Category: Good News of the Gospel

In this ever-churning world, how do we stay calm?

Years ago, during one of our weekly family trips to our public library, I picked up a book with an enticing title: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, by Dale Carnegie.

Once I started reading it, his use of one phrase grabbed hold of me:

"Live in day-tight compartments."

Five unremarkable words, yet they kept playing in my mind. Later I realized they echo Psalm 118:24, which I learned as a child:

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  ESV

I had repeated those beautiful words many times, but for whatever reason, they had not yet "sunk in."

This time, they did and changed the way I looked at life.

Life sometimes seems like too much to handle

Those five words hit me because they so neatly summed up what I needed to do. At the time, I was a busy young wife and mom who seldom sat down and never, ever got through my To Do list.

Don't get me wrong. Our life brimmed with joy and hard work and the blessed sound of four little girls giggling. I loved my husband and our kids with all my heart.

I had everything to be thankful for–and I truly was–but I often felt overwhelmed.

In quiet moments that nuisance inner voice whispered, "Are you sure you have what it takes? What about all you have to do tomorrow? And next week? And what will you do when all these girls become teenagers?"

Outwardly, I smiled. Inwardly, I low-level simmered with self-doubt.

Finding a new perspective

"Live in day-tight compartments" showed me a better way to think.

Carnegie used the analogy of an ocean liner, in which the captain shuts off any leaking compartments to keep the vessel afloat.

The rest of us can live that way, too, he says over and over.

Here's how. We close the door on yesterday and its failures, as deliberately as we shut the door to a room. Then–just for today–we block out our "what ifs" and fears and worries about the future.

That leaves this day, the one we actually are living in, the one the Lord has given us. From this 24 hours we determine to squeeze out every drop of joy and satisfaction.

What about problems and troubles? Carnegie promises any of us can deal with anything for one day. What sinks us is wondering how we will get through tomorrow and the day after that.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized he spoke truth. It sounded too simple, but then, great truths often are.

Jesus said it first

Remember the Sermon on the Mount? In Matthew, chapters 5-7, Jesus addressed the crowds. His words come loaded with wisdom for living, like:

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34 NIV

Jesus taught this centuries before Carnegie's "day-tight compartments." His words imply we are to leave our "woulda, coulda, shouldas" in the past, as well, simply because they are history.

As for our nameless fears about the future, they don't belong in this day, either. Deal with tomorrow, tomorrow.

Substitute prayer for worry

Prayer is simply talking to God, openly sharing what's on our hearts, giving him the whole load of it. The goods, the bads and yes, sometimes the uglies of it.

For many of us, prayer weaves through every part of our lives.

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 ESV

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

I learned a lot from books but oh, so much more from spending time in the Bible and participating in good Bible studies. I discovered treasures like Philippians 4:5-7, which I copied onto a sticky note and posted it on my bathroom mirror. Here, it's from the J. B. Phillips paraphrase:

Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.

Trust-worthy words that can change your life

If you're looking for words with power to change your life and give you peace, turn to the Bible.

Skeptics and naysayers have challenged and ridiculed and argued about it on all sides, yet the Bible endures over the centuries. What's more, no one has found any errors in it. In fact, recent findings by today's archaeologists simply back up the dates and facts as given.

Perhaps you've tried to read it, but didn't or couldn't understand.

Try again. Ask God to open your understanding, then start with the Gospel of Matthew or the Gospel of John. Take your time, but stick with reading it–and I promise, it will get easier.

If you have a smart phone or computer you can download the Bible through one of the many Holy Bible apps that offer the NIV or ESV translations, as well as others. Then you will hear the text, word-for-word all through the Bible, read by excellent narrators.

What next? Live out biblical truths as best you can and trust the Holy Spirit to gently change you from the inside out so that you will feel peace and calm within. Find a church where the Bible is front-and-center and held up as God's Truth, without error and reliable, and where you feel the joy as people of faith come together.

Will you still have questions and struggles? Probably, either ongoing or from time to time, because life goes on and none of us is perfect. Will they swamp your "boat?"

Never. You'll keep growing and you will notice less stress within.

Self-help vs. faith-on-the-grow

Carnegie and countless other writers teach principles and techniques. They tell us we have control over our thoughts and attitudes, not vice versa.

The trouble is, each one maintains that WE can change ourselves if we just try hard enough.

The truth is, we all need help and inner change is an inside job.

The Bible tells us again and again that when we trust in Jesus, his Holy Spirit in our hearts gently changes us from the inside out. Changes us for real.

Jesus said in John 10:10b:

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." NIV

Consider the Bible a storehouse filled with good words for living. Words that can transform your life because they testify of God's grace in Jesus Christ, the Savior.

By now I've lived long enough to know this goes way beyond theory. This is truth. Take these words to heart, my friend, and be at peace.

God bless you,

Lenore

To raise your quality of life, start with these five words

August 5, 2021
This may sound a bit outlandish, but hang in there and read on. I promise there's a logical connection.

Did you ever notice how quickly we pick up on it when someone criticizes us or seems to judge us negatively?

Praise may inhabit the same sentences, but we miss that.

In one effortless leap, we pounce on the negative and camp out.

The thought lingers like pesky grains of beach sand that refuse to rub off or wash off.

I wonder what she meant by that?

How can he expect me to …?

Who does she think she is?

We brush the offender away, but it returns in the middle of the night, unbidden.

Always, we choose what to do with it

We can keep it, nurse it and turn it into a pet.

We can blow it up until it blots out the rest of our otherwise good life.

If we take either path, this thing will grow into hardness of heart and that becomes as unyielding as a chunk of granite.

Before long we develop a worrisome habit and find intentional slights and hurts lurking in every conversation. It doesn't matter whether anyone else agrees. We know what that speaker meant.

Good advice from a wise friend for how to handle times like this

A Bible teacher once laid out some strategies about this topic to our group.

Hold your perception up to the light and examine it as objectively as you can. Discard what you know is false.

Pluck out any truth you find and weigh its worth. If you need to, swallow hard and face it.

Consider carefully before you speak up, knowing you have no power to change another person's mind.

State the facts calmly, without heat. Without argument.

Apologize when you know you need to, even if it doesn't feel comfortable. Do it for your own clear conscience and your peace of mind.

Decide to leave your wounded pride at the cross–and don't pick it up again.

Pray for a heart of love toward the one(s) who hurt you.

Let's learn from the oyster

Oysters that take in pieces of grit may form pearls of incredible luster over time. Similarly, irritating experiences can produce something beautiful in us.

If we let them.

All it takes is letting go of our pain and leaving it behind at the cross. (Yes, I know that's hard.)

Listen to what Jesus told his followers in John 10:10:

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

The full life. Peace of mind and heart. Joy down deep, where it lasts and where it matters.

Speaking of Jesus …

It's not that long since Christians all over the world celebrated Easter. Why do we mark this wonderful event every year? Here's why, in a nutshell:

Jesus came. He lived and died, really died. Three days later He burst out of his grave, fully alive, and in his human body He walked and talked to many people. He ate with His friends. By His life and death Jesus made peace between us and God. He came to make us new and set us free from the power of sin in our lives. That's what Easter is all about–and Jesus came for all people.

And that's why we can be at peace, with no need to take offense when someone else sounds critical of us. It doesn't matter and our self-esteem need not be diminished one bit. We have all we need in Jesus.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17 ESV

That's why we Christians rejoice over Easter.

That's why we can forgive others when they unintentionally–or even intentionally–speak thoughtless words that hurt us. In Jesus we can let it go and pay no attention..

Life is too precious to waste on hurt feelings. Let's "grow pearls" instead.

Learning, too,

Lenore
What we can learn from the oyster

May 12, 2021
I have well, unhelpful habits I've been trying to shed for years. How about you?

Oh, I make good resolutions and they last a week or so. Then I slip back into my old routines, a.k.a., my old, comfortable habits.

That ones I just said I wanted to break.

Take one minor example from my list. I don't consider myself a particularly messy person but, well, stuff accumulates around me.

When our last child left home I expected our kitchen table and counters finally would stay clear. I envisioned living in a somewhat model home, with boring housework only a distant memory. My workspace would be a streamlined marvel of organization.

Imagine my shock to find things still piling up.

It's as one friend explained with her, "Law of the Flat Surface:" Any flat surface automatically attracts clutter, which will automatically attract more of the same.

Does that ever happen in your home?

It's worse when you're a writer

We writers clip articles from newspapers and magazines. We scribble notes to ourselves on whatever's handy, like paper napkins, to be sure we don't lose an idea.

Here's the problem. Somebody needs to sort those clipped-together piles and categorize and file. Technology helps, but 'ya still gotta do it.

Guess who.

At least once a month I vow I will never let it get ahead of me again.

At least once a month I fail.

I tell myself life and people get in the way and always take precedence. That sounds all noble and good, but it's not. It's my usual, comfortable excuse.

You see the problem here

The fact is this is who I am. Human. Humans are like this.

Aren't we?

It can feel overwhelming when we count up all the ways we miss the mark and let people down, even the ones we love.

Let ourselves down.

The Apostle Paul's spoke of that, too, in Romans 7:19-20:

For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Sin? Oh, yes, that which keeps us from doing what God would have us do. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:48:

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Perfect? If you're anything like me, you can't even live up to your own standards, let alone the standards of a perfect God.

So, my friends, if salvation depends on us, we have no hope.

That's why we call the Gospels the Good News

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament. They penned the story of Jesus' life, from before birth to after He died on the cross and rose again.

This verse is what many call, "the Gospel in a nutshell."

(Jesus said) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." –John 3:16.

Even if we understand nothing else, these words tell the story of salvation.

It's that simple–and that glorious. If we have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin we need not live in fear of God's wrath over our failures. Jesus paid with His death on the cross for our sins.

Even those bad habits we have yet to overcome.

Lovingly,

Lenore

Do we have habits or do our habits have us?

September 19, 2012