Happy Independence Day

[Judy Harder]

Embracing Life

So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. - Zechariah 4:6

Embracing life means embracing all of it, including the people who make it difficult. I call these people "character builders." You may hate the fact they're in your life, but without them you'd never come close to what God wants for you. These people that are so tough are actually a gift from God. Like me, you can probably look at the character you've developed and see it didn't get there from people being nice to you.  It's there because of some very tough treatment by people who didn't have your best interest in mind. 

Remember the story of David and Goliath? If David had taken on a third grader I don't think we'd have heard much about it.  Or what about Daniel and the pit of lions?  If it were a pit of hamsters no one would be talking about that today!  The bigger the challenge the more God can do with it.  Its difficult things and people that make up the stories of our lives in a way that brings honor to God.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

[Judy Harder]

Excuses

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. - 1 Peter 4:10

There are so many excuses I could've used to hold back and not serve God, but none of them were good enough to miss God's best.  Just the fact that I paid for an abortion could've kept me on the sidelines rather than preaching God's truth.  Despite that horrific ordeal, God has allowed me to speak at Crisis Pregnancy centers and help them raise millions of dollars during the past ten years.  What a blessing it's been for me to be used in that way. 

Because I have failed in so many ways, God gets all the glory for anything that comes out of my life that's worth mentioning.  So no matter what comes my way, if God can still use me, as embarrassing and humbling as it might be, I want to be used for Him.  I want the same for you.  God can use you...imperfections and all.

"Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle." - James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

[Judy Harder]

God Plus One

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

Andy was struggling to scan the purchases—but was also determined to get it done.  His customer recognized he'd been through a serious trauma.

She said, "...that must be hard to do with one arm."
"Yes, but you do what you have to, and I guess that's what I get for riding motorcycles."
"God must really have a plan for you since you're still alive" she responded.
"You have no idea.  I died four times at the hospital, and they had to revive me.  The doctors told my mom the first night, 'Sorry, there's not much hope for him.' Yes, God has a plan for me.  The doctors didn't know who they were dealing with.  It wasn't just me, but my mom and her prayers—my mom plus God—you don't mess with that!"

Wow!  Mom plus God.  Plus means addition.  Think about adding God to the equation of
your life.  "You plus God" has a pretty good ring to it. 

"Prayer may not change things for you, but it for sure changes you for things." - Samuel M. Shoemaker (1893-1963)

[Judy Harder]

God Redeeming Us

God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time. - Matthew 6:34

The day Martha Stewart went to jail, I mentioned to a group that we should pray for her as she entered her new "gated community", and the group laughed at that.  But seriously, jail can indeed be a gift.  We prayed for her because good things can happen when people go to jail. 

In the Bible there's a story about a man named Joseph who refused to sleep with the queen and was imprisoned for more than 13 years.  That was a huge chunk of his life, but it must have been the chunk that prepared him to later be in charge of the entire nation. 

Then there was Chuck Colson.  While imprisoned for crimes committed during the Watergate scandal he came to trust in God, and when released from prison, Chuck founded what has grown into an international prison ministry that has touched the lives of thousands upon thousands of prisoners.

Your situation might be just as humiliating as Martha Stewart going to jail, but God can redeem it.  He makes the best come out of the worst, if you'll trust him to do so.

"You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what's that? Come up with a smiling face. It's nothing against you to fall down flat but to lie there—that's disgrace." - Edmund Vance Cook (1867-1933)

[Judy Harder]

Lights Flashing

The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. - Hosea 14:9

John Smith was pulled over for driving erratically, but just as officers began administering a breath test, there was an accident on the other side of the freeway.  The policeman ordered John to wait and ran across the street, but John immediately drove home. 

A few hours later, Mrs. Smith found two officers at her door.  John came out of the bedroom faking a cough.  When asked if he'd been pulled over for a highway citation, he replied, "Oh, no I've been home sick all day."

When they asked to see his car, John confidently walked out to the garage thinking, "It's been hours, the engine is cool, and I'm totally going to get away with this!"

He threw open the garage door, and there in the garage was the patrol car with the lights still flashing!

Tell me, friend, what lights are flashing in your garage? 

"We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance." - Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

[Judy Harder]

Persevere

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. - (James 1:2-3)

It doesn't take a genius to know that life is difficult. And it's difficult in different ways for different people. Sometimes we bring difficulty upon ourselves and sometimes it's brought upon us from other sources.  It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, old or young, man or woman. Every which way you look at it, we know that life is difficult. 

But how we handle those difficulties is what matters.

The Bible tells us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance and that we should rejoice when we face trials of all kinds. If Godly character is something to be desired, then we should welcome difficulty.

Sounds crazy, I know.

Try this: wake up each day asking God to carry you through that day's rough moments. He promised to wipe our tears away, not prevent them. 

So, weep when the tears come but don't give up.

"Lord, I shall be very busy this day. I may forget thee, but do not thou forget me." - Sir Jacob Astley (1579-1651)

[Judy Harder]

The Problem with Focus

Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. - Psalm 39:4

In the winter of his ninth year, Frank Lloyd Wright was walking across a snow-covered field with his reserved, no-nonsense uncle.  As they reached the far end of the field, his uncle stopped him.  He pointed to his own tracks in the snow, straight and true as an arrow, and then to young Frank's tracks, which meandered all over the field.

"Notice how your tracks wander aimlessly from the cattle to the woods and back again," his uncle said. "And see how my tracks aim directly to my goal. There is an important lesson in that."

Years later, the famous architect relayed how that experience affected his outlook on life. "I determined right then," he said, "not to miss most things in life, as my uncle had." Where's your focus? Is your narrow vision of life keeping you from experiencing the world around you? 

"The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving." - Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

[Judy Harder]

Promises

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2 Corinthians 9:7

A poor man vowed to give God a certain percentage of his income. From his first week's pay he gave one dollar. But before long, prosperity raised the sum of the gift to one hundred dollars a week, and in time, to five hundred dollars.

Initially his offerings brought intense joy. But over time, he began feeling entitled to his prosperity. He explained to a close friend that when he made the promise he only had to give a dollar, but now that it was five hundred he didn't feel he could afford such extravagant giving.

His wise friend said, "I'm afraid you cannot get a release from the promise, but there is something we can do. We can kneel down and ask God to shrink your income so that you can afford to give a dollar again."

God deserves our best. Has he blessed you? Ask Him how he might use you to bless others.

"The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." -William James (1842-1910)

[Judy Harder]

Treasures

If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, "You are my security" if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, then these also would be sins to be judged,  for I would have been unfaithful to God on high. - Job 31:24, 25, 28

A rich man prayed, "I've worked so hard and I want to take my fortune to heaven." 

"We don't do that," God said.

"Please," he begged, "let me bring it so my children will be spared from an indulgent life."

"Okay," God amended "you may bring one suitcase."

Weeks later, the man found himself at heaven's gates with a suitcase full of gold bricks.

"A suitcase?" the angel guarding the gates questioned.  "You can't bring anything with you!"

"Oh, I have a special arrangement with God."

The angel looked into the suitcase and lifted his head, "Lord, I've got a man here who says he's made a
special arrangement with you."

The heavens rumbled, "What sort of arrangement?"

"For some reason he wants to bring in a suitcase full of paving material."

In God's economy, your gold will be worth less than the pavement under your feet! But the things often overlooked—our children, the poor, the underprivileged, our relationships with others—are priceless. 

"Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile." - Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865-1940)

[Judy Harder]

Renoir and Matisse

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:13

Renoir and Matisse were friends with a common bond; they loved color, beauty, and painting. Renoir, however, developed a very serious case of arthritis ...so debilitating that he was almost completely paralyzed by it. He winced and jerked in pain as he applied each stroke of color to the canvas. But no matter how severe the pain, no matter how difficult the brushstroke, he continued to paint.

Matisse watched his friend with great concern and passion, mystified at the dedication that led to creating his artwork at such a painful level of personal sacrifice. When he asked Renoir why he continued to paint, Renoir replied, "Because the beauty remains: the pain passes."

Are you struggling through painful times? If so, please don't give up. Don't believe the lie that there's no hope for you. Surrender and persevere. Hang on to Christ. Make the healing choice to persevere and do whatever necessary to hang on one more day. The pain passes; the beauty God brings through perseverance remains. 

"Austere perseverance, harsh and continuous, may be employed by the least of us and rarely fails of its purpose, for its silent power grows irresistibly greater with time." - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832)