Monthly Archives: January 2014

LIFE IS TOO SHORT

“And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”  1 John 4:21

Actually this scripture passage is preceded with firmer verses, stating that anyone who says he loves God but hates his brother is a liar.  In other words, we cannot love the Creator (whom we have not seen) and at the same time hate the Creation (whom we have seen).

A few years ago, “The Hatfields and The McCoys” aired as a television mini-series.  If you don’t know the history of these post-Civil War era neighbors separated only by a river in West Virginia and Kentucky, suffice it to say it’s quite a drama.  Once close friends, the heads of the two families explode with hostility after increasing tensions and misunderstandings.  And, thus, the saga begins . . .

How many of our own families or neighborhoods are filled with resentments and hatred that has been handed down through the generations?  We know that we don’t have time for certain folks or can’t stand that side of the family.  But because years have passed (as well as people), we have no idea why.  We just know that they are ‘no good’, because that’s what we’ve always been told.  Well, let me tell you, my friend – life is too short.  I wonder how many people have gone to their grave never getting to know a really wonderful person because they were held back by ill-favored sentiments.

During a low time in my life, a friend and I had drifted apart. I had a feeling that she was angry with me.  While lesser-known acquaintances reached out to me, there had been no contact from my friend.  I began to develop anger, because this person had not made an effort to get in touch.  That year on her birthday while engaged in a familiar task, I was prompted to think of my friend.  Without much hesitation, I picked up the phone and called her stating that through my activity that day I had been reminded of her and consequently remembered her birthday.  The call was short, and my friend was surprised but gracious.  It was a beginning of the healing of my resentment for her inattentiveness.

Bitterness, jealousy, misinterpretation, stubbornness, lack of forgiveness . . . they all take you down a path you don’t want to go.  It’s indeed a low road:  one that leads to hatred, destruction, and possible woundedness.  Worse yet, it may ruin a relationship opportunity that may have otherwise been a blessing.  Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.”

So get through it, get by it, get on with it – for life is really just too short.

REFLECTION:  For what person in your life do you hold a grudge, resentment, or hatred?  Can you remember why?  Would you be willing to take the first step to build a bridge, even if you perceive the problem was caused by the other person?  Do you need to seek or offer forgiveness?  Pray this week that God will remove your feelings, so that you can begin to repair the damage before it’s too late.

(MY NEXT WEEKLY DEVOTION WILL BE UPLOADED ON SAT. FEBRUARY 1, 2014.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE REMINDED OF THE WEEKLY POSTINGS, SEND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO: LookUpwrd@aol.com  YOUR ADDRESS WILL NOT BE SHARED AND IT’S FREE)

I’VE BEEN THERE BEFORE

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.        (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Have you ever watched a TV program that was being broadcast from a place where you had visited?  When this occurs you can visualize yourself in that location and sometimes remember many details from the surrounding setting and even the emotions you experienced when you were there.  I vividly remember how I felt in 2005 when President Bush spoke from New Orleans’ Jackson Square following the devastating damage of that city after Hurricane Katrina.  As I watched, the tears welled up in my eyes because only a few months before I had been at that very landmark.  I could recall the shops around the square and walking across the street to Café Du Monde where I enjoyed several fresh-made beignets.  While I would have been touched by the destruction from this event even during normal circumstances, my heart ached for the people who lived and worked in this city because I had personally been there.

Life experiences sometimes equip us to be prompted to help in situations that tug at our heart.  It’s part of that sense of urgency that the Holy Spirit provokes in our lives.  Who better to help a very sick individual than someone else who has had that illness and survived?  Who better to talk to when you are experiencing child-rearing issues than another who has gone through struggles with their own children?  Because God has allowed a similar situation to occur in your life, you are now equipped to help someone get on the other side of their problem.

Yes, the very God who is at the center of our faith will, at times, allow heartache and sorrow to occur in our lives.  It is that same God who, with His great love for us, helps to carry us out of the valley so we can begin our journey back up the mountain again.  Why would that very God, then, not encourage us to intervene when we see someone else struggling through a situation that so closely parallels our own?   It’s like He is saying, “Okay, you have been here.  You are familiar with the territory and all the surrounding feelings.  You know how you got from this place to where you are now.  So, you are my instrument . . . go help.”

It’s when we do this that we begin to understand why we went through that experience.  It’s also the beginning of the healing journey for the hurting individual.  Ernest Hemingway once said, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”   True empathy and some of our best strengths come out of our own experience. After all, scripture tells us that “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”  (Proverbs 27:17).  So, go hone your skills.

Reflection:  What are some of the times that you have felt most vulnerable in your life?  Who did God send to help you through it?  What did you learn from that experience that makes you uniquely qualified to allow God to use you?  What miracle has happened when you have loved someone because you felt that nudging from God to do so?

(MY NEXT WEEKLY DEVOTION WILL BE UPLOADED ON SAT., JANUARY 25, 2014.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE REMINDED OF THE WEEKLY POSTINGS, SEND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO: LookUpwrd@aol.com  YOUR ADDRESS WILL NOT BE SHARED.)

DO IT ANYWAY

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.”  Isaiah 30:21

This week I called a friend of mine to find out how she is doing.  She had recently admitted her husband to a nursing home after several years of trying to maintain him at home with increasing symptoms of dementia.  During my call, the answering service picked up.  I left a message indicating that she had been on my mind, that I was wondering how they were both doing, and told her they were in my prayers.  I also stated that I was sure this was a difficult time for her and that if she wanted to chat someday to just give me a call.  Now, several days later – I have yet to hear from her.  Am I sorry that I made the call?  No.  I have come to realize that there are times when folks are too emotional about situations, still processing how they feel, and that at present they are just unable to talk.  I get it; I’ve been there.  But it doesn’t stop me from making the call or sending the note.  People need to know they are cared about, and when they are ready they will respond.

A few years ago, Martina McBride recorded a song called “Anyway.”  Although I have heard it before, I never watched her video until recently.  It shows the hustle and bustle of a city street with written thoughts of what people may be thinking as they pass through their day.  Her chorus is haunting:

“God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good.  When I pray it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should. But I do it anyway. I do it anyway.”

Hearing McBride’s lyrics reminded me of words I heard years ago that were attributed to Mother Teresa. Here is the version found written on the wall in her home for children in Calcutta:

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.”

I know for a fact that the closer we are to God, His Holy Spirit prompts us  –  “. . . for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose”  (Philippians 2:13)  So if you are feeling His prompting today and are hesitant to follow through, do it anyway.

Reflection:  Listen to Martina McBride’s, ‘Anyway’ at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uLtyzRgmyI 

Pay close attention to the promptings you are having to pray, call or visit someone, or do something for someone you might not know they need.  Don’t be surprised that your action may be a blessing in the life of another.

(MY NEXT DEVOTIONAL POSTING WILL BE UPLOADED ON JANUARY 18, 2014)

LOOKING UP

“Lift your eyes and look to the heavens . . . “  (Isaiah 40:26)

My friend was telling me about a new bird feeder she was given for Christmas.  It is a sphere with metal bar openings just far enough apart so that that squirrels and larger birds are not able to get into the food source.  Shortly after the birds had discovered the feeder and were flying in and out for the first time, she looked beneath it on the ground.  There was a squirrel munching on some of the seed that the birds had allowed to fall.  The squirrel didn’t have to attempt to get into the feeder.  All it needed to do was sit below and look up.

Animals are often instinctively smarter about life than we humans.  Verse 1 in Psalm 19 tells us that –

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

So it would seem logical then that we should spend some time each day looking heavenward. Perhaps that’s why I like to have my morning devotions on my knees in front of my back window gazing up into the tree and the sky beyond.  I have seen that old tree make many seasonal changes.  Some of those seasons have been joyous times, and during others I have poured out my heart to God who thankfully doesn’t change as the seasons and my situations do.  Edward McKendree Bounds, who wrote many books focused on the subject of prayer, states that “The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day.”

James and Paul spent hours on their knees in prayer.  George Washington prayed on his knees in the snow for his army at Valley Forge.  Recently quarterback Tim Tebow became famous (and criticized by some) for kneeling to pray before games. The devout Christian didn’t seem to care. When on your knees, you are in a position of humility and surrender.  It’s good to remember as we leave the celebration of Christmas that “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . .”  (Phillipians 2:9-10).

On your knees is a good place to be, because you can always Look Up.  As we enter this New Year, I invite you to begin a time of weekly devotions together.

Reflection:  Have you ever had a life experience that was so overpowering and burdensome that it drove you to your knees in prayer?   If you don’t already pray on your knees, maybe you should consider it.  If you are unable to physically do so, try coming up with a creative way in which you can humble yourself before God each day as you search for direction in your life.  Remember, when it comes to connecting with God, it’s not about the position of your body but more about the condition of your heart.

(Watch for my next devotion post on Saturday, January 11, 2014)