Down Deep

People’s thoughts can be like a deep well,
    but someone with understanding can find the wisdom there.

Proverbs 20:5 

 I remember fishing with my Grampa and all I seemed to catch were the "throw backs" that were too small to keep.  I watched as my Grampa carefully put his bait on the hook and then lowered the hook in the water, I tried to imitate him but while he caught several "good eatin'" fish, I just kept catching the throw backs.  

Finally, I asked him why couldn't catch the big fish too.  He looked at me with the wisdom of a lifetime and said, "You need to seek deeper for the bigger fish."  Then he put some of Gramma's fig preserves on my hook, adjusted my line and weights, and told me to try again.  Sure enough, I caught a 5 pound "good eatin'" fish.  And I was amazed!

Grampa told me, "Experience is a hateful teacher, but if you listen to those who have been in her school long enough, you'll learn the lessons before she can ruin your day.  Big fish are usually in deeper water, just like the right answers are usually found deep inside you.  You just have to learn to look."

To Have A Friend Is To BE A Friend

Can two people walk together
    without agreeing on the direction?

Amos 3:3 

How do you chose your friends?  Are they TRUE friends or simply people you know? Are they wise and, thus, share their wisdom with you?  Will your friends pray with you and for you?  Will they encourage you to strive to improve or do they criticize you and put you down?

True friends WANT you to succeed just as you want them to succeed.  True friends won't always agree with you.  True friends are willing to tell you when you are about to do something stupid.  True friends laugh together.  True friends grieve together (though in their own way).  The fact of the matter is that TRUE friends are difficult for us to find these days because it is a relationship we must nurture so it will grow strong.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying: "If you wish to have a friend, you must BE a friend."  Are we willing to take the time to grow such a relationship?  It takes effort.  It takes patience.  And it may turn out that the friend you need is the unexpected person God brings into your life at just the right time. 

Out of the Limelight

A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”
Mark 1:40-44 

I remember reading this passage in Seminary and pondering the question "If I had Jesus' amazing compassion and power to heal, I wouldn't want to keep it a secret. So why did Jesus specifically tell this healed leper not to tell anyone?"  Jesus did this same thing many times throughout His ministry, and even took the Pharisees to task for making a big show of their "piety".

It is in our nature, I believe, to want people to notice when we do something good, and sometimes we get caught up in the attention and seek out the limelight.  

This morning I put on a shirt that I had not been able to wear for two years and in the darkness of this morning, I grabbed it out of the closet and guess what? IT FIT!  I had lost enough weight that this shirt finally fit again.  I wanted to tell everyone.  I wanted to wake my Bride up and tell her, but I sat on the sofa and told Woody (who yawned and went back to sleep).  But I wanted that moment of recognition.  

I remember one of my Theater Coaches tell us, "You are to do the job which you have been given to the best of your ability.  Let others recognize the quality of your work without you drawing attention to it."  That rather hurt at the time, because I wanted people to notice and how would they notice if I didn't tell them?  Then it hit me, if my work is worth noticing, it will be, if not then I still do my best.

Jesus told the leper not to tell anyone because He did not want people to start coming to Him strictly for healing instead of coming to hear the Message He was given to share.  Jesus avoided the limelight so His Message would be the focal point instead of His gifts.  Shouldn't we be the same way?

Today's Challenge: Live ONE Day At A Time!

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6:34

 

 It's amazing the way God reminds us of lessons we had learned yet seem to have gotten lost in our daily rush to get everything done.  I was stopped at a traffic light when the song "One Day At A Time" by Joe Walsh came on the radio.  As I listened to the song, several thoughts came bouncing into my mind like excited Jack Russell Terriers trying to get the first cookie.  God has given us the gift of living each day ONE Day At A Time.

 

Think about it.....When the Israelites were wandering through the wilderness, God provided their DAILY needs (Exodus 16:4); God's mercies are NEW every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23); Jesus taught us to pray "And give us THIS day, our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11).  God has made provision for us exactly what we need every single day!  We don't have to worry about tomorrow, in spite of what happens around us, because God has already been through tomorrow and has made provision for us when tomorrow becomes today.

 

Yes, it's difficult not to worry about tomorrow when it is being shoved in our faces every moment of every day, and "gloom and doom" seem to be on every news feed. Yet when we stop for a moment and remember the great lesson that God has even built into us (we live our lives one heartbeat at a time, one breath at a time, one day at a time), then tomorrow doesn't seem so daunting.

Challenge for Today: Remember the Redeemer!

But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.

Job 19:25 

 

I don't know about you, but I THRIVE on encouragement!  There's something about someone who takes the time to sincerely encourage me that just makes me want to do more.  No matter what kind of day I've had up to that point, words of encouragement make everything a bit better.

 

What's encouraging most for me is when someone who knows and understands my struggles takes to time to remind me that they care specifically about my life.  God is like that!  No matter what is going on in my life, God has a way of reminding me that through it all, He lives and loves and cares and in the end...He will return.

 

I KNOW my Redeemer lives!  I KNOW my Redeemer cares!  I KNOW my Redeemer loves me!  I KNOW my Redeemer will return. I KNOW my Redeemer is in control!

Chalenge of the Day: Remember Who's Got You!

I know the Lord is always with me.
    I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

Psalm 16:8 

 

Life comes at us fast and furious sometimes, and we're left feeling like a can of soda that's been shaken up.  Just one break in the seal and it's going to explode.  The easy thing is to give in and let the soda fly, drenching whoever is within range.  However, when we take a minute and breathe, reminding ourselves who has us (not just our back, but ALL of us), and who is causing everything to work out for our benefit and His glory, then we are better able to stand firm. 

Challenge for Today: Remember Where You Came From

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Mark 10:45

 

Experience teaches us many things (usually by doing them wrong and we learn from our mistakes).  In fact, with enough experience, we become experts and can be elevated in status, rank, and prestige.  However, one thing all our experiences don't teach us...to remember where we came from.  You see, as we learn more, strive more, become better at all we do, we tend to forget our times of struggle and heartache it took to get us where we are.  We forget that we aren't perfect, that we all have a past, that we all are really still students.

 

We are called to follow the example of Christ in that we are here to humbly serve each other, not expect others to serve us.  When we become so "important" that we are the only ones who matter, then we have lost the example that Christ set for us.

 

Today's Challenge: Remember where you came from and what you had to endure to get where you are...then humble yourself and help someone else who is struggling.