PRAYING WITH FAITH

My favorite hymn is “Trust and Obey.” The words speak eloquently of God’s promises to bless us. When we look at a hopeless situation with the eyes of faith, we can know that God will turn it into whatever’s best for us. God is faithful. He can turn a seed into a colorful flower. He can turn our seeds of doubt into faith, and when we turn our faith into obedience it will grow—like a colorful flower.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES  by Sally Bair

All Good Things

My granddaughter’s pregnancy included months of morning sickness and other illnesses. She also had low iron resulting in extreme fatigue and low weight gain. She developed the beginnings of a pregnancy-related liver condition that often leads to still births. By God’s grace and the prayers of hundreds, she delivered a healthy and unbelievably hefty eight pound girl. I’m sure the collective sighs of relief could be heard across the country.

Many of us have experienced a good outcome from a seemingly hopeless situation. Others go through tough times, yet choose to believe God’s promise of blessing. A woman I know suffered from cancer and its treatment, yet thanked God for the experience because it changed her entire perspective about life and death. 

Other examples show us the value and blessing of prayer, of a positive attitude, and a strong trust that God will turn bitter experiences into blessing. The Bible is filled with examples of answered prayer, of changed attitudes, and of faith.

Although feeling hopeless, Abraham chose to believe God’s promise for a
legitimate heir, even though old Abe was nearly 100 and his wife way past the age of childbearing. In fact, she bore Isaac. He prayed, he focused on the promise, and he believed. Paul the apostle, and Jesus’ disciples who were sent on an evangelism trip, prayed for healing of the sick and deliverance of the demon-possessed. They saw hopelessness, but focused on the power of God’s Spirit and believed.

We can rely on that same power. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) When we pray, with thanksgiving and belief, His peace will fill us—through even the worst of situations. But prayer and faith require practice. Every time we decide to believe the best rather than the worst, our faith grows a little more.

Paul writes in Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” God has called each of us to love Him, and consequently others, for His perfect purpose. When our physical eyes see hopelessness, our spiritual eyes can see hope—and good outcomes like the healthy baby God helped my granddaughter deliver.

Lord, as we pray for ourselves and others, we praise and thank You for the good outcomes only You can bring. Give us eyes that see beyond the hopeless to the working together for good. In Jesus’ name, amen.

FALL HARVEST

The leaves are falling from the poplars and maples faster than a blizzard of snowflakes. The green beans and zucchini are still producing in abundance. Bright orange pumpkins glow throughout a neighbor’s field. The harvest is ready! So is God’s harvest. Am I, are you, ready to use God’s fruit of the Spirit to draw others into His kingdom—today?
 
ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES  by Sally Bair

Fruit

This year I put up a fancy climbing device for my pole beans. The metal pole supports two circular rings, one near the ground and the other six feet high, joined by intertwining strings that guide the pole bean vines. In past years, the deer hadn’t touched my outside-the-fence plants, so I rationalized that it would be safe to erect the climbing device outside the fence, too. The fenced gardens had no room for pole beans. 

At first, my pole beans grew beautifully on their new home, holding a ton of leaves, blossoms, and beans. What a harvest! Then, one morning during my routine walk through the gardens, I witnessed a strange denuding. Hundreds of leafless, beanless stems stood straight up along the strings, like vertical pick-up-sticks. At least the top crop remained, apparently too high for the deer to reach. The whole affair looked like a 1970s ethnic hairdo. 

I groaned and then laughed at the sight. What a picture of my life as a fruit-bearing Christian! “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22)

We’re all vulnerable to the vagaries of life that steal our spiritual fruit. God plants and waters us within the protective nursery of His Word and Spirit. However, we sometimes stray outside His nursery.

Our fruit of love, for instance, is snatched easily by anger and hatred following someone’s evil act. We allow our fruit of joy to be stolen and exchanged for sadness. God’s peace, His special fruit, is gobbled in a moment until only the visible stems of anxiety stand. An unkind word easily steals our fruit of kindness or goodness. Someone’s broken promise snatches our own sense of faithfulness. The harsh words of a friend or co-worker quickly turn our own gentle words into an unpleasant comeback or even retaliation.

Patience, a virtuous fruit, takes time to grow. Its fragility must be fenced in daily to avoid being eaten by unexpected, unwanted circumstances. Finally, there’s the fruit of self-control. We conveniently forget to ask God to fill us with it for the day, making it easy for marauding deer—misused time, unfulfilling pleasures, and poor attitudes—to snatch our self-control in one gulp.

Jesus has the answer to these fruit snatchers. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Lord, help us abide so closely to You that the fruit of Your Spirit dwelling within us cannot be snatched by surrounding marauders. In Jesus’ name, amen.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

As the rally call goes out during school football games, our rally call as Christians can be even more passionate. We’re in a war against evil, against worldly temptations, and against our own sin-prone flesh. Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory! He provides us with supernatural armor. We can choose every morning to cover ourselves with His truth, His righteousness and peace, our faith and salvation, the powerful Word of God … and prayer. 

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES by Sally Bair

Praying for our Enemies

In nature, one animal preys on another to get its share of the proverbial pie, such as two squirrels chattering and fighting. The law of nature is all about survival of the fittest.

How does that apply to human nature? As a youngster and the dominant twin, I acted like a wild animal seeking the most food. My sister had to fight tooth and tongue to get her share. Fortunately, our mother came to the rescue—until she became so frustrated, she had one of us divide the food and the other choose her share. We made sure to cut as evenly as possible so the other wouldn’t end up with the biggest half.

Such silliness! However, don’t we all tend to fight for the biggest, the best, or the most? We can apply this example to most anything. We fight for respect, love, and acceptance. In an instant, we can feel mistreated, rejected, or unloved. It takes time to learn how to avoid becoming defensive or angry over someone’s mistreatment.

Perhaps in the natural world, survival of the fittest means we must fight. As Christians, however, our fighting is not to be against flesh and blood. When Peter, in the Garden of Gethsemane, cut off a soldier’s ear, Jesus said, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:52-53)

We are to pray for those who mistreat us. In fact, Jesus told us to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you.” (Luke 6:27)

Huh? How can we pray for our enemies and still survive? Fighting them instead, whether with words or swords, will keep love from entering. Prayer is a powerful weapon. The Bible doesn’t tell us to pray that our enemies will be punished or banished. God is in charge of that. Rather, we are to “retaliate” with good. With love. With a sincere blessing for their spiritual welfare. God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)

Lord, help us to follow Your perfect example of love. Give us the grace to pray for our enemies and do good to all so they will be drawn to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

WHERE ARE YOU GOING, MR. BLACK BEAR?

The poor little guy looked lost. He wandered through my backyard even as I was preparing to send off this Blogpost. He searched through the wild blackberry patch to no avail, as I had beaten him to the ripe ones. Looking forlorn, he trudged through the woods. Besides looking for ripe berries, he probably was looking for his mama. He’s too young, too small to be out on his own. God bless the little bear.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES by Sally Bair

Road Maps

I get lost easily. When I'm riding in a vehicle, I don't pay much attention to landmarks and when I'm driving, I'm not much better. I’ve tried using a GPS, but find it cumbersome, sometimes inaccurate, and downright frustrating. Map reading works best for me.

The first time my husband Don and I drove to look at our East Texas property, I was glad we had a map to guide our way. Without it, we surely would have ended in someone’s pasture. Each turn brought us to a narrower road until the last one was barely wider than a logging trail. Our detailed map didn’t let us down, though our journey seemed to point to failure. Without the map, we would never have found the place—nor believed it even existed, being so far from paved roads.

Road maps are good—to a point. But maps don’t tell us where a road is closed due to accident or flood or bad weather. They don’t show us the potholes, or the road signs that have been turned around.

Studying the Word of God is like studying a map. To learn how to travel on our spiritual journey, we need to read the whole book, yet concentrate on an area at a time so we can understand exactly where we need to go. As we study each section, we can see how it fits into the whole picture. The Gospel of John, for instance, points to our starting point as recorded in Genesis, our eternal destination, and exactly how to get there. And when we ask, the Holy Spirit—our supernatural GPS—will give us revelation and guidance on each aspect of our life-journey. 

Many Scripture verses have something to say about God’s guidance. Psalm 48:14 is one of my favorites. "For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end." In Matthew 18:10-14, the parable about the lost sheep brings to mind the personal care that Christ has for each of us – the joy He receives when even a lost one of us is lost.

We don’t have to lose our way. When we follow God’s roadmap—His Word—we can be assured to reach the destination He has in mind for us. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

Lord, through Your Word, show us when we’ve gone the wrong way morally and how we can get back on the right path with You. We thank You for being our Guide. In Jesus’ name, amen.

SERVANTS

I watched a documentary about a homeless, mentally challenged man who was befriended by the documentary team. In dire need of foot care, the man accepted the journalist’s offer to help. She cleaned his feet and clipped his unsightly, misshapen toenails. I’m glad I had already eaten my dinner when I watched the gross, vivid scene. It took courage on the journalist’s part to go beyond her task of interviewing by stooping over to serve the man in such a way. Would that I had such a servant’s heart! How about you?

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES by Sally Bair

A Servant’s Heart

           

One time while visiting the Crex Meadows wildlife refuge, I watched a family of red fox at their den. While three of the kits romped and tumbled nearby, the mother lay outside the den entrance and washed a fourth. Holding the kit still with one paw, she proceeded to lick it clean from the nose down to the pads of its paws. She worked with diligence and thoroughness, showing her mother’s heart throughout the entire process. What a delightful sight! And to think she had to do this three more times.

Most human parents also take great care with their children. Many parents go the extra mile for them, willing and content to take on necessary but lowly tasks, the type that often go unnoticed by others. I once had neighbors who farmed the old-fashioned way. They raised four children without the conveniences of a car, a tractor, inside plumbing, or electricity. The father walked two miles to town for groceries, cattle feed, and their other needs. With their milk checks, they gave each of their children a college education.

Their lifestyle brought derision from some townspeople but admiration from neighboring farmers who sometimes benefited from the couples’ unselfish service. 

Many people in our society perform onerous tasks daily. Such people may be easily forgotten, preempted by others who offer more visible, perhaps heroic service. But they deserve as much honor and recognition for their humble acts of service—acts we might shun—as anyone else.

Our best example of humility is Jesus, who not only washed His disciples’ feet but stooped to the lowest, most loving act—dying undeservedly on the cross for our sins. His example should compel us to look for opportunities to serve others, not only with socially worthy acts but with service that may go unnoticed by others. Jesus teaches us to serve each other as the mother fox served her kits’ needs. He used foot washing as an example to show humility and a servant’s heart.

Foot washing means bending over, which is perhaps the essence of humility. Foot washing today can mean performing any acts of love that cause us to stoop lower than we’re used to—cleaning someone else’s toilet, wiping the drool from an invalid’s chin, holding a dirty child.

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14)

Lord, give us the will and desire to swallow our prideful attitudes and serve You by loving others in even lowly ways. Thank You for Your supreme example of humility, service, and love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

MOUNTAINS

I have a mountain of work staring me in the nose, but am taking time to write some Flash Fiction. Hemingway wrote a six-word story that inspired me. He wrote: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.”

If that doesn’t tell a story, what does? So I came up with a few of my own. What do you think?
(1) Big booboo. Big kiss. Final tears.   (2) Free pups. Mom died. Rabies.   (3) Reel in. Lost it. Stupid boy.   (4) Yes?...How bad?...Rallied?...Praise God.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE  by Sally Bair

Things That Surround
   
One of the most beautiful spots in North America is the area near Hyder, Alaska. As my husband, grandsons, and I approached the town in our motorhome one summer, we found ourselves completely surrounded by majestic, snow-capped mountains. We drove up one of those mountains along a steep, narrow, rocky road that brought on a few white knuckles, and a wheezing cough from our vehicle. But it was worth the effort. We viewed an endless panorama of mountain peaks across the narrow valley. We also had a glimpse of several abandoned gold mines, evidenced by their weathered shacks along and below the edge of the road. And the trip upward brought us closer and closer to a huge glacier on the next mountain. What a sight!     

There was one thing wrong with that unforgettable place, however. Almost everything seemed to be in shadow. Among all those mountains there was simply not enough room for the sun to cast its rays except at mid-day when it shone straight overhead. For a brief time then, some of the shadows retreated. I can imagine how dark the winter days are there, when the sun strides across the sky at such a low angle that direct light cannot reach most places. One would have to climb a mountain in order to see the shine of the sun.

Isn't that how it is with us, sometimes—when the shadows of life keep us in the dark? There is a song of worship that goes, "When the things that surround become shadows in the light of You … I worship You." We all face mountains in our lives—illness and pain, death and divorce, rejection and unmet needs. Those mountains seem insurmountable. Others are deceptively positive—riches, popularity, recognition …. But they can impede our spiritual growth. 

The light of God's love can shrink our mountains into a tiny puddle of shadow at our feet. Jesus said that if we have even a little faith, we can move mountains. All it takes is a small leap of faith, and then we will reach His light. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

Lord, give us the strength to remove the mountains from our lives that are preventing us from making spiritual headway and from worshiping You with our whole heart and soul. In Jesus’ name, amen.   

OH HAPPY DAY! THE LORD IS NEAR

The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, and everything shines with joy. If it were dark with rain and wind, I would still be joyful because I know that God is with me. He is my Savior, protector, and strength. He is my sustainer, provider, and hope for the future. How about you?

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES  by Sally Bair

Tomorrow
   
When I was young, I could hardly wait to grow up and be like my big sister. Then I could wear makeup and go to parties and have boyfriends and …

After marriage when my first child was a baby, I could hardly wait until she spoke her first word and took her first step. Two babies later, I could hardly wait until they were all out of diapers. Later still, I could hardly wait until they were all in school … out of school for the summer … out on their own … 

It seems like all I did was wait for tomorrow. Usually I looked forward to tomorrow with anticipation. Sometimes, however, I viewed the next day with dread: a dental appointment, facing the pediatrician with medical news about a child, getting through my first day on a job.

Why does it take us so long to learn to live in the now? Concern about tomorrow is not an uncommon habit, apparently, for even Jesus spoke about it. "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 5:34) Jesus spoke these words immediately after telling us that we must seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, then everything we need will be given to us.

I don’t believe that Jesus meant we shouldn’t plan ahead for retirement or for possible illness or the cold days of winter. I believe He meant we shouldn’t keep our focus on tomorrow’s plans but to live in the now. I think of the times I’ve spent in the past trying to capture the perfect photo for the future and missing out on the beauty of the moment. When we focus on the moment, we realize anew the wonderful gifts God has bestowed on us. We realize too that our relationship with Him is the most important one we can have—for our days on earth and for eternity.  

Some people die suddenly, thus facing eternity before they expect to. We may die suddenly, too. But if we make sure our relationship with God through Christ is secure and our relationship with others is right, we don’t have to be concerned with tomorrow. God will take care of our tomorrows.

Lord, we thank you for the gift of today. Help us to make good use of it by seeking You first, by showing love to and reconciling with those around us, and by trusting that You will meet tomorrow's needs. In Jesus' name, Amen.