Splashes of Joy

Last week, after an Italian meal, I enjoyed spumoni for dessert. The mixture of flavors was delicious, but the chocolate was a splash of joy.

I began to think of other little things that bring me happiness, delight, or contentment in life. Splashes of joy are like raindrops, unlike heavy showers that make us run for cover.

Let’s face it. Daily life can become a desert of routine. Every twenty-four hours, we eat, sleep, dress, and go to work or school. We must also pay bills, shop for groceries, plus follow up on appointments. Sometimes it seems endless.

I’m grateful I can do these things, but they’re the reason I look forward to splashes of joy, little things out of the norm.

For example, the other day I talked to a friend who lives far away. We had been on staff at the same church years ago. Our conversation was filled with splashes of joy as we shared memories of our experiences there.

Most people have many acquaintances; however, true long-term friends are not numerous. They are people who have seen us at our worst and still love us. They don’t box us in with their expectations. Christian friends of mine also bring joy with their spiritual encouragement and prayers.

Hospitality is another splash of joy. Whether invited to someone’s home for dinner or hosted by them at a restaurant, the time to talk and laugh together is refreshing.

The early Christian church included both food and fellowship. In our day, churches are known to offer coffee, enjoy potlucks, and even BBQs. Splashes of joy come from both food and fellowship.

Another source of joy is meditation on scripture and giving thanks to God. The psalmist said we enter into God’s presence by giving thanks.

Let me sum up my splashes of joy this way:

1.  A valuable three-fold cord: A friend, Jesus, and me (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
2. Acceptance of me as-is (Ephesians 4:32)
3. Spiritual encouragement and prayer (James 5:16)
4. Pleasant hospitality (1 Peter 4:9)
5. Fellowship of believers (Acts 2:42)
6. God’s Word (Psalm 119:14-16)
7. Giving thanks to God (Psalm 100:4)

Your splashes of joy need not match mine, but think about it. What ARE your splashes of joy? You may never take them for granted again. 

Pixabay: Splash, Water, Liquid; TheDigitalArtist.

3 Spiritual-Life Essentials

While growing up, my family often vacationed out west. We would go to church with a favorite Aunt and Uncle. As a youngster, I always found it interesting when the priest dismissed the service by saying, “Go out and live for Christ.”

Over the years, I often thought about that. Six little words, but what do they really mean? I’m sure we all have our own responses; however, what does Jesus expect?

This week, I paused in the Book of Luke as I noticed an answer to that question.

They were simple words with deep meaning, noteworthy because Jesus was speaking. He said, “If anyone wants to come after (follow) Me: (1) He must deny himself, and (2) take up his cross daily, and (3) follow Me” (Luke 9:23-24).

Let’s think about this:

(1)        What does it mean to “deny” himself, or herself? For one thing, it means turning from a self-focused life to decisively following the teachings of Jesus. It would mean “Thy will,” not “my will.”

 

(2)        What does it mean to “take up your cross?” It means accepting the fact that living for Jesus can mean mockery or rejection. Carrying a cross physically makes one noticeable, as does trying to live by Biblical principles in a sinful world. Jesus gives no promises of an easy life; however, He does promise never to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6).

          Did you notice that He said, "Take up your cross daily?" That's life! Every morning, we get up, clean up, and get dressed for the day. Yesterday's decisions are gone. Even The Lord's Prayer recognizes that life choices are daily: "Give us each day . . ." (Luke 11:3) 

(3)     What does it mean to "follow Jesus?" A true follower believes in someone enough to listen to their words, obey, and follow their example. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Question: (1) How many of Jesus' teachings do you know? (2) Are you feeding yourself daily from God's Word?            

There is nothing automatic about these three spiritual-life essentials. They're personal . . . your choice . . . each day!

Pixabay: List, Checkbox; OpenClipart-Vectors.

 

The Choice is Yours

Life is full of choices. For example, while driving, we choose one direction at a four-way stop. At the market, we choose a favorite brand over others. We also make choices about the time we spend on TV and social media.   

Being able to make choices is a blessing. This awareness struck home while I was fighting cancer. I realized I could not think positively and negatively at the same time.

You’ve probably heard this old saying: “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest there.” In other words, thoughts can come unbidden, but we can choose the ones we want to keep.

A few years ago, I wrote a poem about this:

A CHOICE IN TIME

Darlis Sailors

Memories float through our minds

Like clouds in the sky

Some are dark and we hurry them on

Others are bright and we ask them to linger

 

Memories contain both darkness and light

We live in sunshine and shadow

Forgiveness may wipe some dark clouds away

While love brightens others like sunshine

 

Memories can also be bitter or better

Life becomes better by choice

We lift up our head to look for more light

And choose to move out of the shadows

 

Memories are colors inside our mind

We pick which ones we will keep

Joy comes with light, sadness with darkness

We choose the color that’s right

Philippians 4:8 is a well-known scripture about choosing our thoughts. We are to aim for positive things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Verse six, however, recognizes the negatives in life. We are told to be anxious for nothing, but to present our prayers and petitions to God, with thanksgiving. That would probably produce some of the positive memories suggested in verse eight.

The choice is yours, and mine. I'm glad, because to me that's a blessing.

Pixabay: Choice; geralt.      

Widen Your Focus

 

Our earthly home is no “hit or miss” operation. I, for one, am thankful God had a plan. His first act was to separate “light” from “darkness” to create “day” and “night” (Genesis 1:1-5).

Next, He created a vault called “sky” to separate the waters above and below it (Gen. 1:6-8). He gathered the water under the sky to create “seas,” and dry ground became “land” (Gen. 1:9-10).

He had the land bring forth vegetation, seed-bearing plants, and trees. From then on, they would reproduce themselves (Gen. 1:11-13). How’s that for good planning?

We are told He added lights to the sky: (1) to separate day from night, (2) to serve as markers for various times, and (3) to give light to the earth. The greater light (sun) ruled the day, and the lesser light (moon) ruled the night, plus He gave us beautiful stars to enjoy (Gen. 1:14-19).

Living creatures were then created to fill the seas, and winged birds were to fly over and live on the earth (Gen. 1:20-23). However, the land was also filled with livestock, wild animals, and creeping ground creatures (Gen. 1:24-25).

God continually reviewed His work and declared it “Good” (Genesis 1:1-25), but the best was yet to come.

He created mankind in His own likeness. They were to rule over all of His Creation. And all living things, including mankind, were created male and female to reproduce themselves. At this point, God looked at His Creative work and declared it “Very Good” (Gen. 1:26-31). Then He rested from all His work on the seventh day and declared it “holy” (Gen. 2:1-3).

As I was driving to a memorial today, I looked around me at the beauty of God’s creation. The sky was dark with rain clouds far off, but I was driving in sunshine. Next to the road, I saw people hiking the nature preserve trail. The difference today was a girl on horseback.

I started to think about animals and how they respond to us. My family enjoyed a part-Persian cat named "Bootsie," and we enjoyed our friends’ Shitzhu named “Sasha.” We used to joke that our pets had us trained as much as we had trained them.

Driving along, praising God for His Creation, is nothing new for me. I agree with the Psalmist David: I will extol the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips (Psalm 34:1).

The next time you’re out and about, widen your focus. Notice the great variety of colors and shapes around you. Who knows, you might get so happy you even break out in song (James 5:13).

Pixabay: Earth, Planet, Atmosphere image; AlexAntropov86. 

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc., Used by Permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Powerful Winning Words

A childhood rhyme says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” By experience, both children and adults know that could not be further from the truth.

But words also have power for good . . . building up instead of tearing down . . . overcoming evil with good . . . stopping arguments and formulating peace.

Do you have a Bible? You have access to some of the most powerful words in the world:

 My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty,

But it will accomplish what I please,

And it will prosper where I send it

Isaiah 55:11

For the word of God is living and active.

Sharper than any double-edged sword,

It pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.

It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

Jesus understood the power of God’s Word and set an example for us in its use. After Jesus’ water baptism by John, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted (tested) by the devil.

Read about it in Matthew 4:1-11. You’ll see the devil refers to scripture three times, but misinterprets it. Jesus, on the other hand, knows God’s word and applies it correctly.

Three times, Jesus refutes temptation by saying, “It is written.” He then follows up with an appropriate scripture.  

How can we use God’s powerful words? First, God’s Word will help us live God’s way. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” As we read our Bibles daily, God’s word can help us avoid temptation.

But we are also warned that the devil is our adversary, prowling around seeking someone to devour. We are told to resist him, standing firm in our faith (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus did this by knowing and applying scriptures when and where needed.

Powerful winning words are not automatic. Jesus said: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Remember: Daily food keeps us strong, both physically and spiritually. 

Pixabay: wooden blocks, visual concept; printablue.

  

A Time to Speak

I love Solomon’s classic contrasts in the Book of Ecclesiastes. While expressing “to everything there is a season,” he contrasts “a time to be silent and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7, 3:1-9).

This past weekend, America celebrated 250 years of existence. That’s not long in comparison to many other nations around the world, but to us it was worth celebrating.

Along with the history of the nation's founding, we heard many patriotic hymns and songs. We also heard many prayers for America. Some were prayers of thanksgiving, while others were prayers for God’s continued mercy upon us.

What makes a nation? People! And such a wide variety, too. In America, we have fifty states, each with a varied history of its early settlers; however, it’s been my privilege to talk with missionaries. I’ve always enjoyed learning that each country has its own variety of people and cultures.

How can we ALL speak to the LORD? Psalm 100 gives some guidelines. The first verse says we can “make a joyful noise.” Psalm 98:4-6 tells us that joyful noise can be shouts of joy or songs of praise with instruments of various kinds.

Sometimes, I enjoy singing or making music on an instrument myself. At other times, I enjoy worshiping the Lord while listening to a CD or DVD of Christian songs. And, of course, church worship includes singing by the congregation, such a joyful sound.

Here are two basic guidelines: (1) Enter His gates with thanksgiving, then (2) go further into His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4). I picture it this way. First, I thank God for the things He has done, and then I praise Him for who He is.

Psalm 100:5 gives us three reasons to praise the LORD: (1) He is good, (2) His love endures forever, and (3) His faithfulness endures to all generations. Isn’t it easy to say “Praise the Lord” for all that?

Speak up wholeheartedly. Bless the LORD, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His Holy name (Psalm 103:1).

Pixabay: Diversity, Earth, Family; GDJ.

Peace by Choice

Peace is an everyday challenge. It’s often hard to feel calm or safe when so many things happen over which we have no control. Peace exists both on the outside, in the world around us, and on the inside, as reflected in our feelings and emotions.

The world can cover up anxiety and postpone worry, but it’s a temporary fix. Jesus can calm the waves of anxiety and winds of worry that come and go unbidden. Here’s a good example.

The disciples were frightened by a mighty windstorm that threatened their boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was sleeping in the stern, so they shouted, “Wake up! Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” Jesus got up and said to the winds, “Be still,” and the winds died down. You can read about it in Mark 4:35-41.   

Jesus’ peace can keep us steady. Sometimes we’re climbing the mountain of anxiety, and other times we’re stumbling into the valley of despair. Hard times come to all of us, but like the disciples, we can call upon Jesus for help.

The world’s way to peace often involves alcohol, drugs, sexual pursuits, or adrenaline highs, but none are long-lasting. Jesus says His peace differs completely from the world’s (John 14:27).

Jesus experienced the peace of God Himself. Consider these examples:

•          Satan tempted Jesus as He does us (Luke 4:1-13)
•          Jesus endured great opposition from religious leaders (Matthew 16:1, Matthew 21:23)
•          He was misunderstood by the people closest to Him (Mark 6:1-5)
•         Jesus was faithful, even unto death (John 19:28-30)
•          He forgave His enemies while dying on the cross (Luke 23:33-34)

How is Jesus’ peace accessible to you? His peace comes through a relationship. Matthew 11:28-30 mentions taking Jesus’ yoke and learning from Him. Walking closely with Him will give us rest for our souls. That kind of peace sounds good to me.

Receive His peace by choice: (1) Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, (2) believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and (3) you will be saved and justified before God (Romans 10:8-11).

You can also read “The Road to Salvation” in Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10, and 10:13.

Pixabay: Lake, Boat, Fisher; huynetsoft.