Too Wired for Lunch

Have you ever invited someone to lunch, and they immediately check their "List" to see if they can work you in? If they have a vacancy, you can set a date to have lunch, and perhaps enjoy your friendship for an hour. It can be a relaxing exchange of stories, catching up and sharing ideas, or it can turn into a phone watching event. That happened to me recently, and I have to admit the experience left me feeling bereft, demeaned, hurt and more than a little angry.

I've thought about that encounter many times since. I am well aware that we all have appointments and engagements we have to keep, but careless tact can make one wonder just how meaningful the friendship is. I have come to this conclusion, if someone is gracious enough to ask you to lunch, show them the courtesy and respect that you would like to be shown. Put you phone away, and focus on the time you have available to enjoy a meal together.

When we approach God, needing to spend time with Him, He cordially invites us In. He doesn't become too preoccupied to listen to us. He gives us His full attention. The Lord shows us how important we are to Him, and how much He loves for us to seek His presence. Matthew 22: 34-40 tells us that when Jesus was asked what the greatest command was he answered: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” By obeying these commands we can convey to others the same warmth and fellowship that Jesus shared during His ministry.

Bible Verse:  “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12 (ESV)

Thought for the Day: In all that surrounds him, the egotist sees only the frame of his own portrait. ~J. Petit-Senn

Prayer:  Elohim Kedoshim, Holy God, thank you for paying attention to our lives, and showing us how much we mean to you. Help us to show that same love and respect for others. We pray in Jesus' precious name, Amen.

Where God Leads-Follow

Have you ever prayed and prayed for guidance, but when you received it, you resisted following where God led? In our humanness, it is natural for us to seek out our own path, and ignore where God is leading us. In order to stay within God's will, it is necessary to remember where our strength and zeal lies. Outside forces take every opportunity to draw us into the vortex of worldly pursuits. Following our own inclinations, is to set the stage for failure.

When we submit our will entirely to the Father, the outcome is amazing. Seek His will before you rise in the morning, ask Him to guide you through each day, and follow His guidance diligently. A good verse to keep handy during your daily routine: Psalms 119:133 direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.

Verse for the  Day:  Psalm 25:9 (NIV) He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Thought for the day: “Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next.”

― Elizabeth Elliot, Quest for Love: True Stories of Passion and Purity

Prayer: Jehovah El Elyon, Most High God, thank you for giving us direction in our lives. Please lead us to righteousness by teaching us your ways.

In Jesus Holy name we pray, Amen

Published by Ruby Magazine  2017

When Winter Comes

The early morning sunshine beckons.  I reach for my heavy sweater and scarf.  Outside in the brisk air, I breathe in the fragrance of autumn and head toward the woods behind our house.  As I advance deeper into the woods, the stillness of morning is complete.  The occasional whisper of rustling leaves is the only sound.  The almost bare trees raise their branches in supplication, as a flock of geese flies south without a herald of warning.  The world seems to be suspended in time and holding its breath in anticipation.  I find a fallen tree and sit down to rest.  I begin to contemplate the changing seasons, and how they correlate to God's love for us.  Matthew 24: 32-33 Jesus uses a parable about the seasons to let us know the signs to look for when his coming is near.  He has rule over everything in our lives.  If we have faith in his love and trust him, he guides us through all the seasons of life--he protects us in our innocence,  he gives us strength during our productive years, he prepares us to persevere during middle age and gives us hope in later years.  Unlike the seasons, God's love is constant and unchanging.

Genesis 8:22 ESV 

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Also read: 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22  

Matthew 24: 32-33 

Psalm 1: 3 

Daniel 2: 21

Prayer:  Merciful Father,  we hold our arms up in supplication and pray that we learn to trust in your never-changing love.  Amen

Published in Penned from the Heart 2015