Held in trust

Ps. 11:3:  “What can an honest person do when everything crumbles?”

We were definitely overcharged, but the lady at the front desk insisted that we weren’t.  We’d calmly and kindly conceded, paying the full amount she’d requested, but we drove away with the feeling that we’d just been robbed.

For 2 months in a row, we couldn’t get the office to change the amount due, even though our circumstances had changed.  Emails were sent back and forth, phone calls were made, and we finally made an in-person visit.  They were all very kind and helpful, but the amount never made its way back to our checking account.

And then, my husband needed surgery.  We are a 1-income family.  Medical tests were being done and the bills were already coming in.  We planned as far in advance for living on short-term disability pay as we could, and all we could do was trust God with the rest.  His Word has promised that He will supply all of our needs.  His Word also gives a promise when it comes to tithing.  And so we hunkered down, in faith, and decided not to worry about the math, but to continue to put our faith in Him.

Here is where God showed out!  Right when we needed the money the most, we got the refund from months before from when we knew we’d been overcharged.  Suddenly, the other money made its way into our bank account.  And out of the blue, a couple of other refunds that we weren’t even aware of or anticipating found their way into our bank account, as well.

God knew when we would need that money the most, and He had been holding that money in trust for us that whole time!  Its just beautiful and amazing to me how He works!

I am so grateful that we did not “show out” or act rude and ugly to the other people involved when we knew we’d been overcharged those 2 times.  It was God working in both of those situations, making plans for our future.

Here are a couple of takeaways:

1. God is faithful to His Word:  He still supplies the needs of His people.
2. Behaving well, even when things seem unfair or uncertain, is never the wrong thing to do.

Cared for,

jamie

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Can we be trusted?

Pr. 6:13 describes a wicked man: “He winks with his eyes, he shuffles with his feet, he points with his fingers.”

In other words, he can not be trusted.

And then, in Psalm 7:8, we read the words of David, “The Lord shall judge the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and acccording to my integrity within me.”

What a striking contrast.  David actually invites the Lord to judge him according to his integrity.  As Christians, we already know God will judge us; however, David’s conscience is so clean that he invites God to do this.

Lord, You said that David was a man after Your own heart.  Like David, make us more like You.  Help us to be full of integrity, Father, and contrite when we’re not.  We love You, Lord, and long to honor You with our lives.  Help us to be the ones of which it can be said, “Yes.  They can be trusted.”  

Genuinely,

jamie

Don’t let the commercials distract you

Pr. 28:6:  “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.”

Not having cable, I rarely see commercials.  Yesterday I watched, in amazement, a commercial about fingernail polish.  It started with flirting and ended with 2 people in bed together.  For some fingernail polish.  Really!?

I am not trying to write a bitter diatribe about our society, but it saddens me when I see things like this.  Sin has a mighty grip on our world.  Sin would have us believe that life is all about ourselves, popularity, status, fame, success, sex, and sexiness.

Millions of dollars are spent daily on indulgences, advertisements, and commercials telling us how our lives should be.  Meanwhile, there are people dying every second from hunger.  Christians are dying and being persecuted for the Word of God.  Young girls are enslaved in human trafficking.  Babies are being killed.  People are dying from the lack of the simplest of the medical care.  There are still some who do not know the Lord as their Savior.

There is a work for us to do here on this earth, and I can assure you that it has nothing to do with wearing the sexiest fingernail polish or clothes, having the sexiest body, having the most impressive position at a company, having the most partners or experiences in bed, or having the most socially acceptable friends.

Integrity, a servant’s heart, modesty, humility, contentedness, purity, generosity, and honesty are still better.  God created us for a purpose.  I don’t care what this sin-cursed, sexy-fingernail-polish-wearing world says, God’s will and plans are still what are most important.

We still have work to do.  We don’t have time to allow the commercials and distractions of sin, temptation, or possessions to keep us from that work.  We must choose God, choose integrity, and choose to stay focused on the work for which we were created.  We may not be able to save the entire world in 1 day, but we can start with 1 person in 1 moment, and change a life.

We have to regain our focus on what is truly important.  That starving child does NOT care what kind of lipstick, suit, or shoes we are wearing.  The young girl enslaved in sexual trafficking is not worried about your fingernail polish.  The lady dying from a curable parasite is not interested in which Christmas dishes or tablet you’re picking out.  Those things are distractions and they do not matter.

There are people trapped in sin and others who have never even heard of the Lord.  We must reach out and show the love of Jesus and share about His sacrifice and forgiveness now.  It doesn’t matter what our position or status in society, God can use us to save people’s souls.

We must come to our senses.  We have a job to do, and people are counting on us!

Thank you for indulging me,

jamie

 

There is a better reward for honesty

Pr. 21:6:  “Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.”

The first thing that comes to mind for me with this verse is games.  Cheating to win a game may bring a moment of exhilaration, but certainly it is a delusion that is short-lived and distorted.  The lesson that must eventually be learned is that if you had to cheat to win, then you really didn’t “win” at all.

Some, however, never learn this.  Some get used to the feeling of winning, to the feeling of exhilaration that comes from manipulating their environment to get what they want.  I remember when I was a young kid, maybe 5 or 6, and I stole something from a store.  My mom eventually found out and she drove all the way back to the mall, made me hand my prize back to the cashier, and I had to tell them that I had stolen it.  I still remember the terrifying feeling of having to do that.

What if my mom had not done this?  Her plan wasn’t fool-proof, but she had to try if she was to teach me about integrity.  If I had been allowed to relish the feeling of getting something free, perhaps I would have tried it again the next time we went shopping.  Time after time, if I continued, my path may have led me to cheat and steal in other areas of my life.  Lying and stealing would have become second nature to me.

How does someone become a person who consistently lies to get what they want, steals from others, embezzles, or cheats people out of their own possessions or money?  Almost certainly it is not a decision they wake up one day and make.  It is more probable that the trajectory of their life has led them to that place. Little by little, understanding that lying or stealing can get them something they want or make them feel good, they begin to trust in that feeling and grow comfortable that consequences won’t come.

Still those feelings are a fleeting fantasy, and while they may not be purposefully choosing to seek death, the snares of death have taken hold of their lives.  The only way to be released from the snares is the truth.

Confessing our sins to our Savior (whatever they may be) and asking for forgiveness allows God to release His forgiveness and grace over our lives.  Honesty from that point forward will continue to point to the Savior and to eternal life.  The power and presence of God is a reality that brings better things.  There is a great, enduring reward for those who believe in the Lord.  Now THAT is a real Win!

Let’s be careful not to pursue fleeting fantasies of sin, but to endure for a great reward in heaven.  We will be ever so grateful that we did.

Sincerely,

jamie