Twenty years or so ago I went to a Mary Kay party at a friend’s house. The seller did a satin hands demo, which I enjoyed immensely, and at the end of the evening I felt compelled to buy the set. The whole thing was an enjoyable, no pressure experience, after which for about 5 minutes I thought that maybe I should sell Mary Kay. I even purchased the $100 start up kit without giving the whole thing much thought.

The kit purchase was quickly followed with a meeting from a Mary Kay selling coach (definitely not the actual label, but you get the idea) who was supposed to be teaching me tips for selling Mary Kay. I became very uncomfortable when she told me to think of every person I’ve Ever Known and make a list of those people so I could reach out to to make connections that could lead to sales.

As I started thinking about all the people I’ve ever known and haven’t spoken to in years and the possibility of me reaching out with hopes of eventually selling Mary Kay, I told my “coach” how uncomfortable that made me, and, “What if people thought I was nice to them just because I was trying to sell something.” And also, I believed sharing the gospel of Christ with people was so much more important than selling Mary Kay, yet I’d never made a list of people to study God’s word with. I’ll never forget what the woman told me. She said, “You can use Mary Kay as your wagon to take Christ to the world.”

(I’m sure someone can actually do that, and I love Mary Kay and my friends who sell it, but in that moment, less than 24 hours after I bought my start up kit, I decided I was Not a salesperson, and no, I was not going to use Mary Kay as my wagon to take Christ to the world).

So. All of that being said. I ask myself 20 something years later, have I indeed done a great job of taking Christ to the world?

This past week I was in my kitchen cooking and the words to a song were going through my head, “…When in the better land before that bar you stand, how deeply grieved our souls will be, if any lost one there should cry in deep despair, you never mentioned Him to me.”

That song haunts me. I’m a people person. I literally LOVE people. I love my friends. I love the baristas at Starbucks. I love my employees. I love the cashiers and waitresses at any random grocery stores/ restaurants. I love people.

But have I shared the most important aspect of my life with them? As an admitted non salesperson, I’m also non pushy (I think… right?) so I think, “I don’t want to push my beliefs on anyone and I think people are good with that.” Lol

Well, something huge happened today that I needed to share…. With Everyone….. At least everyone within driving distance of my Kroger. Kroger has BLUE BELL HALF GALLONS ON SALE FOR 3.77!!!!! I threw away frozen vegetables to make room for SIX cartons!!! I was so excited, and I knew I had to tell EVERYONE, and then I thought about Mary Kay, and the song, and thought, “How can I tell everyone about Blue Bell without telling Everyone about Christ???”

So, here I am. I know Everyone wants Blue Bell, but maybe everyone doesn’t want Christ, and I have major holdups because I think I’m not good enough or prepared enough to share the gospel, BUT I do know exactly what a person needs to do to be saved, and I do know that every single one of us is lost without Christ. It doesn’t matter how big or “small” or pretty or ugly yours/ my sin is. Every single one of us is lost without Christ.

So, go get some Blue Bell from Kroger if you live in Texas and lmk if you want to study the Bible together. I apologize if I’ve never asked you before.

I also apologize if you don’t live in Texas, but we can still study together if you want. Better yet, you can come visit me. I bought six things of Blue Bell, and I’ll share (my waistline will thank you), and we can study together.

by Sandy Tipton.

Honey, I’m home!

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24).

Thank the good Lord for pleasant words! Just the greeting of our husband at the door at the end of a long day of troubles and trials can be sweet to the soul. It’s like a taste of honey which can brighten our eyes like it did to Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14:27. Even more so when the greeting is followed by words of kindness and encouragement.

Words, words, words! We sing about preventing angry words from soiling our lips, but do we actively replace them with positive, uplifting and sweet words? It is not something we naturally do, so please don’t feel bad if you don’t. (Besides, that’s not the purpose of MY words here!)

The honey harvest was pretty good this year, and the shelves are stacked with about a hundred pounds of new spring honey.

It takes a single bee her whole lifetime to make a 1/12 teaspoon of honey. The sweetener in my chamomile tea represents the life’s work of twelve remarkable insects.

Similarly, it’s hard work to be sweet, and to have our mouths continually filled with pleasant words. When you’re raising children or managing a household even without little ones, the basic job description is to correct what went awry over the course of the day/week/year.

Doing dishes? You are fixing the problem of food scraps on plates and bowls, etc.. Vacuuming? You are fixing the problem of outdoor dirt coming inside and causing eyesores and unhealthy surfaces. The very nature of doing these and similar jobs efficiently includes soliciting cooperation by the people who affect and are affected by these issues.

And that’s where the unpleasant words come in. “Please wipe your feet on the mat, dear. I’ve just swept the kitchen.” “If you rinse that cereal bowl out after using it, it won’t take as long to wash.” Those instructions — because we all know that’s what they are — too often come off as “nagging.” They don’t register in the mind as “pleasant.”

One method we use to reduce the unpleasant words is commonly known as “choosing your battles.” Reducing the negative reinforcement can be done by prioritizing which issues we want to “battle.” It’s a sad reality that some of these interactions, meant well by us, DO become battles.

Another method we can use is to do what the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics suggested. “Any criticism needs to be sandwiched between two thick layers of praise.” We could take it a step further if we truly want healing to the bones and framework of our families.

We could generously scatter the praise and the encouraging words throughout the days and weeks. That way, when a “Can you please hang up your wet towel” happens, it won’t be looked at as firing the first shot in an all-out war.

The presence of so much honey in our kitchen right after honey harvest is reminding me to use more pleasant words, and to spread them thickly and sincerely. It was important when the nectar outside was plentiful, that we gave the bees a place to put it.

In order to have enough sweet, honey-like words to share with those around us, we must make a place in our hearts to store the basic ingredient. God’s words in the form of the Bible is our source.

“How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103).

Sweetness in, sweetness out.

It’s really a daily challenge to be in this world and yet remain insulated from its spiritually destructive components. I cannot imagine going through a day without having to constantly remind myself of what conversations, media and relationships are appropriate for somebody who’s following Jesus and what Philippians 4:8 would filter out for me. I want His word to always be the filter in the nitty-gritty decisions of everyday living. I think sometimes it’s easy for me to say the big things like “I would give my life for Christ,” or “My favorite book is the Bible” or “Growing in Christ is my number one goal,” but it’s the all-day-long difficult and specific choices that make or break my big easily stated commitments.I don’t call into question the sincerity of somebody whose little choices don’t reflect the big professions of life. Sometimes I think we really do mean the big commitment statements found on our profiles on facebook. It’s just that the inconsistencies in the little decisions don’t sting because we’ve become environmentally and culturally anesthetized. What should really hurt us as His people doesn’t hurt at all because we’re breathing the fumes of the society in which we live. Once I accidentally made a pretty huge gash in my left hand; lots of blood and nausea, an eventual scar and a pain that was wretched. On another occasion a doctor made a similar gash in my foot to remove a piece of glass; lots of blood, a similar scar, but absolutely no pain. The difference was, of course, the presence of the anesthetic.

So how is it that we can sing “I am mine no more, I’ve been bought with blood,’ or “Purer in heart O God, help me to be,” or ” I surrender all” or “Lord take control,” and yet fail to even feel the sting of the destructive media influences that are in direct opposition to the themes we’ve stated for our lives? I think we just don’t feel the pain that should accompany spiritual wounds because we are anesthetized by the culture in which we live. As the world becomes more and more ungodly, we are lulled into a kind of comfortable moral drowsiness that makes us unaware of the effects of the tools in the hands of the devil. We find ourselves laughing at all kinds of wickedness as it is digitally welcomed into our living rooms, bedrooms and dorm rooms. We can listen to vulgarity and profanity and hardly be aware we’ve heard them even as they work to erode the values that we’ve professed all along. Pretty soon we start thinking through our days about the drama or the hilarity of some episode that really was pretty far removed from the “I want to grow in Christ” thesis through which we intended to filter our choices. We start talking about things that are in the Galatians 5:19-21 list with the same nonchalant tone with which we would talk about the weather. Without even really thinking about it, we spend more time concentrating on the works of the flesh as portrayed by Hollywood than we do in Bible study or prayer. Pretty soon, the gap between what we profess and our practical focus is a chasm.Perhaps we find that in our entertainment choices, we sometimes “rejoice in iniquity.” Perhaps we even encourage others to violate their consciences by encouraging them to love what God would identify as abomination. In short, we’ve just become numb to the sorrow we should feel as his children at the presence of sin in our media choices. The devil wants to devour us and he is much more successful when we start failing to feel the pain of the lion’s tenons and teeth.

It’s been helpful for me to constantly remember and repeat the phrase “Entertainment is optional.” Being “optional” means it’s not a requirement for life. It means it’s not absolutely necessary. In fact, retaining entertainment in my life is probably less necessary than retaining my limbs or my eyesight. But Jesus said if your eye or your hand offends you, just get rid of it rather than allowing it to cause the loss of your soul. I can go to heaven without ever turning on the television, but I can’t go to heaven if I’m not “abstaining from the very appearance of evil” (I Thess.5:22).

Matthew 6:33 is not too difficult to understand when it comes to this abstinence from the appearance of evil. It’s not hard to understand when I try to conform my thoughts to Philippians 4:8. Where it gets hard is not in my ability to comprehend its meaning. It means when I have choices in optional matters I am going to make sure my allegiance is first to His kingdom and righteousness. Where it gets hard is in my willingness to apply it all day long. It’s difficult while I am watching the episode to stop and ask, “Am I seeking righteousness when I put this stuff into my head?” It’s difficult to just pick up the remote and say “I choose to seek first His righteousness.”

So many times, I can look back and know full well that a particular decision was completely out of alignment with the BIG profession I have made for my life. Those times are my biggest regrets. I want to adjust the practical part of my Christianity, because Christ can’t remain in my heart if He’s not affecting my agenda, dominating my calendar, making my choices, and shaping my plans. The remote should be controlled by Him.

Cindy Colley

RESPECT FOR THE WORD

Last Sunday morning one of my students forgot his Bible. This is a common occurrence with children. I try to emphasize to my students the importance of having their Bible in class, but they still often forget.

As I was trying to encourage them to make it a habit, something occurred to me. Though we have extra Bibles in our room, there is something about using the same Bible all the time. I showed them my Bible, the notes I have made in it, and how important it has become to me. I truly love my Bible, and though many people have started using digital copies of God’s Word, I still like having my Bible. The way I feel about my Bible is somewhat the way David, the young shepherd boy, felt about King Saul’s armor. It didn’t fit him, and he hadn’t tested it. Bibles with which I am unfamiliar don’t feel as comfortable to me as my own. I find things much more easily in the Bible I use all the time.

I thought about this discussion during the day, and it started me on a path of thinking about what God expects concerning His law. I’m not talking about one particular Bible over another. I mean what is printed in Bibles, whether they are physical books or digital copies.

In our congregation, we have a Bible reading at every service. When someone reads the Word, the congregation stands. I have never seen this done in any other congregation we have attended. It is a special time when we stand out of respect for God’s Word.

Have you ever thrown away a Bible? I doubt you have. For some reason we can’t just throw a Bible in the trash, no matter how tattered it may be. But do we have the same respect for the contents, or do we throw God’s commandments aside like we would a worn-out book? Do we even bother to read from Scripture daily?

When young King Josiah became king of Judah, he began some repairs on the temple. Shaphan, the scribe, was given a book found in the temple. He brought the book to the king, and read it to him. It was the book of the law. Josiah recognized what Shaphan was reading, and he tore his clothes. He called together a group of men to go inquire of the Lord through a prophet concerning what had been found. The Lord was angry with the people because they had not obeyed the law.

God’s message was clear. The people have forsaken Him. They had burned incense to other gods. He recognized Josiah’s tender heart, evidenced by his tearing his clothes and weeping, signs of true sorrow and repentance.

Josiah gathered all the people, and he read the book. That would have been an incredible experience to hear God’s Word for the first time. It would have been a moving experience to hear Josiah make a covenant with God that they would keep His commandments and perform what was written. In Second Kings 22 and 23 and in Second Chronicles 34 and 35, you can read the things Josiah did to make the changes he needed to make. He took all the idols out of the temple, killed the idolatrous priests, and restored the celebration of the Passover. Too bad the people didn’t continue with the changes Josiah made.

The people of Israel went through a similar experience in Nehemiah 8. Ezra, the priest, brought the book of the law and stood before the people. When he began to read, the people stood up. Can’t you just imagine thousands of people standing as the Word is read? The people responded by falling on their faces and worshipping the Lord. They wept as Ezra read the commandments. Nehemiah says they read for one-fourth of the day, and they confessed their sins and worshipped for one-fourth of their day.

Honor to the written Word is not limited to the Old Testament. Paul told Timothy to study to show himself approved of God (Second Timothy 2:15). He also told Timothy to preach the word. The word he was to preach would reprove, rebuke, and exhort.

We need to hear the Word read in our worship services. We need to read the Word daily. Reading, however, is not enough. We need to study it, memorize it, and put it into practice in our daily lives. We need to let God’s Word be the guide for all the decisions we make, our speech, our actions, our thoughts, our lives. We need to read what God says in His Word and then weep and confess our sins like Josiah and the people of Judah. God could then say to us as He did to Josiah, “because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD” (Second Kings 22:19 ESV).

Sandra Oliver

As I write this blog we are preparing to go out of state for our son’s wedding. This is one of those beautiful, precious times, when we get to join our adult children and some of our grandchildren, in a happy, hopeful celebration of life. Packing is more and more on my mind as the days count down until we leave. I always over pack, because I cannot predict exactly which clothes I will feel like wearing while I am gone. Sound familiar?

I was considering a passage in Colossians 3 regarding things Christians are to put off and put on. It occurred to me that in these verses Paul is talking about taking on these virtues deliberately, with forethought, similar to how I am deliberating over which clothes to take on my trip. These virtues, or wardrobe elements in keeping with the figure I am using, are for every Christian, which means as women we are to be paying attention to adding these things to our lives. Let’s consider these verses.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:12-17)

Notice how each of these virtuous qualities is shown to others by our deliberate choice. Christians who are seeking to grow to be more like Jesus are hard-working people at home and abroad. Our motivation is our thankfulness to God for all he has done for us. I perceive a cycle at work here. We diligently look for and express thankfulness to God for his blessings to us as commanded in this passage, and, in remembering what has been done for us it becomes easier to choose to show these gracious virtues to others. We forgive, not because it is easy, but because we were forgiven and commanded to do the same. As God showed compassion on our human weaknesses and choices to sin, we show compassion on others. As he was patient with us while we were growing in our understanding of his will for us, we show that patience to others who have not come as far in their understanding. To feed our hearts and strengthen our determination to continue to do better we are filled with the word of Christ, learning and being reminded of the will of God. We are fellowshipping with other Christians and building each other up with these things. The purpose, passion, and vision of our lives becomes serving God, and expressing these virtues to others in deliberately choosing to put them on in our hearts and lives daily. We choose the peace of Christ, the perfect harmony of love, and gratitude to God over the hate, chaos, envy, and greed of the world.

As we go our busy ways this summer, whether for celebratory vacations, in sorrow over loss, or in ordinary routines, let us remember that in addition to our clothes, jewelry, shoes, and makeup we need to be sure to pack our determination to put on these virtues and live deliberate Christian lives, displaying the Light of the Gospel to the world.

start2finish.com (cached)

Alabaster Humiliation   

Matthew 26:7-8: “A woman came to Him (Jesus) with an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  When the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?”

Mary gathered her courage and came to Jesus, broken hearted. Not only did she crave spiritual healing, she longed to honor her Savior. The powerful religious leaders pressured Him relentlessly and her heart ached for Jesus. She desperately wanted to be near. So, carefully she chose the most precious gift she had: an exquisite alabaster jar filled with beautiful, fragrant oil.

It was an unconventional gift, but her heart called her to offer it. Taking a deep breath, she entered Simon’s house and approached her Lord, reclining at the table with his followers. She pulled out her gift and tenderly began to anoint Jesus with her oil. The expressions on the disciples’ faces changed. She struggled to understand and wondered, “What have I done?”

She soon became distracted by the disciples’ whispers of criticism over her wastefulness. Was her gift too extravagant, she wondered? Perhaps she should have sold it and given the money to the poor as they suggested, but that thought never crossed her mind, for her only desire was to love and honor.

The intensity of their words increased and their chatter took a harsh turn, calling her a sinner. She could not deny this for she knew her reputation was tainted. She knelt beside Jesus as tears streamed down her face. Humiliation stung her as the disciples fired one complaint after another, as though she wasn’t even in the room.

“Don’t they know I can hear them?” she thought.

The harsher their criticism, the more she was convinced they were right. Suddenly, she felt so unworthy and ashamed. Her heart was broken. If only she hadn’t come!

Through her tears, she looked up from the alabaster jar and into the Savior’s face. “Will He humiliate me, too?” she wondered.  She couldn’t bear it if He did. She held her breath and waited, eyes fixed on Him. Finally, the Savior spoke, but not to her. He directed is words to his disciples.

“Why do you trouble this woman?  For she has done a good work for me.”

Had she heard Him correctly? Did He say her gift was good? Sweet relief flooded her veins. Jesus was coming to her defense! There was no rebuke for her, but for his followers.

She reached up to dry her tears with the grateful realization that her Savior had looked beneath the surface of her actions to cherish the intentions of her heart – a generous and loving heart that longed to bring Him honor.

Thank you, Father, for seeing the intentions of our hearts.  Give us the heart of this dear woman who served generously and with unfailing love. Help us to do your will, regardless of criticisms. May we ever stay mindful of the pain and discouragement our words can inflict upon others. 

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

An audio study on dealing with them.

Hebrews 10:14 “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

The house was totally spotless and filled with sweet aroma. Windows were streak-free and not one dust-ball dared exist. Who wouldn’t want to buy this perfect house from the obviously perfect family living here?

With those thoughts, I closed my eyes to catch some precious sleep, aware the alarm would ring in a few hours to start our “perfect” day.

As the buzzer blared, our family of five leapt out of bed and the perfection of the night before quickly disappeared. A dysfunctional and chaotic scene emerged. One by one, half-clothed and half-asleep bodies stumbled into the garage, opened the hatch of the minivan, and tossed around items of clothing in search of something clean to wear. Elbows flung as we each claimed a garment in our size, threw it into the dryer to de-wrinkle, and dressed in lightning speed. Ordering others out of our way, we slammed the hatch, and an irritable family departed the very perfect house in a far from perfect demeanor.

I declare, never again will I put a house on the market! The stress of perfection is too much. With daily cleaning for five quickly getting out of control, I had ordered all laundry travel straight to the hamper in the back of my van. Until our “perfect” house sold, I chauffeured our laundry (both clean and dirty) around with me everywhere I went.

Anyone looking at us from the outside would have observed a perfect life filled with order and harmony. No one would have guessed our real life was crammed into the back of that minivan: crumpled, disheveled, and completely out of control.

Oh, how we strive for perfection, all the while, on the inside we remain crumpled and messy. Skillfully, we hide the troubles in our marriages, our finances, our jobs, and our children until our energy is depleted from the whole facade and the stress of our pretense erupts.

Here is the good news, Sisters: It’s okay not to be okay. God made a plan. He sent His Son to be perfection for us. It is that Son, Christ Jesus, who knows our deepest secrets. It is through Him we find forgiveness when we fail, strength for our weaknesses, and grace to cover all. It is God who surrounds us with a family of His people who build us up as we reach out for encouragement and help. It is our Heavenly Father who longs for communion with us through prayer, offering His sweet peace.

When we find our lives in shambles, remember God knows we are not perfect. Instead, we are made to reach out to the One who is perfect and who longs to lovingly redeem us.

Father God, we praise you for loving us through our many imperfections.

Rita Cochrane

Bonus post: The Preaching of John the Baptist (Sandra Oliver)

*********************

During Vacation Bible School, this year we studied some of the people in the book of Acts. Our Sunday School lessons this fall will also be from the book of Acts. In preparing the lessons, I have been thinking about how I want to approach some of the stories since five of them will be repeat lessons from this summer. One of the things that struck me is that there are a lot of the stories that center around those who were dedicated to doing the wrong thing. If you think about it, that is true throughout the Bible. It is also very true in our society today. That is certainly something I will want to address in my lessons.

In chapter one, Peter addresses a group of 120 and reminds them of a man that formerly walked among them, but now lies dead in a potter’s field. That man was Judas Iscariot. He was chosen by Jesus as one of the twelve but turned out to be a thief and a betrayer. Poor Judas was dedicated to the wrong purpose.

In chapter two, Peter speaks directly to those who have gathered to worship and celebrate Pentecost. He told them they had crucified the Son of God. Their souls are hanging in the balance, and they will be eternally lost if they don’t change.

In chapter four, rulers and elders of Israel commanded Peter and John not to teach in the name of Jesus. They were beaten, but they returned to the synagogue to teach about the crucified Jesus. Some of these people had been dedicated to getting rid of one they thought was an imposter.

In chapter five, Ananias and Sapphira lied about the money they donated to the church. Both of them were struck dead, not because they didn’t give enough, but because they lied about what they gave. And they didn’t have to lie! They were dedicated to a wrong attitude—giving to draw attention to themselves.

Chapters 7 and 8 follow one of the first century preachers as he performed miracles and served the Grecian widows in their needs. But certain groups of people didn’t like his preaching and they brought in false witnesses to discredit him. Stephen exposed these men who were dedicated to wrongdoing, and they stoned him to death. They were dedicated to public opinion.

Peter encountered a man named Simon that was converted from a world of magic and who tried to buy the ability to pass on the gifts given by the Holy Spirit. He was trying to live in both his world of magic and in the environment of the Christian faith. Simon evidently enjoyed the recognition he received as a magician.

Chapter 9 is one of the most extreme examples of being dedicated to wrong in the entire book. A man named Saul of Tarsus traveled from city to city dragging Christians out of their homes and either throwing them in prison or killing them. He was dedicated to murdering those that served God. As he traveled the road toward Damascus, he encountered a bright light that blinded him, but not before he was introduced to the man that caused him to persecute Christians. The Lord sent him into the city where he met a man named Ananias. Ananias was sent to restore his sight, teach him about Jesus, and baptize him into Christ.

When Saul, later called Paul, retells this story in Acts 22, he gives a complete account of what Ananias told him. Ananias said, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

The rest of the book of Acts is filled with people that were dedicated to wrong. They weren’t always knowingly doing wrong like Ananias and Sapphira; but some, like Paul, thought they were doing the right thing. Some changed, but some didn’t.

Saul did change. After he spent some time with other Christians in Damascus, he went into the synagogues and preached that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 9:20). The people that heard him couldn’t believe this was the same man.

These stories teach us some valuable lessons. First, anyone can change. If a man guilty of murdering Christians can change, anyone can change.

Second, everyone deserves a second chance if they truly repent. Those that crucified Jesus got a second chance on Pentecost. Some of them changed, and some did not. We have no record of what happened to the men that killed Stephen; but with the church growing so rapidly, we know they had other opportunities to change their ways. Ananias and Sapphira were given a chance to change their story, but they chose to continue to lie. Peter confronted Simon about his sin of greed, and Simon begged for forgiveness.

Third, we learn that when God forgives, He forgets. He never held Paul’s persecuting Christians against him.

Fourth, we can’t run away from wrongdoing. When we do wrong, we have to live with what we did. Knowing the nature of people, some would have confronted Paul with the fact that he had killed innocent Christians. He had to live with that knowledge all of his life, but he also knew God loved him and had forgiven him (First Timothy 4:7-8).

We need to look carefully at those things to which we are dedicated. Do they prevent us from obeying God? Being dedicated is not enough. We must be dedicated to serving God.

Sandra Oliver

“You won’t need that many, this is enough.” This is not something you usually hear from a salesperson, but my customers often hear it from me regarding plants that they are about to purchase. Sometimes, all you need is a little bit and it grows into a lot more!

The strawberry plants that have spread out to cover much of our yard are a prime example. Five little plants from a sweet lady at a local church have turned into a never-ending supply of strawberry plants for dozens of my friends and relatives. We even get a few strawberries when we are diligent about picking them before the birds do!

Several times, I have decided that the trouble of picking them wasn’t worth it, so I’ve given them “all” away. Of course, there were always one or two baby plants that didn’t get dug out, and now (again) we have hundreds.

Sometimes we feel that what we have is not enough. Surely those five plants would not have been enough to make the strawberry shortcake and delicious ice cream we have enjoyed over the years. They certainly would not have been enough to share with others!

Our emotional and spiritual resources often seem equally inadequate. I noticed at the doctor’s office that there is now a questionnaire concerning depression. The “new normal” of social distancing has left many with a feeling of loneliness and isolation.

There is a common saying, “God will not put on you anything you cannot bear.” This may not be entirely accurate. It would be irresponsible to ignore those who are pleading for help as their cares and trials overwhelm them. We are told that with every temptation there is a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13), but is there an escape from the crushing weight of depression or anxiety?

The apostle Paul felt burdened above what he could bear, and was in the throes of despair.

“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8, NKJV).

Even Jesus was not immune from grief and sorrow. He wept as he visited with Mary and Martha as they mourned his good friend Lazarus’ death (John 11:35).

Experiencing sadness is not a sin or evidence of a lack of faith, as many well-meaning Christians will tell us. It is a part of life.

One comfort that we have when we are sad is the knowledge that God will multiply our faith, our hope, and our strength to bear it.

Just like the plants that grow and multiply, our strength will grow.

The church in Philadelphia had “a little strength.”

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name (Revelation 3:8).

That little strength was enough for a door to be open that no one would be strong enough to shut! To be clear, it was the strength of the church combined with our all-powerful God.

We may not feel like we have enough, or that we ARE enough. But He is!

Christine (Tina) Berglund