A Pound of Salt

July 15

Let your conversation be … seasoned with salt, so that you may know

how to answer everyone.

Colossians 4:6

Neil had been looking for ways to witness to his neighbors. So when he

saw one of them using a rickety stepladder to remove a broken tree limb, he

grabbed one of his sturdy work ladders and headed over to help.

“Hey, Jeff ? I saw you using that old ladder and decided I couldn’t let you

do that when I have a much safer one. Here, let me help.” And with that, he set

up his six-foot fiberglass stepladder, positioned it where Jeff could safely reach

the big limb, and said, “Go ahead, I’ll hold it for you.”

Jeff asked one of his sons to lift the end of the heavy limb to remove pres-

sure at the cut so the saw wouldn’t bind. Neil, trying to help, told the young

man how to lift the limb. When instruction failed to bring the desired results,

Neil grabbed the limb and held it aloft, showing the young man what he’d

meant.

The limb was removed and dragged away. Neil took his ladder and returned

home, believing he had just shared the love of Christ.

Two days later, he met the son while walking, and when he spoke, the boy

did not answer. Disturbed, he asked what the problem was. The young man

admitted he had been embarrassed when Neil had taken over.

Neil had done the opposite of what he had intended.

h

Too much salt tastes worse than none. Our best intentions, if not carefully

considered, can bring harm. Neil’s offer of the ladder, though well-intended,

exuded arrogance.

In his spontaneity, he hadn’t thought out how best to approach the oppor-

tunity. His desire to help was good, but he was ill advised in taking control of

circumstances. Instead of a dash of salt, he dumped out the whole shaker.

Our actions need filtered through the question, How will what I do affect

others?

What we do in the Lord’s name is meant to have a profound, positive

effect. We must take care to season and not saturate.

Prayer

“Lord, I never want to offend where I intend to show

people Your love. Help me listen for Your guidance

instead of rushing in ahead of You. Amen.”

 Fidelity

July 14

He who loves his wife loves himself.

Ephesians 5:28

“Flirting, however harmless you might feel about it, is still being unfaithful

to Gretchen,” Cal said. “It’s a temptation to take it a step further. Yes, it can

make you feel alive. It wouldn’t be tempting if it didn’t. But it’s wrong, Randy.

Gretchen deserves better. So do you.”

“But I don’t feel in love anymore,” Randy argued. “This other woman makes

me feel appreciated and understood. I don’t get that from Gretchen. I’m tired

of going through the motions.”

“You know, Randy, Patty and I felt the same way years ago. We’d lost the

spark, and it felt too much like work to pretend. But we stuck it out and allowed

God to lead us through counseling where we found out things had begun to

overshadow our love; we’d stopped communicating.

“Randy, when someone of the opposite sex pays attention to us in a way

our spouse hasn’t, we can easily form an unhealthy emotional bond. It feels

right, and it tempts us to give up in spite of the covenant we made. You’ve got

to fight the temptation,” Cal urged.

“How’d you get through it?” Randy asked.

“With a lot of work in God’s strength, and understanding that issues will

always raise themselves up to assault our marriage. We fought for what we

knew was right. And in the fighting, we learned that our love hadn’t died; it had

become bogged down by the issues we faced.”

h

No-fault divorce, disillusionments, and annulments are easily granted and too

widely accepted. “If you aren’t happy, move on,” we say, putting our happiness

ahead of our spouse, our children, and our commitment.

Marriage is meant to be forever, not until we get tired.

Fidelity is standing in God’s strength instead of our own, holding ground

not meant to be given up. It’s where integrity is discovered and selfish ambi-

tions are laid to rest.

Fifty percent of today’s marriages end in divorce. Statistics say that eighty

percent of those who remarry will divorce again. You will take each unattended

issue wherever you go. Great reward can come from not giving in to selfish

desires. Stay and fight for what God ordained.

Prayer

“Weld my marriage to You, Lord. Help us stand

and fight instead of giving in to the temptations

of infidelity. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 For the Ages

July 13

Do not remove an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.

Proverbs 22:28

Lawrence was having a revelation as he leafed through the magazine. Beautiful,

well-manicured farms were showcased in this month’s issue. Two in particular

stood out as his favorites, their moss-covered boundaries bringing nostalgic

reminiscence.

His father had cautioned him to leave the stone fences outlining the prop-

erty intact. “You’ll miss them someday if you don’t, Lawrence,” he’d said. “And

an awful lot of work went into erecting them. It’d be a shame to lose ’em.”

The local stone quarry was paying good money for pallets of stone. They

bought the stones because it removed the raw harvest portion from the process

at the quarry, saving them machine usage and man-hours. They were more than

willing to pay for stones from the fences of the countryside. The fences would

always offer a quick way to make money.

Well, Lawrence hadn’t listened to his father. Constantly repairing the gaps

in the rocks where livestock tried to escape had been an aggravation. The same

year he inherited the farm, he began hauling away the stones. He wanted to

replace the rocks with up-to-date fences. “And besides,” he told himself, “the

money will help make the necessary upgrades.” The truth was, he still had to

mend fences. Broken wire didn’t stop wandering animals either.

h

Each generation believes it has a better plan. So we set about re-laying the

foundations laid before us. And without much thought as to the why, we set

our minds to the task of making it ours! In the process, we sometimes lose pre-

cious ground our forefathers labored to gain on our behalf.

Youth is wonderful, yet impetuous. We have the curiosity and desire to do

great things, yet have not gained enough wisdom to temper our actions. We

haven’t lived enough to understand that some things should be left alone.

Heritage is a gift to be cherished, not a slight against our character. We are

to build upon the past in hopes of providing a better future. If we must make it

ours, then we should do it in connection with the past, not in place of it.

Prayer

“Thank You for my heritage, Lord. Upon it, with Your

guidance, we shall build a future for the ages. Amen. “

 Be Still

July 12

Be still, and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

As Dell’s parents left the neurologist’s office, they were coming to grips

with the truth that Dell wasn’t going to outgrow this.

He had just been diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological dis-

order that manifests itself through various involuntary motor tics and vocaliza-

tions. The head jerking and rapid eye blinking now had a name.

As time passed, they helped Dell adjust to each new tic and the frustration

it brought. They helped him develop coping skills for everything from home-

work to sleeping habits. It seemed like the battles would never end. And when

they asked for a tutor at school, their request was denied because Tourette’s was

not yet recognized as a learning disability. They were stunned.

It was difficult for Carolyn and Mark to watched Dell struggle, estranged

from his peers because of his tics, belittled because he was different.

As months turned into years, they continued to ask God to take away this

trying disorder that brought ridicule and tears. All God seemed to say was, “Be

still,” and in place of healing came grace.

As Dell matured, God’s purpose emerged, and the desired healing was for-

gotten. Dell was a man of compassion with deep conviction. An accomplished

musician, Dell graduated college with a degree in communications and music.

God had elevated Dell above his struggles.

h

It’s easy to overlook the silver lining because we’re focused on the trial. Believ-

ing God has our best interest at heart can be a difficult thing, especially when

it involves our children. It’s easy to forget that God intimately understands our

heartache where our children are concerned.

How many of us would willingly have sent our only child to die for some-

thing he didn’t do, especially knowing he was going to die in place of the guilty

party?

When storms hammer us, it’s natural to cry out for deliverance. It’s not

natural to believe God would allow this to happen. So when we cry out only to

hear Him say, “Be still,” it doesn’t make much sense. Have faith.

God is inviting us, like the psalmist, to focus on Him. And though the

earth gives way … to not fear.

Prayer

“Lord, I have trouble trusting You when I can’t see Your

purpose. Help me to trust You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Not By Sight

July 11

Walk by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7

Sandy’s mother, Gladys, was legally blind. Now in her eighties, Sandy helped

care for her.

“Mom,” Sandy said. “Do you remember the day you sent me to school for

the first time?”

“Oh, honey! That’s a day I will never forget! It’s funny you should ask,”

Gladys responded with delight.

“Whaddya mean?” Sandy asked.

“I was thinking about that just last week. I felt so bad making you get on

that bus. I cried most of the morning. I called your father and told him he’d

have to stay home from work and send you himself if the crying continued!”

She laughed. “I made it through those first few weeks with a lot of tissues and

prayer. And I grew to trust God.” Gladys’s eyes were blind, but you could tell

she was seeing those days in a way blindness couldn’t alter.

“Many a time I thanked the good Lord for His constant assurance. Not

knowing the reasons for some of the trials we went through made it difficult.

And though I didn’t always understand what He was up to, I learned to trust

Him. As I trusted God, He proved faithful. Those lessons have come in handy.

If I didn’t trust Him, I’d have become angry or bitter about my blindness.

Knowing He has His reasons has allowed me to look past the obstacle and lean

on His strength as I face each new day.”

h

God rarely explains the reasons for His actions. And we have a choice in

response: anger and frustration or submission and trust.

Faith requires risk. When we take a calculated risk, we have some idea of

how things will turn out. Yet sometimes we have no idea what God is up to.

And that can be disconcerting if we dwell on what’s next.

Gladys could easily have spent her days questioning God about her

blindness. Instead, because of her experience and years of walking with Him,

she chose to believe that He would bring blessings out of difficulty. Having

emerged victorious through the trials of her life gave her hope for the future.

Prayer

“Lord, teach me to trust. Show me how to have

faith instead of giving in to the natural tendency

to cut and run. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 What Is Faith?

July 10

Now faith is being sure of … what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

Helen was agnostic. “How can you believe in God?” she asked. “And how are

you so sure He exists?”

Ronnie chose her words carefully. “I see God in nature and in the details of

life. I’ve personally seen Him work in the circumstances of my life, and I hear

Him when He speaks to my spirit, Helen.”

“So now you’re saying God talks to you? Yeah right!” Helen’s comment was

dripping with sarcasm. She refused to believe in God because she had never

witnessed conclusive proof of His existence.

Ignoring Helen’s remark, Ronnie went on. “Answer this question, Helen.

Can you prove God doesn’t exist? For example, you can’t see the wind, but you

know it’s there. When you flip on a light switch, you expect there to be light.

And you know the sun will come up tomorrow no matter what. Each requires

an act of faith. Why is it such a stretch to believe in a Creator?”

Helen didn’t like where this was headed. “Each of those can be proven

scientifically. What’s your point?”

“My point is that faith fails to be faith when we have tangible proof. You

demand tangible proof of God’s existence, and unless you get it, you will con-

tinue to reject the possibility that there is Someone outside your control in

control of your life. God asks us to believe without seeing.”

h

The thought of being subject to Someone else’s authority has caused multi-

tudes great anguish. God’s existence challenges our life choices.

Any religion that denies Christ’s deity, meaning Jesus is the only way

to heaven, shares an inability to believe God would condemn. They refuse to

believe they are condemned, not by God, but by their own choices, and so they

choose to disbelieve. In their unrighteous and unholy living, there is no room

for admitting a Holy God cannot abide their actions.

Christians believe solely on His Word, the circumstantial evidence sur-

rounding us and our ability to reason.

Our stance on whether or not He exists will not change that He does.

Faith is making an informed decision, aware that where we spend eternity

hangs in the balance.

Prayer

“Give me words of truth to speak into

nonbeliever’s doubt, Lord. Amen.”

 The Last Place We Look

July 9

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

Psalm 105:3

They split up to cover more ground.

“Where’d you wear it last? And how long ago was that?” Tony hollered up

the stairs. He and Jill had been searching for her butterfly necklace for half an

hour.

Jill was determined to find it, even if that meant being late for their dinner

engagement. It’s the perfect necklace for the gown I’m wearing.

Tony had checked the kitchen and downstairs bathroom. Nothing! He’d

pulled the cushions from each piece of furniture and reached into every crack

but had come up empty. Now in the guestroom, he began looking through

drawers while asking God for patience. This is not my favorite pastime, Lord!

Jill continued searching through jewelry boxes. Still no necklace. “Any luck

yet?” she hollered.

Tony reined in his frustration. “Not yet.”

Then, “I found it!” Jill hollered triumphantly and whispered, “Thank you,

Jesus!” As she worked the clasp, she explained, “It was in the zipper compart-

ment of one of my backup purses! Wouldn’t you know it, it was in the last place

I looked!”

Tony couldn’t help himself, “Of course it was in the last place you looked!”

he said. “You wouldn’t continue looking once you found it, would you?”

h

If we knew exactly where we’d lost something of value, we wouldn’t waste time

looking for it somewhere else. We would go straight to that spot and retrieve

the lost item.

So why is it that God is frequently our last resort?

Self-sufficiency is a form of pride. Yet generations have been raised by the

maxims: “Stand on your own two feet,” “Buck up,” “Get in there,” “No one is

going to do it for you.” We’ve become a do-it-yourself society without a lot of

God sufficiency. What are we teaching our children?

David, for all his faults, constantly sought God’s wisdom and strength. No

matter how many mistakes he made, David relied on God’s loving guidance

until the day he died.

It is not God’s desire to be found in the last place we look.

Prayer

“I need help today and every day, Lord. Help me

come quickly to stand in Your strength. Amen.”