My daughters and I recently made a last minute lunch run to one of our favorite restaurants, Chipotle. I love when we can squeeze in time together like this, and it was especially enjoyable since the grandkids came, too!
As Jesus walked with His disciples to Gethsemane, He gave them some final instructions. He explained the nature of the relationship He wanted them to have with Him after His resurrection. He compared what He wanted for their lives with that of a fruitful vine.
One of my dear friends once told me of a time when she and her husband were first married. During their first few years of marriage, their home was a simple, small apartment with hardly any furnishings. She went on to tell me that they were just as happy then as they are now, many years later, living in a large house on five acres of land.
One of the things we must do to stay alive is eat! Along with air, water, and sleep, our bodies need food. The nutrients contained in the food we eat keep us healthy and strong. If we neglect to nourish our physical bodies, our health will inevitably decline. The human soul works the same way! We must regularly feed on God’s Word to stay alive and spiritually healthy. We must continually and purposefully nurture our souls with the Word of God.
I recently read a survey asking this question: “What makes your family great?” Among all the different answers, the most common was, “The time we spend together.” You cannot develop family memories if you are not spending time together! Evaluate your schedule, allow some spontaneous activity every now and then, and delight in the simple joy of being together!
Philippians 4:11 reminds us to be content in every season of life, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “Tomorrow, life will be better.” Sometimes we stew in discontentment over today, while we think things like this: “The kids will be older; they will do more for themselves; I won’t have to worry as much; or we will have more money.”
As a Christian wife, you will be watched and even judged. Some women consider this to be a negative aspect of being a Christian or of being in ministry, and either they resent it and give up, or, in most cases, they become consumed with trying to please people. Neither response is pleasing to the Lord!
I think each of us desire that our lives would count in eternity; but the question is: How am I going to make it count and last? I would like to share two ways that I have found help me influence others in a lasting way:
When facing the uncertainties of life, insecurity sometimes wraps its ugly tentacles around our hearts. It whispers in our ear, “Yea, hath God said?” God is never the author of confusion. Confusion is a major weapon of the believer’s enemy. It brings relentless fear and must be defeated by the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Your tomorrow is already well-planned by your loving Heavenly Father, and His provision is there if you will only be still and know that He is God.
God is always working behind the scenes to provide for His children. Since He knows what tomorrow holds, one would think that trusting the Lord would be the only option in daily living. Have you ever wondered why God directed the wise men to bring expensive gifts to the Saviour when He was obviously too young to make use of them?
When I was a teenager, our school participated in the presidential fitness test program. We did sit-ups and pull-ups, ran the fifty-yard dash, stretched our fingers past our toes, and accomplished a whole list of other exercises.
When was the last time you saw the hand of God protecting you from harm? How many times are we oblivious to His unseen hand moving on our behalf? Only eternity will tell what He mobilized to defend us and to keep us safe.
I am reminded of a lighthouse resembling an iron skeleton that once stood far out at sea about eight miles east of Boston, Massachusetts. Its name was the Minot’s Ledge. The keepers inside this lighthouse always trembled when a stormy tempest swept their way and swayed their seventy-five foot home.
This ladies event was used for a Ladies Night Out we organized here at Lancaster Baptist Church. The title of this event was Celebrate a New Day using the theme of Happy Birthday.
Daniel’s testimony was that light could be seen in his life—the light of God. Our world is definitely a dark place. If ever a light could shine brightly, it is today. What affects my brilliance as I let my little light shine?
As a little girl I remember fearing that something or someone was under my bed. I found myself running and jumping into bed every night and then willing myself to hang over the bed and look under it so that I could go to sleep without fearing that something or someone was going to get me.
To be a happy Christian, you must have a spiritual homeostatic equilibrium. This is a steady state of maintaining your optimal point or point of finest functioning for the Lord.
Checkmate! Your game pieces obediently moved at your command filling you with triumphant joy. Finally, the game is over and you have conquered. The game of life continues, and God is in command. He is looking for obedient game pieces to move at His directive.
In whom do you trust? An unquestioning attitude of full reliance comes naturally at birth but is somehow lost along the winding pathway of life. Somewhere along the way, doubts and fears replace this innocent trust with hesitancy and self-reliance.