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My Mantra
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:36 (NIV)
When playing tennis, three things continued to echo in my mind. Keep your head down, watch the ball, and follow through. I was more likely to hit the ball than not when I listened to my mantra. It wasn’t always the shot I had hoped for, but I depended on the disciplined determination to keep me in the game. I didn’t always enjoy a victory, but just to be on the court was always a highlight for me.
I’ve engaged my spiritual life to follow the same pattern. Keep my head down, read the Word, follow through. I don’t always succeed, but I depend on the disciplined determination that sees the goal. To live a life for Christ, to spend time with Him in His Word, and to always strive to obey Him. I’m not always successful, but just to be His child, to be with Him is a highlight for me.
I sing and worship You with joyful songs and am enriched finding my joy in You. Your Word teaches me the discipline needed for me to daily follow through, and to be victorious in overcoming any obstacles that hinder our relationship. You are my Highlight!
When we come to Christ, we’re no longer the most important person in the world to us; Christ is. Instead of living only for ourselves, we have a higher goal: to live for Jesus. –Billy Graham
Sound Mind
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
We all deal with fear of one kind or another. Fear is not from the Lord. Instead, He gives us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind; meaning that living within us is God’s Spirit of power!
Learning to rely on the power of God gets us through the trials instead of trusting in our frail efforts. God’s power is perfected in our weakness.
The sound mind Paul speaks of is a mind under the control of God’s Holy Spirit, and is based on His wisdom and clarity, producing a sober, stable, healthy mind that is set on God. Therefore, we are not overly concerned with the cares and problems of this life. From the inside out, the Holy Spirit reshapes and transforms, not just how we think, but who we are.
Fear is one of Satan’s favorite tools to confuse our minds, cause irrational thoughts, misunderstandings, and distancing us from God.
Don’t be trapped in a world filled with anxiety or fear, longing to be free. Hope and trust in the Lord. Fear of the Lord produces confidence, hope, and trust in Him, and we are made victorious over our fears.
The only known antidote for fear is faith. –Woodrow Kroll
Kindness
Those who are kind benefit themselves… Proverbs 11:17 (NIV)
It was Saturday morning in the parking lot of Fletcher’s Cove. Parking was scarce as there were cyclists parking their cars and preparing for an extensive bike ride. I’ve been irritated about this; there is a larger parking lot across the street that they could use, leaving the Cove lot for beach walkers and surfers.
In my morning quiet time, I had asked the Lord to rid me of any uncharitable thoughts and actions that can blur my eyes and help me reflect on His love and tolerance for all. This morning after coming up from the beach walk, and replacing my beach shoes for street shoes, there was a cyclist parked next to me, preparing to ride out. He was adjusting his ear buds and glanced up. I smiled and said, “Good Morning.” “Good morning,” he responded with a smile.
As I drove away, I thought, “Why have I made such a big deal about it? That wasn’t so difficult!” The greeting wasn’t an effort on my part, but a sincere expression of kindness. That attitude didn’t change by any power within me, but by His answer to my earlier prayer.
He abides in us, and we can rely on His power to become new each day. We can weed out those ugly thoughts and feelings that make us somebody we don’t want to be. As Paul says, it is the sin living in me. Every person that we meet, we can recognize as His child, and He loves them, and cares for them, as He does for us.
A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. –William Arthur Ward
The Mundane
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
It’s early Monday morning and I hear the trash truck rumbling through the neighborhood. I pause to thank God for such a luxury and send a quick prayer for the driver.
Monday morning has its simple routines: trash pickup, and laundering sheets and towels. There is nothing mundane about routine when we focus on gratitude for all things.
Growing up, we burned the trash in barrels on the back of the property and plugged in a washing machine; we hung laundry on clothes lines. Material or spiritual, the ordinary life becomes extraordinary when we acknowledge God in everything.
There is a difference in our wellbeing when we live immersed in His presence, knowing what seems mundane has become a welcome routine.
Living in harmony with God, and serving Him in a manner that honors Him, helps make a day worth living.
Have you thanked Him for something today?
It is not because things are good that we are to thank the Lord, but because He is good. –Mary Whitall Smith
Omnipotent
But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would set forth my case. He does great and unsearchable things, marvelous things without number…Job 5:8-9 (NET)
God is omnipotent. This means God is all-powerful. He spoke all things into being, and all things – every cell, every breath, and every thought- are sustained by Him.
Do you know that our DNA stretches out roughly 6 feet? Every cell nucleus in our body is packed with 6 feet of DNA. If we uncoiled all of the DNA from all of the cells of our body and tied the strands together, they would stretch 10 billion miles, from the Earth to Pluto and back.
Can we comprehend that? No! Can we comprehend God? No!
You may know someone who says they can’t believe in God unless they can see Him. We can ask, “Can a finite creature ever understand an infinite God?”
It is tempting to want to understand God, but we must be careful not to cut Him down to a size that we think we can understand. God transcends our understanding. He has revealed enough of Himself through His creation, His Word, and His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We live by faith in God, not understanding God.
Saint Augustine was struggling to understand the Trinity nature of God without success until he recognized the humbling fact that as a finite creature he was merely trying “to cram the ocean of God’s truth about Himself into his little box of brains”.
Control
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21(NIV)
Who do you have control over today? What one person will you be able to control in their thoughts and actions? Can you even influence how they feel about you? Can you read their mind, and
know what they will do?
Can you control anything in this day for your cherished loved one? Leave them to Me, bring them to Me in prayer. This will bring you serenity and peace as you go about your day.
As you share communion with Me, you will know that My will is fulfilled in their lives. When you surrender them to Me, you will know with complete confidence, I am in control.
Jesus did not promise to change the circumstances around us. He promised great peace and pure joy to those who would learn to believe that God actually controls all things. –Corrie ten Boom