Frustration

I just heard pots and pans clanging together and Mary’s frustrated voice proclaim, “I’ve got to have some room in this kitchen!!!!!!!” I know it is not funny but I laughed anyway. She also added, “You have three shops and I have ten feet.” Do I sense a bit of resentment? I built the kitchen cabinets so it must be my fault. What a joy to live with this girl. I cherish every moment with her. She is my best friend and leaving her to go speak somewhere is always difficult for me. These days we are trying to make the most of every moment together. We are realists and know that we are nearing the end of our earthly journey. We enjoy the simple things of life, our deck, flowers, birds, and of course Tramp. We have had an incredible journey together and while we are very different, our differences have served us well. Now back to the subject of frustration and how it can wrap its tentacles around our lives and leave us miserable. I get frustrated with my ADD. I can’t stay with anything for long. Studying for me has been in tidbits at all hours of the day and night. I have notes written on everything from napkins to paper plates and I can’t find them when I need them. I think my greatest frustration is with me. I keep hoping I can do better but the guy I see in the mirror just gets older. I am dealing with some of my frustration these days. I have decided I can’t be like you. I can’t please everyone and some people will never love me no matter what I do. I have decided to stop chasing success and go for relationship building. The question is, can I have a close relationship with Jesus and be a failure? I think not. I will no longer let you or anyone else define success for me. What matters most to me is that my Heavenly Father is pleased with me. I am weary of living by other people’s definitions and for me that has been the source of so much of my frustration. It is His “Well Done” I am in pursuit of and anything that takes me away from that is cause for frustration. Don’t let the clanging of life’s pots and pans frustrated you. It is not that important. Stick with the important stuff, stop chasing rainbows and for goodness sake, BE YOURSELF. Jfs
1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

LIFE LESSON:
Blame Game
It is the original game, first played in the Garden of Eden. Adam sinned and he blamed it on Eve and God. “The woman You gave me” he said to God. It just may be that the worst sin of all is the failure to take responsibility for our own behavior. “It is your fault” is spoken too often and it never solves anything.
Misdirected blame results in faulty remedies. Band aids can’t cure cancer and laws can’t liberate broken lives. When our society is not willing to look at the real problem we join in the blame game. Many of the same people who want to blame guns for the horrible killings in this country are the same people who say no to teaching right and wrong in the public school system. The Holy Scriptures draw a clear line between right and wrong and when that line is erased the restraint is gone. So lets put the blame where it belongs, EVIL. Just the way I see it. Jfs

THE PROBLEM:
Mr 7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
(NKJV)
THE REMEDY:
2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

From the Journey

From the Journey

I love this line from the life of Joseph, Gen 41:52 “….for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”  God’s blessings on our lives are not dependent upon the circumstances of our lives.  What God called Joseph to be and do could not be accomplished in his homeland.  He was called to Egypt and the journey to the place of blessing was not an easy one.  We too must realize that God wants to put us in the place of being blessed and the place of blessing others.  I have learned that the journey to the place of blessing always involves suffering. Joseph refused to get in the blame game.  We too need to remember that when things go wrong it doesn’t mean God is not in control. Gen 50:20 “Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it…..”  In your journey my friends, keep “LOOKING TO JESUS the author and finisher of your faith.”  jfs

Important

Time with your family is never wasted time.  Today is a good day to think about the important things of life and it is not about stuff.  Most of us are over stuffed, caught in the trap of little things.  Looking at old photos, I am shocked at how fast time chases us down the road, often blurring the important moments of life.  Take time today to think about what is really important to you.  Don’t sell your soul for the temporary.  Give yourself to the eternal values of life--love, forgiveness, joy, peace, friendship.  Don’t let the world squeeze you into its miserable mold of emptiness.  Open your heart to the heart of God, feel His love, receive His forgiveness and know that at the end of the road He will welcome you home.  Jfs

1Co 2:9 But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

PS  So who goes to heaven--people who love God.  Loving God always finds expression in the way we live our lives.  Mt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

God Time

I wonder if one of our problems is that we choose to live on man time rather than God time.  I confess, in my life much of my stress comes from living on man time.  Man time is living by a Timex or a Rolex whatever the cost they can have the same effect on our lives, controlling our every move.  God time is not about the hour or the day it is about doing the right thing at the right time.  One thing I have learned about time is that I can accomplish more at the right time than I can in a long time at the wrong time. I have learned in my sermon preparation that I can accomplish much more in a short time on His time than I can in a long time on my time. So when He calls I listen, I will leave a TV program I am enjoying to work on His time.  Reading the Gospels it is obvious that Jesus lived on the Father’s time and that didn’t always go well with His friends.  He didn’t make it to Lazarus’ funeral but in that case and every case, Fathers timing was better.  In our world everywhere we look we see the time, reminding us that we have to be somewhere or do something, and sad to say many lives are controlled by a $12.95 Wal-Mart watch. Well I am in rebellion, I choose to live by Father’s time because I am sure I have enough time to do everything He wants me to do and then some for myself. It is a struggle but it can be done.  To all my friends take a deep breath and make a choice to live by the Heavenly clock and not by the one at the bank. Jfs

(Luke 10:38-42) And as they went, it happened that He entered into a certain village. And a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she came to Him and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.  (MKJV)

PS  Maybe we need to rethink the real meaning of “wasting time.”

Weight

There are weights measured in pounds, 20,30, etc, and we lift them with little thought, but there are weights measured only by sad faces and troubled minds, weights picked up along life’s journey, some of our choosing and some put on us by others.  Airplanes can crash because they are overloaded, and people can too.  Truth is, we were not made for heavy loads we break under the stress.  Jesus answer for the heavy load problem is an invitation to all of us.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Mt 11:28-30.

 Yoked to Jesus, now that is weight I can live with.  jfs

Bad Deal

Live by your feelings, what you can see and feel and you will be living for the temporary.  Live by faith in Jesus Christ and you will be living for the eternal.  It is the battle we all face, getting pushed around by the circumstances of life.  What we just heard impacts our day, what we feel keeps us from taking care of what is important.  The world of pain and disappointment screams at us for attention.  Feelings always want to be in the driver’s seat plotting the miserable course of living for the temporary.  Faith says, “Give HIM control,” look beyond the moment, trust the ONE who raised from the dead, the one who has an eternal plan for your life.  Trust the One who will direct your life from a motive of love.  Put your faith in the Creator not the created. This life is temporary, it will end.  The life He offers is eternal.  Sacrificing the eternal for the temporary is a rotten deal.  Jfs

2Co 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(NKJV)

Love and Holiness

Love and Holiness are two words that get kicked around a lot these days.  Volumes have been written about love.  Holiness often gets swept under the religious rug as something unattainable. If you define love the way Hollywood does these two words aren’t even related.  The confusion is perpetuated when love is defined by two people shacking up in a one night stand in a cheap motel, and the same word used for the kind and gracious acts of Mother Teresa giving her life for the poor and dying of India.  And then there is Holiness defined by the way someone dresses or as a title, “Your Holiness” it is enough to confuse anyone.  I mean no disrespect to those who are thinkers who seek to help us understand the Love and Holiness of God, but much of what they write is just recycled thought from the liberal professors they studied under.  It is true, God is Love, but it is also true that God is holy and the two cannot be separated.  With God they are always compatible.  We can express our opinion but love and holiness are not what we say they are, they are part of the essential nature and character of God and that never changes.  The Scripture says, that Jesus is the exact representation of God, because He is God.  Jesus said, “He that has seen me has seen the Father,”  so Jesus best defines love and holiness with His life.  Anything He ever said or did was always compatible with love and holiness.  When he took the whip into the temple, turned over the money changers tables and cleaned out the place he did not cease to be love or holy.  When he spoke painful truth to the Scribes and Pharisees he did not lay aside His love and Holiness.  We need to stop trying to make God who we want Him to be, stop trying to make His love accommodate our sin and stop thinking that holiness is something you can put on. The way Jesus defines love and holiness they can only be found IN HIM.  Where do you get your definitions?  It is too important not to think about.  Jfs

Joh 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Heb 1:3 who being the shining splendor of His glory, and the express image of His essence, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having made purification of our sins, He sat down on the right of the Majesty on high,

"for unto YOU is born...."

God in a diaper, it is more than I can get my heart or head around.  The WORD who spoke the worlds into existence being confined to da da and ma ma leaves me speechless.  God as a six year old missing two front teeth speaking with a lisp, skipping rocks on the lake and playing hide and seek.  God with dirty fingernails catching lizards and inspecting bugs while walking barefoot in the sand.  God as a teenager noticing the pretty girls and dreaming of the future with you and me in mind.  God on a cross victimized by His own creation.  God turning suffering into victory.  Love meeting hate face to face and refusing to bow to its dark and dirty deeds.  Love so holy and pure that it purges sin and opens the door to heaven and invites us home. It is the Gift which keeps on giving.  It is the Christmas Story and I am sticking with it.  Merry Christmas to all our friends. jfs

James, Mary and Tamp

The Journey

I love this line from the life of Joseph, Gen 41:52 “….for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”  God’s blessings on our lives are not dependent upon the circumstances of our lives.  What God called Joseph to be and do could not be accomplished in his homeland.  He was called to Egypt and the journey to the place of blessing was not an easy one.  We too must realize that God wants to put us in the place of being blessed and the place of blessing others.  I have learned that the journey to the place of blessing always involves suffering. Joseph refused to get in the blame game.  We too need to remember that when things go wrong it doesn’t mean God is not in control. Gen 50:20 “Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it…..”  In your journey my friends, keep “LOOKING TO JESUS the author and finisher of your faith.”  jfs

Thankful

Today is a day to be thankful for what "WAS", what "IS", and what "WILL BE." As Christians we are full of hope knowing our Lord can take all things and make them work for our good and His glory.  Let us give thanks "IN" all things not "FOR" all things knowing the source is not the issue.  His Grace will get us through it all.  I am thankful for all His promises which will never fail.  jfs

Success?

What is it?  How do we attain it? How do we define it? What does it look like when we attain it?  Is it measured by position, wealth, prestige? These are all question we need to think about.  Success verses Failure that is the struggle we are all engaged in. We all know what a gage is; it is a measuring device and there are many different types of gages.  As Christians we must be careful what gage we use for success.  The world has its gages and they have a materialistic and temporal view. The scripture is the most important gage anyone can use.  It gages our character, our motives and measures us by the Character of Jesus. Success is not just about a single accomplishment but about our journey. Failure on a given day does not mean failure for the week. Success in business does not assure success at home and family.  I think the 15^th chapter of John gives us the greatest gage for success.  It is the words of Jesus and they are powerful.

Let’s start with this, “without me you can do nothing” this says to me that success begins with dependence upon God.  What He ask us to do and be is beyond our ability it can only be accomplished as we walk in relationship with Him.  I will be so bold as to say this: all success from God’s point of view flows from relationship with Him.  Many of us think the key to success is to work harder, burn the candle at both ends they say.  Listening to Jesus suggest that maintaining relationship with His is the top priority. Is it possible for anyone to walk in intimate relationship with Christ and at the same time be a failure?  What looks like success to us may be failure to God and what looks like failure to the world may be success to God.  We often think that success is about the right method or program but these can become cheap substitutes for the failure of relationship with Christ. Listening to what Jesus says in John 15 our calling is not to produce fruit but to bear it.  There is a big difference which often is overlooked.  I was reading a modern translation of the Bible recently and the translator had substituted the word produce for bear.  I wrote under the word produce, bad translation.  Jesus teaching is clear.  The limb does not produce an apple, it bears it. The apple comes from a living connection with the life of the tree.  It is the life of the tree which produces. The limb bears because it is connected.  You can tie a plastic apple on a dead limb and call it fruit if you like but you are only pretending.  I will say it again, all authentic Christian ministry flows from relationship. The fruitfulness of our lives and of His Church is dependent upon connection with the Divine life flow of His Spirit.  The scripture speaks of the Christian life as, “the new and living way.”  All programs and plans which do not flow from His heart will never be called success by Him.  As my friend Kerry Willis would say, “relationship rules.”  jfs

Deliver Me from Me

It may sound like a strange prayer but that is what I prayed this morning.  It is a ME world and every age has some form of the ME disease .  One of the perils of old age is to be held prisoner by all the aches and pains of a body which demands attention.  It is so easy to become focused on ME and trying to fix ME becomes a way of life.  My prayer today is, Lord help me stay focused on YOU and not ME.  Teach ME when to tell ME to shut up and sit down and trust God.  It is an interesting thought that life begins with ME as a crying baby thinking of nothing but his or her own needs.  Oh Lord, don’t let my life end the way it began with MEitus.  Jfs

Ga 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Beware of your gaze

Our hearts have a way of following our gaze.  We cannot live without a glimpse of the ugly, the discouraging and the tempting, but we can refuse to turn a glimpse into a gaze.  “Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus” is the best advice for our journey.  We cannot help but notice the enemy’s billboards, they are everywhere peddling his smut, but we cannot fix our eyes on Jesus and gaze at the enemy’s trash at the same time. Jfs

Hebrews: 12:2

Making Memories

My memory bank comes alive this time of year.  Memories of grandma and grandpa MacManus warm my heart on these cold days.   Christmas was always special to my family and most importantly it was about relationships.  Most of the gifts have long sense been discarded,  outdated stuff, replaced by more stuff.  It is not the stuff I miss, it is the laughter around a Christmas dinner,  it is the time spent by a warm fireplace burning real wood.  I wish I could hunt a Christmas tree with grandma Mac one more time.  I wish I could go back to that old gray farm house one more time and sit by the fire with grandpa.  I would ask him questions that only he could answer.  I would tell him I love him and appreciate all the miles he walked behind a mule plowing and planting so we could eat.  I would say thanks for all the times he cut my hair for free and then paid me for helping him pick cotton.  Memories of mom and dad and all the years we gathered at their house and celebrated our Lord’s birth always come calling this time of year.   I appreciate the gifts they give from a loving heart but more than ever I appreciate the sacrifices they made to give me a better life.  When the storm blew our house down,  dad and mom built a new one with a hammer , hand saw and a few other hand tools.   He had no power tools.  It was a four room house,  small and not much to look at but I wish I could spend just one more night there and wake up to a breakfast cooked by the loving hands of my mother.  Well this could go on and on but I have said enough for now.  My prayer is that this Christmas all of us will make some good memories for our families,  memories worth reviewing for a lifetime, memories not of stuff but of relationships and above all the memory of the greatest Gift,  JESUS.    jfs

Reaching

It is 4:47 in the morning and the arms of my heart reach for the Prince of Peace, the God of all Comfort.  I cannot be satisfied with knowing about Him, I must know Him. I need the light of His Love, the Joy of His touch and the Peace of resting in His arms. I am hungry for food from His table, no religious snacks will do, no vending machine religion without heart or soul can quench my thirst.  I must have HIM, I cannot live without HIM. He is the source of my strength, the hope of my future and the joy of my life.  Like my children when they were very small who would lift there little arms toward me and say, “take you daddy.”  So this morning I lift my weary arms toward heaven and say, “take you daddy.”  As the old gospel song says, “Oh I need you , every hour I need you.”   jfs

Ps 143:6  I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah

"BEING"

Much of the time our failure as a Christian is the failure of “being” not “doing.”  If you are like me when you ask yourself, “How can I be a better Christian,” you think of,  “What do I need to do?” I guess it is natural that when we think of growing as a Christian we think of having to do more, strive harder, add new things to our to do list.  For me this never works.  I always find myself in the trap of busy-ness.  If you think the path to spirituality is work, work, work, then you need to hear the words of Jesus, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Matthew 11:28-29 (NKJV)  When we try to “do” in order to “be” we can never “do” enough.  When we focus on “being” the “doing” comes natural.  Heavy loads and galling yokes never come from Jesus. These heavy loads are often put on us by well-meaning people who want us to do more so we will be successful in their eyes and they often use a worldly definition of success.  So what do I have to do to be a better Christian?  Work harder? NO, Learn to Listen and Obey.  Jesus knows you were not made for heavy loads.  Just focus on “being” and in “being” you will “do” the right things.  Relax, stop letting the opinions of others plot the course of your life.  It is your life and they won’t be there when you stand before the Father.  Learn to live within the bounds of your creation.  Superman and superwoman are deceptions, stop trying to fly and walk with the Prince of Peace. jfs

Frustration

I just heard pots and pans clanging together and Mary’s frustrated voice proclaim, “I’ve got to have some room in this kitchen!!!!!!!”  I know it is not funny but I laughed anyway.  She also added, “You have three shops and I have ten feet.”  Do I sense a bit of resentment?  I built the kitchen cabinets so it must be my fault.  What a joy to live with this girl.  I cherish every moment with her.  She is my best friend and leaving her to go speak somewhere is always difficult for me.  These days we are trying to make the most of every moment together.  We are realists and know that we are nearing the end of our earthly journey.  We enjoy the simple things of life, our deck, flowers, birds, and of course Tramp. We have had an incredible journey together and while we are very different, our differences have served us well.  Now back to the subject of frustration and how it can wrap its tentacles around our lives and leave us miserable.  I get frustrated with my ADD.  I can’t stay with anything for long.  Studying for me has been in tidbits at all hours of the day and night.  I have notes written on everything from napkins to paper plates and I can’t find them when I need them.  I think my greatest frustration is with me.  I keep hoping I can do better but the guy I see in the mirror just gets older.  I am dealing with some of my frustration these days.  I have decided I can’t be like you.  I can’t please everyone and some people will never love me no matter what I do.  I have decided to stop chasing success and go for relationship building.  The question is, can I have a close relationship with Jesus and be a failure? I think not.  I will no longer let you or anyone else define success for me. What matters most to me is that my Heavenly Father is pleased with me.  I am weary of living by other people’s definitions and for me that has been the source of so much of my frustration.  It is His “Well Done” I am in pursuit of and anything that takes me away from that is cause for frustration.  Don’t let the clanging of life’s pots and pans frustrated you. It is not that important.  Stick with the important stuff, stop chasing rainbows and for goodness sake, BE YOURSELF.  Jfs

1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

His Hand

I look at the clock and it is twenty-three minutes after three a.m..  Tramp is lying by my bed and he has had a barking dream.  I drop my hand down and comfort him.  It is amazing what a pat on the head can do.  Tramp and I are both senior citizens now. Growing old together we have become best of friends.  His eyes are fading and his hearing is not what it once was. He stays closer than ever, often sleeping in the doorway so I can’t leave without him knowing.  I am not happy about this old age thing. Sometimes I think of old age as a time when life slowly takes away all it has given. I have feelings about it that I don’t have words for.  I guess it depends on which way we look, looking back life becomes about what was, looking ahead brings hope for the future--a time when we will get rid of all the worn out parts and broken dreams, a time of restoration  and best of all reunion. As long as we are together I will continue to offer my hand to Tramp.  He needs me and I will continue to comfort him as we make this one way journey.  I must confess, I am no thick skinned, mucho man. I cry easy, I rescue turtles and smell flowers, I bruise easily and I don’t carry a big stick.  I confess, I need my Fathers hand, without it I can’t cope with all the loss.  His hand comforts me when I am afraid.  Some of my friends deny their fear or they live in a place I have never found.  In my fears I look for the Hand which can penetrate the darkness at three twenty three a.m.  Like Tramp, I don’t want to be alone. I plan on staying close to Him. Jfs

Ps 139:5 You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.

God's House

God's house has arms and legs not steeples.  jfs

Eph 2:22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.