Month: October 2019

Easy Listening

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But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy.             James 3:17 ASV

If you asked our sons who they liked going hiking with, they would have pointed to me; but if you asked them who they talked to when they were in trouble; that would have been their mom. It’s not so much that Nancy went easy on them, but, she made them feel welcome to tell her their problems. She was easy to be entreated.

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James tells us that we need to ask God for wisdom and that among its qualities is being easy to be entreated. Maybe some of us struggle with making others feel welcome to share their troubles; because we don’t believe that God will listen to ours. But the amazing truth is that God welcomes us when we come with problems or even just small stuff that we struggle with.

 

Always remember that God never asks us to do anything that He hasn’t already done Himself. He is easy to be entreated; willing to listen and ready to teach us to listen to others, when we ask.

The Secret Place

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But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  Matthew 6:6

In  the year 1800 John Adams and his wife moved into the residence today known as the White House. The building was reconstructed after the British burned it down, and remodeled many times. Through all the history that had passed it has never been a secret where it is and that it is the home of the president of the United States. But if we want our president to listen to our request the trick is to get an appointment to meet him there.

white house

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The same is true with our place of prayer. When Jesus told us to go into the “secret place with God”, He wasn’t referring to some mystical hidden location. We don’t need to find some place that no one knows about where we can hide while we pray. We pray simply must be sure that the words we say are intended for God’s ears alone. We must be careful to not try and impress others either by the way we pray or how often. God’s appointment calendar will always open for us if we come in honesty and humility. In fact the most important part of our prayer is not the words we use, but in the answer God gives. When our hearts are right we will discover that God’s ears are always open and that He is prepared to listen to anyone who comes into His secret place. P1010570

The Sabbath is an Adventure!

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If you turn your foot from the Sabbath from doing your own pleasure on my Holy day and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable, If you honor it, not going about your own ways or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord… Isaiah 58:13-14a ESV

Ever hear the expression “Sunday driver”? That was someone who driving too slowly and just enjoying the scenery. If you are like me maybe sometimes you flash your lights or mutter under your breath about how they are holding up traffic. But how about making time next Sunday to take a slow drive in the country after church? If your schedule is too full to do that, maybe you need to boldly wipe it clean. It isn’t a sin to slow down.

boy running in the hallway

Photo by Caleb Oquendo on Pexels.com

Do you remember walking out of school for the first day of summer vacation when you were a kid? The idea of months of unscheduled time ahead felt like an adventure. In our childhood imagination and the sky was the limit as to what was possible. The same holds true for the Sabbath. There are endless possibilities as to the blessings that God will fit into it when we launch out into the adventure in faith of what God gave His Sabbath to be!