PREACHING TO THE CHOIR

Listening to all the clamor around me, I scream......STOP.....why do you say this?  People critical of everyone and everything.  Why?  Because they think they are better than others?  Because they are insecure?  Because they are unhappy people?  I wonder.

Then I start talking and what do I say?  I become critical of others and everything.  Why?  Because I think I am better than others?  Because I am insecure?  Because I am unhappy?  It makes me wonder.

Of course, if I am bad mouthing another I must think I am better, right?  Otherwise, why would I do it?  Am I insecure?  I must be if criticizing another is the road I choose to walk down.  Am I unhappy?  If I was happy, would I feel the need to tear down another in order to lift myself up??

Oh, the heart.  How easy it is to listen to a good sermon and think......boy,  I wish "so and so" was here to hear this.  WHAT?  Is the Word only for others to hear?   What about me?  Isn't the Word for me?  Is it my job to be someone else's keeper and find their faults?   What about my own?  Ohhh, I have so many and yet, tearing down someone else is where I often venture as a way to make myself look better.

In 1Thessalonians 4:11 it says, "to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs...". Oh, how my heart wants to live this way.  I desire to live a life of love.  To live a life where I never "think more highly of myself than I ought."  (Romans 12:3). Aren't I casting judgement upon myself when I look at others with  judgement?  

Don't we all know those who appear to know everything?  They can quote the Bible, chapter and verse, and yet, as you are talking to them all you hear coming out of their mouth is judgement.  They appear to "know" it all, but "love" seems to be missing.  Am I not as guilty?  Jesus' second greatest command is "to love your neighbor as yourself."  Who then is my neighbor?  Is Jesus telling me to love only those who agree with everything I say?  Is Jesus telling me to love only those who love everything He says?  Is Jesus telling me to love only those who love me?  Is Jesus telling me to look down on certain people and only to love those that I DEEM AS LOVABLE?  Of course the answer is no to everyone of these questions and YET it is easy to live in this way.  Isn't it?

I become so angry, deep in my heart, when I hear and see others treat people in these ways.  I then turn around and cast my judgement upon them.....critizing them for "not loving" in the Name of Jesus and feeling the need to share my judgement with others.  After all, we shouldn't do that.  Right?''

Oh, my, I think I need to preach to my own choir.  I need to live a simpler and quiet life and not concern myself with others faults, and take care of my own.  Jesus tells ME to "love my neighbor as myself."  Jesus tells ME that "if I judge others I WILL BE JUDGED."  Jesus tells ME to live a "simple and quiet life, minding MY OWN business.

I am so thankful that I am forgiven for my many sins.  God's GRACE ... His undeserved favor...is freely given to me.  I accept His free Gift of Grace and in turn, it is my responsibility to give that same Grace to everyone else. It isn't pretty when we "throw stones." Not only does it hurt the one we are throwing them at, but it hurts the one who is throwing them.  Who are we ... who am I ... to think I can judge another? 

In The Desert

God.....family.....friends....sunshine.....green grass.....flowers.....music.....  They are what bring my soul happiness. (oh I forgot one thing....CHOCOLATE.) :-)  They are what brighten my soul.  But, often the happy, pretty things of life are not "where" we are at the time.  Our minds are elsewhere.....our happiness and joy have "left" for a time......the "desert" is where we find ourselves.  

The "desert".....a place that is ugly.  A place that is dark and dry.  The place none of us ever like to be.  However, there are times, we are there.  Sometimes we don't know how we got there and sometimes we do.  Regardless, it's never the place that brings out our best.  It's never a place that brings out our joy. It's the place, those ugly parts of us come out.  It's the place we are faced with those deep seeded feelings that we are none to proud of.  It's the place where we often "feel" God has abandoned us or doesn't care about us.  Not a fun place to be.  Not a happy place.

The "desert"......a place we have all occupied.  A place we may be in now or a place we will revisit at another time.  A place none of us can say we've never been in.  It's a place though, where we are brought to our knees....it's a place where we are humbled and want, more than ever, to "feel" God.....to "see" Him.....to be ministered too.  We cry out.  We seek His word....we bare our souls through prayer....and for some of us....we journal to get out what's on our heart.  As hard of a place that it is to occupy, it is in that place, the "desert,"  where we are brought face to face with ourselves.  It is the place where we come to realize, once again, that His LIVING WATER, is the ONLY thing that brings peace.  A place where we are once again reminded that His Love is true....His forgiveness is real and His grace is sufficient. (2Corinthians 12:9)  A place where He teaches us.  A place where we grow the most.  A place where, although very sad at the time, brings out our best when we drink from His living water, His Word, (John 7:37-38)....accept His free gift of grace and Praise and thank Him through it all.

This mornings devotion reading, appropriately spoke to my heart today.......

Psalm 73:23-28

 ²³ Yet I am always with you;
   you hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
   and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
   And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength of my heart
   and my portion forever. 
 ²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
   you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
   I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
   I will tell of all your deeds.

  If the "desert" is where you are......seek His face...He is there.  If the "mountain top" is where you are....seek His face....He is there too.  Wherever you are, rejoice......He is with you.  He is molding and shaping us.......He loves us and is the same God in the "desert" as He is on the "mountain top."  Let His love shine from each of our hearts no matter where we are.  We can love Him and share Him even when our hearts are going through the "desert."  Eventually, He brings us through it........and the sun will shine again......and the lessons He teaches us through it all, will open our hearts with much thanksgiving and love.

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

Social Media.....It's the way of the world today.  Some love it and some hate it but regardless of how you feel about it, we are addicted to it.  (Just being honest). We share the LOVELY.  We share our "perfect" families.  We share our best selfies.  We share our homes..(the parts of  them that we want to show you) ..we share joy....we share uplifting messages....we share meme's (is that what they are called) - we share what we had for breakfast, lunch and or dinner ...we share and share and share....BUT...do we ever share the real....the ugly....the sadness....the house is mess.....the family isn't getting along.....and all the rest of real life.  I like to call it taking off our masks.   We have "friends" on Facebook, but really, truly, most really aren't our "friends."  Right?  They are acquaintances.  Real friends and family are the people you share REAL LIFE with.  Real friends you share your hurts, sadness and sorrows.  Typically, most people don't do that on social media.  And then there are the lurkers...but they are here too everyday.  Maybe not posting but reading and reading and reading and liking and liking and liking.

My friends and I talk about this a lot and although I, personally love Facebook and many of it's positive uses, I am just as guilty of showing the GOOD side but wouldn't really want people to come into the "ugly!"  But why?  Isn't that the REAL stuff too?  Don't we connect better with others when we are real and when we take off the masks?  We do.  I know we do.  Then we have the braggers.  Huh????  Who are you calling a bragger you say????  Well, for starters I would say that about me.  Sharing all things lovely......why?  Sharing vacation pics?  Why?  Like really, truly, does anyone other than me care about my vacation pictures?  Does anyone care if I got a new this or that?  Nope.  I'm pretty certain I'm speaking for everyone here.  So why do we do it?  Why do I?  Is it validation?  Is it to show I'm as good as you?  Is it my way of "keeping up with Joneses?"  Ummm....I want to say "no...I wouldn't do that, but don't I?  Don't we Facebook junkies do that?

Don't get me wrong, I really do love social media.  I think God is here.  Why do I think that?  Because He is everywhere.  The world is changing and social media is another way of sharing the Gospel message.  God can and does use any means He chooses to get the message of salvation out.  I have no doubt, in this day and age, God would want us to share Him here on Facebook too.   But I'm pretty certain, some of what I post, which may hurt another person or make them feel sad, isn't what God would want me to do.  It may seem innocent enough to me, but to someone who is lonely, is on the outs with their family, is poor, is sick etc., seeing my "LOOK AT ME" posts isn't really what they need.  Now saying that, I actually love seeing some people's vacation pics.  Especially family and close friends.  I really do.  But that isn't what I'm blogging about here.  Just speaking to what most of us feel about Facebook and yet continue to come back to it over and over and over again. 

I will continue to use Facebook in God honoring ways, but I will really try to be sensitive to what I post.  Is it God honoring or "Mary Jo" honoring? 

God's Word tells me to "not think of myself more highly than I ought."  Maybe, just maybe, I do that a little bit.  😞😞

Why Joy And Peace Amidst The Muck And Mire?

So many things occupy my heart and mind.  However, only one thing matters.

All around us is chaos.  We are bombarded with news reports that involve death.  We hear of evil attacks on a daily basis...often on an hourly basis. Often times, when I hear sirens these days, I think......"I wonder who got shot now."

It sounds so cliche to say, "why can't we love one another?"  What planet am I living on, right?   I can't seem to wrap my head around the things I see on the news.  I can't wrap my head around the anger and "me" mentality that we are bombarded with on the news.  I can't understand why anyone would want to live a life of hatred when there is a better way. A most "Excellent Way."  This most "Excellent Way," is the way of Jesus. Jesus says "I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except though me."  (John 14:6)

Is life glorious and perfect when we follow Jesus?  Oh how I wish. However, saying that, I will answer it another way....completely contradictory to what I just said....that answer is Yes.  What??? How can I say "oh how I wish," and then say "Yes, it is."  I still live in this world....this imperfect and sinful world.  An imperfect and sinful world that I, too, contribute to with my sin....with my unloving ways, with my "me" mentality.  No, maybe I don't shoot anyone, but I sin in different ways. Do I always "love" those in my life?  Oh sure I try too, BUT, I fail continually.  And even when I do "love" those around me, is it always with a sincere heart?  Oh, my, no.  Do I speak kind words always?  Absolutely not AND to make matters worse, if a person could read my mind on MANY occasions, let's just say.....thank God they can't.

But then there is that deep down Joy.   Where does that Joy come from? That Joy that lives down deep?  The Joy that allows me to muddle through the "muck and mire" of this world?   The Joy that
allows me to walk through the sadness of losing loved ones?  The Joy that lives in my heart and helps me to stay strong, to be encouraged and to press on.  The Joy that helps me focus on what is 'good' and the many, many things there are to be thankful for.

Through my life and my many trials, Jesus has taught me that through it all, there is only One thing that matters.  Only One!  Jesus.  He has taught me that this life is temporary....OH SO TEMPORARY....and that believing in Him as my Savior and following Him is where true Joy comes from.  Even when life is awful....and oh it can be and will be......no one can steal that Joy from me.

You see, it all boils down to One thing......I am loved by God.  You are loved by God.  He has chosen me.  He has chosen you too.  "We love because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19). No matter what this world may do to us or what we see going on around us, God is still good.  His promises are true.  The Joy that lives down deep is because He promises "peace that passes all understanding."  He tells us this..... "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."   Philippians 4: 6-8.

I surely don't know a lot of things, but I do know this one thing.  God does not lie and His promises are true.  He is a faithful God and He guards our hearts and minds in Him.

Through it all, we muddle through.  And yet, through it all, the Joy that lives down deep is mine.  No one can take that "Gift" from me.  No one. 

                                                                       

References for Philippians 4:6

• Cross References

• 8 4:6 - Mt 6:25-34
• 9 4:6 - Eph 6:18 ; 1Ti

                                  

References for Philippians 4:7

• Cross References

• 10 4:7 - Isa 26:3 ; S Jn 14:27 ; Col 3:15
• 11 4:7 -                                                       

                                                                          

Freedom and Love

So much has happened in the last few days. Sudden change.  Sadness hitting families in ways that you can only understand if you are them.  As one sits back and "watches" and is simply quiet, sadly, you can hear all around you how life goes on without a thought.  We nastily judge each other and obviously, think of ourselves as "better than" - if not, than why do we do it?  You see families ripped apart by the "better than" mentality and it's all so very sad.  Comparing ourselves to others and talking behind each other's back. The only reason we could possibly justify doing this is to make our insecure selves look better.

This life isn't a dress rehearsal.  This is it.  I pray that making the most of the life we are given would be a priority to us all.  That loving one another would be something God would impress upon our hearts because in the end, love is all that matters.  I pray we would love those God has put in our life, if for no other reason, than because they are God's child too.

Hug and love each other as if today is your last day with them.  Because, truly, you never know, it just might be.

Happy Independence Day.  Many have fought and died for our freedom.  The Lord Jesus died for our freedom from sin and death.  Those who believe in that will live on for eternity.  Let's not take for granted these blessings we are given.

"This Is The Day...."

Each day is new.  Each morning brings to us His Grace.  We are truly blessed, but yet, how often do we want to pull the covers up over our heads and find instead, every reason why our life isn't good.  "This is the day the Lord has made...." It really is. He made it for us to live for Him. He made it for us to worship Him. He made it for us to share Jesus and His saving Grace with others. As hard as this is at times, we must "rejoice and be glad in it" because regardless of what we are going through, HE IS GOD......and......HE IS GOOD. 

Life can be a hard place. Life can be a place where, although we are surrounded by so many, we can feel so very alone. Life can be a place where we often feel unloved, BUT, our God loves us MORE than anyone could.  Just that thought alone can help us to face the day.  When we go out and love and serve without worrying about being served ourselves, all of a sudden things change.
 
My prayer today is that we would all focus on His great love for us and how we are loved unconditionally by our Savior who gave His life for each of us. We are all truly blessed in every way. Maybe our earthly life doesn't seem like it, but OH MY FRIENDS, the BEST IS YET TO COME.

As we focus on today, let us not look back.  Our past is forgotten.  God forgives.  Only let's focus on today.  Focus on loving others in the Name of Jesus.  I pray we would all be touched by God's love through someone else today, BUT, if not, we know that the love that matters most, God's love, is ours EVERY MINUTE and He never leaves us or forsakes us. 

The Heart

Oh, this heart of mine.  It holds so many things.  Sometimes, it's hard to sort it all out.  In my heart lives so much longing, compassion, anxiousness and love. Muddling through all those emotions often just brings confusion.  Why?  What does my heart seek after?  Why does it often seem to be in a state of unrest?

I'm sure many of us can say we experience this.  Our hearts just get filled up with so much.  I believe the deepest longing our hearts harbor is the desire to be closer to our Lord and to one another. I believe, we all have that place down deep that just wants to be loved and accepted for who we are...right now!!  I believe many of us desire a place where real love and kindness flow all around us... just because it's the right thing.

I often carry this question down deep...."why can't we live in a world where we are kind to one another?"  It's a question that often baffles me because I truly don't understand why.  Isn't it easier to simply be kind and walk away?   However, we live in a world where we can express ourselves in many different ways.  In this day of Social Media, it is so easy to share our thoughts without facing one another. I suppose one could say it's easier to state our opinion to someone via our fingertips rather than face to face.  It's easier to be BOLD and say something we wouldn't necessarily say to someone face to face.  Right?  Although I love Social Media and think it's an awesome way to "connect" with others and to share many things, there is a standard I set for myself before I post anything.  If I would not speak it out loud to someone, face to face, I will not type it on Social Media...or share it.

I've been told by some that I live in a fantasy world.  I suppose they are right.....at least by earthly standards.  But the question I carry in my heart still lingers....."why can't we live in a world where we are kind to one another?"  Don't all our hearts long for that simple kindness and love?  So, wouldn't we want it to begin with us?  As I grapple with this, my heart reminds me  of all those times I am unkind, gossipy and selfish.  It reminds me of how these sinful qualities, that I possess, rear their ugly heads many times throughout a day.  Sure, maybe I don't necessarily speak it, but my heart thinks it and that in and of itself hurts my heart.

As I stated above, this heart of mine is filled up with so many things.  And, yes, it causes me much unrest at times, because, my heart longs for what only Heaven can give.  I suppose it's that thought..."what only Heaven can give" that keeps me pressing on.  My heart knows there is that "place" where love, joy and peace will only live.  My heart knows there is that "place" where my sinful heart will be no more and the perfect heart God originally planned for me will be intact.  Oh, how I long for that "Place" .......HEAVEN!    How I long to be rid of my sinful heart and possess those qualities I long for everyday!

My heart rejoices in this.....that my Savior, Jesus, came to die AND rise again for my sins.....for our sins.  Yep, He did that. And His Word simply and clearly tells us this in John 3:16..."for God so loved
the world that He gave His One and only Son; that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will
have Eternal Life."  And again in Romans 5:6 where it says, "you see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."  And this in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 where it says, "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep."

Yes, I believe!  My heart longs for what only He can give me.  For now, I'll simply muddle through these stirrings and longings in my heart and continually seek after the One who helps me desire kindness and love.