Tag: Love

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Christians Practice What You Preach

1 Peter 4

Key Verse: 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply because loves covers over a multitude of sins.

Christianity is not a restaurant and the bible is not a menu. You don’t get to pick and choose what you want and when you want it. You can’t choose one verse to judge or condemn someone and then another to set you free.

You have no right to hate anyone for any reason. You have a right to disagree. You have a right to not participate. you even have the right to an opinion. You DO NOT have a right to not love one another (1 Peter 4:8), not to offer hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9), or not offer grace to one another (1 Peter 4:10).

Jesus didn’t just hang with other Christians and shun everyone else. As a matter of fact, the only people he shunned and rebuked were the hypocritical, holier than thou, religious leaders. Read that again! THE. RELIGIOUS. LEADERS.

Wow! Hold the bus! You mean Jesus didn’t go around hating on the sinners? Nope! He hung out with them. He loved them. He showed them what being a Christian was supposed to look like, LOVE not hypocrisy!

There is a good reason the story of the woman brought to him by those so-called “religious leaders” is in the gospel of John (8:1-11). They came to ask him to condemn her. He chose to teach them a lesson on grace, love, and forgiveness.

We have been on both sides of the fence in this story. We have been the woman so ashamed we thought for sure even Jesus himself would turn his back on us. We have also been the religious leaders, poised with a stone high above our heads ready to pounce and judge someone else.

Jesus offered grace, love, and forgiveness to the woman. He also offered it to the religious leaders. He gave them a chance to walk away from their lives. He told them to go ahead, throw that stone, but you better be darn sure you have no issues in your life because you will be next. However, walk away now, recognize your own faults and grace, love, and forgiveness are yours also.

Where do you stand today? Are you going to throw that stone or are you going to accept your own need for grace, love, and forgiveness? The best way to receive it is to offer it yourself.

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A Life Full of Rainbows and Unicorns

Psalms 30

Key Verse: Psalms 30:1-3 I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit.

This week I faced a death in our church family. Although I know all of the Christian sayings like, “Well, at least she is in no more pain” or “She is in a better place,” they bring little comfort when you are missing someone. It may seem or feel selfish to miss someone but it is a reality. Our hearts ache!

We are children of God, yes (John 1:12)! We are chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4), yes! We are a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:5), yes! We are NOT immune to pain and suffering.

David points out that in these times of troubles when we feel like God is not listening and has hidden his face from us (Psalm 30:7), or has abandoned us, there is still hope. “For his anger only lasts a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (verse 5).

To overcome our sorrows and tragedies, we must do what we were made for, “Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name” (Psalm 30:4). Maybe not right now, but eventually, by staying the course and walking through our pains and turmoil, we will be able to sing right along with David. “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever” (verses 11 & 12).

God never promised us a life full of rainbows and unicorns. As long as sin separates the world from God, Christians will face tragedy, heartbreak, depression, and anxiety. However, we should not just sit around and mope. We must continue to pray and have hope because God will continue to show us favor with his grace. He will see us through anything we face in life.

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Open My Eyes

Psalm 119:18
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

 

Have you ever ask God to open your spiritual eyes to show you the glimpses of glory you cannot see by yourself? 

Without God’s help, we are simply “natural” persons with natural eyes. Paul reminds us, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand [see] them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

The goal of our Bible reading and study is simply to know and enjoy Jesus. “Seeing they do not” was Jesus’s phrase for those who saw him and his teaching only with natural eyes, without the illumining work of the Spirit (Matthew 13:13). This is why Paul prays, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened” (Ephesians 1:17–18).

By seeing through God’s eyes, we see the beautifully and wonderfully made children we are. We see each other as God’s children. We spend less time competing and more time serving.

Today, I hope you will join me in praying not just for the gift of spiritual sight, but for the gift of seeing wondrous things in God’s word and world around us.

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Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

 

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Greater than the Haters

Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female–for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

My mom and I went to see the new Hotel Transylvania 3 Summer Vacation. Don’t worry I promise no spoilers. The idea behind this one is the same as the other two. Humans and monsters should be able to live together in peace. 

This got me thinking about how we all should be able to look past our differences and live together in peace. I mean we are the ones that give ourselves all these titles, tags and labels.

I invite you for a moment to look through God’s eyes. When He looks at us, do you think He says,”Oh, there is Tabetha the overweight middle aged, conservative, Christian, dog lover from the midwest of America.” No! He does not! He doesn’t see any of these labels. These are all labels we humans have created to define ourselves.

It is perfectly Ok that we are different. Yes, we are different genders, ages, body types, religions, races, and cultures. We have different opinions on politics and even pet choices. However, those things were never meant to define us.

When labels begin to define us, we begin building walls. We create shackles that hold us back. We set boundaries. We decide what is wrong and right and who is wrong and night. We become haters.

Jesus came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18.) He came to free us from our defined labels. He brought grace to us so we could look through grace eyes. We could see each other just a God sees us, His children, holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12.)

We are to show mercy and grace to those who chose to define us and dislike us. As Murray the Mummy likes to say, “We gotta be greater than the haters!”  

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Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Weekend Blessings

Colossians 3:17
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

TGIF! We have made it through another week of life.  I hope yours was blessed.  

As you look forward to your weekend, I pray your calendar is blank, open to all sorts of possibilities. Those are my favorite kind of weekends.

No matter how you spend this weekend, I would like to pray for you today.

God, I thank you that we are chosen, holy and dearly loved by you. As this weekend approaches I pray we will be blessed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Help us to be there for one another and give out as much grace as you have given us. Over all these virtues we will put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Help us to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, since as members of one body we are called to peace. Let the message of Christ dwell among us richly as we teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to YOU with gratitude in our hearts. 

And whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we will do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to YOU, God the Father through him.

Amen
(Colossians 3:12-17) 

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Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Beautifully and Wonderfully Made

Psalms 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

I have this habit of reading things and highlighting, underlining and putting post-it notes all over them when I find quotes or ideas for blogs. Pick up my bible and you have no idea what notecard might fall out at you. I am not better with ebooks.  I highlight and leave myself notes all over the place.

Then there is my walls in my my office. OH BOY! I have all sorts of things tacked, taped and pinned. It is just the way my mind works. 

Some days my mania takes over and I am compelled to write. Sometimes beautiful poetry comes out. Other days, it is just a jumbled mess. I recently shared one of my pieces with a friend who happens to be a social worker. Reading her face as she looked at each line and curve which should have been coherent words but instead looked like some kind of string art, said it all. I know the unreadable layers of words upon words made no sense.  To be honest, what I was writing really had no meaning even if you could make out a word here or there. 

I look at those pages and I see beautiful pieces of art. I couldn’t always say that about them. They use to scare me the next day when I realized what I had done. Now, I see them for what they really are…healing. These roadmaps of lines and curves in multiple colors written in several different directions is my brain making sense of the world around me when I am stressed to my limits and overwhelmed by even the simple thought of breathing.  

God created my mind and he knew the trauma that was going to come into my life. He knew my mind needed a way to escape sometimes into a safe world. A world where words danced across a page, sometimes in a slow lyrical waltz and other times a fast paced jig. 

To some, my world looks like insanity, but to others it is peace. To those who travel the same or similar paths, I hope you find your own safe world. Travelers of other journeys far from my path, I also hope you always find a place to call home.

Whichever roads you take in life or places you find yourself, I hope and pray above all else you learn to love and accept yourself. Show yourself some grace. Paint a world with beautiful colors made up of you! Catch a glimpse in a mirror of just how God sees you!

No, I am not just a woman with PTSD, I am beautifully and wonderfully made.

Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Not a Fair Weather Friend

Matthew 28:20
Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Good Days, Bad Days
Happy Days, Sad Days
Every Days, All Days

We have all seen those stories (and a few of us may have lived them) where a person comes into money or fame and so called “friends” start popping up all over the place. Unfortunately, when the money and fame run out, so do those friends!

Thank goodness we have a true friend who doesn’t run out when the good times do. The original Greek word used for  “always” in Matthew 28:20 literally means “all the days”. Jesus meant he would be with us through All Our Days. This includes all of our circumstances, good and bad.

He is there in those deep dark places, where we think we will never see the light again. When the tears are coming so hard, you can’t even take a breath, he is there. Yes, he is even there when we don’t want to take another breath. You may not feel him or see him, but he is there fighting for you and loving you every step of the way.

This verse reminds me of my mom’s favorite poem, “Footprints.”

Our LORD is with us no matter what we face today. He is walking right beside us and sometimes even carries us. He is NOT a fair weather friend.

 

Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Express It and Confess It!

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Did you know you can’t surprise God? Yep, no surprise parties for Him. 

Everything you do and don’t do, 
Everything you feel and don’t feel, 
Everything you think and don’t thing,
He knows it all and is NOT surprised by it.

I came to grips with this a few years back when I was angry at God.  My husband came home, on my 10th wedding anniversary, to tell me he was in love with someone else and he wanted a divorce.  Here I was all dressed up and ready to go out for a nice dinner.  He was two hours late, with no phone call or text, and these were the first words out his mouth.  I am pretty sure I had a right to be upset.

I was upset with him, of course, but truth was, I was also angry with God.

I had two choices. One, be the “good little Christian” I was taught to be in my Sunday School class as a child and keep it all boxed up. Put a bow on top and smile my way through it. Two,  stomp off to my room give out a wail of an ugly cry and yell and scream at God. Throw the temper tantrums of all tantrums.

Want to guess what I did? If you guessed two, you would be correct!

It was all right there in my heart. God knew it already. I might as well express it! I gave Him both barrels.  I may have even thrown in a cuss word here and there. 

You know what I found out? God has big shoulders. Confessing to Him every little detail was healing. Hiding it and pretending it doesn’t exist doesn’t make it go away. Your pain will find you! 

God was not offended by my  brutal honesty.  As a matter of fact, I think He is more offended when we hide it.  It is like we are out and out lying to His face! We are no better than Adam and Eve trying to hide in garden.

The next time you feel those emotions boiling inside, express them and confess them. Pour out your heart to God. He is our strong refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

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Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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She is Not Broken Anymore

I know I would normally blog about some experience I am going through and then tie it all nice and neat up with a bow to a bible verse.  However, tonight is going to be a little different.  A bible study of verses in I Peter, in the Message version of the bible, spoke to me.  I really think they speak for themselves and need no wrapping paper or bows.

Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.

Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

So if you find life difficult because you’re doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep on doing it.

1 Peter 4:1-2, 12-13 & 19 The Message

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Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Thank You for Traveling that Road

Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

No one’s life is all rainbows and unicorns. We all face painful moments that rock out entire world in a matter of seconds.

These moments will change you forever. So let them change you for the good.  Let them make you smarter, stronger, and grace filled. 

Through these times of trials and tribulations you just might be molding into the person God is preparing as the answer to someone’s prayer. Someone is going to need your wisdom, knowledge and most important empathy when they travel the road behind you.

Right now you may not see the end of the tunnel, but I know the LORD can. He is right next to you every step breathing life into your present and future. He is shining HIS light in the darkest places. Hold on tight. 

He is NOT going to leave you or forsake you. His grip is very tight and He will not drop you. No uncertainty, no broken dreams, and NO FEAR can keep you from Him.

Kick, scream, cry, throw a tantrum if you must. But then straighten your crown, remind Satan just who you are and keep moving.

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Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.