Don't Worry be Happy

Mark 4:3; 7 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.” As I sat down to do my morning devotion, I could not concentrate; the words in my Bible were just a blur on the page as my mind went elsewhere. The subject of my thoughts is most likely the same as every single person who has been here, concern for a loved one who I want to be safe, who I want the best for, and who is enmeshed in a battle that I cannot control. How often have I let my worries, my anxieties and my fears control me and rob me of what God has for me? I must admit, far too often. It’s interesting; I was just thinking about how these past years I have been able to just sit before the Lord and soak up His goodness, His grace, His mercy, His love, His comfort and His peace. It took the death of my precious child for me to come to a place where worry was no longer an issue, because after all, my mind always takes my worry down the rabbit hole to the same place where I would ask myself, what is the worse that could happen? And it did. The worse thing I could ever have imagined actually occurred; my child passed away; he is gone and he now resides in his eternal home in Heaven. Matthew 6:25-26 says, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” This passage of Scripture tells me that my Father in Heaven cares about me and that I am valuable to Him. He promises me that He will take care of me and that I don’t have to worry like an unbeliever does. God knows exactly what I need and all I have to do is look up and focus on Him and He will lovingly provide for me. Unfortunately, sometimes I think I need to get in there and fight the battles myself and when I do this, I tend to get frustrated, not only with the fact that I cannot control what other people do, but with God for not doing what I think He should be doing. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” When I read the words of Jesus, at times my thoughts tend to catapult me to that grassy slope where I am standing with all the other people who came to listen to this unique Man who spoke these astonishing words with such authority. He wasn’t speaking from experience; He was speaking as God, as our Creator, as the One who knows how we will function best. In September, 1988, Bobby McFerrin released a worldwide hit song entitled “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” It became the first a capella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. People are starving for an answer on how to combat worry and this song, which was the famous theme song in the Disney movie “Lion King,” urges us and our children not to worry and to just be happy, but this is the world’s answer to worry. All this does is slap a platitude on our worry and it says, just don’t do it. Does that really help? Our Lord, teaches us something completely different. Jesus says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt. 6:34) and then He says, “I have come that you would have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) The answer to worry is simple, His name is Jesus. I guess you could say that I don’t have to worry about Elisha any longer because he is now safe in the arms of my Savior, right? Unfortunately, there will always be someone else I that I love or something else that I will have a tendency to worry about. When I will apply His truth each and every morning, I am able to “listen,” I am able to trust, I am able to look up and focus on my Savior and when I do, all of the worry, all of the distractions of this world fade away and do not choke out the fruit that a personal and intimate relationship with my Lord will bring. -- Melody

Something is Rotten in Denmark

Proverbs 27: 23-24 “Know the state of your flock and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.” The phrase “something is rotten in Denmark “comes from William Shakespeare's play “Hamlet.” In the play, Hamlet comments on the troubling state of affairs of the kingdom of Denmark, specifically the corruption. The Bible warns us to pay attention to our land. We are to be like farmers who are constantly aware of their herds' health and farmlands. As I look around my nation, I, too, see a nation in a troubling state. The Bible tells us that where there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. That is what gives my heart concern. Life is uncertain. We need to pay close attention to our home and family. Rot doesn’t start at the top. It begins in each one of us. It is a heart issue. I wonder what my grandchildren, daughter, and son-in-law will face after I am gone. I am almost at the end of my journey here on earth, Yet I know that the younger generation has a lot to undo of what we have allowed. I pray for them and try not to be discouraged or afraid. The Bible tells us in Psalm 27:14 to wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart. I pray for hearts to be strengthened and for us to be courageous in our faith. I know the end of the story, and we are told that all who believe in the Lord will live with Him in eternity; that is what I hold onto. Lord, I thank You for Your Word and for helping me through those times of fear. I love You, Lord, and I thank You for Your promises. – Michele

Shaped, or Imprisoned???

Rick Warren impacted my own life when he developed and explained the SHAPE concept -- an acrostic that represents the aspects of the life of a believer that God literally weaves together, fashions together, or even distinctly initiates, to shape the believer in such a way that is compatible with His will and purposes for that believer. As an acrostic, it is simply each letter of the word “SHAPE” representing one of those key aspects – Spiritual Gifts, Heart (or heart passions for greater clarity), Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. In my own teaching, I have attempted to simplify Rick’s teaching by briefly explaining that God “shapes” us with ...... Spiritual gifts that are uniquely, individually, given to all believers to enable us to serve Him and others, through gifts like teaching, leadership, encouragement, giving, mercy, discernment, and still others. Heart passions that are unique to our own individuality and are reflective of the very passions He grows within us. Natural abilities such as those skills we have practiced and honed, or we have educated ourselves to become better at. Personality distinctives – introverts, extroverts, doers, thinkers, those who empathize, those who are quick to tell you “how to do it,” leaders, followers, and a whole lot more. And, our life Experiences beginning in childhood and continuing through today. Life experiences that influence us on a personal level, but they also help us to relate to the life experiences of others. God doesn’t waste anything. But we can cocoon ourselves with thoughts and beliefs that thwart the purposes God has for us. And, literally imprison ourselves within that cocoon. Michele, who writes for and gives leadership to Umbrella Ministries, says, “No matter what we face, the death of a child, divorce, mental illness, a wayward child or any trials Satan throws at us, God’s Word promises we will be more than a conqueror. So what does being more than a conqueror look like? ..... We can walk through our trials being angry and bitter. We can take what has happened to us and bottle it up and let it fester. Or, we can take what has happened and turn it into something we never thought possible. When I lost my daughter Katie, I thought my life was over. Nothing good could ever come out of such a loss. Oh, how wrong I was! The Lord has taken a wasteland of grief and turned it into a land of milk and honey." The experience of loss does not have to be the defining moment of our lives, writes Jerry Sittser. Instead, the defining moment can be our response to the loss. It is not what happens to us that matters so much as what happens in us. Sittser knows. A tragic accident introduced him to loss of a magnitude few of us encounter. In an instant, a tragic car accident took the lives of his mother, his wife, and his young daughter. Most of us will not experience such a catastrophic loss, but most of us will still experience some form of loss, and many of us will know the dark places resulting from hurts, wrong choices, addictions, and again, still more. So as Jerry alludes to, how will we respond when our experiences, or even our natural abilities, passions, or personalities, seem to bring us up short, inadequate, or deeply wounded???? We could look at some wrong choices we sometimes make at this fork in the road, but it is far better to fully face what could either shape us in God’s direction for us, or imprison us with our sense of loss, inadequacy, or failure. Face it; feel the consequences we believe have been imposed, and put it all in the hands of our God with whom we can walk forward in utter dependency, and find the fullness of the plans and purposes He has shaped us with. – Bev (Related Bible reading: Ephesians 2:8-10; Isaiah 40:28-31; Proverbs 3:5,6)

David Prays..........

David prays. “ Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” “Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. Protect me from wicked people who attack me, from murderous enemies who surround me. They are without pity. Listen to their boasting! They track me down and surround me, watching for the chance to throw me to the ground. They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart – like young lions hiding in ambush.” As David himself says, his prayers come from honest lips. He knows his enemy. He is overwhelmed by his enemy. His enemy taunts, and burdens his heart with sorrow. My enemies. Your enemies. David’s enemies. They may all be different, but they are all destructive; they gain the upper hand, waiting to inflict their pain, physically, emotionally, spiritually. But David does what believers often hesitate to do. He comes before his God in utter dependence, and such a dependence necessitates not only honest lips, but an honest heart that acknowledges the need, acknowledges the destructiveness of the need, and acknowledges the inability of the one who prays to blot out the need, or even cope with it in some compromising way. And David reflects our own inabilities when life throws its enemies at us. But David’s focus begins to intentionally change as his utter dependence on God re-shapes within his own heart, the image and reality of his God. He says to his God, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you. Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. You are the one who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” Seeing his God with a renewed perspective that is utterly dependent on Him, he is able to feast on all God wants to give. “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence. My heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me. I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.” David’s request for God to bend down and listen as he prays, reflects the yearning of my own heart, and if you are still reading this, probably your heart yearns in the same way. It’s the closeness of a young child with the Papa he is dependent on. It’s the certain knowledge that our Father-God never abandons us, and He is the one who bends down so we can know His closeness and His care. –Bev (Related Bible reading: Psalm 13, Psalm 16, Psalm 17, and you can find still more........)

No Worries

Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Someone once gave me a worry stone; it was a beautiful, smooth, polished gemstone in the shape of an oval with a thumb sized indentation. A well-meaning friend told me that when I begin to worry, I should take this stone out and hold it between my index finger and my thumb, and that I should rub the stone back and forth and it would help me relax. So essentially, I could channel all my worry into the stone, and my fears and anxieties would leave me. I threw it in my purse thinking that, sure, one day, I could try that, but honestly, that never happened. One day when I was cleaning out my purse, I took it out and put it in a drawer because I got tired of carrying around the extra weight of a rock in my bag. Hah. It wasn’t until much later that I found out worry stones are a part of a group of other stones that are used for crystal healing, meditation, and many other esoteric and eastern religion healing practices. Who knew? Even though this was not something I even considered would be beneficial to me, I remember distinctly one day when my son came home with a gift. It was a small leather bag containing polished rocks, and on the tag was a poem that said whenever he felt anxious or worried, he could reach for one of the stones and it would be like a pocket-sized security blanket that could absorb all of his negative feelings. As I thought about this bag of rocks, I considered all the people who possibly could believe that a rock might take away all of their fears and worries, and I couldn’t help but wonder, how that was working out for them. The Bible says you are to, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) The key phrase in this verse is, “because He cares for you.” It’s a good thing I had taught my son how to pray and how to come before the Lord whenever he was in fear or had worries, because I knew when he got that bag of rocks, it would be just that to him, a bag of shiny pretty stones. This bag of inordinate objects had no capability of caring for him, much less helping him to process through his anxiety. As believers, our Sovereign, Mighty, Holy God invites us to come before Him and cast all of our discontentment, our discouragement, our despair and our suffering on to Him and in return, He promises us that He will hear our prayer and He will heal our brokenness, our sorrow, our pain, our grief and take away all of our worries, our fears and our anxieties. He will give us His peace, His joy, His contentment, His encouragement and His Holy Spirit, who loves us and delights in us and desires all that God has intended for us. This world is full of thoughts and ideologies that are constantly tugging at us and pulling us away from our Lord. The enemy of our soul will always try to compete with God for our attention and has for centuries attempted to create philosophies and precepts that are outright lies from the pit of hell. As a believer, I know how ridiculous it is for me to believe that focusing on a rock could possibly take away my worries, but honestly how many people do believe this? It was such an innocent gesture on behalf of a well-meaning friend that it never really occurred to me how skillfully deceptive Satan can be. Our God does not want us to worry about tomorrow, because worry and fear do not come from our Holy Father. He wants us to come to Him every morning and lay all our burdens at His feet and in turn, He will give us the peace we will need to get us through the day. --Melody

Reminders of Our God Who Cares

It was a small reminder of a much greater truth. As I was getting dressed, I walked into my walk-in closet and looked up to the top shelf that encircles it, and also stores a lot of those items that aren’t needed immediately, including my extra containers of hair spray. I expected though to just see one extra hair spray bottle, but there were three, And, uh, the night before I had just ordered two more! I didn’t need two more with three already on the shelf. I mean, I do use hair spray, but not that much! And I am also a woman, and a wife, given to working within my budget, which I had surpassed with all the ordering and financial expectations I had created even just the night before. And, honestly, we aren’t talking about a major infraction of maintaining a budget, but still, I had had a me-myself-and-I talk about how I could justify the spending. Not a good line of thought for a child of God who wants to respond to His voice in positive ways, and as a child of God become more and more like the Jesus who gave His all for her. Hmmm. Maybe I could cancel the two hair sprays I had ordered the night before. Not sure that I could, I still went to my computer and tried, and without much confusion, I was successful. And I heard the quiet voice of my God. Bev, I will provide. I will always provide. I just want you to put it all in My hands, and trust Me. Trust that I care enough for you that you do not need to resort to choices that even hint at choices that deflect from the best I have for you. My provision may be different than your thinking, but I will provide. The over-spending wasn’t fully taken care of, but as I walked away from my computer, I knew the God who has always provided, would continue to do so. I also began remembering. My past says I should be a much different woman than I am today, but my God has given, and given, and given again. God gave my husband and I three miracle babies who all defied the statistics of claiming the same birth defect as our daughter Tonia, who went with Jesus to her home of perfection shortly after her birth. And God has given and given again, in bringing beauty and purpose from the ashes of her death. In fifty years of pastoral ministry, He has taught us and shaped us, and allowed us to be His voice and His heart, over and over and over again. When we did question finances, the provision always came, even the extra’s like a condo on the 19th floor for our family to vacation in for a week on the beach, or the swing set for our back yard to entertain three healthy, growing, active young boys. A small reminder of a much greater truth. And that greater truth is shared, again, over and over, in God’s Word, but let me share a few, starting with one of the most well known........... The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. – Bev (Related Bible reading: Psalm 23:1-4; Luke 12:24; Matthew 6:31; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Psalm 107:9)

The Tale of Two Houses

Eccl 7:2 “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” In my Life Application Bible, it tells me it is better to spend your time at funerals than at a party. As I am aging, I am finding I am beginning to have to spend more time at funerals as those I love leave their earthly bodies. Solomon is not telling us going to a party is bad. In fact, he tells us to eat and drink and be merry. Next week I will be doing both. I will be attending two funerals and in between those funerals, I will take some time away in the mountains to eat, drink, and be merry. I also will be waiting for a phone call that my sister-in-law has lost a two year battle to cancer. Life is like that. We have messy and sad alongside joy and blessings. What I have learned is when I visit a house of mourning, there is so much we contemplate. It is a reminder that life is short, and we are one day closer to having our loved ones attending our end of life. It is in this time of mourning we take a long hard look at how we are living our lives. We take stock of our relationships with others and hopefully offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us. I have now visited many death beds including my daughter’s. I have witnessed miracles and even joy as one leaves their earthly body. My fear of death has left me. I do not know what the process of my death will be. I just know what ever that process is, the Lord will be walking through it with me. So next week, I will be visiting both houses and I will be thankful and blessed in both. Lord, I pray for those who will have to visit a house of mourning. Lord, give them Your comfort and peace. May we each take stock of our lives and make the necessary changes to live a life for You. Then after, may we celebrate life and do what Solomon said, “Eat, drink, and be merry.” And thank the Lord for life and death where we will spend eternity with Him. It’s a win-win situation. – Michele