Spirit and Soul is all about eternity. Life ever after with a God who has prepared a place in advance for us. Dig into the Word. Search out your heart. Contemplate where you will spend eternity. . .then choose to offer your life to God.
While waking up, I contemplated, “How can I show my faith today?” Personally, I can meditate in prayers while I listen to hymns. My favorite hymns are “Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary” and “The Spirit Is a Movin’.” I still wake up for my new seated hobby: being a senior.
I printed off some religious coloring pages with Bible messages for adults. One was about the Good Samaritan, and the next one was “The Lord Is My Shepherd.” Reading this psalm in the Bible, I realized this message is evergreen and timeless. I acknowledge I have met some Good Samaritans along my life’s long track.
Many years ago, I was in a refuge for female victims of domestic violence. There, the ladies were positive and supportive in many practical ways. The Lord was indeed my shepherd, leading me to worship. Eventually, I moved to my current sanctuary of affordable, safe housing with no more abusive male co-residents.
Today, I am still crafting beanies and scarves for people experiencing homelessness and women who are refugees, especially since here they can anticipate a bleak winter ahead. That is my contribution to their marginalization. I can also pray that all of us spread the Good News somehow. We can all keep praying and being practical as we share with others that Jesus is the shepherd for all of us.
I may be old now, but no one is ever too old to pray. I will keep on praying. So can you.
The first indication that something wasn’t right was when my youngest grandson shut the playroom door and requested I not enter. The second detail pointing to a possible cover-up was his announcement that he no longer wanted to do crafts. And this from a child who hits the floor early each morning to start a craft project before school. The playroom walls, my refrigerator, and bedroom doors all displayed his handiwork.
I looked him square in the eyes and questioned the honesty of his claim. As we entered the room, and before I saw the misdeed, he was already confessing. However, he confessed for someone else. I explained that I couldn’t believe that because the person hadn’t been in the playroom.
My grandson dropped his head and looked up at me with big, sad eyes. “I didn’t want you to be mad at me, Meme,” he tearfully admitted.
I reminded him how much I loved him but how it hurt God and me that he had not told the truth. After he asked for my forgiveness and bowed his head to ask for God’s, we talked about what he needed to do to make it right.
This time, the fix was easy. We could re-string the beads on the necklace he had cut and then re-tie it. The look of relief on his face was heartwarming.
This episode made me think of how God must feel when He knows the errors of our ways but then is thrilled when we ask for forgiveness. Unlike my grandson’s act, which I could fix, our rebellious acts are often not so easily rectified. But the same God who heard my grandson’s little prayer also hears our pleas for forgiveness. Yet we must recognize our words and actions as sin and then confess them.
God wants to restore our relationship with Him. We must take that first step. When we do, we are comforted by knowing God forgives us.
Are you ready to take that step?
I thought I could have a political discussion with a family member via email, but I said something that upset him. He swore at me. One week later, I heard about a Christian who spit on a woman who does ultrasounds for women who want abortions. Sadly, the email the family member sent me was plain hateful and hurtful. The woman who was spit upon also experienced a hateful act.
I once worked for a local cable channel, and a co-worker who directed me didn’t like how I ran the camera. It seemed as if he hated me. Another woman I never had a good relationship with disliked me too. Furthermore, I was picked on as a kid because I had learning difficulties. I felt all the kids hated me based on how they treated me.
Sometimes, I feel I have some good reasons to dislike people. Nevertheless, God wants us to love one another. Many people have hurt me by their actions, affecting my life. However, it’s wrong to hate other people. In the end, I hurt myself and disobey God.
When people hurt us, we need to forgive them. One night, a friend’s wife told me she felt the Lord telling her I needed to forgive my mom. My mom, a recovering alcoholic, committed suicide when I was fourteen. We will encounter people we don’t like and who don’t like us. But we should pray and ask God to help us not to hate but to forgive them.
Think of someone you need to forgive.
Finally, the weather turned cooler. Since my wife and I gave up on the gym thing during COVID, we could now walk the trails again. Nice, but not a real workout. At my age, I must put time in the weights to maintain muscle mass. This means working out every day—being enthusiastic about my purpose.
In the third chapter of Revelation, Jesus explains the condition of seven churches. Basically, He says the churches were once spot on. They knew the truth and held fast to it. They confessed and taught the truth and demonstrated their love for the Lord through their actions. In most cases, the churches stopped being what they were formerly. But some lost their muscle mass and became lukewarm.
This condition still affects many churches today and the Christians who attend them. Christians with a laissez-faire mentality who have no vision, purpose, oversight, or accountability. But God does hold us accountable. Jesus told the members they might lose their church if they didn’t change.
Many churches suffer in attendance. If unbelievers even consider investigating Christianity or considering joining a church, they are held back by the regular attendees’ lack of enthusiasm and drive. They wonder if all Christians aren’t supposed to be excited about their faith. All they do is go to church, go back home, and complain.
The organizations and businesses that succeed are enthusiastic about direction and purpose, and the people they hire must also be excited about the possibilities. If they aren’t, they won’t last long. As people of faith, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit and can move mountains. Together, we can do a lot. With God, the sky is the limit. All things are possible through Christ, who strengthens us.
Think of ways to be enthusiastic about your purpose in God.
I am one of those people who is generally happy but who can also quickly lose that happiness when faced with something. Scripture showed me that I experienced the ups and downs because I kept focusing on the wrong things.
Basing our happiness on surface-level stuff is easy. We build happiness around people, plans, possessions, titles, and achievements. Satan fools us into believing that we can achieve happiness if we become whoever or have whatever. This is a problem. Satan doesn't remind us our world is sinful or that many details are outside of our control. Instead, he works to keep us on this path of desire.
Framing happiness around things that can break, people who may disappoint, and titles and classes that can change is dangerous. With all the noise around us, it's hard to remember that contentment is a matter of the heart. The shift back starts by widening our perspective and recognizing the need to depend on something greater.
We must center our hearts around something that can weather the storms. God's love can do that, and it is enough. God's love is unlike any love felt here. His love is too great to understand fully. His love is steadfast and eternal and will never let us down. It can protect, isn't earned, and is freely given. God's love is something we should and can depend on above anything else.
If we place God's love at our core, we won't experience life's ups and downs as earth-shaking. Accepting it as enough permits us to let life's disappointments pass us by without rocking our foundation. Putting God and His love for us as the thing that matters most is the secret sauce to keeping a joyful heart.
Let Jesus show you the path to joy because God knows you personally by name. Let God's love fill your shortcomings and shine brightness into the dreary days. Call on God's love to satisfy your heart so you can rejoice and be glad daily.