Soar Like Eagles

Are you looking to soar, but feel worn out? Do you long to regain your strength, but feel as though it is lost forever? Would you like to increase your endurance, but think you are too old? Are you looking for someone or something to energize you?

We all face times in our lives when we feel run down, tired, worn out, exhausted, and perhaps even depressed. It is natural for these times to comes upon us. It is at these times we long for our boundless youth. We look at young children and wish we had their energy.

Perhaps we should first consider why we are exhausted. In most cases, it is because we are doing it all on our own. We aren’t asking for help. We aren’t accepting help, if it is offered. We don’t trust anyone else to do the work. We have put more on our plate than we can handle. We are not prioritizing the work appropriately, putting first things first and allowing the rest to wait. And…we have heard all this before.

How do we get through these times? Prayer and accepting God’s guidance. That sounds easy and cliché. It may be cliché, but it is not always easy. It may require making some tough decisions. For instance, we may need to put off what we would rather do in order to do what needs to be done immediately. God will help us set those priorities. He will provide the guidance. He will strengthen our resolve and increase our energy level to complete the work.

The promise we see in Isaiah’s passage below is a promise indeed. It is a promise we can count on. It doesn’t always come easy. We may hit rock bottom before we finally turn to God for help. Our struggle to get out of the deep hole may take time and energy to complete. But as we lean on God to provide both of those, we learn an important lesson. We learn that God will not disappoint, and He keeps His promises.

To soar on wings like eagles we need to continually be in prayer, asking God to guide us and provide the strength we need. We need to continually lean on God, not our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). We need to trust in God and His promises.

I pray we all ask God for the guidance and strength we need. I pray we trust God and His promises. I pray each one of us prioritizes our lives according to God’s priorities. Spend time in prayer. Ask God for guidance. Renew your strength. Soar like eagles. Follow God’s priorities. Trust God. Trust God’s promises.

Isaiah 40:30-31

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

One Body

Are you going through a tough time? Are you hurting due to loss? Do you need someone to lean on? Are you trying to carry the entire load on your own? Are you willing to allow others to help you?

We all go through tough times. We all experience loss. We all experience hurt. There are times when each of us will need someone to lean on for strength. There are times when our burdens grow too heavy. It is during such times we need someone in our lives who can help.

When we go through tough times, many of us reach out to family and friends. Some of us reach out to organizations we are members of. Perhaps it is a veteran’s group or our golfing buddies. Maybe it is a quilting group or our online “friends.” We all need someone who can help, and we need to reach out. No one can be an island that stands on its own.

It is during these rough patches in the road the body of Christ is there to love and care for one another. As one body, when one of us hurts, we all hurt. Just as our body sends white blood cells to heal a wound, the church sends people who can help. When one part of our body is weak, we use another part to provide strength. The body of Christ works in the same way.

We may not often think of it this way, but this is serving one another in the same way Jesus served when He walked this earth. As we serve one another, we all gain the help we need. We also become more like Christ through our service. We gain new insights to His service, the needs of others, and confidence others will serve us in our time of need.

It isn’t always easy to reach out in need. However, as we do, we find the body of Christ is willing and able to be there for us. It doesn’t mean we become needy. It means we are part of a well-functioning body that takes care of its members. It is a demonstration of God working in our lives through others.

I pray we all reach out for the help we need when we need it. I pray we realize when we are weak, God is strong. I pray each of us support one another during times of need. Reach out. Trust God to provide strength. Lean on one another. Be part of the body. Gain strength through weakness. Hurt with others.

1 Corinthians 12:24b-25 But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

Sincere Love

Do you ever wonder just how you are to act in any given situation? Have you wondered how others expect you to act or behave? Ever wonder how God expects you to behave, what attitude He wants you to have, how He wants you to interact with others?

We change our behavior based on who we are with, don’t we? If we are in a corporate meeting with our boss, we act professional and knowledgeable. If we are with friends, we cut up and laugh. If we are with family, we are more relaxed, sometimes too relaxed, meaning we feel comfortable with taking out our bad attitudes on them.

It is part of our nature to change our behavior based on the situation. However, God does not want us to act as though we are a goody two shoes on one occasion and fly off the handle on another. He calls us to be consistent—consistently good.

God desires us to show our love for our fellow human at all times. He desires us to honor one another through actions, speech, and attitude. He wants us to continually look to Him for guidance and follow the example Jesus set for us. He loves when we communicate with Him in prayer. He delights in seeing us share with one another, inviting one another into our homes for fellowship.

We all know this, don’t we? So, why do we misbehave so often? Perhaps it comes down to how much we desire to follow His commands and Jesus’ example. Do we really want to be like Jesus or are we simply giving lip service? Far too often, we do the latter rather than the former.

To change ourselves, we must commit to follow Jesus, His commands, and spend time conversing with Him in prayer. In changing ourselves, we also see the world around us change. By changing ourselves, we have the ability to change the world. As we become more like Jesus, we begin seeing each person we meet as Jesus sees them, our brother or sister, our neighbor. When we see others in this way, we begin to love them, even if we don’t know them.

I pray we all seek to change ourselves in a positive way. I pray we desire to be more like Jesus and follow His example. I pray each one of us asks God to change us into the person He has called us to be. Love one another. Honor one another. Seek to improve your relationship with Jesus. Spend time in prayer. Share with one another.

Romans 12:9-13 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Faith And Prayer

Who, what, where do you put your faith? How deep and strong is your faith? Have you exercised your faith recently? Do you know how to exercise your faith? Is your faith in the right person? Is your faith in God?

We all put our faith in someone or something. We have faith the sun will rise the next day. We have faith the people driving in traffic all around us will drive safely. We have faith Mom and Dad will always have our backs. We have faith there will be farmers to grow food. We have faith there will be jobs for us to earn a living.

Having faith in all of those people and things is all well and good, but our faith must ultimately boil down to one. We must either put our faith in ourselves or in God. When we put our faith in ourselves, we exercise our faith by approaching life as though it all depends on us. True, we contribute, but it doesn’t all depend on us.

When our faith is only in ourselves, we may be overconfident and cocky. Or we may be filled with anxiety and worry. We rely on our physical capabilities and those around us. We rely on manmade apparatuses to accomplish our tasks. We don’t look beyond ourselves.

When we exercise our faith in God, we ask for His guidance. We trust God to provide what we need, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. We are confident God is working at all times and He cares for us. We refuse to put ourselves on a pedestal, rather we give the credit to God.

We have lost, to a large degree, our faith in God. Rarely will we see someone ask to be prayed over with the laying on of hands when they are sick. Rare is the person who sings praises to God as part of their daily lives. We often fail to repent of our sin, instead believing we really aren’t that bad because we compare ourselves to others. We have lost our belief in miracles. Oh, we may say God can work miracles, but we don’t really count on them. We have forgotten that God is bigger than any of our troubles, sicknesses, or failures. We forget that God created everything we see.

Prayer is the way to bring God into the equation. Prayer is the pathway to increasing our faith. Prayer is the means by which we praise God, ask Him to heal the hurting, and repent of our wrongdoings. Prayer is our ultimate communication mechanism with the Almighty.

I pray we all spend time with God in prayer. I pray we return to a faith in miracles. I pray each one of us brings God into the equation today and every day. Strengthen your faith. Spend time with God. Praise Him. Pray to Him. Communicate with God. Trust Him.

James 5:13-16 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Heal The Sick

What immediately comes to your mind when you think of church? Who is the first person that comes to mind when you think of a Jesus follower? Do those two thoughts make sense when you put them together? Or do they seem to be very different thoughts?

There are people who think of the church as nothing more than a social club. Perhaps they see all the flaws in the people of the church and want nothing to do with it. Maybe all they know of the church are the negative stories told by the news media. In either case, they don’t see a need nor have a desire to be part of it.

Some of those same people know people who go to church regularly, even if they don’t know it. There may be people they work with who are regular church goers, but they don’t talk about it. They may sit beside a follower of Jesus in a classroom without realizing it. They drive by churches in towns across this country and don’t even notice them. They are simply part of the landscape. This is very unfortunate and sad.

You see, the church was put here by God to be a place to heal the sick. As we see in today’s passage, Jesus states He came to call the sinners—those who need healing. He even references being a doctor to heal the sick. Each follower of Jesus is a member of the church, and we are to go about healing the sick—the sinners—much like a hospital heals those who are physically sick. We are also to be about preventative medicine, teaching people how to live abundant lives by following Jesus. We need to rid ourselves of our self-righteous image, thinking we are better than everyone else, get down in the trenches, and start doing the very same work Jesus did—seeking and saving the lost.

It is one thing to have confidence in knowing we are saved. It is a completely different attitude that looks at others as though they are less than we are. We are all sinners. We all need Jesus to be saved. We all are to be about doing the work Jesus has tasked us with. We need to recognize that we work in a hospital, not participate in country club activities.

I pray we all seek to eliminate self-righteous attitudes. I pray we go about working in the church/hospital. I pray each one of us seeks to be a true follower of Jesus and work as He worked. Recognize the church as a hospital. Seek to heal the sick. Rid yourself of self-righteousness. Work as Jesus did. Follow His lead. Seek to save the lost.

Matthew 9:12-13 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Be A Good Neighbor

How are you with your neighbors? Do you get along with them? Are you looking out for them? Do you even know who they are? Do you know that Jesus has redefined who your neighbor is? Have you thought about that?

We all have neighbors. For some of us, our neighbors are the people who live on the other side of the wall, above us, or below us in an apartment complex. For others, they live in the house next door in a neighborhood. For farmers, your neighbor may be some distance down the road.

We think of our neighbor as someone who lives close by. Yet Jesus redefined who our neighbor is. When we think of the story of the Good Samaritan, we find that the good neighbor happened to be someone who lived far away from the injured man and someone he would normally hate.

During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated that we are to love our enemies. He reversed the old Jewish saying. For all intent and purposes, Jesus was saying that everyone is our neighbor. We don’t really like to think of it like that. We like to hold our prejudices, grudges, and rivalries. We like to point our finger at “them.” Doesn’t is always come down to “them” being the problem? It isn’t on us. At least, that is how our mind wants to twist it.

Jesus was a revolutionary. He commanded those who were listening to Him, and us, to love all people. That is absolutely countercultural for us. It goes against our innate feelings and emotions. We have bad or hard feelings toward certain people…and we like it, we don’t want to let them go.

How can we overcome our feelings? We pray. Pray that God remove those bad feelings toward the other person. Continue to pray that prayer until they go away. Make every attempt to see the other person as Jesus sees them—a child of God, someone God created. No, it isn’t easy to do this, yet we are called to do it by Jesus Himself. I can promise you, from my own personal experience, the blessing you receive from doing so will far outweigh the hate you harbor.

I pray we all strive to love everyone. I pray we pray that God remove our hard feelings. I pray each one of us decides to follow Jesus’ command to love all people and pray for them. Know that everyone is your neighbor. Love all people. Choose to love rather than hate. See all people as God sees them. Be a good neighbor.

Matthew 5:43-45a “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

Love One Another

Are you wondering why the world seems to be in chaos? Do you look around and see the hate? Would you like to fix it? Are you willing to do what it takes to fix your own little world? Will you give your own preferences? Will you love without conditions?

It isn’t hard to look around and see all the discord. We see politicians fighting and arguing like two-year-old’s. We see clashes between racial and ethnic groups. We see finger pointing going on in our workplaces. Everyone puts up deflector shields to deflect the blame to someone else.

How do we end it? When will it end? Those are questions many people are asking. Unfortunately, we can’t legislate morality. We can’t pound people over the head with a sledgehammer until they quit their bigotry. It simply doesn’t work. For some, the more you try push them into being a better person, the worse they get.

So, what to do? The first thing on our agenda is to love one another. We, Christians, must stop our own bickering back and forth. We may have differing opinions. We may not see eye-to-eye on the interpretation of the Bible. Yet, we absolutely need to agree on one thing—love one another as Jesus loves us. Otherwise, we are living lies and we have no chance to change this world for the better.

Jesus clearly states in today’s passage that by loving one another we show the world we are His disciples. Otherwise, we are no better than the world. Even pagans love those who love them. We aren’t any different, if we don’t love one another despite our differences. We are no better, if we don’t love all races and ethnic groups. We are no better, if we don’t love those of differing political opinions.

Jesus has called us to love as He loved. He didn’t say we must like what everyone does. He didn’t say we must all be exactly the same. He did say to love—to love one another unconditionally, with grace, mercy, and a forgiving heart. As we love one another, we become peacemakers, reconcilers, healers, and a true representative of Jesus on this earth.

I pray we all decide to love as Jesus loved. I pray we give up our hatred toward one another. I pray each one of us loves in order to be a peacemaker and Jesus’ representative. Choose love. Be like Jesus. Give up your selfishness. See others as Jesus sees them. Be a peacemaker. Be a disciple of Jesus.

John 13:24-25 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love oneanother. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Running the Race

Why do you run the race called life? Are you running to gain a prize? Do you have goals set to achieve? Are you educating yourself? Do you train and practice regularly? Are you running a race that can be won?

We all run the race of life in one form or another. Some of us run to merely survive. Others run to obtain a crown of glory. And still others run for something in the middle. Unfortunately, there are many who run the race blind.

Running the race of life is challenging, even if we are merely running to survive. A very large portion of the world’s population is doing just that—running to survive. We, in America, often don’t see that race nor do we care to see it. We may acknowledge it on a superficial level in our minds, but we don’t really see it nor understand it. If you made $59,000 dollars in 2018, you were in the 91st percentile worldwide. That means you were among the 9% highest income individuals. Do you understand that means there were 91% of the world’s population who made less money than you did?

Of course, making money is only one way of determining how well we are running the race. Yet, it is one we Americans often use to judge our success. We think money will make us happy. It won’t. It is a hard lesson to learn and one that can have very dire consequences.

If we are not to strive for more money, what are we to strive for? We should seek the crown that will never tarnish. That is the crown of life. It is only obtained from God. It is what we receive as a follower of Jesus Christ. Unlike worldly possession that will eventually decay to the point of complete destruction, the crown of life will never decay.

Rather than chasing after more of this world, we should be chasing after more of Jesus. Only He can provide us what our heart’s truly desire. We don’t like to think of leaving this world, which is unfortunate. You see, if we are followers of Jesus, when we leave this world, we go to spend eternity with Him. We go to a place of perfect love, joy, and peace. All the hurt, hate, frustration, struggle, deception, conniving, and the rest of our discontent is gone forever.

I pray we all seek the crown of life. I pray we seek to follow Jesus. I pray each one of us realize the things of this world will disappear, while our eternal reward will not. Run the right race. Chase after the crown of life. Be a follower of Jesus. Find what your heart truly desires.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Be Righteous

Are you struggling to do good? Are you seeking to be recognized as an upstanding citizen? Would you like people to say good things about you? Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? Is your faith waning?

Most of us want others to say good things about us. We care about our reputation. We want to be known as someone who is good. Yet, we also know internally of all our failures, which often cause us to have a lower opinion of ourselves, whether we voice it or not.

We can remember every little failure we have ever made. For instance, I can remember being in sixth grade, which is more than forty years ago, borrowing a nickel from another kid and never repaying it. Having those smallest of failures in our heads, it is no wonder we often think of ourselves as a failure. It is no small wonder we continue to struggle to think we don’t live up to others’ expectations.

Here is the hard truth. We don’t have to live up to other people’s expectations, we are to live up to God’s expectations. Unfortunately, we cannot do that either. So, what are we to do? The good news is this, Jesus died, was buried, and rose again so that we might be made righteous.

What does it mean to be righteous? It means to be made perfect, just as God is perfect. It means that we are forgiven, because Jesus paid the price. It means that God sees us through the veil of Jesus and sees us as righteous children. No, we are not perfect of our own accord or doing, but we are perfect when seen through Jesus.

How do we attain this righteousness? Through our belief in Jesus. It cannot be a simple belief, but one that goes down deep in our heart. We are to believe that He is the Son of God. We are to believe He is our perfect sacrifice. We are to love Him with all our heart. All of this is to encourage us to do as He commanded us. We cannot fully repay Him, but we can strive to repay as much as we can. This is not done through works, but through our love, behavior, and attitude. It is done by putting God first in our lives.

I pray we all seek the righteousness God offers us. I pray we put God first in our lives. I pray each one of us believes in Jesus wholeheartedly. Put God first. Believe in Jesus. Allow your belief to change who you are. Show the love of Jesus. Be righteous.

Romans 4:23-24 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Battle Effectively

Are you in the middle of a battle? Does it seem as though you are in a constant battle over one thing or another? Are all those battles really worth fighting over? Or are you fighting the wrong battle? There is some battles worth fighting.

We fight many battles throughout our lifetimes. Some are petty while others are very important. Some come to us unexpectedly while others we see coming way down the road. Doing battle is exhausting. Therefore, battles don’t typically last for long periods of time.

Research conducted to discover the effectiveness of units in battle found five key characteristics that impact success: Weapons Proficiency, Situational Awareness, Tactics and Drills, Cover and Concealment, and Leadership/Communications. Do these look familiar? You don’t need to be a military person to recognize them. You will see these referenced, perhaps a little differently, in Ephesians 6:10-20 when Paul exhorts us to put on the full armor of God. The study also found the unit became more efficient with experience. No surprise there! The more you are engaged with any task, the more efficient you become.

As we go about our lives, we need to become efficient and effective in battle. Not battles over minor disputes such as what we will eat, when we will see a pay raise, or what is going on in a different department. No, we need to ask ourselves the age-old question, “Are you willing to die on that hill?” If not, don’t fight the battle. Let it go.

Battles we should fight are those that include the battles against evil. In order to know the difference, we need discernment—the discernment only provided by God. So, pray that God gives you discernment to know what battle is worth fighting.

Most of us are fighting the wrong battles. We need to focus our attention on the battles God wants us to fight. He will equip us to not only fight those battles, but to win them. How do we gain the knowledge and skills to win? We train. Our training comes through interaction with other Christians, being in a constant learning state of mind, practice and experience, and spending quiet time with God. The more we know how to use the defensive measures and weapons God grants us, the more successful we are.

I pray all of us take up the fight against evil. I pray we seek God to gain discernment. I pray each one of us spends time training, practicing, and gaining experience for the battles we will face. Know that God will equip you for battle. Seek His discernment to know which battles are important. Stop fighting the unimportant battles. Spend time training and practicing. Prepare yourself for the battles you will face.

1 Timothy 1:18-19 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.