Paying Attention to Each Other

 

There are several cues that we can offer, as we listen to someone who is talking to us, that will communicate to them that we are paying attention to them. For instance, we can nod our head, smile, look into their eyes, show emotion in our face - such as surprise, concern, empathy, etc. or we can mirror the emotion that they are confessing to us.

 

If the person is repeating words or bringing up the same perspective of the same problems, they may feel that we are not listening, or that we do not understand what they are attempting to convey to us. We can interject a short “I see,” or “I hear what you’re saying” to let them know that we hear and understand them.

 

If we are previously scheduled to be someplace else, or if we are experiencing some distraction in our own attention, or if we do not have time to fully listen, we can make an appointment to meet with that person at a mutually agreeable future place and time.

 

They may feel frustrated or overwhelmed, but this will give them time to work out their own issue, or to find someone else that can give them undivided attention, unless they would prefer to wait and to share their issue only with us. 

 

This will be better than if we attempt to half-heartedly focus on their need or leave in the middle of their attempt to share with us. Interrupting the person talking in order to switch our attention to someone else who needs our attention is very offensive to the speaker. 

 

We can touch the person’s arm to continue contact with them, while we take a second to tell the new person that we will be with them in a few minutes. Then we turn right back to listening to the original person. This will let them know that we value their feelings and that we really care about their issues. 

 

We may take the interrupting person by surprise, but they will appreciate knowing that we will give them the same undivided attention later. If we turn to fully face the person speaking to us, we will communicate to others that we are fully engrossed in our current conversation. 

 

Prayer:

Father God, help us to remember that our focused attention is vitally important to the burdened soul who came to us for comfort. Remind us that we can also take the person aside to sit in an unoccupied area of the room to let others know we are dedicated to listening to that one person. Help us to learn that a listening ear will help to diffuse the intensity of the troubled person’s emotions and to relieve the immediacy of their issues.

 

Teach us too that we never need to offer answers or give advice to the one sharing their concerns with us. Showing that we care helps them to figure out their own solutions, since they are the one embroiled in the problem at that moment. We want to lift You up so that their focus is on You, instead of on us. We can end any listening session by praying with the person once they finish sharing their burdens with us.

 

Thought for the Day:

Partial attention is insulting to the speaker and prevents us from fully understanding the speaker’s needs, while full attention communicates that we are sympathetic to their concerns and that we want to share in their experience and to help them to carry their burdens.

- Galatians 6:2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faith, not Fear

 

 

Biblical accounts of heroes of the faith abound in good lessons for us to learn and to use for our own life. We draw from the example of this “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). Though they were imperfectly human, we gain courage and conviction from their modeled behavior and attitude. 

 

Their lives give us perspective on how to survive in our own trials and tribulation. Their secret was: trusting only in God’s love and care for us every day of our life (Proverbs 3:5-6). Rather than to complain about our circumstances, we can embrace them, learn from them, and allow them to increase our faith and to perfect us (Philippians 2:14-16).

 

This allows our life to be a shining light, a city set on a hill (Matthew 5:14-16) for all to see our example, which will encourage those who are familiar with our life, struggles, and the times we have trusted God and overcome our issues. God is in control. He’s got this.

 

Worry weakens our faith, and it prevents our whole heart from totally trusting in the Lord to abundantly supply everything that we actually need in our life. Yes, bad things do happen to good people, and God may not answer our prayers as we want Him to; but if we keep an open mind, we see that He always does what is best for us.

 

God also gives us the fruit of His Spirit to strengthen us through our trials. He did not answer Jesus’ prayer as He requested, but He did give Simon to Jesus to help Him to carry His cross, and He shortened the hours Jesus had to hang on the cross to six hours rather than days and days like it normally took (Hebrews 5:7-8; Matthew 27:50-51).

 

If we remember how faithful our Daddy God is in our life, we can exchange fear with faith. Thinking back over our lifetime, we did experience distressing times, but God always worked them out for our ultimate good – sometimes even better than we ever imagined (Romans 8:28).

 

Prayer:

Father God, we often get discouraged, grouchy, frustrated, frightened and miserable when we go through, or imagine going through painful trials. Teach us how to change our focus, viewpoint and perspective, so that we see that if we are walking by the guidance of Your Spirit each moment of our day, You are always in control. We want to live as a city set on hill, rather than to hide Your light within us under a basket (Matthew 5:14-16).

 

Please take away the habit of viewing our issues from the standpoint of worse-case scenarios, so that we do not foster fear, but faith in our soul. We want to be examples of joy, not depression; faith, not fear; strength, not weakness; and peace, not turmoil and unrest. Help us to decrease, so that You can increase in our life. You are worthy of all of our praise.

 

Thought for the Day:

When facing the cross and persecution and trials that He would endure in His last days as a human being on this earth, Jesus spent hours in prayer in the garden with a few trusted disciples; Jesus wanted our Daddy God to find another way to save us from our sins, but He ultimately submitted to God’s will for His life; then, three days later, He rose victoriously from the grave in His immortal body, and God gave Him authority and dominion over everything. 

- Matthew 26:39-42

 

Trusting in Christ Alone

 

One of the satanic lies that is prolific in our world today is, “I am not enough.” Many people suffer from this insecurity and limiting parameter; therefore, they struggle their whole life trying to feel like they truly are enough – good enough, strong enough, smart enough, etc. They endure crippling stress in order to reach this status.

 

God’s truth is that our sinful humanity will never be enough, but He sent our Savior to change all of that, when Jesus paid our sin debt. Now, His presence in us, as well as His power through us, sets us free from all debilitating lies and human limitations. 

 

Our daily life is full of joys and sorrows, as well as easy moments and hard ones. However, God gives us courageous confidence, because we can do everything that He calls us to do by the power of His presence within us (2 Corinthians 12:9; Philippians 4:13). 

 

In Christ, our failings are often what God uses the most for His Kingdom in our ministry on this earth. We have no need to be afraid; and we can actually live with assurance, because the Lord our God is with us wherever we go, in whatever we think, and in whatever we feel (Joshua 1:9). 

 

Our emotions often take us on a roller-coaster ride with plenty of hills and valleys. We may vacillate between depression and victory, or anxiety and peace, until we start to walk in the Spirit and trust God with our whole heart in each moment of time (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

 

We can heal from, and then let go of the trauma of our past, in order to go on into our future without its baggage. God calls us to learn from our past and to embrace our future. Giving God the glory for His blessings in our life and having a heart full of gratitude is an important aspect of living in victory (Philippians 4:6).

 

Prayer:

Father God, we come to You with a heart full of praise for who You are and all that You mean to us. Thank you for being in us and with us regardless of our circumstances (Isaiah 41:10; Joshua 1:9). Help us to take the time to notice the hugs that You give to us each moment of the day that personally mean so much to each one of us individually. 

 

You strengthen our faith in order to help us to overcome the fear that satanic lies stir up in our heart. Even when circumstances surround us and we feel helpless, we never lose our hope in You, because You prove Your faithfulness to us day after day. We especially thank You for Your presence in our life, and for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. 

 

Thought for the Day:

In the middle of the fiercest storm, Jesus is always there to calm the threatening tempest for us; yet if we completely realize that He is in the same boat with us, we can trust in His presence and never have a moment of worry or experience any anxiety or stress in our life regardless of our circumstances. 

- Mark 4:35-41 

 

Life’s Worthwhile Endeavors

 

At times in life we all need someone to look over our shoulder, to see the inconsistencies in our thoughts, words and actions, and to speak to us honestly when they see a concern in our life to which we may be blind. 

 

These people are true friends, especially when they dispense their observations in a loving and kind manner. I love to be nurtured in this way. In fact, my best friends are those who are honest and helpful to me by speaking the truth to me in love.

 

Every worthwhile endeavor in life takes time, energy and effort. Our walk with the Lord is much the same. We have to strive to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4:11); and then He takes over our perfecting efforts, and we simply need to learn to obey and to walk in His Spirit (Galatians 5:15-25).

 

Sometimes, we want to scream about the wasted time, the extra mess to clean up, the inconvenience, the rudeness, etc. that we encounter. However, changing our focus from anxiety and irritation to patiently waiting on the Lord in each circumstance helps us to enter into His rest. 

 

God uses these opportunities for us to walk in patience in order to perfect us (James 1:4). Once we see His guiding hand in each instance, every situation that we encounter is another blessing in disguise. We can entirely trust in His goodness and grace for us during everything that comes against us.

 

We can make a list of our responsibilities and goals for the day; however, seeking the Lord’s direction and timing for each one of them allows our day to flow more smoothly (Proverbs 3:5-6). We think more on positive aspects (Philippians 4:8), and our heart fills with gratitude for His continual intervention. 

 

We work in the order of His importance, rather than our own - leaving some things for later or tomorrow as He directs. Each chore is more enjoyable, and every decision is more filled with His wisdom. God makes everything work out for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

 

Prayer:

Father God, help us not to overload our expectations of our self for the day, but to walk in Your Spirit’s direction for each and every task we perform. Help us to rely on Your wisdom, timing  and advice in accomplishing each action. Remind us to minister to our self, as well as to everyone else You bring into our path (Matthew 22:39) - nothing lavish or expensive or sinful, but fulfilling to our soul – our thoughts, emotions and choices.

 

This way we do not assume that others will meet our needs, and we have less resentment and fewer frustrated expectations. Our body and spirit will respond in health and maturity in the same measure that our soul prospers (3 John 1:2). We feel less like a slave to our life, and more like Your fulfilled child instead. Remind us that when we look forward to each new day in Your service, we have more peace and joy, as well as more love to share with others.

 

Thought for the Day:

Walking in God’s presence each step of every day will guarantee our satisfaction as an individual and our obedience to the direction of God’s Spirit; then, even in what seems like the most inconsequential aspects of our day, we find great purpose, contentment and fulfillment. 

 

Guarding Our Heart

 

 

God’s Word advises us to guard our heart; yet, it also states that our heart is deceitful and wicked (Proverbs 4:23; Jeremiah 17:9). It also warns us that out of our heart comes all the issues of our life. The thoughts we think, and the words we speak often come from our heart (Matthew 12:34, 15:18-19).

 

One reason that God warns us to be on guard is so we do not forget what He has taught us and the miracles we have witnessed at His hand. He encourages us to remember the stories and to share them with our children and our grands in order to show them how real our Heavenly Father is in our life (Deuteronomy 4:9).

 

Once we completely surrender our life to God’s control, we do not guard our heart by setting up boundaries around our life to keep people from hurting us, or to prevent us from making silly mistakes from which we will reap consequences for the rest of our life. These restraints do not keep our heart safe, just restricted.

 

We trust the Lord to heal our heart whenever it is broken. We seek the Lord for wisdom about whom we share our heart. We can get dazzled by a charming smile, or a “bad boy” that really is bad for us. God has perfect plans for our life, and when we seek His perspective each moment of our day, this helps us to securely safeguard our heart.

 

God also puts us in His Body in order to help us to protect our heart. As we stay connected to His Spirit and to fellow Believers, we strengthen our union with God’s Spirit, and our heart blooms where He plants us (James 5:16; Romans 15:1; 1 Corinthians 12). God cares about everything pertaining to our life and our heart.

 

It is easy to trust God with part of our heart; however, it is extremely hard to trust in God with our whole heart, and to serve Him with our whole heart. When we do, however, He guides our heart along the right path, and He turns our whole heart away from sin and disobedience to His Spirit (2 Kings 10:31; Matthew 22:37-40; Proverbs 3:5-6).

 

Prayer:

Father God, we want to love You with our whole heart, unguarded in serving You, but definitely guarded from sin, Satan’s deception, the world’s attraction, and the desires of our flesh (Mark 12:30). Teach us with Your wisdom to discern between the guidance of Your Spirit and the whispers in our heart by these deceitful sources (Proverbs 23:19).

 

We want to have a heart of Your unconditional agape love, of understanding, of compassion for our self and others. Our heart - our soul, is the source of our emotions that construct our behavior. We do not want to be led by the human feelings of our heart, but by what the heart symbolizes – our life-giving source (Proverbs 4:23-26). Thank You for making us such intricate creatures and for leading us into Your presence forevermore.

 

Thought for the Day:

One major symptom of our heart that we must particularly guard against is growing weary and giving-in to feelings of heartsickness, because the feelings in our heart influence the health of our body, soul, and spirit, which has a monumental effect on our health, relationships, vocation, ministries, and community involvement.  

Too Much to Pay

 

 

From before the beginning of time, God sent His only begotten Son to pay for the sin debt of every single person on this planet (Romans 8:29; Isaiah 44:2), because He was the only perfect human being every conceived. 

 

Paying our own sin-debt was impossible for us to compensate; so, Jesus willing accepted the position. Now, anyone humble enough to surrender our body, soul and spirit to God’s complete control is afforded the privilege of being adopted into the family of God. 

 

What God is looking for from us is total submission to His way of thinking and His timing for all of His fulfilling plans for our life (Matthew 7:21-23; Jeremiah 29:11). A simple conviction of our sins is not enough, because to feel remorse for something we do wrong is a common emotion in our human psyche. 

 

Once we truly and completely give up our will and ways, and invite God’s Spirit to control our life, we enter into a personal relationship with God through conversion in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18). Conversion starts with restoration of our spirit. 

 

Once dead in sin, our spirit is instantly redeemed though the blood that Jesus shed on Calvary’s cross. Then, the Holy Spirit begins His sanctifying process of our soul – our thoughts, emotions and choices. The third step, glorification, happens instantly when we stand before God’s throne in Heaven.

 

Every human being longs for the assurance that comes from having a purpose in this life. We endeavor to use human reasoning to find our place where we can give and receive in harmony with everyone else. This may last for a while, but it usually ends in our dissatisfaction both with the status quo and with our ultimate unfulfillment.

 

We also often feel a need to atone for our own failures and to make amends for them. Of course, we can do this in many areas, but only the blood of Jesus totally cleanses us from everything, while He also shares with us all the things that are His (1 John 1:7; Romans 8:16-18).

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You so much for sending Jesus to give us a perfect example of how to live and to die on this earth. His words of Truth are so motivating, educational, and comforting. He showed authentic love to the vilest of sinners, as well as to the little children and His disciples. Through every act of kindness in His lifetime, as well as His atonement on Calvary’s cross for our sins, we indeed find His example to reach peace, joy and inspiration.  

 

Thank You that Jesus, as God in human form, reconciled to Himself the whole world; yet, only a few find Your narrow road, and agree to forsake the wide road that surprisingly leads to ultimate and eternal destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). We are effectively reconciled to You through Jesus’ personal sacrifice, and for this we are perpetually grateful. We praise Your holy name.

 

Thought for the Day:

Jesus demonstrated the possibility of our freedom from the entanglement of sin, as well as our reconciliation to God - that we are unable to achieve for our self - regardless of our good works; Jesus relinquished His reputation, and sinless perfection and took upon Himself the sins of the entire world of humanity – past, present and future – and for this we owe Him our allegiance and adoration.

- Ephesians 2:8-9

Somebody Loves Me

 

 

Some people love storms. There are storm chasers who video them, take meteorology information from them, and report them on the news. Some people even take their lawn chairs and sit on their covered porch to watch them pass over their home. 

 

Other people hide under the covers in a storm, or wear earplugs to avoid hearing the thunder, and draw their shades to keep from seeing the lightning. Regardless of our attitude about storms, we all face them – even at the most unexpected times in life.

 

When we turn control of our life over to God, He uses stormy trials to build our faith in His faithfulness, to purge us of negative fears and attitudes, to allow patience to have her perfecting work in our spiritual maturity (James 1:4-8), and to remind us to trust Him with our whole heart, not just part of it.

 

God’s sovereignty is a mighty stronghold for us if we establish the daily habit of walking in His Spirit and entering into His rest (Psalm 46:1, 94:22). No crisis in life has the power to defeat us – it is our attitude about the crisis that causes us problems. As we persevere in faith, we find hope in every predicament.

 

God’s Word is full of accounts of people who successfully navigated through a calamity by clinging to God’s reliability, love and care for us (1 Peter 5:7; Hebrews 11:39-40). They placed their hope in God, not in people, places or things. 

 

God does not always rescue us from negative circumstances, but He always walks in us and with us through them all (Hebrews 12:1, 13:5). As we keep an eternal focus on the issues that we face, His wisdom and strength enable us to finish the race that is before us. 

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for enabling us to maintain an eternal focus on the trials we experience in this life. We are either in a trial, just coming out of a trial, or about to enter a trial. Sometimes, one thing happens after another, giving us no respite in between. We experience trials that involve relationships, as well as some that include unhealthy mental, financial, emotional, and physical components. Yet, You allow us to overcome each one as victors rather than as victims.

 

We are constantly amazed that You have time, concern, and expend your energy and resources to think about humanity at all. We are like ants or worms – pesky pests always clamoring for You to intervene for us (Psalm 144:3; Luke 12:1, 6-7). We are even more amazed when we read that You rejoice over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17), consider us as Your friend (John 15:12-15), and You look forward to our death so that we can spend eternity in Your physical presence (Psalm 116:15).

 

Thought for the Day:

We often wonder if we will ever experience love on this side of heaven; however, regardless of the attitude other people have about us, we do matter now, we have value and significance, and we are cherished and unconditionally loved by the God of this universe (Psalm 147:4); He made us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), He knows how many strands of hair are on our head each moment of every day (Luke 12:7), and He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:2-4).