Quit Crying About It!

Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

I can't tell you how many times I heard my Mama and Daddy tell me to "Quit crying about it and just do it!"  I used to hate walking through the cow pasture at night to go to grandmas or to leave grandma's and come home.  I was scared to death something would get me.  Mama would tell me to run something over to Grandma's house and fear would seize a hold of me of that boogey man outside just waiting for me.  Mama would get stern with me and tell me to quit crying and obey.

 As I got older, the tasks I was afraid of got a little scarier.  But Mom and Dad still had the same advice.  I remember Dad sitting down with me a few years back when I was in a particularly hard spot and he simply quoted the Scripture.  He asked me what I was going to do about it.  Basically he was telling me to quit crying about it and do what was right. 

In Exodus 14, Moses has just led the children of Israel out of Egypt.  He has just done something he thought himself incapable of doing.  He was not a super human being, matter of fact, we are given insight in the Bible of how Moses didn't feel worthy of the calling God had on his life.  Now here this normal man stands in front of all the people of Israel who are howling and complaining because Pharaoh's army is marching towards them.  Moses tries to rally them by telling them that the Lord will fight for them, and yet in the very next verse we hear the Lord ask "Moses, why are you still crying to me about this?"   In his heart, Moses must have been silently praying for God to DO SOMETHING!  Yet, God didn't want to hear anymore from Moses, He wanted Moses to ACT and tell the people to go forward.

There are a lot of times when we wrap ourselves in a little security blanket of prayer and chide anyone who tells us to do anything differently.  We respond to their counsel with a haughty, "I'm still praying about it!"  When all we are doing is waiting in fear of what God really wants us to do.  The Holy Spirit nudges us and nudges us and we push it off as our own emotions and tell ourselves to just keep praying about the situation.

But maybe God is telling you to stop crying to Him about it and do what He wants.  God already knew He was going to open that sea and lead His children to safety and God wanted Moses to get on with it.  So, let me ask you, is there something you need to get going on?

Is there someone you need to just walk up to and hug while asking them to forgive you?  You are afraid they will cuss you out, right?  The devil has built all this fear up in you, when in reality, God has told you what to do in Ephesians 4:32 (Be kind and forgive).  So, there shouldn't be fear in obedience! I wonder how many marriages could be saved right now if someone would just give in and apologize?  Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of someone whose heart is right with God.

Is there something you know God has told you to do?  You keep asking Him for His help, but He has already empowered you through His Spirit and His Word, so get up and get going!  Don't let fear hold you back when God is telling you to go forward!

Peter was on the mountain and saw Jesus pull back His temporal body and show His True Power. Imagine witnessing that moment!  You would think after seeing Christ for WHO He really was would be enough to make you never stray again!  Yet, not long afterwards, Peter got afraid and denied Christ three times.  He backslid.  (Don't we all?)  But just a few weeks later, Peter preached Pentecost and thousands were turned to God.  There is a plain example of someone overcoming their fear and moving forward in God's Perfect will.

You may have just messed up yesterday, but that shouldn't keep you from accepting God's forgiveness TODAY and moving forward!  He has a plan for your life.  He wants you to keep walking with Him every day.  He wants to teach you about these things Mom has been sharing with us from 2 Peter!  (Hello! Do you see who God used to write that book?  PETER!)

Take a deep breath, confess to God your lack of willingness to act on His commands and then get up and do whatever it is you know you are supposed to do.  Don't lag behind like Lot's wife and turn around and chicken out!  You can do it!  You may tremble while you are, but you'll find there is Someone with a whole lot of Strength bearing you up on His Wings!  The Lord WILL fight for you!

Until next time, Lord willing,

Sheri

Brotherly Kindness

2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Heb 13:1-3 ¶ Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

KINDNESS, n. from kind, the adjective.

1. Good will; benevolence; that temper or disposition which delights in contributing to the happiness of others, which is exercised cheerfully in gratifying their wishes, supplying their wants or alleviating their distresses; benignity of nature. Kindness ever accompanies love.

Brotherly kindness is not seen so much in just the everyday, ho hum Christian life. It takes a determined effort on our part, not because we don’t want to be kind but because we get caught up in our circle of events passing by many opportunities to exhibit this great attribute of our Savior.  Every now and then I see the marks of true kindness coming up through our grade school children.  Usually it is the child who has been made fun of, ridiculed or bullied because of some physical flaw or disability. I hate to see children made fun of and if I get wind of it, I'm in a dead run to stop it! Children will become quiet, isolate themselves from others, avoid crowds, not eat and many times apply self-punishment to their bodies to somehow, some way divert the real pain caused by an unkind person. God help us! If one of us will do something quickly, we may keep a child from growing up as a rebellious teen to a bitter adult, all because of unkindness.

Jesus taught us to love our neighbor even to pray for our enemies, especially those which despitefully use us. He makes it clear how a Christian should treat others. God’s love in us is perfected; it is complete and all we need.  It will get the job done, whether in the church with fellow believers or in the world as we come in contact with people who are not born-again. Just by our kind acts, the heart may soften causing the ear to bend toward the hearing of the Gospel.

My Uncle George didn’t get saved until later in life. He was always pulling pranks on people especially family members. He loved a good tease and often was switched from the premises of Grandma’s house. He just couldn’t keep the boundaries she set forth and received countless scoldings while the rest of us laughed uncontrollably at Grandma’s failing efforts to be firm and mean. I loved Uncle George. 

Grandpa sat on the front porch tapping his tobacco on the tiny paper, ready to roll it into one of his cigarettes. I never smoked, but it was such an art to me as I remained mesmerized by the perfectness of the homemade killer.  Most men smoked back in the 40’s and 50’s; therefore, all of my Daddy’s brothers smoked and/or chewed tobacco. I never thought too much about it until I got saved. We had two spittoons in our church, but when Brother Joe May came to town, he preached against the evils of tobacco. My Uncle George was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth caused by too much tobacco for too long, and was recommended for surgery to remove as much as possible. The cancer was so bad that the doctors detached his tongue, completely, and decided he wouldn’t live for more than a few days. Rather than leaving the tongue out, they slapped it back in his mouth and quickly sewed it enough to lie still until Uncle George died……they thought! Uncle George DID NOT DIE. He lived many years after that slipshod surgery. His speech was terrible not only from a botched up oversized tongue but his left jaw bone was completely removed.  With a portion of his face sunken in, he resembled someone with a bad stroke. I helped my favorite Uncle, taking care of him as much as time allowed. He was the kindest man on earth! As a teen age girl I felt privileged to wipe the drool from his mouth, help him out of bed, and get him to the dining room table for a meal which we had to hand feed him for a period of time. My Dad made sure that Uncle George kept an income by having him move into our home doing odd jobs.  His strength gradually came back and he was off once more as the Uncle who made everyone laugh but this time, his appearance was different.  I can still see his crooked face, bright dancing eyes and hairy body. Uncle George had so much colored hair on his body that it actually came through his clothes! I lie not! He looked like an orange monkey at times. We all loved him dearly.

Brotherly kindness is a difficult trait but very much needed in our lives if we are going to be productive in this life of knowing God and being like Him. The unlovely need our brotherly kindness. Uncle George became a different man having survived such a horrible surgery, but he reached out to the unpleasant people of our small town. He would tell everyone about Jesus, His love for them, and spend hours with people that most of us would never visit. I found myself in the middle of his captive audiences, listening to his embellished stories of a time past.  Brotherly Kindness. 

Uncle George used every faculty he had to retell the parables of Jesus. He brought us to the feet of Christ on the mount of Olives. We stood on the shore of the sea while Jesus called to the disciples. Uncle George became the Mary washing Jesus’ feet. He became Peter denying Christ and would imitate the sorrow that followed Peter that dreadful night.  Uncle George stretched his pitiful tiny arms out to help us capture the moment of the crucifixion of our Savior. We watched, we heard, we understood all because of the intense kindness of a man who was repulsive to look at in man’s eyes, but beautiful in our eyes and our God. The dirty, unmoved, helpless, poor folks welcomed a story from Uncle George. He never made anyone feel that they were less than anyone else.  They didn’t mind his peculiar appearance and would push to get close to him to hear his every word. Brotherly Kindness.

Uncle George did one last great deed before he died and I want to share that with you in Friday’s blog. Charity, the last attribute of II Peter 1, was exemplified in my Uncle George.

Until next time, Lord willing.

Sharon

Got A Dead Battery?

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Psalms 119:156 Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments.

Psalms 71:20 Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

This past week Amelia did her school work at night so the next day she and I could go into town and run errands.  We love these times when we can get out together and have a girl's day, so we hurried through breakfast and morning chores.  I gave my round of kisses and goodbyes to the boys and jumped in the car very pleased with myself that we were getting out so early.  As I turned over the ignition in the car, my spirits fell from soaring heights to drowning in the depths of the sea as I heard that infamous click of a dead battery.  I don't know why I even bothered to try it again, but I did and sadly was met with the same result.  Amelia and I got out of the car and Mark came out to see what he could do.  A man who works on the farm came over and jumpstarted us, but Mark was afraid for us to go into town by ourselves, so we waited while he finished up his work and got dressed. 

Several hours later, we were on our way, but plans were now changed because so much time had been wasted by the dead battery.  I rearranged the order in which we would run our errands while Mark was at the mechanic with the car.  We already are tight financially because of needing new tires and an unforeseen bill that took all our emergency cash, so having to by a new battery didn't help our situation.  But, I decided God must have known about it and I wouldn't get down.  We decided to stop at the Post Office and check our mail real quick, and boy am I glad we did.  I had a letter from a dear couple in the states who had sent us their yearly support.  I pulled out my phone, (thank the LORD for technology!) went to my bank app and deposited the check in just a few minutes.  Here we were wondering how we could stretch our dollars, but God had already provided, several weeks before that day!

Do you ever just run out of steam?  I'm not talking about being tired after a long day's work, but spiritually.  Do you ever feel like you don't have anything left to offer?  In the ministry it is easy to get tapped out if you have several counseling sessions with people who are needing a boost from the Word and they come to you for it.  Sometimes as you listen, you are thinking to yourself, "Lady, if you only knew how much I wish I could get a jumpstart today too!"  Am I right?  So, after some careful thought and analyzing I want to share with you what God can do for you on the days when you spiritually have a dead battery:

1. READ God's Word

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Read HIS Word until you hear from Him.  Yes, it may cut into your facebook time, it may cause you to miss your morning jog or third cup of coffee, but it is the difference between a day of spiritual failure and success. 

Jesus told His disciples that it is the Spirit that quickeneth (Makes ALIVE) and the words He spoke had life.  We NEED that life.  We need it every single day. 

2.  AVOID anything that continuously drains you.

What do I mean by that?  Well, every one of us has pet sins that we are addicted to for some reason.  For some it is anxiousness, worrying and fretting.  For some it is rash behavior, quick on the draw with our tongues and actions.  For some it is useless conversations that we already know the answer, but we talk and talk and talk ad nausea.  For some it is being alone too much, isolation and depressive behavior.  You alone can determine what it is in your life that is sucking the life right out of you. 

It may be an actual person you need to withdraw from.  Mom mentioned a very timely verse in her post yesterday and I will reiterate it:

I Timothy 6: 5 “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”

Sometimes we need to not pick up the phone, not respond to a message or check the email.  Sometimes if we are running low on spiritual energy, we need to just stay as close to the power source of God's Word and the preaching of that Word as possible.

Psalms 143:11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

3.  SHUT DOWN and REBOOT.

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

You and I need to mortify (kill) our flesh every morning.  It is the biggest drainer of all.  We have to die to ourselves.  We have to die to our fleshly desires.  Does that mean we can't have lunch with a friend?  NO!  I am talking about literally and honestly looking at your thoughts and desires and how they are determining your day.  We have to decide whether or not we are going to obey Colossians 3:8-10 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

That is the shutting down of the flesh and rebooting in the Spirit!

This is a brand new week.  We are halfway through another month of our journey.  Take inventory of your life.  Is there something draining you that you can unplug from somehow?  I know I need to care for a few areas myself.  Let me encourage you to constantly seek God for that renewing and refreshing of your spirit.

And, if you are like us and let your battery run down to the dead click, God has not abandoned you.  He was watching you run around and satisfy your flesh, but He has made provision in His goodness and mercy.  He will give you the jumpstart you need in order to get where you need to be.  Don't give up and quit. 

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

See?  There is always, always, always, hope.

Until next time, Lord willing!

Sheri

Stick with the Stuff!

1Ti 6:6-11 ¶ But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

I looked across my desk at a young man quite handsome and his proud parents as they listened to me advise them of a few next steps in this journey called “life after graduation.” This young man had no idea, really, of what he wanted to do. Money for college was no issue which is not the norm for most of our seniors. Both parents had dreams of a prominent future with a six digit income for their son.  We looked at his career results and I spurted a few more questions hoping to wet his appetite somewhat just to get an idea which direction to take. Of course the obvious question was, “Son, what has God shown you thus far in your walk with Him?” His parents were not aware that he was considering a Christian college and I needed to respect his decision to wait and tell them, but something inside of me wanted to scream out, “Hey, can’t you see this one decision, right now, is the launching for all other decisions in life?” I held my tongue and applied some patience in the matter until God gave me the green light.

“What do you really WANT to do? I asked

“Play golf!” He declared while his dad chuckled and I smiled. Mom didn’t know what to say.

“Will you be able to support yourself, a wife, and 10 children, playing golf?” We all laughed together but soon thereafter, the boy revealed his plan of sending his application to a Christian college. Parents were shocked. They had no idea. Where in the world had they been all these years? Somewhere in his education with us, he grabbed the fact that he needed to continue his Christian education beyond our academy. I had to make myself contain these words, “WELL, BLESS GOD. WILL SOMEBODY SHOUT, HALLELUJAH?”

God’s plan….what is it? The sooner in life we tackle this question, the sooner we will have more opportunities to reveal the character of our awesome, wonderful God! This sixth attribute, Godliness, mentioned in II Peter 1 is one that is challenged daily in our society. According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, Godliness is defined as:

GOD'LINESS, n. from godly. Piety; belief in God, and reverence for his character and laws.

1. A religious life; a careful observance of the laws of God and performance of religious duties, proceeding from love and reverence for the divine character and commands; christian obedience.

We have an unscriptural view of Godliness and I believe it must stem from so much deception in our churches. Preachers have been known to teach that gain is a good sign of living right, sending your money all over the world and other erroneous interpretations of godliness and this is wrong folks, pure erroneous teaching of God’s Holy Word. I Timothy 6: 5 “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”

Godliness with contentment is almost unheard of. The scriptures teach in I Timothy 6:6 that “godliness with contentment is great gain.” Our gain should be things of a spiritual nature. Have you ever known so many families, women in particular, who are never satisfied? There’s constant switch out of homes, furniture, vacations, various get-aways, clothes, re-do this and replace that….and never satisfied! We’ve all experienced it to some degree and there is certainly nothing wrong with a new or improved look to something, but I am seeing more and more young people who cannot get enough of any one thing simply because they practice what they see around them. We have handed them too much! My young friend has had to work for nothing! It isn’t his fault, and the parents are trying to make it easier for him than they, themselves, had it……once upon a time. So, Sharon, what does Godliness have to do with young people not being able to make up their minds about their future? Glad you asked……..

God’s Word teaches us that when we have too much of something in the world we may fall into a kind of temptation that will slowly pull us away from knowing God and His long time plan for our lives. Haven't you noticed that the decision to read and study God's Word EVERY DAY has made a marked difference in your outlook on life? Sheri and I make grammatical errors, use words that some people have to imagine the meaning of, but one thing we cannot fail in is this fact to know Him is to spend quality time with Him, and as you spend quality time with Him you want (desire) to be LIKE Him....which is Godliness!  Godliness cannot happen quickly. It takes time with His precept upon precept; God’s Word day in and day out. Therefore, Godliness has to be taught in the home and then it doesn’t always pan out the way we dream it should. You know why? Our youngsters have a will all of their own.

Stay with the stuff! Don’t move with every wind of doctrine. Our children, our grandchildren need us to be faithful standing firm in God’s way, adding godliness to patience or their plans may be to just “play golf.” The detour ahead in their life may cause them to fall off the edge. Be strong; run with the power of the scriptures, reeling them back to safety. The warning has been given to us in verses 9 & 10 from I Timothy 6, “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”   Godliness is the opposite! Focus on being like God as verse 11 states, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.”

 Until next time, Lord willing!

Sharon

Weekend Getaway # 6

Make Sense of the Bible

Acts 3:1-15 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.


Did you read the above passage?  If not, don't read any further until you have because I am going to teach you a few quick steps to getting more out of your Bible reading time.

One of the biggest reasons Mom and I decided to write this daily blog is to push the idea of reading the Word of God.   We have made a case for the reading of the Truth this past month in our posts and I hope that you have found tid-bits here and there that have encouraged you in your walk with the Lord and your time spent with Him during the day.  But don't ever let the Bible become just "common place".  It should be Something you go to each day with a hunger and thirst and you should walk away Spiritually satisfied.  The only way that can happen is if you pay attention to what you are reading.  Let me explain what I mean.

In Acts 3: 1-15, you read about the lame man at the gate of the temple, correct?  But, what else did you get from it?  Here are some questions to ask yourself every time you read the Bible.

1. Who wrote the passage you are reading?
2. To whom was it written?
3. When was it written?

These three simple questions will lead you to dig just a little deeper and go a little further than just crossing off your Bible reading chart and going about your day.  It is great to read the Bible, but if you don't understand what you have read, it doesn't do you much good does it?  It would be like going to a buffet and only getting pudding every day.  You would walk away feeling full, but in a little bit you would be starving again and not really very healthy.  We need to put some meat and potatoes on our plate spiritually, so to speak. 

Okay, so here is what I did when I read the above passage.  I made myself think on the lame man.  In chapter 4 we find out he is in his forties.  That's my age.  So, what would it have been like to me to lay there every day at the gate of the Temple and beg? Never having taken a step or stood upright or walked around?  I wouldn't have enjoyed that very much.  Then I thought a little deeper.  If this passage took place just weeks after Jesus was crucified, then perhaps this lame man had seen Jesus pass by and knew of the miracles He did and the lame and blind He had healed.  Wonder why his parents had never taken him to see Jesus?  Was he cynical about the powers Christ had?  Or was he just a sullen man who had given up hope of anything good ever happening to him?  Then I got to thinking, what did he do the day Jesus was crucified and the earth shook and it was dark outside when the sun should have been shining?  Did all of these events cause him to begin questioning if Jesus was indeed the Son of God? 

All of the thoughts I had about Acts 3, caused me to go and read the account of the crucifixion in the Gospels.  It made me think on the current events of those days.  It led me on a trail to read and study.  Why?  Because I took time to think about what I had read in my regularly scheduled reading.  And that is what I want you to get from this post.  Make the Bible make sense to you.  Ask the Holy Spirit to read along with you and guide your thoughts.  You will get so much more out of the Bible!

After I studied about the lame man, I thought on Peter and then about faith.  Go back and read the passage again and do some thinking.  Try and glean as much as possible from your time with the Lord as you can.  The Bible is a Living Book and there is no end to It's depths.

Think about this verse:

Psalms 33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

When you read and study...you are getting a glimpse of the thoughts of the heart of God.


Until next time, Lord willing,

Sheri

I Don't Have Patience Enough to be Patient!

2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

It has taken me days to be able to pull together proper thoughts on this attribute of God. Patience. Ugh! If there was a time in history where we experience people with none, it is now friend. It is now! Who has patience? Are you able to picture someone in your family, your church, your work place, or at school who exemplifies this attribute of God? I honestly believe that my Preacher, Dr. Andy Bloom is one of the most patient men I know.  He would disagree and maybe his precious wife would too. He puts up with the likes of us....ALL of us from every walk of life. There aren’t many people who possess this attribute and when you read the kind of patience II Peter describes good luck if you know someone close to you. I know, I know, we all are patient at times, but  I'm talking about this Patience of II Peter 1.

Children are allowed to pitch fits, stomp out of restaurants, demanding that their parents give them their way. Teachers talk about the impatience of their students and yet they, themselves, are impatient with their own children and families.  Preachers preach on it especially the patience of Job, but no one including “WA” wants to go through what poor ole’ Job went through to acquire this thing called Patience. So, how in the world do we ever obtain it? We don’t folks! It comes through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue. I call it getting into the very soul of God Himself.

1Th 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

Are we patient toward all men? Do we really practice this command?

2Th 1:4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

It takes endurance and time to apply this kind of patience. 

Why is it that Grandmas are more patient than Moms? Why does God teach us to seek the wisdom of the elderly? Why does a Pastor show more patience than his congregation? Trials, tribulations, life, being poor, sick unto death, beaten, heartbroken,  talked about, spit on, made fun of with bumps so hard and high you don’t know if you are going up or coming down……….the process of Patience is unbearable without knowing that God is in control of your life regardless of what happens day in and day out. Job practiced it before the day of the championship game folks. I wonder how long it is taking for some of us to get it.

Over 20 years ago our Sunday School class, The Challengers, began a ministry to one of the local nursing homes. Each month we have the opportunity to share a pot luck dinner, devour it and then go to a place where the elderly are almost forgotten. I have to admit that it is not my cup of tea. For most, it is the last stop before death's final call but for us, it offers an opportunity to share the gospel with those with enough understanding to receive Christ as their personal Savior. For the others, we sing and sing some more! Patience.

The week old food stains, sweaters with chunks of nostril substances, unmatched socks or no socks, greasy stinking hair and nasty fingernails all await us as we push these unkempt people down the hall to a room where we try to give them 45 minutes of SOMETHING worth living for! Patience. We sit, we sing, we turn pages for them sometimes allowing them to use their one hand that is not paralyzed by a stroke to turn the page of an over sized song book, watching them pull a smile with a twinkle in their eye as if to say, “I did it! I did it!” Patience. Then, they touch your hand and you shiver, but pat their arm trying to get them to hold their smile long enough to remember that they can still remember, SOMETHING worth living for. I sing louder so they can hear the familiar tune pulling it from years back or maybe it was just yesterday. They can’t figure it out! Patience. I work at it, at least once a month with a people who don’t know me and could care less.

Job was the Dad and took his role seriously as a father. He was perfect and upright and one that feared God and eschewed evil.  This means he was a good man and avoided all evil, probably avoided the appearance of evil as well. Satan couldn’t touch him without God’s permission and neither can he, YOU! God gave Satan a little rope in Job’s life to test him, putting him under some pretty heavy stuff. God may be doing the same in your life. It's tough but you are wanting to be patient and not lose hope! Job made it and patience was not only born but grew in Job’s life. God watches and knows what will happen next, because God knows everything. He watches you and is your biggest cheerleader. He so desires for you to make it across the finish line of Patience. Job was becoming stronger for the next test and he didn’t even know it. Job’s wife could have had the same growth, but she reacted to life’s trials like most of us have at some point in our lives and became a bitter old woman. Maybe I would have too. How are YOU doing?

Next, Satan is allowed to touch his body and the world scatters from Job. He stinks, he is nasty and repulsive to look at much like these Alzheimer patients in the nursing home but God is there. God!  Job didn’t allow Satan to win, folks. He could have BUT GOD knew Job had it in him to endure to the final straw at a time when there was nothing else to happen but death! Oh how happy Job must have been once he endured the heavy, monster of a trial and as a result was blessed at the end more than he was at the beginning! I can see Job looking back, thinking, thanking God out loud for giving Him the strength to endure such pain and agony. Thank God for Job's example.

I want to be blessed more at the end of my life than at the beginning. How about you? Crawl inside of God’s soul and get a firm grasp on this thing called Patience and know HE KNOWS how much you can handle. He knows!  He knows! In the end YOU win. God has already won the battle anyway whether you choose to allow Him the opportunity to know Him, REALLY KNOW HIM!

Patience can begin to grow in you, today.

Until next time, Lord willing!

Sharon