Category: Sister Judy (Page 27 of 267)

May we practice putting others before ourselves and we will experience incredible joy. Let us ask the Lord to open our eyes to see the needs of those around us. Some may have physical needs that we can meet, and others may have emotional or spiritual needs. If the Lord lays it on our hearts, let us respond and do as Jesus said in Acts 20:35, ”It is more blessed to give than to receive!”

Now prayer isn’t that we always have feelings of joy and peace and comfort but sometimes it can be like feeling the well has run dry. We want to go back to those warm feelings, but God is beyond our human emotions and even when we feel like we are in a desert, He can speak to us. Our part is to open our hearts to Him however He comes to us. He is the one who is in charge and will move us on in our spiritual journey as He knows we are ready. Often the dryness is a sign that we are about to turn a corner and get ready for what is coming. Sometimes it is just good to sit in His presence quietly without saying anything but just be with Him. Almost the moment we do, distractions come to us, and we can just dismiss them. But if we fear we may forget something for later, we can keep a pad and pen handy to write down.

Prayer is not something we force, but is a gift of grace that we receive when we open our hearts to Him. Like Haas wrote, “The goal of all prayer is a prayerful surrender not only of the heart whose door is wide open to God but also the will that is eagerly prepared to respond to any divine invitation or request. “

We just recently went to our son’s home for Thanksgiving and felt welcomed and cared for. In fact, we had the whole lower level to ourselves, a comfortable king bed, our own bathroom, and in the morning had our devotions by the warm fireplace in soft chairs. But hospitality can be shown in much smaller ways as well, as recently we were offered a regular sized bed, a shared bathroom and managed just fine. In fact, growing up and spending time at the cabin, we all shared one room and a porch with beds and had to go to the outhouse, but hospitality was shown with wonderful meals and time together.

Hospitality is shown when hearts are open to one another and we offer what we have for the comfort of another. It is a selfless act and we die a little more to our wants and desires and think of others before ourselves. Maybe our home isn’t in the neatest condition with a toddler or baby to tend, but when we sit around the table and share the Lord, our hearts are warmed and we feel at home.

Peter says in I Peter 4:8, “Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully.” He goes on to say we should be generous with the everything God has given us. I saw hospitality practiced so often in my home growing up and I don’t ever remember my mom complaining but found joy in welcoming others into our two-bedroom home. At times she and dad gave up their own bedroom for others. Let us not miss the blessings the Lord has for us, but show love and hospitality to others.

Challenge for today: Let us use opportunities to practice selfless love by showing hospitality as the Lord prompts us.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

When we know the Lord and His love that is put within us, we view others from a different perspective. We are done with being antagonistic and argumentative and we settle our differences and make things right. Others are also viewing us and looking to see how we respond and if we are quick to forgive. Because we are grateful for what the Lord has done for us, we express it in our lives by treating others with compassion and generosity and meeting their needs which may include not only physical needs but emotional and spiritual.

We might give ourselves a checkup, especially as we may be gathered over the holidays with relatives and friends that we don’t often see. Do we focus on petty differences or are we living wide open spacious lives with hearts open to include others in God’s love. Can they catch the aroma of the fragrance of God’s love. that seems to spill out on them or do we cancel others out because they don’t agree with us? Let us follow what Paul had to say and view them as ones for whom Christ died and can make new, and then live at peace with one another.

We might say, that’s not me you’re talking about as being self-centered but maybe is it true of all of us? Do we get concerned about our self-image and fail to respond to needs of others we see because we aren’t sure how others will view it? Do we compare ourselves with someone who appears more spiritual or more successful? As I read Albert Haase’s book, The Sacred Moment, he writes how his spiritual director told him, “I think what would give God the most pleasure and delight is if you became the best Albert Haase that God created you to be. That’s the real secret to spiritual formation and contemporary holiness.” We were never meant to become just like someone else so why compare but instead gladly receive who the Lord made us to be and to do the works He has for us to do.

Perhaps we see that even spiritual leaders deal with self-absorption and though they rejoice in what God may be doing, secretly want to be the one through whom God is doing it.  Maybe they see the powerful move of the Holy Spirit and want to be one getting the credit for their many prayers; or perhaps find it hard to rejoice if God is blessing the church in a big way down the road. The more we die to self the more we can rejoice in how God uses others, even if we are in the background. Let us have selfless responses and rejoice however God works and whomever God works. (Gal 2:20)