Don’t quit now

Farkle.  Have you ever played?  It’s a pretty low-key dice game, but you can choose to take risks or not.  My son decided to take a risk that didn’t pay off.  He lost a lot of points and asked if we could change the rules “just this once, and then everyone could have the same thing done for themselves, as well.”  I said no.

I said, “You took a risk, and that was great, but it didn’t work out.  You lose your points.”  Then he said, “Then, I’ll quit.”  Nope!  That was also not an option.  We finished the game, and he came in 2nd.  Not too shabby, when quitting would have ensured his loss.

There are moments like that for all of us, where it can be so easy for us to want to quit.  Quit life, quit trying, quit parenting, quit working, quit giving of ourselves, quit caring, quit any number of things.

I remember when Elijah felt this way,  He literally sat down under a tree in the desert and said, “I’ve had enough.  Just let me die.”  And then he fell asleep.  If I’m being honest, I have felt that way, but I am so encouraged to know that someone like Elijah felt that way, too.

Paul reminds us in 1 Cor. 9 that athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever.  We don’t run without a goal.  He says in vs. 27, “I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won’t lose out after telling the good news to others.”  Even he understands that sometimes we feel that weight on us, but we have to discipline ourselves like an athlete, and keep the goal in mind.

We do it for a crown that will last forever!  There is no 2nd place with God.  There is only life everlasting, and we don’t want to fall down and lose our place now.  We can keep our eyes on Him, our faith in Him, and keep on going.

So run to win!

jamie

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Abraham’s incentives

Heb. 11:8-10:  “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance.  And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he dwelt in the land of promise like a foreigner living in tents; and so did Issac and Jacob, who inherited the same promised.  For Abraham waited for a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.”  

Abraham leaving his country, family, and his father’s house to go dwell in tents in a land he didn’t know…as a foreigner…does take great faith.  There is even more to his faith story, but for today…

When I went back to Genesis this morning to read the beginning, I saw the mention of the fact that Abraham’s wife Sarai was barren; she had no child.  (Gen. 11:30)  Then, in Gen. 12:1-3, the Lord tells Abraham to leave his country and go to a land He would show Him.  But God gave him an incentive.  Well, several incentives, actually.

Remember, his wife is barren.  The Lord said, “I will make you a great nation.”  Wow!  That’s a pretty great incentive to leave.  Ok.  “I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.”  Goodness!  Really?  I mean, me?  “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  Boom!

So, not only was the Lord promising to bless Abraham, but He was going to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham.  I mean, come on!!!!  How can anyone resist that!?  And so, Abraham obeyed.  And so God did as He promised.  God blessed Abraham and his wife.  And God has blessed us all because through Abraham and his descendants came our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ!!

Drop the mic.

If we trust in anything in this life, let it be the Lord.  He does what He says He will do.

Last night we had a soup dinner at church.  I had this amazing new recipe for cornbread casserole that I had eaten the day before.  I also have a great crock pot.  I put all the ingredients in my crock pot and mixed it all up.  When it was time to leave for the dinner, I simply unplugged the crock pot and we headed out the door.  When my pastor’s wife took the lid off the crock pot and stuck a serving spoon inside the casserole was more like soup.

I’d trusted in my recipe and my crock pot, and didn’t even check the results before we left home.  Fail.

Abraham trusted in the Lord who promised to bless him and all the families of the earth through him, living in tents and waiting for a city with eternal foundations.  Win!

In God we can always trust.  He will never let us down.

Served,

jamie

Legacy

If you’ve been initiated into a fraternity or sorority then your children, grandchildren, siblings, and in some cases, your nieces and nephews are then considered a “legacy.”  Traditionally, this meant they were given automatic admission into that same fraternity or sorority when it came time for them to join.

This morning I was reminded that I was a member of a sorority back in college.  Unfortunately for me, the memories of that time are not some of the proudest moments in life.  So when I think about my daughter being a “legacy” of those moments, actions, or choices, I cringe.  Those are not things I want to pass on to her or to my son.

It just so happens that I was listening to the song Broken Vessels this morning, before this reminder.  So as I was thinking about what a terrible legacy I was passing on to my children, God’s amazing grace washed over me.  Through His amazing grace, I have a new legacy to pass on to my children.  I have a legacy of hope, of beauty, of eternal reward and eternal life to pass on to my children.

I am so thankful for God.  He took the pieces that I chose to throw down and let be broken and shattered and He gathered them and mended them and made me whole.  He didn’t do it just for me, but for my children, my grandchildren and all the other “legacies” coming after me.  Oh, what a beautiful thing!!  I am truly thankful for His amazing grace!

These aren’t just lyrics to a song for me.  This is my heart’s song this morning!

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see!

Leaving a new legacy,

jamie

What have you heard lately?

Ro. 10:17: “So then faith comes by hearing…”

If faith comes by hearing, then it’s safe to say that it matters what we’re listening to.  When I was a little girl, we sang a song that said, “Oh, be careful little ears what you hear…”   How true that song is, because this verse tells us that faith comes from hearing.  What we are hearing is what leads to our faith.

Let’s start with something simple, like childhood.  When a kid hears over and over how dumb or nerdy or fat they are, from other kids, they start to believe that.  If they hear that they are pretty, smart, or talented, they believe the same.

When we watch documentaries, we find they are so easy to believe.  Before we’ve even checked the facts, we’ve heard what the experts have said, and our faith in their ‘truth’ is built.  Sometimes it is true.  Sometimes not so much.

When politicians are what we are hearing most, we can begin to believe our salvation or destruction rests on their decisions.

Likewise, if I am constantly listening to words that tell me how strong and able I am, but neglect to listen to anything that reminds me of how strong and able God is, I will begin to put my faith in myself.

We cannot deceive ourselves.  Our faith IS going to come from somewhere.  It will come from whatever it is we are hearing right now.  And when we aren’t hearing God’s word, our faith is going to come from somewhere else.  What is it you are hearing at this time in your life?  Is it the word of God?  Is it something else?

In Ro. 12:2, Paul said, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

We have voices and noise all around us, in this world, but we cannot conform to what this world tells us.  It is not old-fashioned or out-dated to serve the Lord with gladness.  It is not going to hold us back in life to renew our minds and prove what the will of God is.  When our lives prove that which is good and acceptable and perfect, it shows that we are hearing the right voice.

Being a good person isn’t going to cut it.  Doing good works won’t save us in the end.  Believing in another God is not the way to heaven.  When we are hearing God; however, we will know this, and we won’t resent it.  We will understand the great rewards that await all who have chosen the narrow and difficult way that leads to eternal life.

While we are walking that path, let’s make sure someone else hears the same message and take them with us.  How will they know the way unless they first hear it from us?  After all, faith comes from hearing…

Listen selectively,

jamie

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

 

 

I’m #1! I’m #1!

Pr. 27:2:  “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips”

We sometimes want to brag on ourselves for a number of reasons, but man, isn’t it so much better when some random person brags on us?  It really is.  (Although I do occasionally tell people when I complete I’ve been putting off and tell them, point-blank, to be proud of me. 😛 )

I’d also rather brag on someone than to hear them go on and on about their own accomplishments.  ha!  It may surprise some of those people to hear that, but when you are doing a good job of something it usually doesn’t go unnoticed.

I was helping in a 6th-8th grade cooking class this year and there was a student that was constantly looking for ways to be helpful.  Honestly, you couldn’t have stopped her if you tried.  She went out of her way to be helpful; even staying longer than the other students to make sure everything was cleaned up.  She also had a smile on her face and was just a delight to be around.

I praised her several weeks in a row.  Then, one week, as I was drying the dishes she was washing, I asked her about her helpfulness.  She told me that her New Years Resolution for 2018 was to be more helpful.  Well, she was definitely nailing that one!  What a lovely resolution.

I was reading Eph. 5 this morning that said that we should be imitators of God.  Jesus said that He came to serve and that we should do the same.  This young lady had resolved to imitate the greatest Servant I know, and I know that I’m not the only one who noticed.  Her obedience to His Word will earn her a reward from the Father.

Jesus said, “So the last will be first, and the first last,” and “He who humbles himself will be exalted.”  (Mt. 20:16, Mt. 23:11)  Not only has she learned and chosen to humble herself, but she wasn’t shouting it from the rooftops for everyone to know.  It was only after I praised her and asked her why she was choosing to act so differently that she confided in me that she had made that resolution.

I was more than happy to praise this helpful young lady!  She had no need to brag.  I guess that’s the thing with being obedient to God’s Word.  When we are truly doing what it says, it works out just as it says it will.  Amazing, huh!?

This 8th grader can teach us a lot today.  Let’s learn from her example and start humbling ourselves the way Jesus told us to.  God will reward us, whether on this side of eternity or on the next.  You can count on it!

On the flip side, when we see someone doing just that, let’s make sure we say thanks!

jamie

Looking to be honored?

“Exalt her [wisdom], and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her.  She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you.”. Pr. 4:8-9

In a time when it seems that many are seeking honor, promotions, and ‘crowns’, this is an apt verse.

It’s not our fancy clothes, top-of-the-line vehicles, great dance moves, super tolerance of all things socially acceptable, newest gadgets, or anything else you can think of that will bring true honor.  Those things may bring momentary acceptance here on earth, but it will pass.

What lasts is the honor and promotion that are brought to us by wisdom.  When we embrace wisdom, she embraces us back.  Not only that, but she places on our heads an ornament of grace, and delivers to us a crown of glory.

Not only will she give us honor and promotion here on earth, but her gifts are eternal.  A crown of glory is ours.  For eternity.

Sometimes, for that momentary feeling of acceptance, the urge to push her to the side will come.  We must remember that we are striving for an eternal, lasting crown, not that momentary, fake, plastic crown.

Embrace her,

jamie