Bible Cliff Notes

Last year I read/listened to the Bible. I continue to go back and re-read and consider and ponder. I am undeniably thirsty for the Word of God. However, I realize that it IS challenging to read the entire Bible, much less comprehend all of it. I’m certainly feeling challenged (yet invigorated) with that task!

I recently read the scripture versus Matthew 22:37-40 and considered them carefully. Although it does not satisfy my thirst for more, it’s almost like “Bible Cliff Notes”. If you apply this concept to everything you think, say and do, it seems to me that you’ll have a good grasp on the overall goal. Unfortunately it’s all so much easier to read than to do.

Don’t let this satisfy your thirst, but do your best to let it guide your day.

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 42 This is the first and greatest commandment. 43 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 44 All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

I pray that we will love God and others as a first priority of our life. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Barb

The Root Cause

During the Thanksgiving Holiday I have always “led” our family in testifying to what they are thankful for. Many a tear was shed around the Thanksgiving table as people were thankful for certain family members, their health, their job, even their home or new car! Why not be thankful? As I considered all this “thanksgiving” I thought about “giving thanks”.

Thank: to express gratitude to; give thanks to.
Thank You: an expression of gratitude or in acknowledgement of a service rendered.
Thankful: feeling or manifesting thanks or gratitude.
Thanks: an expression of gratitude or appreciation.

As I read through the dictionary definitions, they all suggested that the thanks you give are to be received. So who actually “receives” that thanks for your car? Certainly not the car. Have you ever said “thank you” to your house? Did it respond? Can you actually be thankful to an inanimate object? What about your health or even a family member? When your thanks are directed towards a person, you are usually thanking them for something or some behavior.

In our company we have a class called High Impact Coaching wherein we teach people to explore and analyze the situation and ask questions in order to get to the underlying “root” cause of a situation. This is very helpful to ensure that you develop actions that will be appropriate to solve the problem. If you don’t get to the root cause, your efforts will probably not deliver the desired end result or the problem will reoccur. One of the techniques we teach is called the “5 Whys”. Essentially, every time you get an answer to a “why” question, you ask “why” again. This helps drive to the root cause of the issue.

I contend that all things for which you are thankful have a “root cause”. For example if you think about a house for which you might be thankful, using the 5 whys might go like this:

I am thankful that I have a nice, comfortable house for my family.
Why do you have it? I work hard and have been able to afford it.
Why can you afford it? I achieved a job level that pays well enough.
Why do you have a job level that pay well? I have been found to have desirable skills.
Why do you think you have desirable skills? I’ve had the opportunity to learn and develop these skills over the years.
Why do you think you’ve had those opportunities? Uuuhhh, Thank You God!

As I considered this further, I was reminded about the many references in the Bible to the word “root”. The Lord makes it VERY clear that He is to be our root.

I pray that we can get to the root cause of all that we are thankful for and offer Thanksgiving appropriately – to God! May we be rooted only in Him. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Psalm 100 A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

Colossians 2:6-7 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Barb

Treasures

Recently my pastor asked the congregation: If some sort of technical breakthrough allowed a camera to take your picture and display on the screen what was on your mind most of the time, what would it be? (He quickly assured us that this hadn’t been created yet – to his knowledge.) It certainly made me think. What do I spend the most time thinking about? Whatever occupies my mind was probably birthed in my heart.

Matthew 9:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

What are the “treasures in Heaven” the Lord is speaking about here? Consider what happened to the “belongings” of many people in the aftermath of recent hurricanes. This is a good indicator of how valuable those things are in eternity. Now visualize the level of “distraught” that people displayed who lost family members. This is a key. I believe that God treasures what He sent His Son to die for – His people.

So if the direction from God is to lay up treasures (people) in Heaven, what am I to do? In my daily interaction with people, am I looking for an opportunity to display Christ-like qualities? Jesus had the ability to look past the sinner in anyone and see the saint (even in me). Then who am I to decide that the saint in someone isn’t just under the surface ready to emerge? Even if all I do is remove 1 teaspoon of water from their sinking ship, or give them cotton ball size comfort, I don’t know how many other teaspoons were removed or cotton balls provided up to that time. I may either be one of many teaspoons or cotton balls needed, or I may be the teaspoon that leads to salvation or the cotton ball that delivers healing. Either way, God treasures the effort.

What do you spend most of your time thinking about?

I pray that you will think of teaspoons and cotton balls at least once a day. Those are the treasures of Heaven. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Barb

Homer

Many years ago I “found” a stray kitten that immediately adopted me and became my best friend. Herman would follow me around, be at the door when I got home, played fetch (yes, a cat) and he knew just how to curl up next to me in a loving, yet non-invasive manner. Later in his life we decided to get him a “buddy” and adopted a cat from the humane society. Homer and Herman mostly “tolerated” each other (which wasn’t exactly what we had in mind) but we knew they were company for each other when we weren’t home. Then a few years ago Herman passed away. Homer is still with us, and while we take care of him, he just isn’t Herman. For example, when I would get in bed at night Herman used to curl up next to me (motionless, just letting me pet him) for the first 15 minutes or so, then go sleep on a nearby chair. It was perfect - cuddly as I dozed off, but not bothersome as I tried to sleep. Homer never interfered with Herman’s nighttime practice. But after Herman was gone, Homer started to venture onto the bed, but, in my opinion, he just couldn’t figure it out. He would sniff me, lay down, get up, lay down, and then start doing laps. He’d walk around my entire body – across the pillow above my head, down the side and around my feet, etc. A few times I’d kind of fold him into a lying position, trying to replicate the cuddly place Herman used to inhabit, just for him to get up and start all over again. More than once I just chucked him out of bed entirely!

Over the recent years Homer has made it his habit to come to bed with me. Although it’s improved, he still usually manages to irritate me as I try to fall asleep. On one recent night as Homer sat next to me, he lifted his paw ever-so-gently and touched my shoulder; I instantly received the Lord’s message. People (like cats) are different, but God loves them all. Homer continues to love me regardless of the unaffectionate manner in which I treat him. All he wants is to be accepted, not rejected (or judged) because his habits are different.

How many people have I judged by their outward appearance or behavior? Maybe I haven’t actually pushed them away, but do I avoid them? Have I ever actually purposefully walked a different direction in order to avoid someone? Have I thought how irritating someone was? Was their behavior different from what I was “used to” or wanted? Could it actually be ME who needs a wider perspective? Could they actually benefit from my “accepting” presence in their life? Do I really have ANY idea what is actually going on in their heart? What gives me any right to be a judge? There is only one Judge that is worthy.

Matthew 7:1-2 “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged.”

John 8:15-16 “You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.”

Acts 10:34-35 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God doesn’t show partiality. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.”

Lately, I’ve notice that Herman purrs more. I’ve seen him just waiting for the moment that I will sit or lay down (there aren’t actually too many of these), at which time he is instantly nearby purring, longing for me. I smile and minister to his needs.

Father, I pray that You give us all a heart of love and nourishment for others, no matter what their outward appearance or behavior may be. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Barb