Learning To Do Without

Have you ever gone without something you dearly wanted? How do you view having to do without it?  Have you ever gone without something you needed? How well did you survive that experience? Do you practice doing without wants and needs?

Doing without is something most of us know very little about. We don’t often go without something we want and certainly not something we need. In our minds, it would be absurd to do without. We can’t fathom the thought of not having something we want.

It has become a lost practice to do without. Our culture is ill prepared for any type of disaster that would deprive us of our wants and needs. We are not trained to do without due to a lack of resources or necessity, and we don’t purposely train ourselves. We have become a society of little discipline, and no willingness to prepare for bleak possibilities.

There is a relatively simple training option for us, yet it is also one of the more difficult exercises for us. It is the discipline of fasting. There is research that shows fasting is healthy for us. It is a means of cleansing our bodies of impurities. Did you know it cleanses us in more ways than one?

It is true fasting is good for us physically. It is also good for us spiritually. When we fast and spend the time with God in prayer instead, we are cleansed of spiritual impurities. We learn to lean on God to provide for us.

We typically think of fasting as doing without food and that is the most common fast. But there are many other types of fasts. One that has grown in popularity in recent years is fasting from social media. Many who have done this have discovered the stranglehold social media has on them and the freedom they have when they do without it. They find their anxiety levels decrease and their ability to focus on God increases dramatically.

Regardless of what our fast is, we are called to fast and trust God to carry us through it. We are to replace whatever we are fasting from with focusing on God and spending time in prayer. This is a spiritual cleansing exercise, a discipline, and a training exercise that will prepare us for those times when we must do without.

I pray we all decide to fast. I pray we spend time in prayer with God when we fast. I pray each of us will cleanse ourselves spiritually by leaning on God through a fast. Do without. Cleanse yourself. Spend time with God. Train yourself. Build discipline. Trust God.

Matthew 6:16-18 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Thankful Prayer

How often do you wish you had something you don’t have? Are you continually seeking to fill a void? Are you dealing with first world problems rather than true needs? Do you know what a first world problem is?

We are often dealing with first world problems. We wrestle with technology. Our vehicle needs repair. We can’t find the style of clothes we like. We want a bigger house. You fill in the blank for your wants. They are all first world problems and they dominate our minds.

I can’t say that I’ve been to a third world country, but I have been to a couple second world countries. I’ve seen a 10-year old boy try to sell his sister for a meal. I’ve seen people with PhD’s working for less than our minimum wage. I’ve seen people purchase the minimum food they can get by with for their evening meal and do that day after day, often not sure what they will be able to afford the next day.

Once you’ve seen the second world problems, our first world problems become frivolous. Your eyes are opened to the riches we have that go unappreciated. Honestly, it becomes disheartening and frustrating to see people whining and complaining about what they want and falsely think they need. Yet, I fall into that trap myself.

How can we combat our desire to continually want more and more and more? The key is to be in prayer. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray continually. But what are we to pray? We are to thank God for what He has blessed us with.

When we are thankful for each and everything we have, we begin to realize how much God has blessed us. How often do we thank God for having a vehicle? How often do we thank God for a change of clothes? How often do we thank God for the food we don’t like? How often do we thank God for our homes? I must confess, I don’t thank Him near enough.

We are called to be the example to the world. Part of that example is to be a praying people, a thankful people. We are to open our eyes and see all the blessings we have. I can attest personally that when we start to do this, we begin to see more and more blessings. We see blessings we had not previously recognized, perhaps for years.

I pray we all open our eyes and see the blessings we have received from God. I pray we give thanks to God for our blessings. I pray each of us will spend time in prayer thanking God, listing everything we have one-by-one. Spend time in prayer. Thank God for His rich blessings. Be the example for others. Be a thankful person. Open your eyes and see all that God has blessed you with.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Love Changes Everything

Do you yearn for a better world? Are you longing for the world to be better for your family? What are you doing to make it better? Do you love everyone you come in contact with? Are you showing love to others? Do you love God and follow His commands?

Nearly all of us would agree that our world and our country could use improving. There is disgruntlement wherever we look. Yet, nearly all of us will continue to contribute to the unrest rather than making a positive change in ourselves in an effort to make a positive change in the world in which we live.

Oh, we’ll complain about everyone else until the cows come home. Don’t get me wrong, I do my fair share of complaining, too. My concern and my effort is going into changing my attitude. I want to be a person is making a positive change. I want to be the person setting the example.

So, let me tell what I try to do. When I find myself complaining about someone else, I try to stop and pray for that person and ask God to show me how to love them. You see, when we refuse to love the other person, we are refusing to do what God, Jesus, commanded us to do.

You’ll notice in today’s passage that Jesus stated two commands and that all of God’s laws, or commands, are dependent on these. If we fail to follow these two commands, we can’t follow any other commands God gives us. If you are like me, you don’t like to fail, and you don’t like to disappoint. Yet, if we don’t follow these two commands, we have done both.

Back to changing the world. If we love each person we come in contact with and show them that love, we begin changing the world. Each of us wants to be loved. Do we think the other person is any different? If we want someone to love us, perhaps we should show love to them.

Much as hate it contagious, so is love. Have you ever noticed how a baseball teams’ batting goes in cycles? One or two players strikeout and the whole team starts striking out. Yet, all it takes is one or two players to start getting base hits and the rest of the team starts hitting as well. Love and hate follow those same types of cycles.

I pray we all decide to love others rather than hate. I pray we show our love to others we meet. I pray each one of us decides to please rather than disappoint God. Be the positive example. Love people you meet. Love your parents. Love your siblings. Love your spouse. Love God and follow His two most important commands. See the positive impact you can have.

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Truth or Lie

Do you hear all the rumors? Do you listen to them and believe them? Do you spread false rumors, whether knowingly or unknowingly? Are you worrying about things that are out of your control? Are you looking for relief, peace, and calm?

We hear more false rumors and half-truths than we recognize every day. We see them spread across the various social media platforms. Our gullibility contributes to the spread of them. We have lost the concept of not repeating something unless we have verified it or have full trust in the person we heard it from.

I remember being raised as a child to not lie. Yet, false rumors are just that—a lie. Our politically correct culture won’t call them that, but that’s what they are. That means we are lying when we repeat them. Do we want to be known as a liar?

We can control our reputation. If we don’t want to be known as a liar, if we want to be a trusted advisor, we must stop lying, stop repeating false rumors. Unfortunately, far too many of us like to hear the gossip and speculate about the rumors. We want to postulate and expound on these false rumors—as long as they don’t personal affect us.

We are called by Jesus to not be deceived. What does that mean? It means we are called to verify what we are being told, what we read. You may be wondering how to do that. Well, my friend, science has a wonderful process. Scientists test and retest. They require multiple sources to verify the point being made before it is trusted as being true.

If each one of us are verifying what we hear and read, we will discover the truth. Of course, that means we will either knowingly lie, or we will state the truth. It will be our choice, just as it is our choice to go about our lives blindly or seek the truth.

Jesus tells us there will be a whole lot of upheaval in this world, and that is just the beginning of birth pains. It is nowhere near the end. There is a long life ahead. He also states that no one knows when the end will come. Perhaps we should listen to His truth and stop listening to the false rumors going around.

I pray we all verify what we hear and read. I pray we seek the truth. I pray each one of us will decide to stop lying, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Seek the truth. Stop worrying about the hearsay. Follow Jesus’ guidance. Trust Jesus. Trust God.

Mark 13:5-8 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”

No Lone Ranger Christian

Are you a loner? Do you often go about doing things by yourself? Do you lack trust in anyone else getting things done? Do you fail to discuss plans with others? Are you continuously isolating yourself?

Some of us are extremely social. We love being around others. We are continually talking with someone. Others of us are much less so, to the point of almost being a loner. We don’t care for a lot of interaction with others. And, sometimes, we isolate ourselves from others whether we are very social or more of a loner.

There are times we may need to a little alone time to sort out some things in our minds. Yet no one can continually go it alone. There are far too many tasks that require more than one person to complete. Even many tasks we think we can complete alone are done better with someone else.

The concept of needing others applies to our Christian walk as well. No one can be a Lone Ranger Christian. We need each other. We need to be in community. We are designed to learn from one another as Proverbs 27:17 states, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

God blessed each of us with different talents. Each of us has been blessed with different spiritual gifts. Our different talents and gifts are not simply gifts to us as individuals but are gifts to be shared with others. We are to learn from and help each other. As Paul tells us in Romans 12:3-8, we are all part of one body and just as our human bodies have different parts to perform different functions, so we are as the body of Christ. When Jesus sent His disciples out, He sent them in pairs rather than alone.

These points show us that we need one another. We need to attend and participate as groups of Christians. In our current environment, that may mean online participation rather than in-person participation. However, when we can be together, we need to be together. Meeting and interacting with other Christians keeps us accountable and allows us to work for God in accomplishing His plan. It is important for our personal growth in Christ. Otherwise, when left to our own devices, we will stray, misinterpret, and get off the path God has laid out for us.

I pray we all attend and participate in group activities with other Christians. I pray we specifically seek to meet with other Christians with the purposes of learning and contributing. I pray each of us recognizes our need to be with other Christians. Seek opportunities to meet with other Christians. Seek to learn from one another. Seek to contribute to the learning of others. Be both the student and the teacher. Don’t try to be a Lone Ranger Christian.

Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.

Known Prayer

Do you think everything is random? Do you believe there is no control? Do you wish there was someone in control? Do you wish there was someone you could talk to that would understand? Why don’t you spend time in prayer with God?

We see weird things happen from time-to-time. When that happens, we may think the world is a conglomeration of random acts. We may wonder how that weird thing came about. We are surprised when those things hit us out of the blue.

When the weird thing that happens is something bad, we ask why. We want to know how the randomness of the world reached our doorstep. We ponder those moments for a long time. They can completely derail us, if we aren’t consciously countering them with reason.

How can we counter the bad news that comes our way? We have the opportunity to take it all to God in prayer. He knows what has happened. He knows how we feel. He knows what we need. Yet, we still need to go to Him in prayer.

When we do go to Him in prayer, we should not ramble on and on and on. As I mentioned above, God already knows. What we are to do is pour our heart out to Him and release it into His hands. He will take care of us.

When we want to ask God to help in our situations, we don’t need to go out in the streets and pray loudly in front of others. We are told to pray in our room. We are to pray for God’s help in secret. We are to make our requests succinctly.

Even making our requests succinct may mean we pray for several minutes or an hour. We may be praying about many things. I have found myself sometimes praying for nearly an hour. Yet, on those occasions, I am praying for more than 20 people, our country, our community, our churches, and many other things. So, pray as long as you need, but don’t ramble.

I pray we all spend time with God in prayer each day. I pray we are succinct in our prayers. I pray each one of us pray powerful prayers. Spend time with God in prayer. Make your requests knowing He already knows. Trust God to handle your situation.

Matthew 6:5-8 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Bear Fruit

Do you strive to be a better person? Do you work hard at it and seem to make no progress? Are you wondering if you will ever be better than you are today? Are you on the verge of giving up trying? Have you turned to the One who can make the change?

Amidst the chaos going on in our world right now, we see some people striving to rise above the fray. We see some going the extra mile to do good for others. We see some making a special effort to be nice. We see some doing good.

Yet, many of us are struggling. We are struggling with the stay at home orders. We are struggling with the health safety precautions we need to take. We are struggling with not going to the movies. We are struggling with not going out to eat. We are struggling with things being far from normal.

As we go through our struggles, we find ourselves dealing with lethargy, short tempers, depression, and desires to do something, anything. We are restless. We feel conflicted, wanting to go, and yet, not wanting to go. We are looking for relief.

There is One who can provide the relief we need. There is One who can provide us with the peace our soul needs. There is One who can satisfy our strivings for being better. He is always with us and waiting for us to allow Him to work in our lives.

When we were baptized and accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God put His Spirit inside us. As Jesus teaches His apostles in John 15:1-8, He is the vine and we are the branches. As the vine, He is rooted in God, providing the nutrients for the branches to bear fruit. Those nutrients come through the Holy Spirit, much like the nutrients drawn into the vine are passed along to the branches.

We see in today’s passage the fruit we will bear when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Notice, the fruit comes naturally. It’s not something we do on our own. It comes by way of the Spirit and our following His guidance and direction.

I pray we all allow the Spirit to work in our lives. I pray we follow His guidance and direction. I pray each of us bear much fruit. Experience the peace that comes from God. Listen for the Spirit’s guidance. Follow His lead. Bear the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Unrelenting Light

Are you tired of hearing about all the violence on the daily news? Do you wish people would simply get along? What are you doing about it? Are you willing to make a difference in the world? Will you stand up for what is right in the eyes of God?

We all see and hear the news. There is violence in our streets every day. There are arguments at our work locations, in our homes, and in our schools every day. Our society has devolved into a continually dissatisfied people. What can we do about it?

There are certainly valid reasons for being upset and looking for a positive change. Yet, violence is not the way to make positive change. We can find a reason to argue every day. But we don’t really win arguments, even if we might win a debate. You see, there is a difference.

We seem to have forgotten some old sayings that contain a lot of truth.

  • You attract more bees with honey than vinegar.
  • Violence begets violence.
  • No one wins an argument.
  • One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.

What our world needs are positive examples to follow. We need people who show others how to change their lives in a positive way. We need to re-learn what it means to be the upstanding person who quietly influences those around us. Otherwise, Satan continues to win.

We are called to be a person of positive character, a person who shows the light of Jesus to others. We are called to be the example of joy, peace, and calm. We are to be the ones who bring a message of hope to the people we encounter.

Don’t misunderstand. Things won’t change in the blink of an eye. Change takes time. It takes our unrelenting push for change. Yet, being unrelenting doesn’t mean forcing change in a negative manner. Unrelenting positive change is like the trickle of water that eats away at the rock minutely each day.

I know, we are impatient. We want things our way today—right this moment. Yet, it is the person who understands the reality of human nature and God’s nature, who will patiently continue to shine the light of Jesus, who will make the positive change.

I pray we all choose to make a positive change. I pray we are unrelenting in our patience. I pray each of us will shine the light of Jesus every moment of every day. Be unrelenting. Be patient. Be the light of Jesus. Be the positive change.

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Choose the One

Do you want to follow someone who is in charge? Do you want to follow someone who is in control of everything? Do you want to follow someone who has all authority and wants to give you the most prized gift in all the world?

Most people would love to have a precious gift given to them. They long to have something given to them that is of such high value they no longer have to work. All we have to do is look at how many people play the lottery. There is a gift available to all of us more precious than the winnings of any lottery ever held.

There are people who won’t believe in that gift. There are people who want the reward now rather than having to wait for it. It is truer today due to our instant, consumer, got-to-have-it-now society. We want it with a click of a button.

Having a firm belief in something bigger than ourselves seems to have gone by the wayside. Our belief in team, community, and country has lost its grip on our minds. Many in our communities and country have no real idea who God is.

Yet, we are told clearly in Scripture that God the Father has placed everything into the hands of Jesus the Son. He has complete authority over all we see and don’t see. He has won the war between good and evil. He is the One who can grant us an eternity of blessedness in the presence of God.

Our decision is to join His team or fight against Him. It really is that black and white. Oh, we like the shades of gray that Satan lies to us about. We like to believe we can dabble in a little bit of the bad stuff but remain mostly good and still get heaven. We want to push the edge of the envelope as far as we can. Then, we wonder why our communities and world have gone crazy.

Folks, we are called to be the light of Jesus in our communities and all the world. We are called to follow Him wholeheartedly. God wants us working beside Him. We can change our world, one person at a time. No, it won’t happen with the snap of our fingers. After all, anything worth having takes time and effort on our part.

I pray we all dedicate ourselves to God. I pray we spend our time and effort in spreading the light of Jesus. I pray each of us will make the right choice, the choice to be a disciple of Jesus. Choose the One with all authority. Choose to be a disciple of Christ. Choose to do the right thing. Choose to be the light for others. Choose God over this world. Reap a reward beyond comparison.

John 3:35-36 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Mature Love

Have you ever stopped to spend some time thinking about love? It’s really an odd emotion isn’t it? It’s more than simply liking someone or something. It’s a strong emotion that often causes people to do things that others just shake their head at.

Our human love comes in a few different forms. There is the crazy love that happens when two people fall in love. When young folks do so, we may even call it puppy love. Why is that? Much like the name, it’s a young love that isn’t going to last. It won’t stay in that stage forever.

That means love must mature. Mature love is something quite different from puppy love. It includes several other desires with it, such as caring, doing, longing, appreciating, and even continuing to love when you don’t like something the other does or says. If we think about it long enough, we can come up with more components of mature love.

We don’t fully understand what causes love in our lives. Oh, we know that the initial emotional love between two people often starts with a physical attraction, but not always. It may start with a common interest. In either case, love creeps into the picture, sometimes without our recognizing it until it hits us that we love the other person.

In other cases, we grow up with love. For many of us, we love our parents with an appreciating love. We trust and appreciate them because they cared for us as children and helped us to grow into adults. When we have this type of love, it lasts longer due to it being deeper and having grown for several years or decades.

Jesus tells us that our love for God is to be stronger than any other love we have. He covers the three components that make up our being—heart, soul, and mind. Our heart is the emotional piece. It’s the one that starts as puppy love and matures into something more.

Our mind is the piece that appreciates who the other person is and what the other person does. It is was causes us to do for the other. The rational thought of our mind combines with the emotional love of our heart to mature our love.

The soul is the component we struggle to understand. It is a gift from God. It is internal and not seen. Yet, it is what connects us to God. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God puts His Spirit inside us and joins us to Him. I think of it as a big brother coming along side and putting his arm around my shoulder and talking in my ear to guide me. Loving with our soul is a key component to loving God with all our being.

I pray we all love God with our whole being. I pray we love Him with heart, soul, and mind. I pray each of us will take time to ponder our love with God and recommit to Him. Love God with your entire being. Strive to mature your love for God. Spend time with Him. God loves you.

Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”