Listen

Two Ears and a Mouth

James 1:19-20
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

from commons.wikipedia.com

I have a confession. Sometimes—I lose my temper. Unfortunately, that's a true statement. The weird thing is, I am usually at work when this happens. And almost every time, someone has told me something and instead of listening and thinking about their words, I let my mouth fly open. "Why did this happen?" "Why did that happen?" "That's not fair!" The one not being fair might be me, because I don't know the whole story. Yet God does, and he sees my behavior. I have proof—last Friday I was feeling bad about something I'd spouted, so I prayed. The next morning, in my Bible app, the verse of the day was James 1:19.

God knows my thoughts and my heart so well, I'm thinking he knows yours too. That's why I'm sharing this. James is a smart man, the brother of Jesus, and an inspiration to me. I love the book of James. Evidently, I need to read it more to remind myself of God's truth. When I read the verse on my phone, I was reminded of something I used to tell my elementary students at storytime. We have two ears and one mouth. We need to listen more than we talk. Sounds like I need my own advice.

On Monday morning, when I returned to work I taped a copy of James 1:19 on my computer. That little verse has been a great reminder, and practicing the wise words has given me a better week. What's God trying to tell you? Do you need a visual reminder. So far that method has helped me. Consider God's wisdom, it's the most amazing life transformer I know.

Seek Light

Soccer and Sun

2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We've spent several Saturdays watching grandsons play soccer. Sitting on the sidelines our view often faces the sun. The bright rays make us squint. We have to lift our hands to block the glare (when we forget our baseball caps.) The sun makes watching the games a bit uncomfortable. But we tolerate the heat and brightness  because we love our grandsons and want to support them.

With Jesus, the opposite happens. In life we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations. Maybe a loved one has died or we've found out we're ill. Perhaps our hearts break for a sad situation or we've experienced abuse. What happens in this world is sometimes so difficult we don't understand. But then the light of Jesus warms our hearts. His light breaks through the darkness and brings comfort and peace. His light is so brilliant, once you let it in, the radiance of hope outshines the darkest night. But that's just it, we have to choose to let Jesus in. He wants, more than anything, to fill our lives with his light. His offer of comfort, peace and joy is open to everyone. His light is not something to tolerate, instead it's something to cherish. If you need light in your life, seek Jesus. He loves you.

Joy from Jesus

Joy!

Do You Know the Joy?

1 Peter 1:6-7

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 

Our three-year-old granddaughter bubbles over with joy. Born with a huge personality, she entertains and loves in a big way. She sings about Jesus and dances with delight. Her precious little smile causes me to melt, especially when her eyes twinkle and her sweet dimple shows. She loves life and shares that love with a joy-filled heart.

Our world is filled with tragedy and grief. On the days when evil rears his ugly head and causes pain and sorrow, I find it difficult to grasp the joy that's "down in my heart." Growing up we learned a fun little song, that Ella Cate is probably being taught in Sunday School. "I have the joy, joy, joy—down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart." That joy, delight, elation comes from trusting in Jesus. When I dedicated my life to follow Jesus, he poured his love and yes, joy in me. Even when I've suffered heartache, illness, distrust, or tragedy, Jesus' joy sustained me. No matter what happens on this earth. No matter how scary, heartrending  or catastrophic— because I love and follow Jesus—I still have a glimmer of hope.

So when I visit with my granddaughter and she bubbles over with joy, I'm reminded of the joy that bubbles in my heart! That hope fills me with peace. I pray for peace for all who are going through trials. I pray for the joy of Jesus to overflow.

Luke 18:16 Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children."