Tag: faith

Sour Puss!

I have another blog, God,Autism and Me where I posted months ago about how a stray cat we named “Lucky” made quite an imprint on our lives.  “Mr. Lucky” has been with us ten years this month and was not at all impressed when another cat recently made her way to our front door.

“Greystone,” as my oldest son calls her, appeared roughly a year ago. She didn’t start off as a permanent fixture, but rather dropped by occasionally at her leisure.

I wasn’t going to fall for it again. I don’t even like cats. I remind our one cat in residence of that fact constantly.

Well “Grey” had kittens. I noticed her in the neighbor’s yard across the street over a month ago. She was lounging in the driveway with four kittens romping about happily.

Then I didn’t see them again for nearly a month. I figured maybe someone took them in and they had been adopted. Later, I worried that something happened to them. Guiltily, I put food out “just in case” they were homeless. Sometimes the food was eaten, other times it remained. I wasn’t quite sure what was eating the cat chow I’d put out but I finally caught her in the act of eating. But there were no kittens in sight.

Today I saw Greystone and she wasn’t looking so hot.  She now has only two kittens with her. She is definitely malnourished even though I suspect I’m not the only person in the neighborhood trying to help her out. I’ve tried to coax her closer on other occasions and she has maintained her distance until today. She came up to me, purred, rubbed and contemplated actually coming inside the house until…Lucky hissed at her!

Greystone took off running!

I could have slapped that Lucky cat!

Now before all of you animal lovers come a calling I did not.  I did, however, pick him up and give him a good talking to about his inhospitable actions! I have absolutely no doubt he understood every word I said. His behavior made me think about how we humans behave with our “selective amnesia”.

You see, Lucky appeared on my steps years ago one October just like moma cat. The very steps he chased Grey down today are the very same steps he crawled up one morning desperate for food. Lucky was once cold, hungry and lost just like her.  Now, years later, Lucky is warm, comfortable and considerably overweight due to his life of luxury. You would think he would want moma cat to come inside too.

Just like my cat, many people, “religious folks” especially, tend to forget that they were once shut out, downtrodden, dirty and homeless in some form or another once the years distance them from their prior circumstances. Some people may not have been physically homeless or broken in body, however, the mind, soul and spirit were once just as battered! Often when a person finally get’s his or her life “somewhat together,” instead of showing people the same door where they found grace, there is instead presented gossip, rejection and disdain.  Unfortunately, many people tend to reject others with the very same traits once found in themselves.

Sometimes when we are comfortable in our accomplishments and are no longer in the state we once were, our comfort turns into condescension.  Some people having attained a certain level of accomplishment, success, or recognition (especially in religious circles) tend to forget what it feels like to be where they once where. Their hearts become hardened as their memories and the pain once suffered fade away.

Where there should be an open door to welcome the “unchurched,”  the less fortunate and people who really could use an encouraging word, there is often a closed door that reads, “do not disturb,” “I made it so why can’t you,” or “I’m too busy right now.”

This isn’t the case for everyone, but it is a reality for far too many.

Time can surely dim our memories but we shouldn’t allow it to harden our hearts. We are to encourage one another which means that we should actually do something in the circumstances where we can made a difference.

“Thus also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead,”  James 2: 17 NKJV. 

Those of us who say we should “keep the faith” need to actively “keep it”  by actually doing those things or works that make a difference! Opening the figurative doors of grace and mercy, showing empathy for others who are now where you were, and allowing  your battle scars to teach you compassion is one way to do that.

I will continue to keep an eye out for Moma Grey and her kittens and attempt to get them to the vet… as soon as I can catch them!

But in the meantime, I will allow this afternoon’s adventures to remind me to keep an open door to my heart and the memories of my trials and failures always near. May I always remember that I am blessed by God’s grace and mercy. He took ME in!

Prayerfully, I will do this, less I become as guilty as the cat!

“Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy,” Matthew 5:7 NKJV

Flourishing Finish

As I look out at what is left of my summer garden, it is more than evident that this year is quickly coming to an end. Yet, the pictured summer plant is still standing and going strong, having withstood storms, drought and even my neglect while everything around it quickly fades away.

Unlike the plant, I am guilty of faltering when forced to endure my own storms, droughts and neglect. My coleus ran its designated course and continues to thrive. I refuse to be outdone by a plant!

It is my declaration to run my course and finish 2013 well. I commit to no longer allow imperfect conditions to deter me. I have concluded that when I choose to climb higher, strive for better, and act better, the larger the obstacles I am forced to overcome. Sometimes impediments are beyond my control. However, my largest obstacle is often…me.

Temporary disappointments can linger far longer in our minds well after a problem is gone. It can be hard to reprogram our thinking even after we overcome a hardship. It is human nature to look back on old hurts and offensives focusing on what we’ve endured instead of looking ahead to the promise of a better tomorrow. To the inability to “get over” a setback often thwarts the best intentions to move forward and into God’s promises.

“But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,”
Philippians 3:13-14. NKJV

I challenge you to push forward toward your prize!  We all have a God-given purpose, goals to meet, and blessings to give not just receive…the work God has imparted each of us to do while we are here on this earth.

Recommit yourself to finish well. If necessary, begin those things God placed in you. God is infinite in His ability to restore and accelerate. Timing is not a concern for Him; His timing can put you years ahead when you were once decades behind.

Trust God. Have faith in what He can do in you and through you! Ignite your hope! Cast aside your fears! Don’t focus on how you started or even where your race began. God is with you every step of the way. Allow God to finish the good work He began in you!

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God,” Acts 20:24 NKJV

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope,” Jeremiah 29:11

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ,” Philippians 1:6 NKJV

B is for Better Late than Never!

Oftentimes, life’s challenges and unexpected circumstances cause us to defer a dream. A dream that has been placed in our hearts by God can often become buried by responsibilities, poor choices and even circumstances beyond our control. Yet God’s grace and mercy affords us those second chances we don’t deserve. God can restore time and opportunity when we allow ourselves to be open to what to what He can do instead of focusing on what is impossible for us to do under our own power.

Abraham had a promise of a son. This promise came to him when both he and his wife were well beyond child-bearing years. While waiting, Sarah became impatient. She hastily took it upon herself to “accelerate” God’s plan which resulted in later turmoil and strife.

We often make the same mistake when we work outside of God’s timing and end up with a mess! In our microwave ready world, the notion of waiting on anything seems futile and frustrating when we are constantly bombarded to “do it now and get it now before it is too late.” That may be the way of the world but it is not the way of the Word.

Abraham received his blessing after he obeyed God. And many years after, at that. Then, his obedience was tested yet again, when he offered up the very child God promised as a sacrifice. (Genesis 22)

We often want the blessing but are remiss to be obedient, especially in areas that are “comfortable,” even when we are well aware those same habits and comforts distance us from God’s very best.

God desires to bless us but we need to want to be blessed enough to change.

We must renew our minds not to pursue what we want, but to be willing to pursue God’s will in our lives. Anything else would be less than God’s best anyway. Who wants that?  You can struggle outside of God’s will and even when you are in it! But when you are in the will of God you can have peace that you will overcome your trial and not be overcome by it.

A willingness to do new things (like obey), meet new people and change attitudes and habits often manifest a different result. These changes often take time but thankfully, God holds time in His hands. His timing is always perfect.

Joshua and Caleb had faith that they could inherit the Promised Land even though it took decades to see their dream fulfilled. They were the few spies who lived to see the promise fulfilled. Joshua knew that they were well able to take the land with God on their side and said so! God rewarded them for their faith.  (Numbers 14)

If you don’t have faith enough to speak life with your words, what good can manifest under those circumstances? You have to expect God’s goodness if you want to see it. Allow your mouth to align with your spirit. Allow what you know to supersede what you think!

Sometimes we lose sight that we are well able because we are trying to accomplish things under our own power and not through God’s power. The great things we are blessed with and desire to achieve are often done not through our own ability but God’s power in us enabling us to endure to the end.

We all seek the blessing but few are willing to endure the test that puts you in position to be blessed. When we trust God enough to walk out His plan for our life then can we embrace joy and peace even in the midst of what we perceive as trials. The bigger the blessing, the longer the test. The longer the test, the greater the testimony.

Joseph suffered many trials and many years before he became ruler. He kept his faith even after he was sold into slavery, lied on, and imprisoned. He continued to hold on to the dream God placed in his heart. His faith allowed him the confidence to expect better.  Joseph expected deliverance, telling the chief cupbearer to “remember him” while imprisoned. The cupbearer did remember Joseph but not until years later. (Genesis 41)

Joseph’s blessing came by way of preparation. Joseph allowed his God-given gift to interpret dreams to provide way for his eventual promotion. How many of us would have been too concerned with our own plight to help the cupbearer while in dire circumstances?

Expect the best and prepare for your blessing, realizing that preparation will probably require patience with a good attitude. Whatever dreams you allow to die within you, God our Father, can resurrect. He is the absolute Master of bringing dead things to life. He can even resurrect you into the person you were destined to become instead of someone currently content with what is comfortable.

Our feelings can convince us that nothing good will happen because we can’t see God working or we can’t see our circumstances changing. Instead, we must act on what we know God is capable of doing and the plans He has for each of us. God gives us a dream.  Rarely will He reveal how it will manifest. If we knew, that wouldn’t require faith, patience or maturity on our part. The journey to deliverance is just as important as the manifestation.

It is never too late. There are eighty year olds competing in triathlons. Octogenarians are earning college degrees. People are pursuing second and third careers to fulfill dreams they deferred decades before.

I know a ninety year old man who recently was able to purchase his dream car, a red Mustang convertible! He never gave up hope and decades later God allowed his dream to come true!

Whatever your dream, God can make a way. He can do the impossible if you will stretch your faith and allow Him to be your Lord of your life!

Pray that God aligns your will with His will. Don’t give up on your dreams. Don’t give in to disappointment or despair. Never doubt God’s plans for you. God’s timing may be later than you’d like but if you have faith and keep it…God can make later the best ever!

What are you believing for? Are you willing to wait patiently in faith for God’s perfect timing?

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! Psalm 27:14 NKJV

P is for Potential

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23

Potential – that can come into being; possible; latent, Webster’s Dictionary

 

God created everyone with a latent potential. Each of us was predestined from the beginning, no one an “accident” that just happened upon the earth. Each of us has a purpose waiting to be fulfilled. But to rise up to what we can become we must first unlock the seeds within before we can ever reap a harvest.

A farmer works his land and finally gets that seed into the ground where it is irrigated and warmed by the sun from above. After the farmer gets the seed in the ground, his work is not done, he can’t just leave the land to fend for itself. He doesn’t just wait for the harvest to come in. And neither can we.

Farmers watch aggressively for parasites and diseases that would destroy the harvest. He protects it from predators and pestilence. Farmers aren’t idle. They work and plan consistently. This takes lots of time, planning and patience.

We must work diligently if we are going to unleash the potential that lies within us. God gives us gifts but we must unlock the potential. Each talent and gift requires that we first acknowledge the gifts we are given. Some people have no clue of the talents within because they believe what others have said about them. Yet it is our duty to nurture our gits as seedlings, protect them from predators and develop them over time. Learning from our experiences, seeking God’s knowledge and remaining open to new and people and opportunities that will allow us to flourish.

Only God knows our true potential. Often our lack of achievement stems from a lack of vision. What odds we can overcome if we would recognize what God can do with us and through us! Instead of thinking about our limitations we should reflect on His power.

Consider the potential within each of us as a small flame. You can smother the flame and cause it to die. Or you can fan your flame, add fuel to it and be on fire for whatever purpose God has placed in your heart.

If you sincerely doubt you have a purpose, ask God to reveal it to you.

The activities you enjoy may hold the key to your talents. Pay attention to the things you do that make people smile or are helpful. Often the things we do best hold the key to God’s plan for us. Many times our frustration stems from working outside of those areas God has called us to.

Never doubt your significance. Never doubt God’s love for you. If you are alive you are part of His plan!

Even if you feel you have messed up so badly there is no hope for you, our God of mercy can ignite a new flame within you! With God there is always hope to fulfill the purpose He has assigned to you!

 

Pruning

“I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit,” John 15:1-2 NKJV

Jesus’ teaching about the vine and the branches is one of the most readily quoted. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15: 5 NKJV

Without Him we can do nothing. However, the scripture prior to that, John 15:2 is often skimmed over. It is easy to realize how dependent we are on Christ, yet most of us are remiss and become ill at the notion that to become fruitful we must be pruned.

Without pruning, even the best specimens in any garden will eventually lose the ability to bear fruit. At the very least, the output will greatly diminish. The limbs will become weak and unable to support what little fruit that is produced. Comparatively, the same tree that has been pruned will be shorter but stronger. 

Trees and shrubs that have been freshly pruned usually look awful. Where I live Crepe Myrtles trees are blooming now. However, for them to bloom to the fullest, dead limbs are cut away in winter. The trees look so bad after their winter pruning the process is jokingly called “Crepe Murder.”

We often look bad and feel bad when our Father takes to pruning us as well. Sometimes it may be a stray branch here or there that is removed. But then there are times in our lives when we may feel like we’ve been taken all the way down to the roots!

Pruning is painful.

We may even feel like we’re dying all the while God is preparing us to produce more! We don’t often see it at the time or understand. We can feel bad and look worse.  Yet, Jesus promises that every branch that does bear fruit God prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 

Sometimes the removal of things in our lives, though devastating at the moment, eventually make us stronger. Sometimes there is a reason so-called “friends” leave. It may be a job. Or even a relationship.

God cuts off what is not good for us. God often removes those things or people we would in no way leave on our own.

We can have faith knowing that He is our life source and through Him we will be fine no matter how deep the cut. Our progression in life requires some pruning.  Thankfully, the potential fruit is well worth the temporary pain.

The next time you experience a hardship, disappointment or painful experience; don’t assume it is an attack from the enemy. It might be time for God’s hand on you.

It may just be time for you to produce more fruit than you thought possible!

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:7-8 NKJV