DON'T BE LIKE THAT !!!

      

     “Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. ⁸ Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you” 2 CHRONICLES 30:7-8

     Growing up, there were members of my immediate and extended family that were not good people.  I saw that and did not want to grow up to be like them.  I wanted to be like Uncle Leon.  He could fix things and do things for people and everyone loved Uncle Leon.  But as life came along, the easier decisions, the quick ‘fixes’ were to take me down a road I did not want to go    

     Gardening is a lot like life…there are some things you can’t do and some other things you must do.  You can’t plant a shade loving plant in the middle of the front yard!  Well, you can…but you’re not going to like the results.  You can’t transfer a plant in the spring, fall or winter without considering water, nutrients, pruning, etc. there are just ‘some rules’ you should not overlook!

     Back to ‘life’ in your ‘garden’; there are things to be done and things not to do.  Got questions: ask God.  The greatest source of information about how to live and how not to be like that is to be found in the printed word, the Bible.  It’s around the house there somewhere.  Dust it off and pick it up.  Then place the words on (in) your forehead.  Wear them like fine jewelry.  Use a 3 by 5 card and jot down that new verse that speaks to you.  Follow the instructions provided for living a life worthy of praise.

      If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” 

                                                                          2 Chronicles 30: 9

 
Godener tip:  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.  Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.          MATTHEW 6:6

CLOSE FRIENDS IN CHRIST

... you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.    John 13:3

     Ladies and gentlemen, folks, you all and occasionally, guys and gals are common terms I use in addressing my evening classes at Victory University, formerly, Crichton College. I try to be folksy and friendly.  I’ve sat where they sit and I’ve suffered through semester after semester and year after year. I want us all on the same level. I want to gain them as friends, Christian friends.

     Scripture calls Christians by many names: saints, servants, disciples, followers, and believers. But my favorite name is friend or Christian friend. Because we are friends, we need to live in harmony.     Our testimony is flawed when friends don’t get along. People see that rift and question our love for our God.  When they see that gulf, they see a discrepancy in belief and behavior.  There are probably a lot of people we call friends who feel a real distance in our relationship.  Where is that person that you thought God placed in your garden as a weed?  Seek out that special someone desperately needing your love and encouragement maybe even your forgiveness.  They are closer than you think.

          Be united with other Christians. A wall with loose bricks is not good. The bricks must be cemented together.   Corrie ten Boom

 Gardening tip: You don’t want plants to be as close as your friends.  Give them room.

A  ZILLION  THINGS  TO  DO

     Don’t you have days when there are a zillion projects on your to do list?  Don’t you just hate it when that happens? And, there are at least a bakers dozen physical, mental and emotional objections to getting started?  Our Christian calendar of to do items and our traditional responsibilities are a lot like that.  We ‘need’ to do this and that, we ‘aught’ to be at church for the (fill in your blanks).  We should probably visit so and so who is sick in the hospital or at home.  “But, I just don’t feel like getting out of bed”.  This is where Paul finds himself when he talks about his weakness and his strength through Christ, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)    

     Okay, so let’s admit it, we can only ‘do’ that which Christ gives us the strength to do and the Holy Spirit guides us as we go along.  And those things we are to do will be brought to our consciousness by the Holy Spirit if we are willing, attentive, and prayerful and alert to God’s beckoning.  Watch daily for His footprints in your garden of life.  Listen to the small quiet voice that says, “Go!”.

Tip: refer often to your “to do” list and break it down into bite sized days. Then prioritize the list with the worst or most dreaded task at the top of the list.  With the toughest one out of the way...the others seem so much less daunting.

     “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

HOTTER THAN HELL

     The weather is ‘hotter than hell’; ‘you could fry an egg on the side walk’; ‘the car feels like an oven’.  None of us have been to Hell to see how hot it is and I would question the sanity of anyone frying eggs on the sidewalk.  I do know that while out running errands or shopping, our car feels like an oven. Don’t ask me about my knowledge of an oven, just trust me on that one. 

    I grew up in a family who expressed themselves with some very choice and  'colorful’ words and phrases. We also used terms we picked up from movies, cartoons and often, friends.  I was often called Bugs Bunny because I had ‘buck teeth’ and if you don’t know what buck teeth are, one could say I could ‘eat corn off the cob through a picket fence’.  Just love those colloquialisms.  Dee Dee Wike(deedeewike.blogspot.com) in her recent blog  referred to Bugs Bunny, ‘What’s up Doc’. She was questioning the happenings in her life and asking for some help from her faith and from her God. Her family, like many of ours, is trying to make it through this season of life where everything seems ‘harder than hell’.

     Lot’s of ways to ‘beat the heat’; stay in side, drink lots of fluids and if you are outside for even brief periods, wear a hat.  Wear loose fitting clothing and get out of the heat as often as possible.  If you think you have gotten too hot, you are probably right. Get inside and stay inside...it takes a long time to cool your body down.

     If you are passing through a particularly hard time or hot time in your life, there are soothing and cooling passages of scripture to direct you through.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  If God is for us, who can be against us?”  “Yeah though I walk through the valley of death....”   

     Have a blessed day...it’s just another gift from a loving God.