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The Problem with Meddling

SUE TELL|GUEST Do you practice the habit of having a word of the year? In 2021 the word God gave me (or two words) was pull back. Why? What does that look like? I started praying and was stopped in my tracks when I read Peter’s admonition, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.” (I Peter 4:15, emphasis mine) Is meddling really in the same category as murder, theft, and evil? And are there areas where meddling is God’s reason for my pulling back? I began to pray. I began to seek the wisdom of my friends. I began to hear stories. And I began to hear God whispers. Three lessons rose to the surface: We who are entrusted with leadership are highly susceptible to meddling. Meddling can have serious consequences. When I don’t pull back and cease meddling, my time, capacity, and energy to give myself to God’s purposes designed for me are in jeopardy...

The Problem with Meddling2023-03-24T17:53:41+00:00

Breathe: The School of Prayer

KAREN HODGE|CONTRIBUTOR Take a deep breath and exhale; refreshing, right? Breathing is very complex but is primarily a subconscious activity. Did you know an average person breathes in and out around 22,000 times a day? Oxygen is the body's life-giving gas. It is crucial to help boost our immune system and overall health. Our sensitive brains require lots of oxygen to think. Concentrating can be hard when our oxygen levels dip, and we get lightheaded. We often don't think about breathing until we can't catch our breath. Our family recently relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado. My home sits up at 7400 ft. The view of Pikes Peak is spectacular, but the air is a bit thin. I have struggled to breathe. My personal takeaway is this: breathing is essential. It is a matter of life and death. Learning to Breathe There is a danger in familiarity. This is especially true in our spiritual lives. We may become casual in our relationship with God, taking His presence for granted. Martin Luther said, "To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." [1]Prayer is a lifeline for believers. It is the life-giving means God designed to build our relationship with Him and others. He created it to be an ongoing conversation which begins with His speaking to us through His Word and continues with our responding to Him in prayer. It would be ridiculous to think you would only need to breathe one hour, one day a week. Paul admonished us to "pray without ceasing" (I Thess.5:17). Prayer ought to be the natural overflow of our time in Scripture. These means of grace are as inextricably entwined as breathing in and breathing out. Cutting off these vital lifelines means we are more susceptible to the father of lies' schemes. But the good news is when we are in trouble, God is only a prayer away. We need only to cry out, "Help, Father!" Spiritual vitality begins with inhaling truth and exhaling prayers...

Breathe: The School of Prayer2023-03-24T17:55:10+00:00

Trading the Frantic for the Good Portion

HEATHER MOLENDYK|CONTRIBUTOR The walls of the tidy home seemed to stretch like an over-stuffed belly as man after dirt-tracking man entered the house under Martha’s expert gaze. Although boisterous conversation reverberated in the front room, Martha could still hear the structured commands of Custom, Cultural Tradition, and Good Breeding within the core of her soul. As men took their seats, Martha scurried to fetch the drinks. Road-weary men quenched their thirst while Martha organized platters and bowls in the kitchen. Martha noted how even the house seemed to settle in to listen when Jesus began to teach. Martha took advantage of the temporary peace to structure her meal plan. “We could serve the extra goat cheese from the…” Martha’s words slowed to a trickle. There was no one in the kitchen to hear her words. Where was her sister? “Mary?” Confusion turned to frustration as Martha left the food preparation to hunt down her sister. Never one to waste a step, Martha grabbed a fresh pitcher to refill drinks before beginning this ill-timed game of hide and seek...

Trading the Frantic for the Good Portion2023-03-24T17:55:15+00:00

Leaving a Legacy of Love: Preparing A Practical Legacy {Part 1}

ELIZABETH TURNAGE|CONTRIBUTOR “I told my neighbor I was taking this workshop, and she said, ‘I’m not doing a thing. They can figure it all out after I’m gone.’” A member of my Organizing Your Life and Legacy workshop shared this comment with our group, and we all shook our heads sadly. The comment doesn’t surprise us—death has become a taboo subject in our culture, less open for discussion than politics and sex.  Reasons abound for death’s denial and distancing, including fear of death, denial of death, and removal of death from the home to the hospital. And yet, like it or not, we’re all dying. How Scripture Prepares Us for Death..

Leaving a Legacy of Love: Preparing A Practical Legacy {Part 1}2023-03-24T17:55:20+00:00

Mercy in Modesty

MELISSA MCPHAIL|GUEST So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:12-13) I’ve read and studied James’ book of wisdom multiple times throughout the years, but this morning I realized the law of liberty is a New Testament explanation of Christ’s gospel of grace. Immediate conviction overwhelmed me. So speak and so act according to [grace]. Do I do that? No, most of the time, I do not. The recipients of this letter did not do that either. James instructed the believers to hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, and in so doing, they were to show no partiality (James 2:1). None. Zero. They were not to have a spirit of judgmentalism or display a critical eye having strong opinions of others. They were not to make distinctions among Christ’s people and become judges with evil thoughts. They, too, knew the right thing to do and struggled to obey...

Mercy in Modesty2023-03-24T17:55:26+00:00
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