Inspirations

For God so loved  the world that he gave  his one and only Son,  that whoever believes  in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 Love is perhaps one of the most commonly misunderstood words in the English language. We think we know what love means, but, to be honest, we seldom understand it completely. Ask people to define love, and you're likely to get different answers from each one. To many, love is a warm fuzzy feeling that comes and goes. So we love as long as we feel like it, or as long there is something in it for us. People say I "fell" in love as though it was a hole to fall in; something that we have no control over. Truth is this definition makes lovely romantic stories and movies, but if we use that definition of love, we find a very changeable, unstable love. However, when God defined love, He left the divine, heaven, to become human. He was God with human limitations. He chose to live among people who...

God has often used his Word to correct, and instruct me in my walk with him. There have been other times that God has used the pastor,  a Christian friend  or a family member to shed light on a part of our life that needed some help. I am thankful for these times and the people he uses as his voice. One such incident occurred last night. We were walking around a local department store. I picked up a glass lamp to examine and see if it was something I was interested in. As I was putting it back on the shelf, I asked my son who is taller to help me put it on the shelf. He did but was scared he would drop it. He said if he did he would have to walk away and pretend like nothing happened. This is when it got real, folks. My daughter who was with me said "You know we only have two commands." I thought I would be funny, so I said, "Right love God and Love others." She said, "That's right but it wouldn't be loving others if we broke something and walked away....

The other day I was making some chili for supper.   As I was cooking, I tasted the Hamburg and decided that it needed some salt.   I grabbed the box of salt and poured a pinch into my hand.   Suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I had a small papercut I had on my finger.   Some of that salt had worked its way into the wound.   While salt makes food taste amazing, salt has another quality as well.   It has an antiseptic effect.   The salt that made the food delicious, hurt like crazy in the cut.   Although it was cleaning out the lesion, it caused much pain.    Jesus says his children are the salt of the earth.   We can have a cleansing effect on the earth.   As Christians, we often have a purifying outcome.   As we live for God, others in the body of Christ may be convicted   and like salt in a wound possibly they will be cleansed of their sin. ...

  Do everything in love.                                                                                        1 Corinthians 16:14                   In case you've been living,   or hiding under a rock the last few months,   ( I don't blame you, at this point)   there is a huge debate that is cutting into the fabric of everyone's life.    Are you ready for the  debate that everyone is ready to come to blows about?    MASKS!    You read that right masks.      Should you wear one should you not wear one.      It's crazy!    People are getting into fisticuffs over a face covering.      Everyone has a point of v...

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.     Psalms 107:21 One thing we can always thank God for is that his love never fails.     We can hold the door for someone.    We can make them dinner.    Maybe we can bring someone a steaming hot cup of coffee.    We may bite our tongue so that we do not hurt them.    We can speak words of affirmation over them.    Perhaps we can choose to put others ahead of ourselves.    All of those things are great. But it may not cause someone to return our love.    We live in an imperfect world,  and even though we can try our hardest to love others, it may fail.  But God’s love is perfect and can never fail.  His passion for us is unconditional.  He doesn’t like some more and some less.  He loves us when we ...

Tomorrow my sweetie and I will be celebrating twenty- nine years of marriage.  What an amazing journey!  I have to confess that when we were first married I had some preconceived ideas of what love and marriage would be like.   I thought love was having my spouse with me all the time, holding hands doing everything together, never having a disagreement.   I thought my darling sweetheart would never let me down or hurt me and everything would be perfect for the rest of our life.   Wow!  Can you believe how incredibly naïve I was?  After twenty-nine years what I realized is that no one could live up to the ideals that I had set because we live in an imperfect world and we are imperfect people.  I know, you’re thinking, “It took you twenty-nine years to realize this?” Nah I realized it after the first year.   I still smile how over the years God has changed my definition of love.  Don’t get me wrong there is n...

You,  God , are my  God , earnestly I  seek  you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. My dad had a dog named Tipper.  This was definitely my dad’s dog.  He would follow my dad anywhere.  We lived on a farm; if my dad went out to fix the fence the dog would follow him.    At night, the dog would wait for my dad to sit down and then come and sit right beside him in the chair.  This dog was not a small dog, and yet he had to share the chair with my dad.  If we were eating, the dog would come and lay right at the table beside him. There were very few times that you would see my dad and the dog was not close by.   Tipper liked all of us, but he loved my dad.  He loved him so much that he wanted to be close to him.  He wasn't content to sit and wait for my dad.  He had to be wherever my dad was.  We had chickens that we h...

Have you ever had someone ask you for something?  What was your reaction?  Sometimes, I hate to admit it, but I get slightly annoyed.  About a week ago, I had someone ask to help provide a dinner.  My first thought?  Really?  So I did the Christian thing.  I said I’ll have to “pray” about it. I did, and God said, “Help her”!   As I was fixing the meal, my attitude was still not very good.  That was when God started meddling.  He said, “Sharon, think of my life”.  I did and then he asked, “When did I ever do anything for someone that they did not ask me to do”.  OUCH!  I have to admit it, but as I thought about that, I began to realize that I was the one with the problem, not her.  Jesus, aside from his work on the cross, did not do any act of healing or other miracle without someone asking.  In fact, Jesus tells us to ask.  Strike that!  He commands us to ask, and he wants us to ask.  If he expec...

This morning as I poured my coffee, I looked out the window, and there was a leaf swinging in the wind.   It wasn't attached to a tree like most leaves; instead, it was dangling by a thin piece of string.  As I watched the leaf being blown about by the wind; yet being held in place by a piece of string, if you call it that, I was reminded of the times in my life I feel a little bit like that leaf.  I feel like I am barely holding on, I’m being tossed to and fro by the winds of this life and at any moment it’ll all come crashing down around me.  Then I was reminded that the “string" holding me is the God of the universe.  He’ not just a knot at the end for me to hold; no, he’s the very string holding ME when life closes in. The very same one who has been holding the stars in place for four thousand years or more is the one holding me.  If he can hold the universe in place, he can certainly hold me without a problem.  So even if it seems like I’ll b...

Today, I want to remind you of something amazing.  God chose you.  Yes!  No matter whom you are or what you've done; God wants and desires you!  See, I told you that it was amazing.  Wait!  It gets even better; God loves you so much that he chose to die for you.   He didn’t have to do that, he chose to do that. He could have decided that the cost was too high, but he didn’t.  Is it not amazing that he had a choice to die; or not to die!    Are you feeling loved right about now?  Good!  I know I have probably not said anything new, but it may be that, like me, you need a reminder.  I was reminded of this tonight, and what God reminded me was that he had a choice.  He could have decided that it was too much of a bother or that we were not worth it.  After all, no one actually deserves God’s favor.  He gives it, but we don’t deserve it.  In fact, Paul reminds us that when he died for us we were all si...

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love,  I've  gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.  1 Corinthians 13:3 The other day as I was driving, I looked in the rear view mirror and noticed a police car right behind me.  My heart beat a little faster, and I started a mental check.   Is my seat-belt on?  Check.  Am I speeding?  Nope.  I made sure when I was turning that I used my signal.  I wasn't on my cell phone.  I didn't even let my mind wander.  While the police car was behind me, I made sure driving had my total concentration because I did not want a ticket.  The driving force behind my actions that day was the fear of a ticket.  Friends, as followers of God our “driving force” behind the things we do must always be love.  God is way more concerned with the reasons why; than what. ...

It was sunny and quite warm for September, so I decided to go outside and sit under a tree during my lunch break.  As I was sitting under a tree listening to music and knitting, and enjoying time with God, a lady came up to me, and said she wanted to be sure I was OK.  Since I had been in the same place for what seemed to her to be a long time, she thought I might be sick and need help.  I assured her I was fine, and she went on her way.  I was humbled and amazed that someone would take the time to stop and check on me to see that I did not need help.  I was also ashamed because I have seen the lady around a few times, and had thought her to be unfriendly. As I finished my lunch, God reminded me not to be quick to form opinions about people; to wait and keep an open mind until I know them better before I make determinations about their character. James says “mercy triumphs over judgment”.  For me, I want to extend mercy as often as I can. I want to kee...

  Here’s how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.  John 2:2-3 Growing up, there were many things that I chose not to do simply because I knew my parents, especially my dad, would be hurt if I did them.  It wasn't that I thought my dad would not love me if I did them; I just did not want to cause my dad shame or pain.  A few months ago, some friends went to a club.  Later another mutual friend if I went with them to the club.  The rest of the group laughed and said, “No, she’s a goody-two-shoe”.  Perhaps I should have been offended, but I wasn't.  We’re all friends, and I knew that they meant.  There are many things that I choose not to do because I love God.   I know that God will still love me even if I choose to participate in drunkenness, or do something immoral, or take part in any other lust of the flesh.  I would not cease to be a Christian because I did any of those things....

I have heard many people on various occasions say, “I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian”.  The last time I heard it; a friend that I care very much about, was saying it.  I have to tell you that whenever I hear this I cringe, and I die a little inside. Today, I want to tell you why, in my opinion, this statement is not only completely false; but it may be spiritually lethal. I could tell you that that Bible says in Hebrews 10:25 “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”   However, I think it would be better to explain why I see Christians gathering together as not just a good idea; it’s critical to the body of Christ and our own spiritual well-being. First, going to church is vital if the body of Christ is to function correctly.  The Bible in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 suggests that we are the body of Christ, emphasis on body. ...

“I’m just a yellow light, no one listens to me.”  We read this and smile because we've all been the yellow light that gets ignored.   Most, if not all of us, long to be the red light or the green light because they seem significant.  We all, at some point in our life, are searching for significance.  Yet, somehow, it eludes us. I know some of you right now are going to give me the “Sunday School” answer that we find our significance in God, and you are correct.  So, why do we struggle with this?   I’m not a psychologist, so I might be wrong, but I think we struggle with this because what we really desire is affirmation and love.  We want to know that others see us and what we do as having value. I know that there are probably a myriad of reasons for why we need that confirmation from others, but, in my opinion, the biggest reason is that we were created by God for love.  There is a longing in each of us to love and be loved that can o...

Today I had the misfortune of being the target of teasing and being “made fun of”.  Depending on who is doing the teasing, and what they are teasing about, I can usually deal with it fairly well. However, there are always a few people who, when they tease, it hurts; they always manage to end their barbs with “JK”, just kidding.  As if, somehow, because they say “JK” that makes it alright; it doesn't .  Friends, saying “JK” doesn't make teasing acceptable, and teasing is not funny if the person being teased is not laughing too.  Whoever said “words can never hurt me” clearly had no idea of how fragile people can be.  I don’t care whether you are four or one hundred and four; words can hurt.  We live in a society where it has become quite acceptable use snappy mean quips that put others down.  We see it on television shows, in movies, and many other places.  I am sad to say that, occasionally, I have fallen in to this trap myself.  Christian ...

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to  the   house   of   the   Lord .” As I was sitting in church last Sunday, I noticed some people who were in the service that were checking the clock when the service started and at varying intervals during the service.  This is something that has bothered me from the time I was a young person. While I cannot presume know or judge another’s motives for their actions, I do question them.   I have always felt that, as a Christian, we should desire to be in God’s house and among his people.  We should never be concerned about the length of the church service. We are putting limits on the Holy Spirit when we are consumed with time in a church service. In addition, we lose our focus; we forget why we are at church. Finally, we may distract others who truly desire to worship God.  Friends, fellow Christians, if your passion in going to church is to love and worship God then put the watches away...

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic,  love  one another, be compassionate and humble.    1 Peter  3:8 I love fountains!  I love looking at and listening to them.  There is something calming and peaceful about them.  I absolutely love fountains that have tiers.  It’s so enjoyable to see the water cascading over the different levels.  Every time I watch fountains, I am reminded of how our love for God should be like a fountain.  When we love God, it will spill over on to those around us.  As we fill up with God’s love, it will have no place to go so it will run over the edges and on to others.  We will create a fountain. Surely our love for God is evidenced in our love for those he put around us.  Soon, they too may be filled up with the love of God and creating a fountain of their own; since they, in all likelihood, know others that we do not know.  We can take great satisfaction in knowing th...

Every now and then, God gives me a glimpse into what real love should look like.  This week, thanks to my sweetheart, I had just such a revelation.  For me, vacation means going somewhere, anywhere, that is not home.  I don’t want to feel like I’m sitting home on vacation.  However, I never realized that, until recently, my hubby would be perfectly happy sitting at home on his vacation.  Yet, for the last few years, we have gone somewhere for vacation.  My darling husband does this not because he loves it, but because he knows I love it.  In short, the only reason that he goes on vacation is because it makes me happy.  He puts his wants aside for me and what I want.  What a beautiful picture of the kind of love we all should have for each other; not just as husband and wife but for everyone.  We are to “consider others better than ourselves”; to put their needs above our own.  We deny ourselves something because we know someone e...