Reflecting on Life

What about being sick causes you to look back over your life? As you may be aware I was pretty sick the last couple of weeks. I ended up in the hospital for a few days and am just now getting my life back.

Being sick is not something I like to experience. I am not the person who likes to stop or slow down. I like to be constantly on the move. But getting the flu caused me to slow down first and second to stop.

As I was getting well, I was thinking about my life. All the things I had planned to accomplish. All the things I have accomplished. All the things that I still might be able to accomplish. I have goals within goals on top of goals. Goals, goals, goals…

But what will be left after we are gone? Once we pass on to our eternal life, what will remain? Of all the things we have done or will do, what will stand the test of time? What is really worth our time here on earth? One hundred years from now will anyone even know who I was? I doubt it.

So, what is important enough for us to spend time on? What is it that we should stive for? While goals are great and can move us along the road of life. The most important thing according to the Word of God is love. To love people. John 15:12 says “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

The most important thing to the Lord is to love each other. Incorporated in that love is to pray for each other. To support each other. To be kind to each other. To be truthful with each other. To check in on each other.

Let’s stop beating each other up with our words. Let’s start acting like we love each other. Let’s start acting like we like each other. Let’s start showing each other kindness and mercy.

One hundred years from now our names may never be spoken, we may not be remembered even by our family. So, let’s focus on what is important. Let us all learn to love each other. Lord help, us all learn to love each other the way you Love us.

The Breath of Life!

I have never really given too much thought to breathing. It is just something that happens naturally. Breathing is not something that we give a whole lot of thought to. It is normally something that happens without effort. Our lungs just take air in and expel air out.
Last week however, I gave a lot of thought to breathing. See I got Influenza A, and my lungs came under attack. Breathing was no longer something I did unconsciously. Breathing became a labor-intensive task. Breathing was no longer a luxury that ran in the background giving me life. It now had become a necessity for living that I had to consciously monitor.
Genesis 2:7 says the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Think about that for a moment. God had to breathe his breath into the creation He had made in order for that creation to have life and live. Life giving breath had to enter our lungs so that we could live!
While I was sick, I had a hard time living well. My lungs did not want to process the air that was brought in. My lungs did not want to cooperate with getting oxygen from my lungs to my body.
When we are not in the right relationship with Lord it is like we are sick. Our spiritual lungs are not functioning in the proper way to feed our bodies. We need the life-giving breath of the Lord to pour through our veins and tissues. We need to be full of the life of Jesus in order to stay healthy both spiritually and physically.
Without life giving air properly going through my lungs, I was not able to perform my basic tasks for living. Without the breath of the Lord pumping through our spirits, we will die spiritually.
If you are feeling sick and separated from the Lord, may I suggest, check the status of the quality of the breath of life you are receiving from Him. Without the breath of life we can all slowly waste away.

DON’T RESIST CHANGE

Sometimes we get comfortable where we are. Maybe it is not where we want to be or where we think we should be, but we are comfortable, so we stay. Maybe we are not comfortable, but we are familiar with our situation, so we stay put. The fear of doing something different can be frightening. The fear of failure is a real thing!

People who are in abusive relationships stay in it for various reasons. One of them is because the fear of change overrides the pain of staying put. Some people will never try a new business for fear of failure. Sometimes we will not ask for a promotion or raise at work because we fear rejection.

Sometimes God is calling us to something different. Sometimes He has plans for our lives that require us to trust Him and take a step of faith. Maybe you have a similar situation this week. Are you stuck in a situation you can’t see your way out of? Have you made bad choices along the way and now you are frightened to change? Are you feeling overlooked at your place of employment?

Sometimes it starts with just a little change. Do something different this week to break your routine. Start to see yourself living the life you want to live. If you are stuck in a rut, start little changes so that you can get out of the rut you are in. Remember that many successful businesses did not start that way overnight. There were usually many failed attempts along the way.

Start by telling yourself that it is possible to change. Change the way you are thinking about your situation. You are not in a life sentence. Nothing about your situation says you must stay there forever. You are not doomed to a life of unhappiness because of the choices you made to get you where you are.

Remember if you are a child of God, He tells us more than once in His word that He will never leave us or forsake us. Pray to Him. Ask Him to reveal His plan for your life. Ask Him to give you the strength to change your situation. If you are not in a relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ. Call out to him today. He is ready and able to come into your heart and lead you into a new chapter of your life.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE LITTLE THINGS

text Pay attention . Man wearing white blank t-shirt

About thirty-two years ago I was in a bad place emotionally and mentally. I was hooked on drugs, I was in a bad relationship, I was unhappy. My mom had been trying to help me, but I was in the grip of a lifestyle I could not get out of. I was literally in bondage to the very thing I hated.

My mom had given me a bible and asked me to read it. I was desperate, I read it. I did not understand it, but I read it. During this time she would come to my house and bring me into my bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. She wanted me to start to like myself. She wanted me to tell myself that I was loved by myself. At that time I could not even look at myself in the mirror. Telling myself I was worthy of love was out of the question. I did not even like myself, I certainly did not love myself.

That little beginning sparked a change in me that caused me to cry out to a god I new nothing about. In fact I did not really know there was a one true God. My beliefs were twisted and infused with a few different religions so that I had really created my own belief system. But, like I said, I was desperate.

One morning while at my then boyfriend’s mom’s house, I picked up the Triplicate newspaper. I was absentmindedly scanning through the pages reading the classified section. I saw an advertisement for training to become a real estate agent. The small thought came to my mind to give it a try.

If any of you knew me back then you would know that there should have been no possible way for me to pull that off. I would have to do schooling, I would have to pass tests, Someone would have to believe in me. I certainly did not believe in myself.

Fast forward to today, I did pass that real estate test. My mom along with my first broker did believe in me. But above all, that small start with the newspaper, the mirror and my moms bible allowed something to shift inside of me so that years later I could accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

I heard a message at church one time with the title of “Don’t despise the small things”. That is my prayer for all of you. Pay attention to the little things in your life. It could be the Lord leading you someplace you could never imagine going.

WATCH YOUR STINKIN THINKIN!

Have you ever noticed that if you are in a bad mood, you have negative thoughts running through your head. The more you dwell on the negative thoughts, the longer you will be in a bad mood. You can prolong your bad mood by continuing to think on the negative thoughts that put you in a bad mood in the first place. If you are happy you tend to have pleasant thoughts in your head. Your outlook will normally be positive. If you are sad, you will normally have sad thoughts taking up space in your brain, which will normally make you sadder.

I do not know a lot of people who can tell me that when they are sad, they are thinking of something happy. Nor are there people who can tell me that when they are happy, they are thinking of something that makes them mad.

Usually what you are thinking about is what you will be feeling. But more than that… what we think about is what we will experience. Our words have the ability to change our future. What we think about will eventually come forth. If you are depressed, maybe part of the reason is what you are thinking about.

Also, what you are thinking about is what you are declaring over your life. Are you always out of money, are you always sick, are you lonely? Do you have a track record of being taken advantage of? Do you expect good things or bad things to happen to you?

There is a reason God tells us in Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

What we think about will come to pass. Our thoughts can keep us happy or keep us sad. Our thoughts run our life. Our thoughts form our outlook on life. Maybe if we try to follow the words of the Lord and think on things that are good, we might end up having a good life. I am willing to try. What about you?