DAY 14: Entitled to What?!

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about the issue of feeling ENTITLED. As a person who works with many people from all over the world who approach people in different ways, I find that one way that truly rubs me wrong is that sense of entitlement that I can often see seep into conversations between someone from the "Western" world talking to someone raised in the developing world. As missionaries and aid workers, it is easy to get caught up into a self-righteous cycle where you hear people express (in direct and passive ways) that the people they've come to serve 'should be happy with whatever they are given'. The haughtiness of us "do-gooders" can sometimes be astounding. It's sad but the truth. People will excuse their lack of excellence or moments of slippage by saying that "it's okay because they should just be happy I'm here to start with." Definitely not the most Christian approach to being our brother's keeper. 

So this thought has been floating through my mind in my own self-righteous stupor and I realized that I do the same thing with God. How many times do I feel like I am entitled to something or envious because someone got something I thought I should have? How many times have I felt "deserving" of a particular blessing or allowance because I could point to how "good" I'd been trying to be in other areas. However, the truth of the matter is I (we) deserve nothing. It's a hard pill to swallow when you've been raised your whole life to be self-sufficient and been taught that the value of hard work is pay-off. But what are you to do when the pay-off for hard work is sacrifice and the pay-off for sacrifice is more hard work? 

There is an answer to that question that comes in two words: GRACE and MERCY. We forget that there's nothing that another of our brothers/sisters on this earth has or does that couldn't have been us if the circumstances of our birth were different. And Psalm 103:10-12 reminds us that God is so faithful in that he doesn't reward us according to what we deserve. "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." How dare I (or anyone for that matter) even deign to feel entitled. I am entitled to death. I am entitled to misery. But, by God's grace and his mercy, I have abundant life, never-ending joy and incomprehensible peace. Selah...pause and think on that.

The next time you begin to get annoyed with someone because you feel like their response to you should have been different, remember how our Lord wants your response to be different. The next time you begin to feel like you should have more than what you have because others do, remember how our Lord has given you so much more than you deserve and wants to give you exceedingly above even what you desire. When we shift the focus back to GRATITUDE then we open up our hearts to truly receive all that God has in store for us. 

Be encouraged today to give thanks.

Blessings,

Pastor Andrea

DAY 5: Annoyed? Me?! Ooops...

On my very first mission trip ten years ago, our group had gone to visit an orphanage. This was my first mission and also our first mission with my church at the time so we were feeling our way through and leaving much of our agenda in God's hands. It was quite freeing to be able to have a plan and to hold it loosely knowing that with a hurricane looming off the coast, anything could happen at any time. While there, we saw so many children who were full of energy and excited about having fun with this group of strangers. But as I looked off to the side of where we were ministering, I noticed something odd. There was an old tree stoop that had what looked like an extra lump to the side. Upon further research, I saw that it was a young boy and I snapped a picture of him, then put my camera down and simply smiled at that lone eye. The boy never came out from behind the tree, but for a moment, there was no one in world but me smiling at him and him smiling shyly back at me. For one moment he had my undivided attention. For one moment, he was all that mattered.

I think of this boy at times and hope that someone notices him. So often we get so busy with life that we barely have the chance to stop and really notice the people and places around us. Today, as I was praying about what to write, the phone rang. My first reaction was annoyance (otherwise known as negative emotion #5 at this moment). I was annoyed that my time was being interrupted. In my annoyance, I even stubbed my toe as I headed for the phone (figures)...only to find that the person on the other end was calling to bless me with a yummy treat. Oops...my bad...Annoyed? Me? Noooooo...certainly you can interrupt me at any time...sigh...yeah I'm a mess. I was immediately convicted and wondered how often do I do things that could be annoying to the Lord (if he weren't quite as grace-filled as I know him to be). I ask God the same questions over and over again. I walk the same wrong direction and have the same negative emotions continually rear their ugly heads. Yet and still, God is continually patient with me.

We are often busy with our plan for how the day should go, but we forget to hold that plan loosely and allow for God to take the reigns. He is the best "event planner" and can orchestrate the most special moments of your life if you let him. How sweet is His word that declares, "Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him." (Isaiah 30:18)? It is so sweet to know that God longs to be gracious to us. He takes his time with us. He notices us. He notices you and he knows you. Just as he did with the woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8, he stops for us and doesn't just rush on by. And when he stops, he isn't annoyed and hasn't lost his compassion or his graciousness towards us.

What an incredible gift that is!

Today, you have an opportunity to share that gift with those that you pass each and every day. You can approach this new week with intention and attention to those things that rarely get your undivided focus. When a child passes, wave and smile and look them in the eye. When someone calls, take the call. When you think of someone, stop in that moment and send them a text or an email or pick up the phone and call to just let them know that you were thinking of them. This week, you can decide to give someone that priceless gift that keeps on giving--your time. You must remember that the idea of stopping to smell the roses never goes out of style. The roses don't need you to smell them, but think of all the great aroma of life you miss when you pass them by.

Life happens in those little moments when we pay attention to the little things and make connections of the heart that may only even take a moment or two but will last you (and hopefully the other person) a lifetime. Release your annoyances and move in compassion. And through it all, pray that God will give you a heart like His...one filled with compassion, mercy and grace.

Lord, today do us like you promised in Ezekiel 36 and 'give us a new heart and put a new spirit in us...remove our hearts of stone and cause us to walk according to your will'. We want to notice others as you notice us. We want to show others compassion as you are steadfast in your compassion towards us. We want to leave annoyance in our past and have a future orchestrated by your mighty hand. Amen.

Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

This Is Not A Drill

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, 

you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, 

considering yourself lest you also be tempted.  

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians: 6:1, 2

If you've never been on a hospital ship before then let me tell you there are some very interesting things that make the whole thing work efficiently. Just like in any other mainland office building, regular fire drills must be conducted to ensure that all crew are ready and able to handle it should a blaze ignite on board. Every crew member must evacuate the ship and congregate at a designated "muster station" where their names are checked against the master list of people on board. 

As you exit and head towards your muster station (arranged by last name alphabetical groupings), you pass a group of people holding a sign and soliciting for STRETCHER BEARERS. You check in at your muster station and then, if you're feeling so inclined, you head back to said sign and exchange your ID badge for one that marks you as a stretcher bearer on a particular team. In the event of a true emergency, teams of people bearing stretchers will re-enter the ship and head to the hospital where they will be directed in helping to get hospital patients out to safety. Needless to say, like so many other roles on the front line, the role of the stretcher bearer is important and cannot be neglected.

Similarly in life, the Lord has directed us to be Stretcher Bearers to one another. It is a role in this life that is important and cannot be neglected. In today's society it is easy to get into a rhythm and focus on what pertains only to self, but God challenges us in His Word to do different, better and more. Galatians 6 tells us to "restore" and "bear burdens" for others. We are indeed directed to be our brother's/sister's keepers. You may have been asking yourself recently if you should even bother to invest in this person or that. Or perhaps you've felt a bit annoyed by a coworker or friend's constant "dumping" of their problems at your doorstep. The thing is that they see something you forgot you had--your new ID badge. The Lord sent this note your way today to remind you that when you decided to follow him, you turned in your own ID and you now bear HIS identification--making you a key player in His team of Divine Stretcher Bearers.

This is not a drill. There are people all around you that need your light to shine and need your shoulder to lean on or that simply need a lift. This week, your challenge is to take your eyes off of your problems and see where you can be that touch of a gentle spirit that someone else needs. And, though you don't do it for this reason, just know that as you pour out that gentleness of spirit on others, the Lord is faithful and just to return that same spirit unto you. Other Stretcher Bearers will be sent your way and have a mission of helping to bear your burdens and put salve on your wounds. So be encouraged...help is on the way...

Blessings,
PastorA

P.S. If this spoke to you...don't forget to "pay it forward" and pass it along to another friend in need of a "lift"...

Grace Could Abound (If You Let it)

I have been struck over the course of this week at the power of the human spirit to be rigid and operate outside of the power of grace. I have been struck by the need for each of us to exert our power in life in some small way or another that generally comes out in exerting control over another person. How many times are we presented with the opportunity to be lenient to another or to provide others with grace, but we choose the road more traveled of control and legalism? How many chances come our way to smile instead of frown or speak a kind word instead of persecute? How often do we have the possibility to forgive another instead of holding a grudge? How many opportunities are we presented with on a daily basis to live out one of the greatest responsibilities of a Christian--to represent Jesus Christ on this earth and extend our hands in love and grace? How many times do those opportunities come and we let them pass away?

Unfortunately, the number of missed opportunities is great. As you go through your day, week, year, I want to challenge you to remember grace. We remember grace when it's convenient for us...when we are praying for God to forgive us. But the model prayer in the Bible asks God to "And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors." (Matt 6:12) That means, we are asking God to use the same measure of grace with us that we use with others (which is often not a large measure). What kind of world would we live in if we truly lived out that request and dished out the grace we so desperately want from God? So the challenge is to take the time to remember God's daily blessing of grace and mercy. Remember the grace He extends to you when you don't deserve it and when He should throw the book at you. Remember how much your life has been changed because of His grace, and make a decision to be intentional about extending grace to your brothers and sisters on this earth. Whether that is to let someone go first in a long line or to overlook a mistake someone made or forgive someone for not meeting your expectations, what we know about who God is is that He overlooks so much for us. How then can our rules for one another be more stringent than that of The Most High God?

Choose this week to forgive, release, and move forward in grace.

Blessings,
MinD

Day 20: Kindness...What A Novel Idea

They say that everyone will get their 15 minutes of fame. In today's media, it seems that so many people are getting more than their fair 15 though they seem to be doing nothing noteworthy. Do you know who I'm talking about? I'm talking about the lovely men and women (and now toddlers) of reality television. Now let me preface this by admitting that I'm a bit of a reality junkie and actually watch many shows. However, I do have a line. You see there are some shows where the people getting all the air-time and exposure are simply a hot mess. They do everything except honor God and manage to get paid to do it.

But as I began to meditate on the life of a reality star, I realized that many of them are here today and gone tomorrow. You see, they can't seem to sustain. They have no staying power--a fact that, in part, could probably be attributed to a simple lack of one character ingredient, lovingkindness. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 20:28 that "Mercy and truth preserve the king, And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne." So many of us are looking for that staying power and can't seem to get it. We try one thing and it seems to fizzle. We try another and just can't get things to flow for us. Our fuses seem to get shorter and shorter as the trials in our lives seem to get longer and longer.

What we know is that as Christians we are called to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and kindness is a part thereof. And while we watch those who are the most negative or least benevolent in our lives get this or that earthly reward, what we can rest in is that our eternal reward is much greater and that our ultimate staying power far exceeds theirs.As we are tested in life, it is up to us to decide to make the wise decision to choose kindness over being rushed or rude. It is up to us to look beyond our schedules and schemes to find God's ultimate plan for our continued success. It's so simple (and certainly not a novel idea) that I'm almost ashamed to write about this but I feel as though someone out there needs a reminder about the extreme power of kindness.

Be encouraged as those tests come think on that old saying, "you catch more bees with honey," and make kindness a priority in your walk.

Blessings,
MinD

Day 19: Return Home

I admit it. I've been pouting this evening...

Oh don't look at me in that tone of voice...It's not like I'm alone. So many of us are struggling. We are in places where we are waiting until 11:59pm minute to see God produce "just in the nick of time" miracles in our lives. And sometimes when we don't see our miracles once our countdown has run out (since we put God on a timer), we assume that He isn't in the business of answering prayers. Tonight, I was about to go down that road with God. I was about to ask, in my best self-entitled voice, the age old question of "Why?" (It's amazing that I would have the gall to think that God owes me an explanation. He surely does not.) However, what I realized was that it wasn't that He wasn't going to answer, it was that I had asked amiss to begin with. How often do we get to that point? We've asked God for this or that and He doesn't deliver like Santa Claus on Christmas morning so we slip into a space of doubt in God or depression around our dreams.

What I love about God is that He meets us where we are. As I was about to slide into that pouty place I read Proverbs 19:23 which says that "The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil." Oh how wonderful it would be to abide in satisfaction--what a glorious thought that you live there. But, just like our earthly homes, there are times when we walk out of the doors and have been presented with the opportunity to simply go back home when we're ready. When we make the intentional decision to focus on what God wants more than what we want, we open the door. When we face new days with room for God to change our prayers and our hearts, we step over the threshold. When we praise Him despite what we do or do not get and worship Him just because He's God, we take a seat and "abide".

I don't know about you, but I think I've decided to turn my pout into praise this evening, open the door, step over the threshold and abide in the satisfaction of the Lord. Be encouraged to do the same...

Blessings,
MinD

Day 9: Fool for Free

The image of a court jester/fool came into my mind as I was reading Proverbs 9.6:

"Forsake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding."

Back in medieval times, there was a job that a person could have whose whole intention was to be a fool--to make people laugh and be entertained. And the thing you could say about a jester is that at least he was paid to be a fool. As I read verse 6 of this chapter, I thought to myself how many of us serve as fools for free? How many of us engage in the same nonsense over and over again that seems to make others happy but lead to nothing but our frustration and discouragement. How many of us spend the majority of our day swimming in the part of the cup that is half empty and forgetting about the part that is half full? How many of us make a conscious decision daily to put life on hold because of foolishness? We walk through life being tricked and deceived by the enemy and his imps into believing that we are less than what God says we are. We have labeled ourselves "fool" in the Spirit instead of embracing how "fearfully and wonderfully" He made us (according to Psalm 139.14).

The proverb puts foolishness in direct contradiction to life. It says "forsake foolishness and live" almost as if it could be implied that to embrace foolishness equates to death. In Christ, we have the power to LIVE and not die. We have the power to swim in the optimistic, hopeful side of life and not in the depths of despair we create for ourselves through foolishness. Be it through the relationships you keep (because at least you know their mess) or the jobs that you trudge through (because at least it pays the bills even if it tears me down spiritually and emotionally) or the habits you maintain (because at least it makes you happy for a moment though it depresses you in the long run), you may have been holding onto foolishness and death. Today is the time to make the decision for understanding and life. Take inventory of your relationships, jobs, habits and the like and start signing some eviction papers to those things that have taken up residence that only bring you down. Don't be a fool.

Be encouraged to choose life.

Blessings,
MinD

You Must Show Up!

You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”

2 Chronicles 20:17

The other day I was following what has now become somewhat of a routine on public transportation and transferring from the train to the bus that would take me to my final destination. As I exited the train station to the awaiting bus, a woman sat on the bench and asked if I had money for her fare. Not thinking I did, I gave my apologies and entered the bus where I was joined by two other women.

Fishing in her bag, one woman summoned the waiting woman to the window and handed her a portion of what she would need to make her fare. Not to be outdone, both myself and the other lady on the bus began straining to the bottomless pits of our bags hoping to find random spare change that we didn't previously know we had. Between the three of us the woman's fare was covered plus a little. And as the woman walked away from the bus to purchase her ticket, one of the ladies said something poignant, "She just had to show up, dressed and ready for work and her way would be made."

I could've shouted Hallelujah! right there on the bus! For I knew instantly that the situation was simply a reminder of how God works with us. Blessings come your way often and by various methods. There are times when it is instantaneous. And then there are times when you have to do your part. Sometimes that part is a large starring role and at other times, God just wants you to come ready and simply show up ready to work. I was reminded that this is how He did in Bible days, reminding His people, that their job was simply to position themselves, stand still, and watch Him work!

You may feel like you are in a holding pattern. You may be wondering which direction your next victory is coming from. You may not fully understand how the financial, relational, spiritual, emotional blessing you are needing will be delivered to your doorstep. But God wants to remind you that it's not your job to understand (Remember Proverbs 3:5-6?), it is simply your job to show up ready to work...in position, with the fortitude to stand, and the vision to watch God get all the glory through your deliverance.

Trust Him. It's coming.

Be encouraged,
MinD

Kept Over Unsure Ground

If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.

In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.

Psalm 94:18-19 (NKJV)

One of the items on my "Bucket List" was to zip line, and as I went through the ropes course in an effort to fulfill my zip lining adventure recently, I must admit that my nerves were racked. Even though I knew that I had been solidly harnessed to the line above my shoulder, when it came time to step on moving logs and unstable wires and dodge obstacles, my confidence was shaken. I gripped unnecessarily at the ropes in an effort to hold myself up; and, in the end, I made it through a challenging 24-point, 90-minute ropes course from beginning to end--zip lines, tight ropes, log swings and all.  


As I swung into the final heap of sand, I remembered the thought that I had as I began (the point at which I took the above picture)--that no matter what happened, I was secure. You see, we were harnessed with two lines and two clips. There was an "extra safety measure" of clipping the hooks on in opposite directions so you could never accidentally grab hold of the releases and suddenly go swinging. And as the course began, I felt the Lord reminding me that this is a great example of how He has hold of me. Even when I get scared and nervous of making the step in front of me, He has me secured. Even when I feel like my footing is slipping, He's got me on the other side holding me up. At multiple points throughout the course, I had to stop and calm my "anxieties" by thinking on the Lord and simply taking a moment to look around at His great Creation.


This week, you will be challenged to take steps that may feel shaky beneath you. The ground you're on may seem to be unsure and doubts will try to invade your spaces of faith. You may not even remember that God is there and attempt to hold yourself up through your journey. But rest assured that He's got double safety measures holding you up with grace and mercy. Move with confidence and, if need be, take a moment to simply breathe and look around at all God has already done in your life. Take it all in before you keep on moving. Don't pause. Don't delay. Decide today to live your dreams!


Be encouraged and encourage someone else along the way!
--MinD