ANOTHER GREAT ACRONYM

 The current sermon series in my Fort Worth church is a call to evangelism.  Most of us agree the way to share Jesus is NOT usually sharing cold turkey.  With most new ideas, we need a solid introduction and time to learn by observation.  A cold call--knock on the door--is Seldom if ever successful.   Today's technology and the ability to see who is knocking on the door has led to many never getting their foot in the door.  We are not prone to throwing open our front door to the unknown stranger in today's world.  How do we follow the command--the Great Commission to share Jesus with the world, when we are severely limited by lack of opportunity?

A recent lesson from the pulpit (in this church the front of the room--no pulpit only a frail stand to hold notes) gave me a new acronym to apply to sharing my beliefs.

B L E S S

Begin with prayer----for hearts ready to receive, for the words to touch those hearts and God's guidance in the words to use.  Shouldn't we begin any activity with prayer and especially one of such great importance.

Listen---I often struggle with listening.  Being a fixer---I tend to want to share the wisdom God has shown me.  The most important thing we can first do is LISTEN.  Ask questions with intent and then listen to the reply.  Let the talker completely finish what they need--and want to say.  This is not an argument----we are not charged with convincing others---we are merely instruments at the appropriate time of presenting what God puts on our hearts as relevant truths about what was shared with us.

Eat----share a meal--share a coffee---spend time with others getting to know them.

Serve others----when you have listened and gained insight----if there is any need seen--serve those in need.

Share your story---ALWAYS first listen to the one speaking.  At God's nudging--share your story of faith.  Build your story around three questions-

What was life before Jesus?

How did I meet Jesus?

What is life now that Jesus reigns in my life?

In the closing remarks we were reminded to the authentic and relatable.  Authentic is a synonym of genuine.  Real comes to mind.  We need to admit our inadequateness without God's help in the walk through this earthly life.  To come across as a fellow sojourner--admit your struggles. The closing scripture was absolutely perfect for what we were being charged with and I will close with it today~

"We cared so much for you,

and you became so dear to us,

that we are willing to give our lives for you

when we gave you God's message."

I Thessalonians 2:8

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS

We are told in The Word the first and most important commandment is Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, mind and soul (Matthew 22:37).  Immediately after this is the commandment to Love others as much as you love yourself. (Matthew 22:39).  Please note there is no qualifying as to who "Others" refers.  This does not tell us to love those who are loveable, love only those who are believers, or love the like minded.  It concretely states OTHERS----which is all encompassing.  We are to love our fellow man--- all of whom are God's creations without exception.  That can be a tall order.

As I reflected on this, I began to remember one of the most important lessons taught by Jesus.  FORGIVE-period.  It is most telling that in His final minutes here with us, Jesus spent time forgiving.  He asked God to forgive those who persecuted Him which included the soldiers, the authorities, and those who called for His crucifixion.  In those final words, He forgave the thief who was placed on the cross beside Him.  Jesus offered the thief forgiveness after the thief acknowledged who Jesus was.  "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Luke 23:42-43 Why would Jesus take the time in those last minutes to forgive a common thief and His persecutors?  He was demonstrating the importance of forgiveness in our lives as Believers.

In my reflections on how to finish well, I have come to realize the need to be absolutely certain I have forgiven EVERYONE  I might have grudge against--dislike for, and even those who have caused me great pain.  I have learned under my own power, it is impossible to forgive some, but no matter how justified my feelings---there are no exemptions to forgiving ALL.  My personal experience is when I have gone to The Father admitting my inability to forgive, He has intervened, given me the ability to forgive,  and taught me the power in forgiveness.  If He can forgive all of our sins and omissions, He can also give us the strength to forgive others.  There is POWER---in forgiving---life sustaining, glory bestowing power.

My charge is to examine my heart and bestow forgiveness to ALL.  Exactly as the example He gave us on the cross, we are to forgive one and all.  One more step on the quest to finish well.

"Stop being bitter and angry and mad at other.

Don't yell at one another of curse each other or ever be rude.

Instead, be kind and merciful,

and FORGIVE others,

JUST AS GOD FORGAVE YOU

BECAUSE OF CHRIST."

Ephesians 4:31-32

UNPAUSE

 I keep track of my daily walking with my Apple Watch.  My daily walks are divided into segments dictated by Hero's needs (3-4 walks a day- very short he's old and having back issues) , walking with my neighbor, and finishing my mileage (we all know the number needs to end with segments of a quarter of a mile).  After each segment I pause the counter until the the next segment begins.  At the end of the day I have the complete day's mileage when in walking mode.  I also have the total number of steps on my Apple Watch.  Finding myself hitting the pause and unpause button throughout the day breaks up my day into periods of varying activities.  Where am I going with all of this?  Obviously I have hit the blog pause button and for many reasons not unpaused and started again.  I could list the litany of reasons, but surely we all understand how life can be interrupted for many varied reasons.  I will not bore you with the details.  

Lately I have had something on my mind a great deal, and it occurred to me this morning, perhaps I should share with you.  My prayer life runs the cycle from intense--highly personal to short and practiced.  One of the methods of shaping my communication with God is those acronyms meant to frame our prayer time.  A C T S was the first acronym I studied and seems to be the one I use most frequently.  At times I become entrenched in the "S" of this formula.  So many--so many needs--so much sorrow--so many hurt and in pain-- my world seems filled with those in need of prayer---all for good reason and purpose and my privilege to take before the throne.  

A few weeks ago it began to occur to me the every growing passion to finish well and the dwindling time to make this happen are also accompanied by a long life filled with pauses and unpauses.  The fact of the matter is the sands of my time here are dwindling at a remarkable speed.  It has become an intense time of reflection on my life and a honest evaluation of what has been.  What has been my take-away?

With this reflection, my prayer acronym has now changed with an intense concentration of the acronym T.  My prayers now begin with thanking God for a long and good life.  I have gone well beyond those appointed years in The Word and I am living on the extension God has granted.  All of us have experienced ups and downs in life, but I am concentrating on remembering all the wonderful blessings God has bestowed on me knowing they all came from His abundant grace.  He is faithfully provided my needs---not always my wants---but always my needs.  I am looking at the whole---not at those prayers He answered with "No" or even seemed to ignore.  Counting on the fact that ALL was for my good ---I know He always knows my needs far better than I.  So my prayers these days are filled with gratitude for the good and bad.  Often I tell you that my greatest suffering has produced my greatest growth spiritually.  He loves me so much He allows me to suffer so that I might know Him more intimately.  His abiding presence is highlighted over each and every decade of my long life and I am so thankful He loves me so much that He is always present and His tender care is evident throughout the years.

So for today, the blog was unpaused, to share this with you.  We do not know what tomorrow holds, and pause may once again begin, but this was too important to not share.  When reflecting---I ask you to weigh not only the good---but remember the benefits of the bad.  Remember Whose presence and strength carried you through the bad.  Remember who God is---and that He is good---in all things.  AND BE THANKFUL!

"Giving thanks always

and for everything

to God the Father

in the name of 

our Lord Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 5:20

THE LESSON IN SILENT SATURDAY

 I spent a great part of Easter weekend pondering Saturday of the Holy Days of Easter.  Was Saturday a lost day?  There is no mention of Saturday in the scriptures, what was really going on?  I had a faithful reader and good friend send me this on Facebook,

"Often known as Silent Saturday because it is a day to remember in silent anticipation the events of Good Friday in silent anticipation of Easter or Resurrection Sunday when all believers rejoice in the fact that Christ defeated death and offers Eternal Life to those profess their sins, ask forgiveness and acknowledge Christ as the way, the Truth and the Light."

Well said and it strongly agrees with where my head went.  As I began to think of periods of time in life when I was in the flux of the "between's", it occurred to me how different that "waiting time" can be.  There were periods of waiting when I was filled with GREAT anticipation.  Eager for "what was coming".  My mind went to those nine months of gestation prior to my children entering this world.  I thought of the days leading up to graduation.  #2 Grand will receive his degree in Electrical Engineering (with several minors) the second weekend in May.  This has been a LONG "leading up to".  Since he was very young. he has had a life plan.  While many were socializing are spending hours playing sports, he was building computers.  As his Dad lovingly points out, he has had a spread sheet pointing to where he was going since the very earliest years.  There are the waiting periods called engagements leading up to marriage.  On and on life has been filled with times of waiting.  There have also been times of difficult days of waiting.  I thought of my losing my parents--knowing where we were headed--dreading the day--sometimes in denial.  I recently told someone the one thing more difficult--more painful than losing a loved one is watching them suffer.

Saturday of Holy Weekend has a mixture of both the Sweet and the Bitter of waiting.  It was the day of mourning for those who loved Jesus---a time of flux-wondering what do we do now?  It was, no doubt, a time of fear for the followers of Christ--seeing what they had done to Him.  Was all lost?  Was there any hope?  Would they all suffer the same fate?

BUT THEN CAME SUNDAY!  He was risen---He had defeated death---we were all promised a seat with Him in Eternity.  THANK GOD!  

My conclusion about Saturday with all that contemplation----it was a time to prepare our hearts ---to cling to His teachings---to wait with Hope.  I thought of the times when I was praying faithfully for something and God was telling me, "Wait".  He was reminding me of His faithfulness--His plans being all for my best.  There is always purpose in waiting.  The Word is filled with examples.  I encourage you when you are in the middle of your next period of waiting to remember~

"He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He also set eternity in the human heart';

yet no one can fathom what God has done

from beginning to end."

Ecclesiastes 3:11

WORTH THE COST?

 I am certain I have posted about this before, but recently I was reminded of the relevance and importance of it.  There is that old saying, 

"LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND"

I did a little research (of course I did) and it appears no one knows the origin of this saying,

but  I did find this-

"It's been expressed in various forms in literature and philosophy, suggesting love is essential for happiness"

We could talk circles around this, but one truth for MOST of us is we desire to love and be loved.  It is such a strong emotion, we are actually able (MOST OF US) to look beyond ourselves when we love someone and put their needs before our own.  Is it also true with great love---can come great cost? 

My Dear Friend recently recently reminded me of just how true this can be.  They called in great distress by the anniversary of the loss of a sweet Loved One.  Those anniversaries bring it all to the surface.  We are able at some point to stuff down the great grief caused by the loss of those we love deeply, but it is always there just below the surface waiting for something to bring it all to the surface.  They have faced a loss the vast majority of us will not have to bear, but that particular day--they was reliving it all as they were reminded by the calendar. 

In a quick moment, the conversation took a turn---as they sobbed, they remembered another Dear Friend who is facing medical tests with possible dire answers.  They looked beyond their personal grief and asked for prayers for another.  They were living beyond their personal pain---and actively thinking of another.  There lies the key to living with the cost of losing great love---looking beyond ourselves and thinking of those in our midst who are also suffering or in need.  

We all desire to love and be loved---but it comes with a cost.  Is it worth the cost when we suffer from seemingly unbearable grief?  ABSOLUTELY! Would we want our life to be void of the loved one so we would not have to bear the weight of great grief?  Yes, we could avoid the great pain of loss, but we would also void ourselves of the great joy of love.  We are, in a sense, dying to self when we open ourselves to the possibility of great pain by loving another so much we risk suffering great pain.

This all made me think of Jesus and how He loved us so much---KNOWING the pain He would suffer He walked the road to the cross.  As Easter approaches, during this period of Lent, I am reflecting on His willingness ---because of His great love for us---to suffer the unthinkable agony of becoming our sacrifice for the sins of the world.  He KNEW the separation from the Father He was about to endure--the loss of communion with Him until He was resurrected.  So was it worth the cost?  He knew by His sacrifice we would be with Him throughout eternity.  YES---there is pain---and loss---but Sunday was coming!

"This is real love -

not that we loved god,

but that He loved us

and sent His Son

as a sacrifice 

to take away our sins."

I John 4:10

UNENCUMBERED

 I have missed you, Dear Friends and our conversations.  How can it already be March and I have not posted?  How can the weeks have flown by with so little work on my Memory Book for my offspring?  Life has a way of drifting off course and when we take our eyes off the road, we may find ourselves headed NOT where we intended.

  So it has been since 2024.  I could blame the latest of my series of moves over the past decade plus on the burden of owning two houses at once (long story, but truly I was real estate poor).  As with all things--were all those moves really necessary?  I have become somewhat of a nomad---looking for a house that can become a home---even when knowing the building is not what makes a home.  Currently I am actually in a repeat house---interesting story--or perhaps not.  Maybe it is like a record you really like and decide to listen to more than once or a good book that you re-read--pleasure and wisdom can be garnered from repeats.  This house---is a lovely house---warm and comfortable and less than 15 years old, so no old house problems.  The yard is a great size for me to be able to handle and the downstairs is just enough space for me.  The down-side of this house is all the space upstairs I do not need.  I literally only go up the stairs to clean (my obsessive need for tidiness and cleanliness).  In the world of my economy, more than what I need or want to take care of can be a burden.

Thankfully I am always considering life's happenings and trying to glimmer an ounce of wisdom to use as I finish out these last chapters.  With all these moves and a couple of them long distance, I have garnered this bit of wisdom---downsizing -though NOT easy to accomplish---frees us from taking care of the un-needed things in our lives we have managed to collect over a lifetime of walking through this world.  I am down to a bare minimum---and it is more than enough.  All those material possessions require time, effort, and resources to take care of and provide space for.  My release of material possessions began with selling the home where I raised my children for the most part--5 acres and 2800 square feet of living space along with storage space galore in an attic, garage, and storage house---crammed absolutely full.  It was a herculean task.  With each move, I have whittled down the possessions collected over decades.  These last two moves were absolutely paring down to only what I frequently use and need.  Even the bequests in my will of family keepsakes have been handed over to their new owners.  My memories are now in my head and heart--and I am traveling the reminder of the road to Heaven unencumbered, for the most part,  with material possessions.

As I thought this over during this move, it occurred to me the freedom of not having the responsibility of caring for things which probably do not have any worth to those I will leave them.  Having helped with my in-law's house which was decades upon decades of "things" and dismantling my mother's apartment just before she went on---I am well aware--what happens to the lion's share of the treasures of this world.  Either someone is fighting over them (I absolutely refuse to fight---peace is always more important) or they are dragging them to the landfill and dumping them out to be-literally plowed under.  One man's treasure is another man's junk.  Sooner or later we will be unencumbered---there is only so much room in a casket--and we cannot take it with us.

We will all enter our eternal home--our home which will be permanent--unencumbered.  I am pretty certain we all agree we cannot take our earthly possessions with us---my question is can we also free ourselves while here on this earth of the emotional baggage of a lifetime?  Will we stand at those gates of our eternal home---free of the negative emotions gathered as we walked through this life?   What are we hanging on to and refusing to part with that we will have to explain when we knock on that door?  Food for thought, Friends, food for thought.

"But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven."

Hebrews 11:16

NEW YEAR

 This needed to be shared ~

"She was visited by a rare moment of happiness, one of those moments when the goodness of God was so real to her that it was like a taste and scent; the rough strong taste of honey in the comb and the scent of water."

May we all taste and smell God as we move through this New Year not as a rarity, but as a consistent acknowledgment of His presence.