Secret Lives
An excerpt from The Love of Jesus from The Valley of Vision:
If traces of Christ’s love-artistry be upon me,
….may he work on with his divine brush
….until the complete image be obtained
….and I be made a perfect copy of him, my Master.
Romans 2:1-16 (<<click here to read the passage)
Maybe you’ve heard this one before, but it teaches us a few lessons.
Mildred, the church gossip and self-appointed monitor of the church’s morals, kept sticking her nose into other people’s business. Several members disapproved of her extra-curricular activities but feared her enough to maintain their silence.
She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being a “drinker” after she saw his old truck parked in front of the town’s only bar one afternoon.
She emphatically told George in the presence of several others, that whoever saw it there would know what he was doing.
George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn’t explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing.
Later that evening, George quietly parked his truck in front of Mildred’s house…walked home…and left it there all night.
Even an “implied” secret life can get us into trouble. But in reality, it is only genuine secret lives for which we will be held accountable.
Paul states in verse 16,
And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life. NLT
I’d be surprised that anyone would not have some sort of secret life. We all have thoughts and desires that we would be reluctant to share with the world.
Now it’s easy to automatically jump to bad secret lives, but I can guarantee that many people live good secret lives, as well. People who do unsung acts of kindness, helping others in need. And they do it all behind the scenes, always avoiding detection of the recipients or the world around them.
Jesus talked about this in Matthew 6:1-4,
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” NLT
That’s the good…but we must be wary of leading secret lives that we would want no one to know about because of their leaning towards – or wallowing in – sin. I’m not going to list those for as I said, I’d be surprised that anyone would not have some sort of secret life. So, I think we could fill in those blanks pretty readily.
I am not shirking off responsibility on our part for without doubt those things need to be addressed. Our relationships with Christ will never move forward if we keep those things lingering beneath the surface of our lives
The author of Hebrews 12 encourages us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” vs1b-2 NIV
May that be our prayer, knowing that the day is coming…
Oct 5th, 2022, Wed, 7:06 pm
Getting Ready
Father, I am a little under the weather this afternoon. May it pass through quickly and may I still function well for all the tasks before me. Amen.
********
Well, it’s that time of year once more…
If I left it at that, how would you complete the thought?
As we have just entered October, does it bring thoughts of pumpkin-spiced fare?
Does it make you think of falling leaves, cool nights, and shorter days?
I’m sure some of my kids have already been thinking about what they’re going to dress up as for Halloween. I’ve seen many homes decorated for the holiday.
Now you may grimace at this, but what if I told you I was thinking of…Christmas! Some of you are probably groaning at seeing holiday décor on store shelves. I’ve seen all kinds of things myself.
Yes, I’m thinking of Christmas but not the whole materialistic version.
I watched a video that popped up on social media and it was not an obvious lead into Christmas but that is where it ended up…just not exactly where you might think it would.
In actuality, it was an ad for a European pharmaceutical company that aired a couple of years ago. It was not so much an ad about Christmas but an ad about getting ready for Christmas. And that’s what I would challenge you to do.
The day this Journal Entry posts, there will be only 81 days until Christmas – a while yet, but really not that awful far away, we are under three months. The thing is, how are you going to get ready for it? Will it be all about what you buy for whom? Does even thinking about Christmas bring you anxiety – the money commitment, the time commitment, all of it ganging up on you as it seems to every year?
Instead, this year – and you’ve got plenty of time – get ready by deciding to place Jesus at the center of it all. Maybe it would be best to scale down what you do. Maybe you could do a little research and do something small and simple that would be meaningful for you and your family. Take care of what really matters in life – you, your family (and friends, too), and most importantly your relationship with the One who came to give you His all, so you could have His all.
Now…watch the video. 😊
Oct 4th, 2022, Tues, 12:53 pm
Don’t Just Listen…Obey
It has been a day of necessary but exasperating work, Father. May my mind and heart settle into Your presence as I come before You, thinking of much better and more profitable things. Amen.
Romans 2:1-16 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of our biggest challenges in life is not just saying we understand something but doing what we need to do.
For example, I can ask the kids on my bus if they understand why they have to stay tucked in their seats, and even though they say they understand, if they don’t abide by those rules, or think they don’t apply to them, listening to me go on and on about them will not keep them safe. Obeying the rules is the best chance they have to remain safe on my bus.
If we dutifully sit in our pews and nod our heads in agreement with what our pastors have to say, if we say we understand the importance of abiding by the Word he puts forth but refuse to live out those Biblical directives, or think they apply to someone else but never ourselves, we are not really doing anything different than the kids on the school bus. Hearing the pastor is one thing, obeying what God says we must do is another thing altogether.
The Apostle Paul states in today’s text,
For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. v13 NLT
Of course, faith is the main component in our coming to salvation, but once that transition takes place – once we are seeking to follow Jesus, loving Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength – we must obey what He says we must do. But often that is where we get hung up. We see lists of dos and don’ts and we hesitate – think of the Ten Commandments.
I learned from a TikTok post the other day that in the original Hebrew text those concepts don’t always communicate in the way we think. For example, “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13 NIV). That commandment, in the context of their language and mindset, communicates, “You are not a murderer.” And of course, the others are understood in the same way, “You are not a thief. You are not an adulterer.”, etc.
God didn’t give us a flat list of dos and don’ts but instead, God is speaking into us who we are. He wants us to see ourselves as He sees us. He loves us – absolutely no one loves us more! We are of great worth and value to our Heavenly Father. He wants what is best for us. Like the nation of Israel, God shields us and cares for us; He guards us as the apple of his eye. (Deuteronomy 32:10b)
So, here’s the challenge, follow Him with all of your being, not because you have to, not out of duty, but because He loves you and yearns for your love in return. Amen!
Oct 3rd, 2022, Mon, 12:50 pm
The Dash
I so enjoy my devotional! So many times, I would love to share the whole thing but… So, here’s a small excerpt from Christ Alone from The Valley of Vision:
Thou hast helped me to see and know Christ, though obscurely…
…………………………….…to bless him in my heart, mouth, life.
I just love the thought of blessing Christ with my heart, mouth, and life!
********
A few weeks ago, a friend shared pictures of some beautiful blooming thistles. I had forgotten about them until this week when I drove by a patch of thistles that were way past their blooming stage! They were beautiful in their own way but were no longer vibrant pink.
Some flowers last for quite a while. Others continue to bloom for quite a while. But most, like the thistle, bloom for a few days…and that is that. Death comes and they are nothing but a dry, empty shell of what they once were in all their glory.
We live much longer, by and large, but we have our glory days and then death comes upon us, as well. And for a vast majority of us, we have no choice in the matter…death just comes.
One of the psalms attributed to David states,
Our days on earth are like grass;
….like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
The wind blows, and we are gone—
….as though we had never been here. Psalm 103:15-16 NLT
What we have to ask ourselves is, what do we do with the time we are given?
I had read about some phrase involving the “dash” between our year of birth and year of death and quickly discovered this poem, The Dash, written by Linda Ellis. As you read it, make sure you factor God and your relationship with Him into it all.
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
From the beginning…to the end
He noted that first came the date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years
For that dash represents all the time
That they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
Know what that little line is worth
For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering this special dash
Might only last a little while
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash…
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent YOUR dash?
Sept 28th, 2022, Wed, 7:40 pm
Guilty…or Not?
Heavenly Father, thank You for the control given me in an earlier interaction. It is only because of Your influence in my life that I am who I am. All praise to You!
Romans 1:21-32 (<<click here to read the passage)
One thing that always grabs my attention when reading the Bible, is passages, like this one, that have a fairly long list of, as Paul puts it, “every kind of wickedness”. What I find amazing is that it includes things we would definitely put in there – like greed and murder – and other things we might put in there – like envy and deception (at least when others are envious of us and deceive us, though it bothers us a bit if we are the ones guilty of envy and deception…). But then, we see things that we feel aren’t really that bad. We feel those things should not even be noticed, things like quarreling, gossip, and those who (gasp!) disobey their parents! I’m sure some would just stomp their feet and say, “Why are those things even on that list?! I mean really, shouldn’t we get a pass on those kinds of things?”
And the answer is…no. No, we shouldn’t. Sin. Is. Sin.
But when we read verse 31, things really hit home.
They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. NLT
Now Paul is messing with things of which we are probably guilty but would rather no one know about. Just a shot in the dark here, but what goes through our minds when we see a panhandler standing at a busy intersection where they know people are going to be stuck waiting for the light to go green? And their signs, written on scrap cardboard, have words like “homeless”, “veteran”, “out of work”, “anything helps”, and a “God bless” scribbled on there for good measure.
Are the first things we think, “Man, I understand where they’re coming from…” or “I’ve thought before, that I should give them something.” “God has been so merciful to me so many times, I really should help…”?
They refuse to understand,
………break their promises,
…………are heartless,
……………and have no mercy…
We judge. We assume. We stereotype. We defend our reasons for doing nothing. Or maybe we’re just afraid…
Lord Jesus, we truly have no excuse regarding any of these things. From beginning to end, if we are honest with ourselves…sin. is. sin. It may not be easy to fess up. And in reality, on a lot of fronts, we are incapable of righting ourselves. But if we would just stop…and think about it, You know that is the case. But You also know that we can be conquerors of it all if, and only if, we rely on You. We are weak. You are strong. We have a bent to sin. You are the means to pull us back into alignment with Your will. We are guilty of being deep in the mix of things that are not of You. But again, You are the means for making us holy – pulled out of the mix and set apart for Your use. Help us we pray. Amen.
Sept 27th, 2022, Tues, 12:52 pm