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TerryLema

God’s Children

by TerryLema

I’m watching an ad for a financial institution where membership is limited. Not everyone can join, but only those who are or have served in the military … or those who have a family relationship with those who are or have served.

The commercial plays up the fact that not everyone can experience the privileges and benefits but only those who have certain qualifications.

That commercial reminded me that I have certain privileges and benefits that not everyone has. I have those delights because of God’s great love.

“Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. And we are!” [1John 3:1 HCSB]

For me, to be called a child of God is the greatest and most wondrous of privileges. God’s child. Me. I don’t deserve that privilege. I did nothing to earn it. It is not based on my service. It is not based on my family’s history. It is all because of God’s love. For that I am so thankful!

AND, in addition, I have found a family of brothers and sisters who also have been given this great privilege because of God’s great love.

Thank you, Father, for Your great love for us. Thank you for the privilege of being called Your child. Amen.

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With Me!

by TerryLema

I have been battling a cold for weeks. My generous husband brought it home and kindly shared it. (Next time he brings something like this home I’m checking into a hotel with room service for a week.

I cough, cough, cough, during the day and mainly at night. I have missed church for three weeks! I am sick of being sick. I have tried cough drops, OTC cough syrups and even a prescription cough med that was supposed to loosen and suppress the cough at the same time (which I totally do not understand). Nothing works.

My nights are spent traveling from bed to recliner to rocker to bed again, trying to find a place and position where I do not cough. So far, nothing seems to work. My sleep is spotty and rough.

I have discovered something about myself amid the coughing. I am not a very patient patient. I am more than ready to have this behind me.

And yet, as I sit here this morning wrapped in a warm sweater and blanket, I am thankful. My God has promised to be with me always. Well or Sick. Fussy or Patient. Peaceful or Struggling. I have His promise.

“Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:20b HCSB]

Thank you, LORD, that You are here — always. Amen.

 

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It’s November!

by TerryLema

This, without a doubt, is my favorite month of the year! When November rolls around, and Halloween is behind us, and the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas season is ahead, my merry-meter definitely starts to rise! Today my heart sings with thanksgiving.

I try each day in November to focus on one thing for which to thank God. I do try to be grateful all the time throughout the year, but November is my in-depth-thank-you-God time each year.

This first day of November my mind turned to Psalm 138, a psalm of David, labeled in my Bible as “A Thankful Heart.”  It begins …

 “I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings. I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your constant love and truth. You have exalted Your name and Your promise above everything else. On the day I called, You answered me; You increased strength within me.” [vs 1-3 HCSB]

“On the day I called, You answered me.”

My thanksgiving begins there, on that day 50 years ago when I called out to God and He answered me with grace, with mercy, with salvation. I may not have known it at the time, but it was the greatest day of my life – to be only equaled by that day when I see Him face to face.

Thank you, LORD, that you not only heard my call but that You answered the deepest need of my heart! Amen

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Kindness

by TerryLema

I saw this quote the other day on Facebook.  “I’d rather my kids be the ones who are average in school and sports but hold the door open for a teacher with too much in her hands, comfort a crying classmate, invite everyone to their table. I want my kids to be the kind kids above anything else, because that’s how they’ll change the world.” [Danielle Sherman-Lazar]

The quote was posted by a group called Creative Healthy Family.

It’s a great quote, especially the second sentence. But then as I read the first sentence again, I wondered … why can’t our kids be both excellent in school/sports and kind also? One does not negate the other.

Kindness is encouraged throughout the NT. It is listed in Galatians 5:22-23 as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.”

The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Jesus. It is to be the character of all those who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus.

It is a character trait that seems to be severely lacking in our culture on many levels—politics, media, social media, freeways(!), etc. Yet, when given opportunity, kindness still overcomes rudeness every time.

Let’s make sure that as Christians, we are an example of kindness in all things.

 

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A Guessing Game

by TerryLema

Various people and agencies are trying to predict what the weather will be like in Idaho this winter. As I write this, we have a bit of an assurance of winter as temperatures this week are in the 20’s for our lows.

I was reading an article in my newsfeed that said, “According to the Climate Prediction Center, most of Idaho has a 40-60% chance of above-average temperatures and a 33-50% chance of below-average rainfall from November through January.”

I must admit as I read that glorious prediction I laughed. It was that little word “chance” that got me. So, in other words, it’s anyone’s guess what winter holds for Idaho this year.

Much of life is a guessing game. We try this and try that and then try to determine what we should do next. But—there is one thing we can do in life that is absolutely certain. That is, to place our trust in the LORD Christ Jesus as Savior and LORD. When we do that, Scripture tells us, we are SEALED!

2Corinthians 1:22: “He has also SEALED us and given us the Spirit as a down payment in our hearts.”

Ephesians 1:13: “When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also SEALED with the promised Holy Spirit.”

Ephesians 4:30: “You were SEALED by Him for the day of redemption.”

There is no guessing what the future holds for us. There is no 40-60% chance. We are 100% assured of our redemption and salvation. Our eternity is SEALED!

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Guardian

by TerryLema

Reading in 1 Peter, Chapter 2, I came to the section about “submission of slaves to their masters.” [vs 18-25]

Slaves and masters seem to us to be archaic terms. Because they are terms seldom used, we might think we should skip or skim through that section. We should not, however, because it holds wonderful truths.

At the end of that passage, Peter tells us to follow the example of Christ Jesus who gave His life for us. He reminds us that while He suffered, He did not threaten, but entrusted Himself “to the One who judges justly.”

Then Peter tells us that Christ Jesus bore our sins, and that by His wounds (stripes) we have been healed—a quote out of Isaiah 53. But it is the final verse of that chapter that drew my attention this morning. It begins with another quote from Isaiah 53.

“For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian [overseer in the NKJV] of your souls.” [HCSB]

The word for Guardian [HCSB] or Overseer [NKJV] is episkopos. Traditionally that word has been applied to a position of authority.  But in reality, the focus is upon the responsibility of caring for others.

That is what a guardian does. The role of a guardian (even in our day and age) is to ensure that the person under their care receives proper care and support in all aspects of their life.

Beloved, the One who died for us, Christ Jesus our Savior and Master, has taken on the responsibility of Guardian of our souls. Rejoice!

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Do Not Imitate Evil

by TerryLema

Ok. I readily admit. I hate Halloween. I walk around our neighborhood and see witches and goblins and grim reapers (giant sized ones) adorning yards. It makes me cringe.

I think dress-up is fun for children (maybe adults too). But dressing our children in evil is just … well imitating evil.

John in his third letter warns the church about a man named Diotrephes. He calls him one “who loves to have first place,” one who is “slandering us with malicious words,” and one who not only “refuses to welcome the brothers himself, but he even stops those who want to do so and expels them from the church.” [vs9-10]

Then John immediate declares, “Do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.” [3John11 HCSB]

John does not want Gaius, to whom the letter is written, to act like Diotrephes. But I think the advice he gives is broad enough for us to apply it to other times and situations.

“Do not imitate what is evil.”

 The world has made evil “fun.” It dresses evil up as entertainment. It seeks to make it exciting. Or it seeks to make us think it is just a “harmless” activity. But evil is never harmless. Just ask Adam and Eve.

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Wonderful Grace

by TerryLema

Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin! [Grace Grace God’s Grace Lyrics By Julia H. Johnston, 1910]

I woke up Sunday morning with that chorus and thoughts about God’s grace. I love to think about God’s grace!

It brings hope to my heart and mind. I know what I am apart from God’s grace. I also know what I would be if God ever removed His grace from me.

Paul summed it up in Romans 3. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” [vs 23]

That was me. Sinner. Fallen. Running from God. Unable to measure up to His glory. Unable to meet His standards. I should have been tossed aside. But … BUT GOD … in His compassion and love decided instead to bestow His grace upon me.

Paul goes on in Romans 3 and the very next sentence reveals God’s love. “[I am] justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” [vs24]

Justified. Freely. By His Grace.

Whatever God has done for me since can never equal that initial bestowment of grace in me. Whatever God has done through me for His kingdom can never make my heart sing like it does when I think of God’s grace that lifted me from the miry pit and set my feet on the Rock of Ages.

Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our [my] sin!

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Run!

by TerryLema

A study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology concluded that you do not have to run very much – or very fast – to get major health benefits.  It said that running even 5-10 minutes each day at slow speeds (less than 6 miles per hours) produced markedly reduced risks of death from all causes, including cardiovascular disease.

As a young girl I used to love to run. Running became markedly less important as a teenager. By the time I was a mother of three and taking care of parents and parents-in-law, I had neither the time nor the energy to run.

Now at soon-to-be 77 years of age, I wish I had kept up that girlish delight in running. I am sure, also, that I could probably go online and find a host of people who took up running AT 77 years of age. I will not be one of them.

But as I read the article, I realized that I am still running. The Scriptures speak repeatedly of “running a [spiritual] race.” For example:

Hebrews 12:1: “Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.” [HCSB]

1 Corinthians 9:24: “Run in such a way to win the prize.” [HCSB]

I am still running a race. Perhaps not as much nor as fast, but I am still running. And running that spiritual race certainly does have major “spiritual” health benefits! To that, I can attest.

So, beloved, hang in there. You may not be as fast as you once were but keep running!

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A Privilege

by TerryLema

Last week was a busy, thought-provoking week. Monday, I had a hearing appointment (to be tested for new devices), and an eye appointment (to see if I needed new glasses). Tuesday, I had an infusion (to help control the two auto-immune diseases). Wednesday, I had a physical therapy appointment (to see if my muscles can be strengthened).

I made the remark at one of those appointments that getting old can be tough … then immediately heard the LORD whisper to me that at least I have the privilege of getting old, so many do not.

That whisper became all the more important on Friday when I attended a Celebration of Life for an 18-year-old.

Every day is precious. We do not know when we enter this world just how many we will have. Some have few; others have many. I was amazed when I did the calculations that I have had 28,080 days. Only the LORD knows if I will have 28,081!

Psalm 90 reminds us that if we want wisdom, we need to consider our days.

“Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” [HCSB]

Instead of bemoaning all the problems associated with advancing years (old age), today I am thankful for those years. My body may suffer the effects of aging, but I have had 28,080 days to run the race God has set before me.

Each day is precious.

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