every ilk are going to be out seeking employment that matches their educational achievements. Hopefully such seekers will find positions where they can make a decent living.

When one is finally offered a job with a company, there are many details that must be addressed such as job descriptions, company policies and expectations, and of course benefits. One is always interested in the benefits, those things over and above one's salary. Such benefits may include insurance plans, sick days, vacation days, and maybe for some there might be some stock options. These things all vary depending on the company. Benefits on the part of a company, are additional financial “goodies” meant to be of encouragement to their employees.

Of course, benefits with any place of one's work depends on continual employment. If one goes to a different company or is fired from the new place of employment, benefits along with the salary ceases.

Reading Psalm 103, we are introduced to benefits that come to us from God that will never expire or stop for any reason. Some of the benefits mentioned are:  forgiveness of all sin, healing of our diseases, redemption of our lives from destruction.... all wrapped up in His lovingkindness and mercy. On a job, we would track the status of job benefits. I wonder how often we engage in contemplating all the wonderful blessings and benefits that are ours because of our Father, who by the way, is THE boss of our lives. He'll never drop or lessen His promises in any way. Maybe we should take more time in reviewing God's goodness Who loads us with too many benefits to count.

Dear Father, You are so good to us in loading us down with your unchanging love and goodness that is too much to count or even contemplate. Thank You for Your on-going generosity that none of us deserves. Thank You for Jesus and it's name we pray...Amen 

PURPOSE...REALLY?

For we are His workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus for

good works, which God prepared

beforehand that we should

walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

It's interesting that when it comes to the subject of having purpose in one's life, that such a thought is usually aimed at young people. It is a worthy thing to train the young to have a sense of purpose in their lives, but we lose sight of purpose not just being reserved for the young.

We should feel, at every stage of our lives, or situations that God always has purpose for us just where we are. Purposes can take different looks depending on the stage of life where we find ourselves. We should find comfort and a sense of security that the God of the universe looks on each of us as having a purpose for our being alive.

Purpose isn't just a job or position we might hold. It isn't how far educationally we have managed to come. Purpose isn't the house we live in or car we drive. All of those things are just that...things. We may have had to work hard for those things, but those things come and go.

Psalm 139 gives a real run down of God's purpose in our lives. He knew us before we were born and knew everything about everything in our lives from birth to the present. He knew how He wanted us as individuals to fit into His scheme of things. Because of that knowledge and foresight of His, He even equipped us to serve Him and others in very specific ways. We have to be real about His equipping us. We may not be who we wish we could be, but He always has a plan for us and how He's going to use us.

Through the years, I've seen young people try to be for God what was never intended. They cry often become discouraged, feeling they aren't worth much for God. Folks at my age (84) can often feel God can't use them anymore, that they are too up in years to have any purpose left. Such folks quit singing in the choir, teaching any age, working in the nursery, serving as a greeter or just being a blessing in the lives of friends and neighbors.

God has purpose from life's beginning until we draw our last breath. What an honor that the God of the universe has chosen you and me to serve Him however He chooses. He has purpose...a reason for loving, living and serving.

Help me Father, to not only realize You have purpose for my living but to appreciate Your wanting to work individually in all our lives. May I keep my eyes on you, despite any circumstances Satan might throw my way. I love You and thank You for giving me purpose in living. In Jesus precious name...Amen

 

 

CALL ME

Call to Me, and I will answer

you, and show you great and

mighty things, which you

do not know.

Jeremiah 33:3

Grade school children today know how to use the most technical of phones they may carry in their back packs to school. Such would never have been imagined in my school days. Phones weren't luxuries by necessities. Just the same, all of us along the way learned the meaning of two words we may have used often...”Call me.”

The first phone to come to my attention was one with no dial or buttons. I picked up the phone and a sweet voice would say, “Number please” and she would connect me from her office with who I wanted to talk to. Eventually we didn't even need those sweet ladies. We got a dial on our phones that was really a cool deal and then of all things, no more dial but push buttons with numbers and letters on each button. For those of us who still believe in reliable phone service with no gimmicks, we still have push buttons on our phones sitting on a nearby table in our homes.

Sometimes, no matter the phone, things can go wrong. There may be a low battery in a phone, lines may be down or we might even get busy signals when trying to call someone. With any technology old or present, there can always be problems at times.

God doesn't have to worry about any technical problems in His communication with us. The problem is us and not Him. His invitation is clearly given in Scripture. He simply tells to call upon Him and He will answer us every time. To return His call, we don't need, dials, push buttons or cells. We can call on Him 24/7. There's never a busy signal or answering machine to deal with. A call to Him is the only sure call we can make that will meet our need. Jesus never gets tired of talking to us or listening to us. He loves the sound of our voices. Call Him today...He's never too busy.

Dear Father, You are so wonderful in giving us Your attention anytime we call on You. May we be more faithful to spend as much time talking to You as we might another earthly friend on our phones. We are grateful for Your loving attention in our lives. In Jesus' precious name....Amen