Hospitality, When There's No One To Impress

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging I Peter 4:8-9

If you were to ask me the top five things I struggle with in my life patience would definitely rank in the top five. I am not sure why, but I definitely struggle with patience. Although, with that said, I can see a difference in the amount of patience I have now in comparison with only a few years ago. Things like my children teach me patience.  Things like my husband teach me patience (I'm smiling on the inside).

On my way home yesterday, I turned the radio on and caught the end of a little devotional that one of the lady deejays does and she was saying, “OK ladies, now go home and be friendly to your families.”

Ouch! Had she been in my home just a few hours earlier? “Friendly” was far from the way I had acted toward my brood. Unkind? Yes. Snippy? Certainly. Even caustic and cutting? Well, if I were honest, I’d have to give a resounding yes.

Just what made this Jesus-professing mama behave in such an un-Christ-like manner earlier that day? Had someone acted rudely toward me? Did my kids disrespect me or my husband utter something hurtful? Just what pushed my interior emotional buttons and sent me verbally over the edge?

Soiled socks. Smeared strawberry jam. Trailing bread crumbs. Dirty silverware and plates. And notebooks.

Oh, it wasn’t just the presence of these items that sent ugly words soaring out of my mouth. It was the fact that, just moments earlier, I had spent vast time and great effort getting our house spic-and-span clean. That meant a living room free of clutter, kitchen counters and tables wiped, all floors swept and surfaces dusted. I wanted the house tidied up so my husband, kids, and I could just relax when we all got back home.

Then, in the short time it took to get dressed, fix my hair, apply a dab of make-up and grab my purse, my kiddos had, in my eyes, completely undone all my hard work! They’d whipped off their pj’s, made toast slathered with strawberry jam and strewn their old homework and Sunday school lessons all over the place. It made my mama blood boil and resulted in feisty, not friendly words.

I was working on a blog on hospitality at the time and had been unpacking today’s key verse for my readers. I wanted to drive home the fact that hospitality—using our homes and lives as avenues of God’s care for others—and love—the sacrificial placing of another human being above yourself—are closely connected. And, the most important element, we must both love and offer hospitality to others without grumbling. You know, be friendly!

Now, for the most part, aren’t we able to do that when we have guests in our home? We smile and serve and really don’t get upset at crumbs and such. We happily wipe them up. Why is this so? And on a grander scale, why do we find it much easier to be friendly to complete strangers than to our own flesh and blood? Do our tempers stay in check with the grocery store cashier or even the dentist?

Why is it so easy to snap at our kids, give our husbands the cold shoulder, or roll our eyes at a dear family member, but remain gracious with those we meet in public, even when they do something that really grinds us?

I fear that many of us live the same contradiction in our daily lives. And just what lasting pictures are our cherished children depositing into their memory banks? “Mom held it together when the dry cleaners completely ruined her favorite sweater, but she yelled at me for accidentally spilling grape juice on the floor.” That is one of my worst fears.  I never wont my babies to be able to say that I lived two different lives.  I’ve recently witnessed the heartache, that this kind of lifestyle, can cause to children, no matter how old they get. 

Perhaps it is time to offer some friendly hospitality to the members of our own home; to keep our tempers in check and our grumbling at bay; to let perfect love wash over a multitude of sins. Not the jelly-smeared, crumb-laden kind, but the hideous-word-hurling, mama-mouthed variety.

May we Jesus-lovin’ women choose to hesitate before we hurl. Rather than feisty, may we be friendly instead.

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another  Romans 12:9-10

Dont Worry, Be Happy

There are people who will build you up but there are also people who have a natural ability to pull people down.

Psalm 144:15 

 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

     I love being happy!  I know this is a random statement as everyone (besides the sadists in our midst) love to be happy.  There just isn't anything quite like being around people that make you laugh, they build you up and they help you feel truly positive when you're around them.  The Bible mentions often “their hearts were glad.”  It's like saying the core of their inner being will be happy.  It's that kind of happiness that can spread to the people around you.  Just like in Zechariah Chapter 10:7, the gladness of the mighty men spread out to their children who could also rejoice after seeing the joy of their fathers.  

     Our emotions are contagious.  We all have the ability to pull other people down or bring them up.  I'm sure you could fairly quickly identify a few people in your life that you love being around because they bring you up and their positive attitudes are uplifting.  And then there are the people that you know you need to put boundaries on their time as it then allows you the space to re-energize between visits.

     While we need to be aware of the people that are around us, we also need to be aware of the impact we have on other people.  Our hearts can not always be in a constant state of 'gladness' and God never expects that from us.  However, we must be aware of how we make others feel and the impact our emotions have on the people around us.

     Just a short and sweet reminder today.  You dont want to be known as one of those that has the natural ability of bringing people down.  Put on a happy face! Don’t worry, be happy!  Gods got it all under control anyway.

Keeping Our Good Works Good

I find myself longing for Heaven more and more, the older I get.  I wonder what it will be like in Gods presence.  The other day I was thinking about Heaven and about being there with the Lord and I quickly thought about something that I heard an 11 year old preacher mention.  He asked the question “Is it possible to not receive any rewards in Heaven?”  I, like him, don’t want to get to Heaven and have nothing to give back to Jesus to try to thank Him for what He has done for me.  So….. how is it that we get those rewards?

We, as preacher’s wives, or Christians in general need to be careful not to get caught up in doing our good works for mans applause, but because we want to please our Lord.  I think that there is such a fine line in keeping a good reputation as a preachers wife and trying not to wreck his ministry; and doing good works because that is what would be pleasing to God.

Before I get to Heaven, I want to do as much as I can for God on earth.  I want to live a life that brings Him glory and point others to Him.   There is nothing else that matters when compared to His greatness, His glory, His wonder, His beauty, and His grace.  What else is there?  Why live if I cannot live for Him?  Why strive if it doesn't glorify Him?  Why seek to work and accomplish in this life if it is not for Him? We can accomplish much in this world.  We can gather possessions and money.  We can raise families.  We can show kindness, donate money and time for the benefit of the hurting.  We can give and help; yet, if it is not for God's glory, what good is it?  Yes, I know that it is good to help people. But, on the Day of Judgment when we are standing in the infinite purity of holy majesty, will those things done to help others really matter?  It depends.

Something is good if it is done for the purpose of glorifying God and in the name of Christ; that is, if it is done because it is a response to the Cross and for God's glory.  If we feed the poor because it makes us feel better or so that we can be recognized, then our reward has already been given, "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are:  for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.” (Matt. 6:5).  If we give money to help others because it is a good thing to do, then we have already received our reward in self satisfaction.  But, if we help others because it is what God wants us to do, because we have been redeemed by Christ, because we are seeking to demonstrate the goodness of God's grace to others, then that is a good work and the reward is yet to come.  "Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (Rev. 22:12). God sees what we do in secret.  He knows the motives of our hearts and knows if the center of our lives and deeds is Him or ourselves.  The rewards given are based  on the motives.  Col. 3:23-24 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ." 

In reality, there is nothing we can do that is pure.  We are touched by sin in all that we are.  Yet, God says we will receive rewards in heaven.  This can only be because of His goodness and grace and not because of what is in us or what we do.  I see our rewards as God's gift to us... but for a reason: because He loves us and because we can bring glory to Him.  In Rev. 4, the twenty-four elders represent the Christians and the crowns are symbolic of the rewards God gives to us.   Look at what it says.  (10)“The four and twenty elders fall down before him that is on the throne, and worship Him that liveth forever and forever, and cast their crowns before the throne saying (11) Thou art worthy, O lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."  How great of an opportunity we will have to be able to bow before the Lord and lay before Him all the good things we have done in His name.  

Actually, anything good we do is because of God's grace and He is the one who should get the credit.  I long for that day of bearing all before the Lord and laying my crown before Him to the praise of His glory. He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power. What is the reason for your life?  What is in the depths of your heart?  For whom do you live?  Are you storing up rewards here on earth, or up in heaven

Casting All Your Care Upon HIm

"Casting ALL your care upon him, for he careth for you" I Peter 5:7

     Now this is a lesson that I am trying to learn myself.  Sometimes I too forget that He really does care and that He really does want to share in my burdens.  Im sure that I have "worried a lot of years off of my life," unnecessarily.
     When God puts a pastor and his family at a church, He puts a love in them for all of the people that make up that church.  It is a love that you cant describe.  Ive been a member of a church and known the love of a church family, but when my husband was called to pastor Faith Chapel,  there was an even deeper love for people placed in our hearts.  If your husband has pastored, you know what Im telling to be the truth.  If not, just know that if your pastor was placed in your church under the divine leadership of God, and he is in Gods will, know that he and his family love you.  Because of this love that God has placed in your heart, it is easy to become overwhelmed with your members burdens...... which is exactly where I have been lately.
     It seems that there are times in life that you and everyone that you know and care for are struggling.  Wether it is physically, financially, spiritually, or emotionally.... they are struggling.  And sometimes, since you are the pastor and his wife, you own the set of ears that peoples problems and burdens fall on.  And once it falls on your ears, it just spills down into the heart, flooding it. (Dont get me wrong, a pastor wants to know when the members hurt or are troubled.  He wants to be able to pray for them and to help in any way that he can.  And I believe that God expects us to be a "support system" for our church family, as long as they are striving to live right.)   The past month has been one of "those times."  Problem after problem after burden after hurt have been shared with us.  Then, while trying to pray for our members issues, we ran smack dab into burdens and worries and cares of our own.  Instead of casting my cares upon God, I cast them into my own pockets.  I carried them with me everywhere I went.  Then, last night, straight out of the mouth of babes, I was reminded that I did not have to carry these burdens alone.  Landon came to me after reading his Bible and said, "Momma, I Pet 5:7 says cast ALL your care on him.  So why do people worry about things so much?  If God said ALL, then we shouldnt worry about ANY of them."  Wow.  Ive tried to teach him that all of his life, and now he just reminded me.  So now that you all know why I want to discuss this verse, let's look at it.

     First lets look at the verse before it.  It says "Humble yourselves therefor, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." I Pet 5:6.  Yep this is one of those "if we, then He" that us humans really dont like to hear.  We want God to perform first and if we like what He does then we will follow thru.  Well, it doesnt really work that way.  But how great and grand the promise and reward, if we are willing to follow the precept!

     Now lets look at the following verse.  "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." I Pet 5:8.  So in  verse 6 we are told to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that we may be exalted in due time; in verse 7 we are told to cast all our care on Him because He cares for us; in verse 8 we are warned to be watchful and on guard because we have an enemy that wants nothing but to destroy us.

     Hmmmmm.  Nestled between instruction and warning is one of the most beautiful promises in the Bible; let Him have all your worries and cares, because he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.  How loving is our father that he would instruct us, make and keep a promise to us, and warn us of the consequences of disobedience.  He doesnt leave us in the dark. 

     Casting all your care on Him does not mean that we will never be unhappy or that we will never experience trials of our faith.  But it does mean that He will never leave us nor forsake us if we will stay in His will. 

     Casting all your care upon Him is usuallly hindered by one of two major reasons.  (1)  We refuse to humble ourselves to God, which includes spending time in His word and in prayer.  We insist on operating under our own strength, which will NEVER work.  (2)  We cant cast all our cares on Him because we are too caught up in seeing what evil folks are "getting away with."   We dont need to get caught up in the trap of envying the unrighteous, or trying to justify our wrongdoing by theirs.  God will take care of them.  Remember in John 21 where Peter asked the Lord, Lord and what shall this man do?  Jesus answered him If I will that he tarry til I come, what is it to thee?  follow thou me.    In other words, if I want him to stay alive till I come, what business is it of yours?  YOU, follow me!  We must get our eyes off the things of this world and get them on Jesus.  If we allow ourselves to get caught up, we wont cast our cares on Him, we wont humble ourselves to God;  we will become embittered toward God.

     Casting all your car on Him involves self discipline.  What is the point of taking our burdens to the Lord  if we are merely going to pick them right back up and carry them with us again?  The self disciple that we need to stand firm on the promises of God (once again, for your benefit) can not be learned without studying the Word of God.   We must refuse to give into worry and doubt.  Just like bitter and sweet cannot come from the same well, neither can doubt and faith.

     JESUS.   The name above all names.  The name that when spoken, indicates immediate presence of its owner.  He cares for you!  He will never leave you or forsake you.  Your past with him is just that- passed- gone.  He understands more clearly that any other person where we are and what we are going thru.  And He has so much peace to offer.  Cast all your cares upon Him!!!