Answered Prayers

When we are in the midst of life's trials and tribulations we wring our hands, pace and stress our minds and bodies. We often see no way to relieve the stress and cower in a corner hoping our troubles will vanish. We seem to be on a slippery slope of utter despair as we find no instant relief. In the world in which we live if it isn't quick in coming we are desperate for a way to feel better. Doctors listen to our complaints of the rigors of daily life and see an opportunity to prescribe the newest panacea of pharmaceutical wonder drugs. In the few minutes they spend with you, they ascertain your complaints, write a prescription and send you on your way. Unfortunately the diagnosis of your life is similar to others because we all live in the similar realities. The doctor simply "pigeon holes" your complaints with all the others he's heard that day and defers to the "great new pill" that the drug rep had just told him about a few minutes earlier while you waited impatiently to see him. After we get our pills we dash to get a glass of water so all our despair will vanish. Relief is slow in coming. Sometimes we seek advice from our friends about how we should address our lingering problems. We have the pills but they haven't reduced our stress so we seek solace from someone, anyone.
We all seem to have forgotten there is someone very adept at handling our troubles. He doesn't pass out pills and you don't have to wait to talk to Him. You do have to have patience and listen closely for the answer. A simple prayer is the opening of our heart to God as a friend. Our biggest challenge is to be able to persist in prayer.
In Luke 18:1-9, Jesus gives his disciples an illustration to show them they must always pray and never lose heart. "Once upon a time," he said, "there was a magistrate in a town who had neither fear of God nor respect for his fellow men. There was a widow in the town who kept coming to him, saying, 'Please protect me from the man who is trying to ruin me.' And for a long time he refused. But later he said to himself, 'Although I don't fear God and have no respect for men, yet this woman is such a nuisance that I shall give judgment in her favor, or else her continual visits will be the death of me!'"
Then the Lord said:
"Notice how this dishonest magistrate behaved. Do you suppose God, patient as he is, will not see justice done for his chosen, who appeal to him day and night? I assure you he will not delay in seeing justice done. Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find men on earth who believe in him?"
When troubles overwhelm you, will God know your voice? Will He know your heart? Will He give you rest from your trials? Will you recognize the answer to your prayer? Pray diligently! Have a grateful heart! Love God!

Disappointment

We live in a world of high expectations. It seems that we set our expectations far beyond a reasonable level to make goals for ourselves. That's very commendable if we have the ability to meet those expectations. We're taught from a young age that our possibilities are endless, all we need to do is apply ourselves. We each have the opportunities to be whatever we want if only we will try to achieve those lofty goals. If we are born into a family of successful people the expectations rise exponentially relative to other members of the family. A successful neuro-surgeon will beget a more skillful surgeon. A rich hedge fund manager passes his expertise and wealth to his progeny to carry on the tradition. A brilliant trial lawyer gives rise to children who become lawyers as have all their predecessors. Perhaps you are from a family of academia of acclaim, will you join learned colleagues as your dad or mom has done? Maybe you're from a family of plumbers or farmers or soldiers, how soon will you learn to love to use a pipe wrench, tractor or weapon? Will your expectations be higher than your ancestors or will you risk disappointment?
High expectations may lead to insurmountable disappointment. What can we do to combat personal disappointment? How do we deal with not being able to live up to expectations? We must ask ourselves; when we live with perceived expectations do we have the courage to ask if they are realistic for us? Perhaps we simply lack the aptitude to achieve our expectations. Having been a witness to the success of others we may be turned off by the price they paid for their success. How ever we choose to view our "live happily ever after" mindset, we will set the tone for our coping with under-achieved expectations. A brave personal assessment of our success is essential to avoiding the disappointment tied to high expectations. We sometimes build a fairy tale world in our minds. When we find that we are not the "prince/princess" of our dreams, and that our "princess/prince" may never come, it is often difficult to deal with the disappointment. We desperately seek an escape from our reality. A part of the pharmaceutical business is built on the promise of making it all better. The old adage, "take two aspirins and call me in the morning" has given way to "here's a anti-depressant to help you cope". We seek escape from the broken dreams of our fairy tale world so that we can "live happily ever after". We look for someone to blame for our inability to live up to our high expectations. We want to put responsibility for our happiness on someone who is incapable of making that dream come true. If you look closely you will see in the mirror who is responsible for your happiness. Your disappointments are often the source of your unhappiness.
If you bow your head,close your eyes, and pray; you will find Someone who will help you cope with the disappointments of life. Coping with disappointment requires that you see beyond your personal perspectives and expectations. Try looking at those around you and trying to imagine the trials they may be facing. When you "love your neighbor as yourself", the fundamental requirements are that you love God and yourself. God teaches you how to love yourself by turning your attention to those in need around you. There's a certain gratification that comes from helping others help themselves. First, you are not turned inward, concentrating on self at the expense of others and second, you are demonstrating the basic commandments of God.
Jesus came to illustrate Love, to show people the importance of Love for one another. He taught a genuine regard for others. Jesus sees the needs of people, in Matthew 9:35-38, "Jesus now traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of illness and disability. As he looked at the vast crowds he was deeply moved with pity for them, for they were as bewildered and miserable as a flock of sheep with no shepard. 'The harvest is great enough,'he remarked to his disciples, 'but the reapers are few. So you must pray to the Lord of the harvest to send men out to reap it.'" Jesus sees the same bewilderment and misery today. Love your neighbor. Teach him the Word. Be a reaper. Be a shepard. Be grateful. Love God.

Enjoying God's Creations

There's a special feeling that one gets when they take time to enjoy the everyday wonders of our world. The colors of a sunset from the bright sun setting in the west to the warm glow after the sun is gone and finally the deep purple and pink hues that remind us of the glory of God. A picture painted across the sky by the Supreme Artist. Walking on the beach, simultaneously enjoying the warm sand between your toes and feeling the lapping waves while looking at the endless horizon of rippling water has a significance all it's own, just a reminder of how small we are in the world. Going barefoot in the grass, looking for a four-leaf clover, listening to a mockingbird's song, feeling a breeze in your face or the warmth of the sun. Being able to smell a fragrant flower, like lilac or a rose. Looking up at the puffy white clouds as they changes their shapes and create cartoons in the sky. Let loose, hum a happy tune, sing a song, whistle, dance. If you can... play music, a gentle tribute to God given talents. Look at the symmetry of a tree, the awesome beauty of the colors of its changing leaves. Watch a leaf fall softly to the ground with magnificent grace. See the wind blow through the trees making a ballet. Listen to the symphony of worldly noises. Even the power of a storm with wind, lightning, thunder and rain has beauty.
All too often we are guilty of taking for granted the wonders of our world; of God's creation. We are so caught up in the ways of the world we forget God and the wonderful things around us. You can find them anywhere. Even the hard man-made world has beauty to be found. There is beauty in the faces we see. There is beauty in the voices we hear. There is beauty everywhere. God has given us more beauty than we can comprehend. There is a Constancy in the beauty of God's world. A reminder of God's Love for us. We have heaven wherever we seek it. If you have painted a picture of heaven based on your worldly experience it is all around you. John's Revelation describes the beauty of heaven in worldly terms... crystal rivers of living waters, streets of gold, trees of life, mountains. Take a little time to enjoy your piece of Heaven; it's generally well within your reach. Take a slow long look around you. See your angels. See your wonderful world. Have a grateful heart. Love God. Trust God. Thank God.

Sowing the Seeds

Each week all over America there are folks who are sharing the Word of God indiscriminately to whoever will listen. Sometimes it may be for an hour in a church. Sometimes it may be on a myriad of available media. Sometimes it may a friend or a neighbor who relates a personal testimony. Sometimes it comes to us from unexpected places. The Message is the same, "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself".
Jesus explained this practice in a parable, the Parable of the Sower. After He told the parable He looked around at his disciples and saw blank looks and inquiring minds. In Mark 4:13-20, He says, "Do you really not understand this parable? Then how are you going to understand all the other parables? The man who sows, sows the message. As for those who are by the roadside where the message is sown, as soon as they hear it Satan comes at once and takes away what has been sown in their minds. Similarly, the seed sown among the rocks represents those who hear the message without hesitation and accept it joyfully. But they have no real roots and do not last- when trouble or persecution arises because of the message, they give up their faith at once. Then there are the seeds which are sown among thorn bushes. These are people who hear the message, but the worries of the world and the false glamour of riches and all sorts of other ambition creep in and choke the life out of what they have heard, and it produces no crop in their lives. As for the seed sown on good soil, this means the men who hear the message and accept it and do produce a crop - thirty, sixty, even a hundred times as much as they received."
Do you understand this parable? How often have you seen examples of each of these seed locations? Those who hear the Message but are immediately distracted by the evil of the world and lose their ability to pass the Message and to grow anything. Those who sit next to you in church every Sunday smiling as they hear the Message of Love but when confronted by the world and its expectations, turn and run. Or perhaps you know those who are active and do their time in church until society demands their participation and they turn their back on the Message. And then there are the ones who hear the Message and pass it on, tell the stories of Jesus, live the stories of Jesus, love God, and love their neighbors and their seeds produce new believers or renew old believers and by their efforts the Message goes on and on. Have a grateful Heart. Love and trust in God. Love your neighbor and tell the Story.

Uncertain Times

As we view our world with economic woes, wars, a pending election and unexpected health issues, we see a level of uncertainty to which we are not accustomed. The price of gas was escalating every day and service stations began the tasks of changing their price marquees more than once per day. Some of us remember "gas wars" where a station across the street from another lowered it's price for "regular" and "ethyl" a few cents to bring the business from across the street. Gas prices in the 60s were a few cents, usually about 27 cents per gallon but as low as 19 cents per gallon during a "gas war". During these uncertain times we see gas prices at $4.00 per gallon. Foreclosures have become rampant as uncertain times have burst the real estate bubble. Wall Street sees stock prices plummet and rise with each bit of news. The Presidential Election is fraught with uncertainty, who is the best person to lead our country? Uncertainty has become the rule of the day. We are uncertain if investments are safe, uncertain if our bank will survive, uncertain if we can pay our bills, and uncertain if we will continue to have a job. We are faced with an uncertain future. We may be faced with the burden of health issues that threaten our lives. We may be faced with the uncertainty of being able to pay medical bills or health insurance. Seems like every where we turn the element of uncertainty looms large and overshadows our pursuit of happiness.
Jesus knew his disciples were anxious about the uncertainty of their world. In Luke 22-26, "To his disciples he said, 'This is why I tell you not to worry about food to keep you alive or clothes to cover your body. Life is more than food, the body more than clothes. Think of the ravens; they neither sow nor reap; they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. You are worth far more than the birds! Can anxious thought add a day to your life? If, then, you cannot do even a very little thing, why worry about the rest?'So when the uncertainty of the world overcomes you, turn to a Friend who will share your burdens and give you rest. Jesus waits patiently for you to come to Him and share your worry. He will remove your uncertainty by reminding you that it is He that truly matters. Have a grateful heart! Love one another! Trust in God!