Who Are You Giving Your Pearls To?

(09/29/10)

What do you do with that thing that is keeping you from God’s blessings?  Understand me, I don’t mean that it keeps you from God… it just isn’t exactly what God has planned for you.  Do you run away from it?  Do you face it?  Do you go around it?  Well, I suppose it depends on what that thing is.  For me, it’s a relationship with a certain individual.  I love this person a lot, yet no matter how much love I show them, I still end up getting hurt.  I continue to let this person know that what they are doing is hurting me, yet they continue to do it.  I’ve decided to walk away from this person more than once.  Each time they come back to me truly sorry for their actions, I forgive them, and then they hurt me in the same way as before.  How much do I forgive?  Matthew 18:21-22 says, “The Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (NIV)  OK, so I should continue to forgive, but should I continue to let this person back into my life, knowing they will continue to cause me pain?  The answer is no.  This morning as I was reading my Bible and looking for scriptures on sin and forgiveness, God brought me to Matthew 7:6: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.  If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” (NIV)  Think about it this way.  Let’s just say that your best friend’s birthday was coming up in about a month.  You spend your evenings either in the stores, or searching the internet for just the right present.  Finally, about a week before the big day, you find the perfect gift.  You take it home and wrap it lovingly, making it look as beautiful as possible (presentation, you know…).  You make plans with this person to meet them, knowing that they will be so excited to see what you got for them.  The day finally comes and you can hardly wait to see the look on their face when they open the box.  You get there, give them the box, they open it, and then they throw that precious gift on the ground.  They take the present you took so much care in finding and jump up and down on it, trampling it into the dirt.  It’s kind of painful to think about isn’t it?  So what do you do next?  That’s the hard part, but the thing that God wants us all to do.  You forgive.  But next year on their birthday, how easy is it going to be to give them another present… and how much time will you spend on it?  Knowing what they are capable of doing to the gifts you give, you won’t be so quick to give them.  That doesn’t mean you don’t love them, pray for them, are there for them when life gets a little too tough… it just means you don’t give away the best of yourself to those you know are not going to appreciate it.  God treats us in much the same way.  When we don’t take care of the things he gives us, does He continue to give us more or less?  (Matthew 25:14-30)  God does want us to give.  It’s a directive from Him that will never change.  He made it clear, however, that giving your best to those who do not understand your value, will only lead to pain.  As you make giving a part of your life, make sure you prayerfully consider who, or what, you give to.

Prayers and Praises

Praise!  Cleve has started a new job!

Please pray for Zoe.  She woke up this morning with congestion, cough, and low-grade fever.

Please pray for my dad's family.  His aunt is not doing well and hospice has been called in.

Please pray for Professor Fearrington.  He fell this weekend and hurt his foot.  He is going to the doctor today.

Please pray for Jonathan.  God knows the situation.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." 

(Ephesians 1:3, NIV)

Do We Really Want His Job?

(8/25/11)

The last couple of days have been a little rough.  Parents, you know what I’m talking about… the looks from your children that say, “You’re never right so you must be stupid”… the whining and complaining simply because you woke them up in the morning… the fighting against every decision that you make.  I know I’ve thought more than once, “I don’t remember seeing this anywhere in the contract.  It must have been in the fine print because this is not what I signed up for when I decided to have children.” 

After battling with my daughter one more time this morning and finally getting her off to school, I decided to have a little gripe session of my own.  I took a drive in my car, all the while crying, whining, and moaning the phrase, “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.  God, I feel so unappreciated.”  Now, do we do all that we do as parents for the praise?  No… but a ‘thank you’ every once in a while would be nice, wouldn’t it?  Our children have no idea how much work it takes to try and make their lives run smoothly.  It’s a full time job, and most of us are worn out at the end of the day.  Think about this… if it takes all that we have as human beings to take care of our children, how much more does it take for God to take care of billions every day?  How often do we whine to Him when we don’t get our way?  How often do we look up with an expression that says, “What were you thinking, God?”  How often do we fight Him on His decisions for our lives?  It probably happens a lot more than we’d like to admit.  Here’s the good part, though.  God doesn’t get worn out.  He doesn’t feel like He can’t take it anymore.  He doesn’t ever think that we are more than He can handle.  He just continues to care for us and love us, all the while taking whatever abuse we may happen to throw His way.  And just like we, as parents, deserve a little more respect from our children; doesn’t God deserve a little more respect from us?  So here’s my thought of the day for each of us: the next time we want to complain about what God seemingly is (or isn’t) doing in our lives, let’s ask ourselves the question, “Would I really want His job?”  When we inevitably answer that question with a resounding, “NO!”, we can then thank Him and praise Him for being with us no matter what (Joshua 1:5) and working all things out for our good (Romans 8:28). 

Prayer Requests

Please pray for Susan.  She went yesterday to Duke Medical Center.

Please pray for the Boone United Methodist Church.  They are having their annual Bazaar this weekend and all the money is going to missions.

I've been struggling through some issues recently.  Please pray for me.  God knows the concerns.

"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."

(Psalm 62:8, NIV)

I Want to Go Back!

(08/23/11)

This morning as I was driving my daughter to school, I heard her say, “Mommy, I want to go back to my old school.” This request is nothing new. It’s the same request I’ve been hearing for the last few weeks. Recently she moved to a new and much larger school with all new people to get to know; and she is missing her friends. That’s a hard transition for seven year old… a transition, unfortunately, that was needed. She has an incredible new teacher who is helping her in ways that her last teacher did not. She may not want to be where she is; but she needs to be there.

How many of us understand that feeling? How many times have we started down a path that we know God has led us to, but on the journey we find bumps, turns, potholes, and signs that seem to make no sense. We look around us and scream, “I want to go back!” We want to go back to the familiar… to that place where we became comfortable... where we knew what was happening, where we were, and everyone around us. God gives us the choice to return; and to our natural selves it feels good getting back into our comfort zone. Unfortunately, it’s not what we truly need. We need to stay with God… on the path that He chose; and that takes faith. That takes knowing that God is in control and He has our best interests at heart. God’s path isn’t always smooth, but we can be secure in the knowledge that we are not traveling alone.

Isaiah 43:18-19

John 8:12

Psalm 48:14

Prayer Requests

Please pray for my daughter.  I had to pick her up early from school today.  She was complaining about her stomach.

Please pray for Jan Hayes' friends and family.  Her funeral is this evening.

Please pray for Howard Hayes' friends and family.  He died Tuesday evening.

"You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,O God our savior.You are the hope of everyone on earth,even those who sail on distant seas."

(Psalm 65:5, NLT)

Prayer Requests

Please pray for me.  I have been under attack in the area of my health for a couple of weeks.  I can praise God because today I felt like I was finally on the other side of the sickness.

Please pray for Kayla's father.  He had a heart attack earlier this week, and is having some surgery.

Please pray for Nora as she continues dealing with some housing issues.

Please pray for Sam as he is in ICU recovering from a terrible fall.

Please pray for Reese for a quick recovery.

"They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him." 

(1 Chronicles 5:20, NLT)

Connected

 

(8/15/11)

Earlier today, as I was having own personal devotional time, I noticed a willow tree outside my apartment.  This tree has been here since before I moved in, but today more than any other, it really caught my attention.  I sat in amazement and watched the tree during periods of sun, clouds, and wind; knowing that God had a lesson for me in the silence.  When the sun came out and the wind died down, the branches were at rest with the majority of them pointing upwards, soaking up the sun as if in praise to its maker.  When the clouds came out and the wind returned, the branches were pushed back and forth until the wind stopped.  Here’s the cool part… the branches, regardless of which way the wind was blowing, stayed together, as if they knew there was safety in numbers.  It was like each branch had the job of protecting the other branches.  Here’s something even cooler… while they were protecting each other, they all stayed connected to the trunk of the tree… their base… their strength… their security.  God is our tree trunk… He is the rock we stand on… our foundation… our stability.  We are His branches.  The only way we will stay safe is if we stay together; and more importantly, stay connected to our trunk.

Psalm 1:1-3

John 15:1-17