Category: Connection

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Blurry Vision

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Earlier this week, I went for my annual eye exam and vision test. Once upon a time I had that eye chart memorized from all my trips to the ophthalmologist, but not anymore.

I had LASIK a number of years ago and never expected to need glasses or contacts ever again. Then I hit middle age! In the last few years, I found myself in need of trifocals because I couldn’t see well from any distance! It was somewhat concerning that my distance vision was in need of more correction with each yearly exam.

A Change in Prescription

When my eye doctor asked me to read the third line down on Monday and I had to guess, I knew I was in trouble. I wasn’t completely surprised since my vision has seemed somewhat blurry for a while now. The exam continued—better 1? better 2?….you know the drill. When it was all over, I was left speechless, but not for the reason you might think. It turns out that I could see the eye chart better with my naked eye than with the prescription of my current glasses! My vision has actually IMPROVED since last year, with no real explanation. But guess what? Blurry is blurry! It doesn’t matter if the prescription is too strong or too weak. If it isn’t the right one, the vision isn’t clear!

So, how is your vision? Can you see enough to take your next step without stumbling? Do you need more light on the subject to make things more clear? If your vision is blurry, I know just the prescription for you—His Word!

“Your word is like a lamp that shows me the way. It is like a light that guides me.”

Psalm 119:105 NIRV

The Bible is like an instruction manual for this thing called life. God knows we need it! And as always, He provides. His word guides us and shows us the way forward.

Instructions Necessary

I’m currently reading the instruction manual for our new microwave. What a great read—LOL! I will admit that I started using the microwave before consulting the manual. I found out the hard way that microwaves have come a long way in 34 years. Let’s just say I did my share of cleaning up messes last week!

First or Last?

After purchasing something new, do you read the instruction manual first, or only as a last resort? How about when life presents challenges? Do you seek God’s direction through His Word first, or only after you’ve tried (and failed) to solve the problem yourself? Admittedly, I often approach my problems much like the microwave. I try to figure it out myself first because I think I can handle it. Do I think God can’t? Do I not want to bother Him with my petty problems? What is my reason for getting it backwards? If you can relate, what is yours? It seems I give myself too much credit and don’t give God enough! I think they call that pride.

“Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character, so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 CEB

How is that for purpose?? If His word can do all that, we would be fools to ignore it! This passage inspires me to sit the microwave directions aside and dive deeper into His word so I can look more like Jesus. All I need is my new glasses so I can see those directions clearly!

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My Word for 2021

It’s that time of year again—time to choose a word and verse for the new year! Unlike last year, this word came to me rather quickly…and directly. In fact, it all started before I even went to church on the first Sunday of 2021. The devotional I used that morning talked about God as my SOURCE. I remember making a mental note of that word before I headed off to church. When my pastor announced his word and verse for the new year during the service, he encouraged us to choose ours too. At that time, I put the word SOURCE in my message notes as a definite possibility for 2021.

The Confirmation

Several years ago, I read a book written by Lysa TerKeurst titled, “What Happens When Women Say Yes to God.” In this book, Lysa devoted a chapter to how we can determine if God is speaking to us by asking ourselves five questions. One of those questions is to ask yourself if you are hearing the same thing from different sources. The very next day, the word SOURCE came up again in the daily story in YouVersion. By this time, I was feeling pretty confident that my word for the year was to be SOURCE. The kicker is what happened next though. After my quiet time with God, I went upstairs to get a shower. When I stepped in, there was a freshly unwrapped cake of soap waiting for me with the word SOURCE written on it. If you aren’t an Aldi shopper, that is the brand name of their soap. That was confirmation enough for me! I literally laughed out loud and said, “Ok, God, I get the message!”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5 NIV

Selecting My Verse

The verse for 2021 was not quite as obvious, as many could serve as a reminder that God is my SOURCE. I had it narrowed down to three and finally settled on the verse above, John 15:5, just over a week ago. This happened to be the same day that my dad was admitted to the hospital and I was 1000 miles away from him. What a helpless feeling! With my mind racing and my emotions all over the map, I certainly needed the reminder that God is my SOURCE. He is the SOURCE of everything I need. The list is extensive, but peace was my greatest need that day. As always, the Prince of Peace provided. What I want you to take away from this post is not my word and verse for the year, but rather that He is the SOURCE of everything you need too.

Our Part and His Part

The Bible is packed with promises from God. Many of those promises come with a condition though. We are not just passive observers; we have a role to play. In John 15:5, our assignment is to stay connected to God. If a branch is separated from the vine, it’s dead wood. And that makes it powerless to bear fruit. Apart from Jesus, we are also powerless. He is our power SOURCE! The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that others will see this fruit on display in the lives of His children. That is assuming we do our part. To bear fruit, we must remain connected to the SOURCE of our power.

Bear It and Eat It

All this talk of fruit is making me hungry for a different kind. I’m dreaming of my next trip to the strawberry farm. I find this fruit especially delicious this time of year in Florida, especially when shortcake and ice cream are connected to those strawberries!

Can you taste it?
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Made for Community

One definition of community is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. Did you know you were made for community? God never intended for us to go it alone. Otherwise, I suppose He could have stopped with Adam.

Pros and Cons

I am an introvert, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need people. I just need them in smaller quantities and fewer doses! I cherish my alone time. And I cherish my family and friends too. That has only been reinforced over the course of the last 6 weeks or so here in Florida. It’s been the best of times and the worst of times…all at once! We have connected with very few people here, and because we haven’t had any company yet, it has been lonely at times in 2020. I miss my people! But on a brighter note, this quiet time has afforded me a chance to do some things that I struggle to find time to do at home. If your inbox has had a steadier stream of email from The Ultimate Gift lately, it’s because writing has been one of those things!

The Family Expands

If, and when, we accept Christ as Lord and Savior, God adopts us into His family. We are His children. And that makes us part of a community of believers, aka the body of Christ. Your family just got WAY bigger!

“so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”

Romans 12:5 NLT

A Branch of the Family

On a smaller scale, we can have greater access to the community of believers through a local church. Living a Christian life is anything but easy. It’s important for each of us to have support and encouragement along the way on our faith journey. Connecting to a local church can be an invaluable resource as we seek to become more like Jesus. Paul had this to say in his letter to the Romans:

“When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.”

Romans 1:12 NLT

Loosely Connected

Larger churches generally have more programs to offer, but it is also easier to slip through the cracks in such a church. The church we’ve been attending here in FL reminds us quite a bit of our home church. We are well connected at home, but not so much here. And it’s our own fault! We walk in at the beginning of the Sunday morning service and head straight for the door at the end. In our second winter here, we still haven’t met the pastor! Yet, we love attending this church. We smile and say hello to many, but that’s about the extent of our relational involvement.

Downsizing

The following is an unpaid advertisement for small group ministry! So as not to have anyone in the family slip through the cracks, many churches offer an opportunity to connect to other believers on a deeper level through small groups. These groups are generally made up of 8-12 people. We study, we fellowship, we eat, we do life together…on a regular basis!

I was invited to join a small group at my home church shortly after we became members. (Membership is not a prerequisite) Being the introvert that I am, I didn’t say a word during our study time for the first 18 months. When I finally took that step of faith, God used it in a mighty way. I ended up co-leading the group a few short months later and my spiritual growth took off. I have continued to lead various small groups intermittently ever since and feel certain that I get more from those in my small group than they get from me.

The Bottom Line

The point of this post is that God created us for community with Him and with fellow believers. If you are trying to go it alone, I can’t stress enough how important it is to find a church home. Once you take that step, then you may have to take another by joining a small group. That will lead to an even deeper sense of community.

 “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NLT

I will close with a math lesson to summarize the preceding verse:

2 > 1 and 3 > 2

We are GREATER together than we can ever be alone!

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In a Ditch?

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When my niece was out on her own and my sister hadn’t heard from her in a while, she would call and ask her daughter if she was in a ditch. I can just hear her saying it! Thankfully we can laugh about it now because my niece was always found to be safe and well.

I’ve posed that same question to my students in the classroom many times over the years since. It seems each concept builds on the one before it. By missing class or not asking questions when they don’t understand, my students put themselves at risk of falling behind or getting lost. When that happens, they find themselves in a proverbial ditch! The more time that passes before they get the help they need, the deeper the ditch becomes. Without help, they find they can’t claw their way out. And so it is with life.

God has good plans for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11). If we stay close, He’ll show us the way. (I can just hear Pastor Dave saying “it’s simple, but it ain’t easy!” after writing that sentence.) God has no trouble keeping His end of the bargain. The problem is on my end. Perhaps you can relate.  Life is full of distractions and temptations that take my focus off Him. When I look down, I veer off the path. Without intervention, it isn’t long before I find myself in a ditch. The longer my focus is on the things of this world, the further I sink.

Are you in a ditch? I have good news to share from the Apostle Paul—I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NLT)

I have this picture etched in my mind—I look up from the ditch and have to shield my eyes from the light radiating from Jesus. He’s standing at the edge of the ditch with an outstretched, loving hand, just longing to pull me out and put me back on the path to the hope and future that He has planned for me (Jeremiah 29:11). I just need to look up, fix my gaze on Him and reach for His hand. Can you see it too? He wants to do the same for you! If you, like me, are struggling to stay on the path, just look up. And then reach for Him.  NOTHING can separate us from His love.

May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. (Ephesians 3:18 NLT)

Amen.