Attitude and Gratitude Adjustment

 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

Don’t you hate it when you are restless and agitated about something over which you have no control? Flopping around in bed at night, with a brain full of stuff that you can’t resolve and then facing the next day with a less than pleasant attitude is not the way it is supposed to be. The next time this happens rather than getting all bent out of shape, try doing an attitude and gratitude adjustment.

When we trust in God, it means that we trust God to take care of all our problems. All we have to do is pray and surrender our problems to God, and feel the rush of His peace fill our hearts, and then be thankful.

Rest For Your Soul

 

Come to me, all 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

I have noticed that so many people work all the time.  They have jobs which often require that they work twelve hour days, seven days a week with only a couple of days break every few weeks.  They have no time to do anything but eat, sleep and work.  

To say they are weary is to put it mildly.  They resent not having time for their families and friends.  They are worn out physically and emotionally.

Here Jesus acknowledges this exhaustion and says, "I will give you rest."  

When we pray for relief and answers, we can trust that God hears us.  This may come in the form of more time off from work, or an opportunity to get a job with a less demanding schedule.   

So, if you are feeling over worked and exhausted, take heart that God cares for you and you will find rest for your soul.   

You Can't Go Home Again

Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are His sisters not here with us?” 

And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.” And He could not do any miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He was amazed at their unbelief. 

Mark 6:1-6 

Jesus had a difficult time ministering to people who knew Him as the carpenter's son.  We would think that His reputation would have preceded Him and people would have known that He was a great minister and healer of men by the power of God, because He was the Son of God.

But that is not what happened, Jesus was dismissed by those in his home town because they thought they knew everything there was to know about Him - that being that He was just the son of a carpenter.

This still happens today.  We should not be surprised if family or friends throw at us what they consider to be our sins from long ago and fail to recognize that we have changed. 

Maybe, we can't go home with the Gospel, but there is a big wide world full of people who need to hear the Gospel and need prayer and understanding.

Go boldly and share the Good News. 

More Than Lilies

 

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" 

 

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

 

"And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ..."

Matthew 6:25-29

Several years ago a friend told me that the first years her husband was in the ministry they had little money to spare.  Her daughter was starting school and she was worried about where they would get the money to buy her clothes.  The church parsonage where they lived had an old treadle sewing machine.  She said something to one of the women at church about needing clothes for her daughter and the lady said, "Why I have lots of fabric leftover from sewing projects and I have patterns for girls clothes from when my daughters were young that you are welcome to."  

 

My friend said, "I don't know how to sew."

 

The lady said, "I will teach you."

 

And, she came to the house and worked with her to make the first dress on that old treadle sewing machine.  After that my friend made four more dresses for her daughter.   

 

That is the way it is with God.  When we don't see an answer to our problems, He sends the answer because He cares for us.

 

Have faith you are of more value than the birds and lilies. 

The Ministry of Righteousness

For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.

2 Corinthians 3:9 

How about that?  

There are those who specialize in preaching hell fire and damnation sermons, thinking they can scare people into becoming Christians.  It works sometimes. But  Paul speaks of the ministry of preaching righteousness.  It is the idea that people respond to a positive message - that is, when you come into the church you are coming into a righteous community and you, too, can become righteous as you leave your old life behind and embrace the teachings of the Gospel.  The ministry of righteousness is a message of God's love and forgiveness. 

This appeals to our higher aspirations - that we want to be better people. 

And, isn't that the heart of the Gospel? 

 

Not Out Of Luck

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

Job 2:20-22

Job had more troubles than anyone could ever imagine. He lost his children and all he owned. His wife told him to “Curse God and die.” And, his friends suggested that he must have done something wrong to have so much bad luck. But Job remained faithful to God. He continued to praise God and be comforted by God’s love.

When we face hard times, we can remember Job. Everything we possess on earth is temporary. And no matter what happens, we can take comfort in God’s never ending love for us and that He cares for us.

We are not out of luck, we are in luck - in God's hands. 

 

We Do What Is Necessary

And it happened that He was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain.  The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 

And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry;  how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?   

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:23-28 

Jesus understood that people do what is necessary to survive.  In this case, His Disciples picked grain from the field to eat on the Sabbath.  It was an action that hurt no one, but seemed to break the religious law against working on the Sabbath. 

Jesus did not say that they had not broken a religious law, but pointed out that even David, who was highly esteemed by the Jews, had taken liberties with the laws of the Sabbath. 

Jesus indicated that doing the right thing out weighs following religious customs.  This being said, we can consider when we take actions to which some might object, if the action is a violation some of man made religious customs and, if so, does the violation matter or not?  

Then we do what is necessary. 

A Noise Like A Rushing Wind

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out. 

Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language o which we were born?"

Acts 2:1-7 

On the day of Pentecost the Apostles and followers of Jesus were all together and hiding because they were afraid the Jews would kill them.  They were praying, and when God sent the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in other languages which they had never learned. This caused confusion among the Jews and those who heard them speaking.  

The arrival of the Holy Spirit gave renewed life to the believers' faith.  And, at this time  Peter boldly preached to the crowd and many new Christians came into the Church. 

We too can share in this boldness of the Holy Spirit by seeking the gifts of the Spirit and bravely sharing the truth of the Gospel.   

May you experience the coming of the Holy Spirit into your life.  

Wings Like Eagles

 

Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.

They will mount up with wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow tired.

They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 40:31

We can wear ourselves out trying to hurry things along.  Yet, here we are being told to wait on the Lord and be renewed. 

So, when you are feeling overwhelmed by life's demands, remember this scripture and take time to rest and be renewed, knowing that the Lord is on your side. 

 

Walk Away

 

The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus replied to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”  

John 10:24-32

When we think about Jesus, we often only think about His teachings and His crucifixion and resurrection.  We miss that He was continuously threatened by the Jews.  

We can learn from Jesus' response in this case.  He did not plead for His life, He questioned why they wanted to stone Him.  And, He walked away. 

As Christians we are sometimes confronted by people who want to insult us or who question our actions or who taunt us.  We can follow Jesus model and ask, "Why is this a problem for you?" then walk away.  

Not Ashamed

And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it."  

"For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?  For what could a person give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” 

Mark 8:34-38 

It has been said that Christianity is a simple faith, but it is not easy.

When Jesus calls us, we are commanded to give up our old ways.  That is, to stop working only for our own benefit, and start working to further the Gospel.  For some people this is difficult because it may result in their friends and, sometimes, even their families turning against them because they do not like the person's changed life.

Jesus point this out when He says, "What does it benefit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?"  

Once we understand that choosing to live in a Christian manner has nothing to do with pleasing or not pleasing others, but serving God, it becomes easier to follow Jesus and to unashamedly proclaim Him as our Savior.   

 

Hope, Joy And Peace

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

We have hope because we serve God who cares for us and wants what is best for us.  This hope extends to every inch of our lives.  When we pray, we pray believing God hears and will answer our prayers.  No matter what we face in life, God is on our side.

And, because of this we are filled hope, joy and peace. 

 

The Power Of God Packs A Punch

 

As Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”

Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”  When He said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.

John 9:1-7

We can learn two things from this.

First, physical infirmities which we suffer have nothing to do with sin.

Second, it was not the spit that healed the blind man, but the power of God.

The power of God still packs a punch today. 

And, it is just a prayer away.

Free Food

 

During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said,  “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.  If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so.  They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.  The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present....

Mark 8:1-8 

Jesus fed the hungry.  He did not criticize them for not packing a lunch or bringing money to buy food, He just fed them all.  

Today, in the United States free food pantries follow this example.  They require little from people who come for food.  Some have a few rules, but in general no one is turned away empty handed.  

There are critics that argue that some people do not look poor enough to need help.  They fail to understand that the purpose of food pantries is to feed hungry people just like Jesus did when he fed the 4000.

As Christians, one of our goals is to make people's lives better, and feeding the hungry does this.  So, when we are asked to donate to the local food pantry, we can do so knowing we are following Jesus' example.   

Degrees of Truth

Jesus said: 

 

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?  What will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of his Father with holy angels.”  

 

Mark 8:36-38.

One of the trends in business and politics and in general, is the tendency to cheapen the value of truth.  Ethics have been reduced to helping us decide when it is okay to lie and when it is necessary to tell the truth.  Hype and spin are rationalized by assigning degrees of truth to lies.

 

Cheapening the truth, cheapens us.  We are not called to make the easy decision, we are called to make the right decision and then standby that decision. 

With Jesus there are no degrees of truth; there is truth.  Jesus calls us to confront those who engage in sinful practices and to publicly acknowledge that we stand on our Christian faith.

Be brave.  Ask, “What would Jesus do?”  Then do it. 

 

Go Forth Graduates

 

…With God all things are possible….

Matthew 10:26

It is graduation season.  All over the world young people are graduating from high schools and colleges.  To them we say: 

Go forth graduates into the world.

May you go places and do things that will surprise even you!

Most of all, I pray that you will know the love of God and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Amen

The Eye Of The Needle

 

And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”   

 

They were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?”  

 

Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”   

 

Mark 10:23-25

In ancient walled cities there were large gates which opened in the daytime to allow caravans to come in, but at night these gates were closed, and a much smaller door would be opened to allow people to enter the city.  The smaller door was called the eye of the needle.  If a person wanted to bring his camel into the city through the eye of the needle, the only way the camel could pass through was if it was unloaded of its cargo, its saddle was removed, and it got down on its knees and scooted through the opening. 

Jesus used this illustration to say that for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God, they needed to humble themselves.  They could not rely on their wealth, their power or their authority to get into heaven.  They only could gain eternal life in the same way as everyone else: by humbling themselves before Jesus, and receiving Him as their Lord, Master and Savior.  

 

We, too, must humble ourselves to acknowledge the power of God and that we are all sinners and ask Jesus for forgiveness and claim Him as our Lord, Master and Savior, so that we can be saved.

When You Give A Party

But He (Jesus) said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner and he invited many, and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ … And the slave came back and reported this to the master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame….”

Luke 14:16-21

I think Jesus wants us to not overlook anyone when we go out to preach the Gospel.

A few years ago I finally finished my undergraduate college degree and what surprised me when I was taking classes was the vast spiritual wasteland college campuses have become. The majority of the students and the faculty freely admitted that they did not practice any religion and were unsure that there was a God. Some said they had never been to church.  Many were devoid of any shred of mercy toward others and believed that people got what they deserved. These people thought they would become the leaders in our society and some of them no doubt will be.

Where does this leave the ministry of the Church? It leaves the Church the work of taking the Gospel colleges and at the same time ministering to those in need and perhaps, marrying the two by creating opportunities for students to participate in the ministry by helping provide meals to the poor, tutoring children, and doing other service projects which involve contact with people in need. Yes, it is wonderful to clean up a river or a park or build a bear habitat, but those activities often do not include contact with people who are in need. It is our contact with people which helps us understand mercy and grace.

So, what might we do to reach these students earlier in life?  Perhaps, when we throw a party or plan a special event at Church, we can call it a community event and invite people who do not come to our Church and roll out the welcome wagon and the Good News of the Gospel.

 

Calling Disciples

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 

Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them. 

Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Matthew 4:18-22

When Jesus went looking for disciples, He did not go to the synagogues or the centers of intellectualism; He went looking for regular people who recognized that He was the Messiah and who willingly followed Him.  These ordinary people carried the Gospel to the world.  They were empowered by the Holy Spirit with a message of hope and forgiveness through Jesus.    

The disciples turned the world upside down, and you can too.  Jesus is calling you.  Ask Jesus to be your Lord, Master and Savior, and tell the world about God’s great love.   

Less Noise, More Love

 

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1

Wow.  This undoes some ideas about doing good being enough to be a good Christian.  

We are to act in love toward others.  We can give money or work at a soup kitchen because it makes us look good.  Sometimes we might even brag about what we are doing, but if we do not show love to others in our actions, then we have failed.

Kind words and concern for others show the world God's love.  

 

The Gifts Given

And He (Jesus) sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 

Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:41-44 

The lesson here is that although wealthy people may give a lot of money to the church, the greater gifts come from those who give smaller amounts from their limited resources.  Some people have no money to give, but they give their time to work for the church to make worship and events possible for all to enjoy.   

We can honor and thank all all those who give - and be mindful that the gifts given by those who are not financially well off are valuable to the ministry of the church.  

Speak Up

 

How blessed are those who keep justice,

Who practice righteousness at all times!

Psalm 106:3

It is almost always easier to keep our mouths shut when we see injustice.

Speaking up sometimes involves embarrassment and might cost us some friends. The problem is that if we say nothing then nothing will change. It takes courage to speak up when we see someone mistreating another person.

As terrible as it sounds, sometimes people are so insensitive to that they do not even realize that they are treating people unfairly. When we point out injustice, it gives those people an opportunity to change their behavior.

If we do not speak up, who will?

Not Judging Us, Forgiving Us

 

And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus, he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 

When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.

When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half my possessions I will give to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” 

And, Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:1-10

When we talk about someone who everyone hated and we are talking about Zaccheus.  He was a tax collector.  It was his job to extract tax payments from people and, because he could, he would take more money than was due and keep it for himself.  So, he was a tax collector and a thief.  

Yet, here comes Jesus not judging Zaccheus for his sins, but forgiving him because he came to Him with a repentant heart.   

Today, it is the same way.  It is never too late. No one is ever too far from God. Jesus seeks us all. We just need to say “Here I am.” And, He will find us.

Trust God

 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God in whom I trust!”

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper

And from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

Psalm 91:1-4

These are some of the most comforting words found in the Bible.  It is God's pledge to us, that no matter what He will care for us.  We are not left adrift with no hope, we always have this hope:  God is on our side.   

And, that is why we can trust God.

Like A Shepherd

 

When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

Mark 6:34

People who are seeking Jesus and those who are new Christians sometimes have an unbelievable number of questions. Some of which seem so simple that we may view them as questions for which anyone would know the answer.  We need to treat these people like new born babies in the faith and patiently answer their questions with the truth of the Gospel.

Compassion costs nothing and does much to further the Gospel.

Change Your Life

 

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf….

Therefore, if anyone one is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 17

The very idea that one action can change your life for the good seems almost ridiculous.  Yet, here it is.  God's pledge to us that if we accept His Son, Jesus, as our Savior and acknowledge that He died once for all of us, that all our sins are forgiven and we are made new.  

We can start over, free of the weight of our past mistakes and bad conduct and work through Christ to live better lives.   

And, behold new things will come. 

We Might Have Hope

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Romans 15:4

We tend to think of much of the Old Testament as being a history of past events. Which it is, but the Old Testament also brings us encouragement as we read over and over again how God met the needs of the Israelites.  

God who helped David defeat Goliath (1 Samuel 17) and who answered with the fire from heaven when Elijah called on Him (1 Kings 18), is the God we serve today.  

This hope we have: When we call on God, He will answer.

Humble Yourselves

 

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

James 4:10

When we have a big or not so big accomplishment, we feel pretty good about ourselves.  We like to think we did it and we are rewarded because we did it.

However, we do nothing without God's help.  God has a hand in everything we do and everything we accomplish.  Sometimes, we are blinded by praise we receive from people and forget to thank people who helped us and God for His help.  

Being humble means that we are not glory hogs, but readily admit that all we accomplish is because God set things in motion and sent the right people to help us at the right time and thank those people and God for His blessing of our work. 

So, when things go right, proclaim your reliance on God and thank Him for blessing your efforts.   

Everybody Is Doing It

 

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

"Everybody is doing it" is often a defense for doing things that may not be good for us or others.  

However, we need to seriously consider that if everybody is doing, we probably should not be doing it. This can be a hard lesson. Peer pressure is everywhere. Little temptations can grow up into big ones, like gambling or excessive alcohol use or cheating on our spouse.

All of it has the same ugly result – destruction of our good life.

Jesus loves us so much that He is willing to offend us by pointing out our wayward ways and leaving the narrow gate open for us.  Go through it. 

Be Strong And Courageous

 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

We say: “We are not afraid.” But the truth is we are. 

When life throws us a curve ball and we do not know what to do, we are afraid.  Afraid that we will make a wrong decision, afraid we will not be able to bear the financial cost, afraid that our friends and family will not support our decisions.  We are afraid and rightly so.

Even so, we can do that which we need to do knowing that God is with us.

Be strong and courageous.   

Doing What Is Honorable

 

For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man.

2 Corinthians 8:21

Sometimes when we are right about something we run rough shod over the feelings of others.  

I think what Paul is saying here is that it is good to be right and do the right thing but we also need to consider how we go about what we are doing.  

Perhaps in these situations it helps to explain our ideas and actions and why they line up with Christian principles.  

In this way, we can do what is right and help appease the doubts others have regarding our actions.

In this way, we can work to do what is honorable in the Lord's sight in a manner that is peaceable.