God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

 I Peter 4:10-11 (New Living Translation)

I am helping to say goodbye to a friend at his memorial service this weekend. I knew him for about 45 years, having first met him as he was being discharged from a hospital.  He lived a remarkable life, yet the vast majority of the world never knew him. They did not know his struggles with serious physical and emotional deficits brought on by devastating seizures he had since birth.

Having some significant physical and cognitive deficits did not deter this man from living a full, meaningful life. He began volunteering at a young age helping to teach swimming to kids with more serious challenges than his own. It was a way to “give back” he often said. He was known around his small town as a dedicated volunteer, and he was recognized as “Volunteer of the Year” in that town several years ago.

He suffered from debilitating seizures, but in 1990, when he was 40 years old, he had neurosurgery which effectively ended those seizures. Five years later, at age 45, he learned to drive. Because he wanted to serve others, he used a car- one donated to him by a family who’s relative he cared for- to give rides to people for medical visits, shopping, etc.

He spent most of his days volunteering at a local food pantry and Christian outreach center running errands, stocking shelves, encouraging others.

He died last week, a victim of complications of COVID-19. He had a number of physical problems later in his life, but he never allowed those health problems to get in the way of  serving others.

The verses above will be used in his memorial service. Fitting, I think, for a person who chose to give meaning to his life by a life of service to others.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of life, and the opportunity to use it for your people, Amen.

Anxious hearts are very heavy, but a word of encouragement does wonders!

Proverbs 12:25 (Living Bible)

Some of my readers may recall that today, March 1, is a holiday. You won’t find it anywhere but on this blog, but rest assured, today is a holiday. Last year I deemed it Affirmation Day. March I is a holiday just because I want it to be. It has, for many years, been my own unofficial start of Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. We need the refreshment of Spring, and I decided that I would simply move it up a few weeks to March 1.

In past years, baseball players would be in Spring Training sites around Florida and Arizona. That really helped me to get into the excitement of anticipation of warm weather and baseball. Since the owners and players in Major League Baseball have decided to rain on that parade this year, so much the more reason to call March 1 a holiday- Affirmation Day.

So, I am reprinting last year’s March 1 blog to explain the holiday. Please enjoy the holiday as you read the reprint of my March 1, 2021 blog…

Today, March 1, is my first day of Spring. In honor of that, I decided that today should be a holiday of sorts, so I have named it Affirmation Day. Today, to celebrate this wonderful holiday, every person is to specifically affirm or encourage someone that they know, be it family or friend, coworker or acquaintance. The celebration of this day is not complete unless one has sent a text, called, emailed, or in some other way communicated a message of appreciation and encouragement to another person.  

I think today is the right day for this because, in his creation, God has reaffirmed to us that another season is coming- a season long awaited and much needed this year. Ancient traditions had festivals to celebrate the end of the season of death (Winter) and the start of the season of new life (Spring). So, isn’t this holiday just the natural evolution of such past celebrations? I say it is.

So, Happy Affirmation Day. Spread the word!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the reminders of new life springing up around us!

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”     Luke 11: 11-13

I worry about my kids. No, there is no reason to worry- they are bright, successful adults with careers and families of their own, and they are quite competent and able to navigate this world just fine. But I am a dad, and I love them, and I want to make sure that they are OK, happy and moving ahead well in life.

Until I was a parent, I did not understand the love of a parent. Yes, my parents loved me and cared for me, but I had not experienced that love on the other end yet. As a parent, the world looks a bit different. If you are a parent yourself, you know what I mean.

We may not be fully able to understand God’s love for us until we experience loving our children. God cares for each of us in ways that we really cannot completely appreciate, I think.  One of the mysteries of life I suppose.

Luke’s discussion about the love of human fathers, in comparison to the love of our heavenly father, is both enlightening and humbling.

What a reassurance of God’s love for us.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the model of parental love, Amen

I am back from vacation, and I have posted a blog entry for tomorrow. Thank you for your faithfulness in going to the archives while I was away! I will be posting regularly, but not daily in the future. I will give more details later (because I have not yet decided the schedule!), so please stay tuned for updates.

Love to all…

Thank you, dear readers, for your faithful attention to this blog. For the next two weeks I will be taking a little hiatus (that’s what the old TV shows used to say, right?), and there will not be new material until March 1. Until then, please feel free to visit this site and go to the archives where hundreds of oldies lie filed away. Hope you enjoy them,

Blessings,

John

We have cause to celebrate because the grace of God has appeared, offering the gift of salvation to all people. Grace arrives with its own instruction: run away from anything that leads us away from God; abandon the lusts and passions of this world; live life now in this age with awareness and self-control, doing the right thing and keeping yourselves holy.             Titus 2:11-12

I have worked with a lot of people over the years who have addictions of various types. We can be addicted to anything. Anything.  The reason for that is the natural tendency to avoid pain or unpleasant situations or feelings. So, we look for remedies. The problem is that the remedy itself often becomes an addiction.

 Addictions are shortcuts to feel better. They offer immediate gratification, and numb the pain. People use substances, at first to feel good- later they must use them just not to feel bad.

Some of our addictions are somewhat innocuous and socially acceptable- for example,             my addiction to caffeine. That is one we even joke about, and it is a very common addiction. Then there are food addictions which are often socially acceptable, but are not good for our bodies, such as addiction to sugar- more or less a societal addiction.

Obviously, many addictions are not so harmless, and they are complex and dangerous. Anything that makes us feel good right away- something that immediately takes our brain’s pleasure center captive, is addictive. There are complex physical and emotional reasons for this, but suffice it to say, once the brain gets used to such chemical changes and the addiction takes over, recovery is monumentally difficult.

So, what are some of your addictions? We all have them!

Prayer: You have given us the remedy for a broken world, help us to deal with our own remedies which can be destructive, Amen. 

So, if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective                                                                                                                                           Colossians 3:1-2 (The Messsage)

It is interesting how perspective can change our opinions. If we look at situations from a slightly different perspective, it can completely change our perception, and our attitudes. Just this past weekend, I was watching football and I saw the replay of a potential touchdown. (It seems that every touchdown is now viewed no less that 17 times by officials, commentators, and the guys in the video truck- but I digress.)

On the replay, they showed several angles from different cameras. On at least 2 of the angles, the touchdown was not a touchdown. However, on one angle, it seemed clear that the ball had crossed the end zone line. All of a sudden, the certainty in the announcer’s analysis vanished. He had seen it from a different angle, and he changed his opinion.

I talk about that with clients at times. Some clients in relationships think that they are suffering because of the behavior of their partner- that their partner is being unreasonable. Then I might ask, what if you were to look at this from a different perspective- the spiritual perspective? What if you could decide to take the sacrificial role, and agree that what you are suffering is not fair or reasonable. You can choose to accept that, but not feel powerless about it. Now they would no longer be the victim of imposed unfair behavior, but they would have the option of choosing to accept the situation, and have the more noble goal of sacrificing for their relationship.

When we are in control of decisions, and do not feel that we are the victims of unfair behavior, we are much better able to accept uncomfortable things, and actually feel good about making the personal changes which can make the relationship better.

Please be assured that I am not talking here about abuse, and reckless offenses by one partner to be simply “accepted” by the other. I am talking about some everyday types of annoyances and concerns that may take on a role larger than it really needs to. You know, it’s a matter of perspective. Choosing to frame things differently can change everything.

It’s all a matter of how you decide to see it.

Prayer: Lord, you have given us the ability to decide how we want to react to our environment. Give us the wisdom to see things from your perspective, Amen.

Anxiety weighs down the heart,
    but a kind word cheers it up.                                                                                                                                               Proverbs12:25 (NIV)

The other day, I spoke with a client who has anxiety. He has chronic anxiety, and I explained to him that anxiety, over a period of time, becomes depression. The Proverb cited above seems to back that up. Anxiety will “weigh down the heart”. Typically, Bible language for the heart calls it the seat of emotion. A “heavy heart” is another way to say “depressed”.

My client with chronic anxiety has become depressed. As we spoke, I saw the classic effects of depression- too much introspection, lack of energy and motivation, a sense of powerlessness, etc. I suggested to this client that he pick out a few of his friends or relatives, and simply call them, and tell them that he was thinking about them. Better yet, just tell them that he loves them.

This remedy works both to help those called as well as the caller. The Proverb indicates that a remedy for a heavy heart is a kind word.

It works.

Prayer: Lord, lift those with heavy hearts today, Amen

 Justice- the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments

Fairness- the quality or state of being fair especially : fair or impartial treatment : lack of favoritism toward one side or another

 You shall do no unrighteousness in a court. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person who is great, but in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor                                                     Leviticus 19:15

Isn’t it interesting that both “Fairness” and “Justice” have in their definitions the word “impartial”. Yet, justice is not always fair. We have this innate sense of fairness, and we learn early on what we perceive as “unfair”. Indeed, we often hear kids say “no fair!” when they believe that they have been denied something- especially if another sibling gets that thing. However, fairness is essentially a perception. It is a personal belief, based upon our experiences, and our own perceptions. We hold our own set of rules on this.

Justice, on the other hand, has a set of rules and standards that have been set outside of us to which we are expected to comply. Whether we like it or not, we abide by the rules, or justice will be administered. It may violate our sense of fairness.

Several years ago, I was driving down I-75 moving, let’s say “pretty quickly”. OK, I was speeding. I guess I was going about 80 mph and I was in the fast lane. I saw, just a bit late, a Highway Patrol car in the median. In that instant, I was thinking that I might get pulled over. Just then, another car blew past me in the middle lane at least going 85-90 mph.

At that moment I said to myself, “man, it would not be fair if I got pulled over and that guy didn’t!”  Then, as I rolled past the Highway Patrol car without being pulled over, I had another thought. “It wouldn’t be fair if I had been pulled over, but it would be justice”.

As I mulled that, I began to think about how we think of justice and fairness. We tend to favor fairness, yet justice must prevail. Our perceptions are the guides that we use to determine what is fair. However, there are standards of justice that we simply must accept, whether or not we think they are fair.

I bring this up just for the sake of giving pause to think about our personal ideas about these concepts. How does your sense of fairness compare with your understanding of justice? How does it line up with what God expects of us?

Prayer: Father, help us to align with your sense of what is right- that is the way to peace, Amen.

The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.                                                                                          Martin Luther

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men…”                                                                       Colossians 3:23

I often hear people say, either directly or indirectly, that some professions are more noble than others. This sometimes comes out in the way that people present themselves when asked about how they make their living. Some show a bit of embarrassment if their line of work is not held in high esteem by others. We as a society tend to elevate some career paths over others. Granted, many professional and technical careers take a great deal of study, sacrifice and dedication in order to achieve the position. People who make those great sacrifices ought to be esteemed and honored.

Yet, all professions and careers ought to be honored. All work is worthy and noble if nobly performed. I like Luther’s quote above. We honor God by doing good craftsmanship in whatever we do. Such diligence gives an important message about how God sees us, who God is, and his esteem for us no matter what we do for our job.

Prayer: Lord thank you for the gift of work, noble in your sight, Amen