Monday Morning Memo: The Good...the Bad...and the Ugly

I received the most feedback ever from my post last week entitled “Limitations”.  Person after person contacted me to let me know that they too are experiencing limitations in their life and my sharing put into words how they are currently feeling.

 

I was so touched by those who shared that while they have dealt with the pain of not being able to do what they would like to do…they have gone through this alone.  They haven’t shared with others how badly they are hurting…whether it be physically, mentally or even spiritually…because they thought others wouldn’t understand or even care.  This just breaks my heart.

 

I’ve thought about this so much this past week, trying to understand where we (myself included) have gone wrong.  Why are there people around us who are hurting so deeply, but don’t feel like they can open up and share their pain?  Is it because we have put on a “fake face” around them…leading them to believe we never have difficulties?  Do we only share our successes…making it seem like our lives are straight out of a fairy-tale?

 

A friend of mine recently told me that until she got to know me better…she thought I was “pretty perfect”.  I told her it was good I didn’t have liquid or food in my mouth when she shared that…because I probably would have spit it across the room!  But as I thought about her words…I was glad that as she has gotten to know me, she has realized that I am not perfect by any means (just ask my husband and kids).  It also reminded me that getting to know someone takes time...because our first impression can sometimes be way off the "mark". 

 

Trust me, as our friendship has grown, she has seen some good, some bad and some ugly…and that’s ok.  The reason is that if we are going to have a friendship that is healthy, we both need to feel free to be ourselves.  We both need to be willing to let our guard down…exposing those areas of our lives where we are hurting…physically, mentally and spiritually.  These months of limitations for me would have been so much harder if I would have felt the need to always have it all together in front of her and others.

 

The plus to being willing to share with one another is that we then know how we can lift each other up in prayer.  There isn’t anything sweeter than to know someone else is lifting your concerns up to our Heavenly Father…and nothing more rewarding than having the privilege of being the one to lift up others’ requests.    

 

We have no control over the actions of others…but we can take control of how we act and react around those with whom we do life.  We need to ask ourselves: Do we spend our days with a “mask” on…putting on a façade that everything is always perfect in our life?  And then secondly: Do we really care about those with whom we come in contact…loving them at every stage of their lives?

 

So many people are hurting and may feel all alone.  They may feel desperate to know that someone cares enough to let them be “real”.  2 Corinthians 1:4 says, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”  Let’s make a point this week to be a friend who is willing to come alongside others during their good…their bad…and their ugly.

Monday Morning Memo: Limitations

I started planning because summer was fast approaching, and I could hardly wait.  As many of you know, it is my favorite time of year and I look forward to it.  I planted seeds to give them a head start before they would be put in our garden.  I began cleaning up my flower beds so they would be ready to bloom and bless us with God’s amazing handiwork.

 

My husband and I love to walk outside in the summer…whether it is just on our country road or an area trail.  This year I had decided we needed to walk all the trails in our vicinity, so I picked up a brochure which had each one listed and I planned for us to explore every single one over the warm summer days.

 

I began thinking about having the grandkids for sleepovers.  We would play outside, make popsicles…walk on the trails…just spend time together during the weeks when school schedules wouldn’t have to be considered.

 

We love to entertain…so I had already thought about having people over for dinner throughout the summer.  Friends in to enjoy a meal together and maybe some time sitting on the deck.

 

And then…before the majority of this could take place…life happened.  Once again, like many other times in my life…I began having health issues which would bring this fairy-tale summer plan to a screeching halt.  One unexpected “detour” led to another…which led to another.  Once again…I was told the word I would have to accept but have learned to loathe…”limitations”.

 

None of us like that word, do we?  If you check a thesaurus, other words that mean the same thing are restrictions, restraints, inadequacies, weaknesses, snags, shortcomings and weak points. None of these words put a smile on our face and they especially don’t if we are a planning type person who doesn’t like those plans changed.

 

I wish I could tell you I have handled these rounds of limitations beautifully and always Christ-like.  But I haven’t.  There have been many days where tears flowed…sometimes from pain and sometimes from discouragement and frustration.  There have been days when I have questioned God and His plan and have begged Him to heal my body.

 

Even with the times I haven’t responded in a Christ-follower way…He has been so faithful and has never given up on me.  In the midst of these months, He gave me the words in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, “So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.”  

 

I can’t tell you the number of times I have read these verses this summer.  Even in some of my darkest moments, He has used these words to remind me that He can enable me.  He can give me the power to accomplish whatever He wants me to do, whether that includes the plans I have made…or the plans He has designed for me.  And all of that is possible because of His amazing grace.  

 

Friends, I’m not sharing this with you today to get sympathy, because I know there is a good chance that what you are dealing with is much worse than what I have ever faced.  I felt led to share this because I want you to know you aren’t alone. You may have also made plans for your summer, your year or even your life and they just keep getting changed and you are having to face limitations.  I want you to know that I understand.  

 

I want to make sure you realize that those limitations don’t make you less of a person or inferior to those around you.  Just because you may not be able to do…what you think you should do…doesn’t mean you have failed or are loved any less.  So often we base our worth on what we can accomplish…so when we experience limitations it is easy to fall into the trap of feeling second-rate.  I want to remind you (and me!) that we serve a Savior whose plans may not be what we had planned…but they are always perfect and we are deeply loved even with limitations.  

 

Maybe someday, we will understand why those limitations have been placed on our life.  But for now, I’m praying you and I will rest in His promise to enable and empower us to do whatever His call is for our lives…limitations and all!

Monday Morning Memo: Beatitudes Wrap Up!

Imagine that you and I are on the mountainside, sitting at the feet of Jesus.  We are talking, laughing and showing each other pictures of our kids, grandkids, pets etc.  Then, Jesus clears his throat and begins to talk, and immediately, we and everyone else around us grow quiet.  We have no idea what He will share with us, but we have heard enough about this man to know that we need to listen.

How amazing that would be…and I can’t help but wonder how the people who had that experience felt.  Those in Biblical days who did sit on the mountainside waiting for Jesus to share with them.  I’m sure they had no idea what truths He would speak…as He began with the words, “Blessed are the…”.

Since June 6^th, we have spent considerable time diving into everything that Jesus shared that day on the mountainside.  Each beatitude He spoke of was a building block for us to be like Him.  Each of them contained the attitudes, qualities and characteristics, which produce in us a Christ-like lifestyle. 

I read Romans 12:9-21 in The Message the other day and it struck me how much these verses went along with what we have learned from the beatitudes.  Paul wrote, “Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it.  Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.  Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame.  Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant.  Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder.  Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath.  Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down.  Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up.  Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone.  If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody.  Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do.  ‘I’ll do the judging,’ says God. ‘I’ll take care of it.’”

Scripture tells us that if we see our enemy hungry, we are to go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink.  Our generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of us; get the best of evil by doing good.  

Just like the beatitudes, Paul’s words, if taken seriously, will produce in us a Christ-like lifestyle. We need to remember if we really want to look and act like our Jesus, then we need to make the decision to live every single day completely sold out to Him, no matter the cost.  It isn’t just a way we behave on Sunday and then do as we please the rest of the week.   We must be committed to make our goal every day to do what would be pleasing to Him. 

As we wrap up our study of the beatitudes, I think each of us needs to decide if we are willing to let Jesus have complete control of our life.  It’s so easy to fall into Satan’s trap of thinking we know best and that we will have to give up too much to serve Christ.  That couldn’t be farther from the truth.  He can do so much with our surrendered life; way more than we can even imagine.   And don’t ever forget, Jesus promises for those who follow Him:

The Kingdom of Heaven is theirs

They will be comforted

They will inherit the whole earth

They will be satisfied

They will be shown mercy

They will see God

They will be called the children of God

The Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 

Wow…I would say Jesus makes it so worthwhile to let Him have control of us every.single.day.  As we begin a new week…let’s make sure to take the time to sit at His feet and learn from His teaching.  I’m confident His words will help us to serve Him with every fiber of our being and in doing that…we will be blessed.

Monday Morning Memo: Be Hated...Be Happy? Part 3

We continue our look at the final beatitude which says, “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.  Be happy about it!  Be very glad!  For a great reward awaits you in heaven.  And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way” (Matt. 5:10-12).  I think to totally understand this beatitude, we need to realize what these verses on persecution do not say.

These verses do not say, “Blessed are they who are persecuted because they’re obnoxious.”  OR “Blessed are they who are persecuted because they were arrogant and abusive in their attempts to witness.”  OR “Blessed are they who are persecuted because they had a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude.”  We need to realize that we can bring endless suffering upon ourselves and can create difficulties because we act foolishly or self-righteously.

Peter makes it very clear in his writings that it is possible to suffer for the wrong reasons.  He says in I Peter 4:15, “If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.”  Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:16 how we are to conduct ourselves in the world, “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves.  So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.”  So, if we feel we are being persecuted, we need to first make sure it isn’t our fault and a result of something we have done wrong.

As Americans we find it hard to be happy if we have a bad day, let alone if we should ever face persecution.  The Apostle Paul gave us such a wonderful example of how we should react when we are persecuted for being a truly devoted follower of Jesus.  In Acts 16, we read about when he was in the city of Philippi and was overtaken by a mob, arrested, beaten, locked in chains and put into prison.  This is not my idea of a good day.  Most of us would have been inclined to just want to try to get some sleep and hope things looked better in the morning.  Yet, at about midnight, Paul and his companion, Silas, were not sleeping and they weren’t up singing the blues, comparing cuts and bruises or telling sob stories.  Instead, these two sore, uncomfortable and weary men were singing praises to God and praying!  Years later, Paul would write to the church in Philippi from another prison in Rome, “Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again – rejoice!” (Phil 4:4).  What an amazing example for us to follow!

So how should we respond to persecution?  I think there are four things to remember:

1.      Sometimes we simply need to leave.  Remember what happened in Acts 13:49-52 to Paul and Barnabas?  “So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.  Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town.  So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium.  And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”  We are not promised a blessing if we go looking for trouble and none of us need to develop a martyr complex.  Just like Snagglepuss, we need to sometimes say, “Exit, stage right!” and then we need to make our exit and leave.

 

2.     We need to guard against compromise.  One way to end persecution is to become like those who would oppose you.  We need to remember we are called to please and obey God and not men.  Peter and John were ordered to stop preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, but their response in Acts 4:19b was, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?”  They knew Who they were supposed to obey.

 

3.     We need to love our enemies.  It’s easy to think of ways to get even when someone has hurt us or those we love.  We can be quick to begin to scheme our retaliation against those who have wronged us.  Unfortunately, revenge is bittersweet.   We may feel better for a moment, but before long we will get more of what we’ve dished out; like the saying goes, “What goes around, comes around.”  God wants us to love our enemies and break the cycle of revenge.  Instead of lashing out with anger, we are called by God to love those who mistreat us.

 

4.     We should pray for those who persecute us.  The bottom line is simple; hurting people hurt other people.  The person who injures you is often the victim of personal pain which may be buried and forgotten.  They attack others in the same way they have been hurt.  Likewise, many of those who may be the source of persecution are not believers; they are people who need Christ.

Jesus challenged the thinking of His day, and His teaching is still radically different from what many people believe today.  I need to ask myself if I am ready to respond in these ways if I am persecuted.  Are you?

Until next week…