Tag: Faith

Obedience

When No One Is Looking

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It’s wonderful to post about God in our social media accounts, or even blog posts. That’s very important and does matter. But what about when no one is looking. When only God sees us and our deeds, whether good or bad. Those moments when we make a choice to not give in to temptation and only the Lord knows. We never boast about it, or brag on the world wide web. It’s just us and the Lord.

In Matthew 6 Jesus talks about giving, praying, and fasting. And those who make a show of these things already received their reward, the praise of men. Yet there will be no reward from the Father.

Giving to the Needy

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.’

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Fasting

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:1-18, NIV

When our priority is to honor God, not man, it changes what we do and why. The things done in those moments where we could get away with it and no one would ever know, yet we choose to be obedient, glorify God. Because He sees all, and He knows the motives of our heart.

God knows when we have struggled to forgive someone and we finally forgive from our heart, He is pleased. He knows when we denied ourself and didn’t get angry, when normally we would have. He knows when we don’t give in to our temptations and we walk away. That honors Him. It has nothing to do with impressing someone else. It has everything to do with showing God how much we love Him through our obedience.

And bonus, there are rewards for those who honor God in secret. That shouldn’t be our motivator, but that’s how amazing God is. I honestly don’t know what those rewards are, but they are better than any praise from man, which is temporary. I personally have experienced peace, joy, and freedom when being obedient to God. I believe the rewards are on this side of heaven, and in eternity. God’s rewards are beyond compare.

Help us Lord, to honor You at all times, even when no one is looking.

Love you all,

Meghan

Photo credit: Meghan E. White

God

God’s Ways Are Perfect

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This stunning flower is from a carrot. I never pulled up my carrots from last summer and just let them be, resulting in the most gorgeous flowers. The term for this is called bolting. It’s a survival mechanism in plants when conditions are no longer ideal for the plant. The plant is producing seed to continue on. There is no longer viable fruit or vegetables after bolting occurs, but the seeds remain. New life will emerge.

It would have been great to enjoy a large bunch of carrots, but that did not happen. There were a few carrots early in the summer. Later, the unbearable heat made it challenging for me to do much work in the garden so the carrots were neglected. However, along with the stunning flowers, I pulled up this gargantuan carrot.

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It’s hard to tell from the picture, but this carrot is massive. Bigger than any I’ve ever grown. That’s what happens when you leave them through the winter. I will not eat it, but it sure was fun to find that in my garden.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

God’s ways are perfect. He made every plant, fruit, and vegetable. Only God can make something beautiful from a plant in distress. The fruit is no longer viable but the flower produces seed which means new life can continue. That’s not how I would do things, but I’m not God. I would have chosen an abundant carrot harvest, but I would have missed the stunning flowers. Sure, lots of veggies was the goal, but the circumstances were not ideal, and the plant was in distress.

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. Psalm 18:30

Whatever God allows is perfect. The hard things, painful things, and beautiful things, He allows. God’s way is perfect, not easy. Sometimes, His way is quite difficult for us. But He is a shield for us who take refuge in Him. He will help us. We don’t always understand His ways, but we can trust that He is faithful, and is working everything out for our good, and His glory.

We can trust God in all things. His ways are perfect.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your faithfulness and your perfect ways. Thank you for always working in our lives and turning beauty from ashes. Only you can do that Lord. You are our defender and protector as we take refuge in you. Help us, O God, to trust you more and give you everything that we are holding onto. Help us to place our fears and worries into your capable hands.

Amen

Love you all,

Meghan

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Photo credit: Meghan E. White

healing

The Root of the Problem

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This ugly, gnarled up root ball does not want to leave my backyard. I don’t remember when this weed tree appeared, but it seemed like it just popped up along our wrought iron fence one day. The first few years I trimmed it and did my best to hack it down, not really knowing what exactly it was. It took a while until I realized it’s just a weed tree.

Weeds can be tricky to get rid of, and a tree that has taken up residence in your yard, without being invited, is even more difficult to destroy. I would trim all the branches off and cut it down to the stump. For a while it looked like the unwanted tree had died. Then a small sprout appeared while I wasn’t looking, which rapidly multiplied, and turned into branches, and the nasty thing got bigger.

There is only one way to dispose of this nuisance, kill it at the roots. If the roots die, the tree dies. As I was digging and clawing at this hideous eye sore I was going deeper to expose the roots. The deeper I dug, the more I saw just how vast the root system of this ugly tree was. I quickly figured out I needed help from someone bigger and stronger with way more experience, my husband.

Our sins, our secrets, our addictions, and those shameful things we never talk about can turn into weeds in our soul. We’ve covered it all up, buried it with a nice pile of dirt, and believed that took care of it. Yet, we never killed the roots and it keeps growing and we keep trimming branches and hoping and praying that maybe it will just go away.

With each push of the shovel, the Lord reminded me of all the stuff I can let take root in my life if I’m not careful. Resentments, unforgiveness, and past hurts that seems so small can grow over time and become weeds in my life. I am not strong enough on my own to get rid of these uninvited guests. Only God can heal me and set me free from my sins, pain, and heartache. There is no root system too big for the Lord to destroy if we let Him. He is bigger.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139: 23-24, NIV

Come in, Oh Lord, to every part of us. Heal our hearts and destroy, at the root, anything that is sinful, or causing us pain. Give us the courage and grace to face the ugly stuff and stop covering it up. Expose those nasty deep roots, dear Lord, and set us free! Amen!

Love you all,

Meghan

Faith, Jesus

Out With the Old in With the New

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Another Christmas tree tossed to the curb. It’s just a tree but I like them. They each have their own personalities. This tree had a huge crack in the trunk, so about three feet had to be chopped off. It leaned to the right, but still so pretty. And there were no complaints about the smell. That wondrous fresh pine aroma filled our house.

This lovely tree, with all its memories, is gone. If it were up to me I’d probably have a fresh tree year round loaded with Christmas decorations. Trees eventually die so it wouldn’t be ideal to have one all year in my living room. It would look like a cactus by the time the next holiday season arrived. As much as I love fresh trees, I look forward to cleaning everything up from Christmas and putting it all away. It’s a fresh start.

Throwing out our old tree makes me think about throwing out some bad habits, and bad attitudes that need to go in my life. Like a dried up tired tree, so is my attitude at times. I say I’m going to change yet I still fall back into bad habits that need to go. I know what it takes to bring real lasting change, surrender.

Only Jesus can help me let go of whatever is destructive in my life, and He can make something new and beautiful from it. But I have to let go, and I don’t always want to. I think my old ways are better, when they clearly are not. It doesn’t stop me from going back to them like an old familiar shiny Christmas tree that dulls over time. I think it’s working, but it’s not. 

Jesus is calling me to trust Him with the old, and He’ll replace it with new. I’ll take what He’s handing out any day, even if it involves death to my old ways. His ways are the best. I’m looking forward to the new things that Jesus wants to do in me. It will be difficult to throw out the old bad stuff that I cling to, but I’m ready for the new stuff from my Savior. 

Complaining can be replaced with gratitude.

Worry can be transformed into faith.

Fear can be destroyed with peace.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17, BSB 

Love you all,

Meghan 

grief

The Compassion of Jesus

meghanewhite

img_6507There is no end to the love and compassion of Jesus for the hurting. He still acts the same today as He did two-thousand years ago. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. No one has the amount of compassion that Jesus does, and as His kids we get the benefit of that compassion. It’s unbelievable to experience the love of Jesus through His compassion. What an amazing Savior!

A beautiful illustration of Jesus’ compassion is when He healed the widow’s son. It’s just another example of His many miracles that appear in the middle of an ordinary event, yet it was all part of God’s perfect plan.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Luke 7:11-13, NIV 

Jesus stopped everything to help this hurting woman. She had already lost her husband, and now her only son was dead. This poor woman had twice the pain and heartache, and Jesus saw her. His heart went out to her, even though He was surrounded by a large crowd, probably wanting His help. Jesus had compassion on the widow.

It does not say she had been praying and asking God for a miracle. Maybe she was asking for a miracle, we don’t know, but God intervened. There was a perfect meeting between Jesus and the widow at the exact perfect time. Jesus felt her pain. His loving words, “Don’t cry,” say it all. 

It gets even better.

14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Luke 7:14-15, NIV 

Jesus touched the coffin (bier) with His mighty power and brought the young man back to life. In an instant the widow, and all the mourners, went from sorrow to celebration. He brought life from death, joy from sadness. Only Jesus can do that. 

It doesn’t end there.

16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. Luke 7:16-17, NIV

Because Jesus stopped and helped a hurting widow by bringing her only son back to life, the good news spread. It wasn’t just about helping one person. God can multitask like no one’s business. He can accomplish one million things in a nanosecond. 

Jesus’ heart went out to the widow. In the middle of large crowds of people all clamoring for His attention and help, He saw the widow. Jesus helped a grieving soul with His words of comfort and compassion. And then He performed a great miracle by raising her dead son back to life. 

Jesus’ compassion for the widow changed everything for her. The moment He came on the scene a great miracle happened with one touch. A young man sat up in a coffin, a mom’s heart was filled with joy, and many people learned about this wonderful Jesus. Lives were forever changed.  

Jesus sees you. He knows when you cry. He knows when you are hurting, devastated, and hopeless. He sees, and He knows. His compassion for You is powerful, and life changing, because He loves you and will help you. 

Love you all,

Meghan 

Photo Credit: Meghan E. White