“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”¹

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.

“As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.

“So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.”

It is well know that too much stress is a “killer.” Writing in Eternity magazine some time ago Fred Stansberry talks about “stress-related diseases such as cancer, arthritis, heart and respiratory diseases, migraines, allergies and a host of other psychological and physiological dysfunctions which are increasing at an alarming rate in our Western culture.”

Stress is pretty much common to us all in today’s pressure-cooker world. It is our responsibility, however, to do what we can to lessen the stress factors in our life wherever possible. To do this the following tips can help.

Write down all your cares and worries. Put them in order of priority and eliminate those that aren’t important.

1. Know what your limit is and limit yourself to what
you can handle.
2. With stress comes pent-up feelings. Learn how
to express these creatively and get them off
your chest.
3. Accept the fact that some things can’t be changed.
4. Limit major life changes to as few as possible
in any one year.
5. Resolve all resentments immediately.
6. Make time for rest and relaxation … get
sufficient sleep.
7. Watch your diet and eating habits.
8. Maintain a regular physical exercise program.
9. Ultimately, however, we need to learn to trust our
life to God in all circumstances.

For a more in depth answer to “Turning Stress into Success” go to: http://tinyurl.com/7q6lw, and to test your level of stress go to: http://tinyurl.com/2p2fb7

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to accept the fact that I am neither superman nor superwoman and limit myself to what I can do and do well. And help me to ‘change the things I can change and accept (with grace and patience) the things I cannot change’ and trust my life to you in all circumstances. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV).

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”Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”¹

You may have read about the teenage boy who lost a contact lens while playing basketball in his driveway. After a fruitless search, he told his mother the lens was nowhere to be found. Undaunted, she went outside and in a few minutes returned with the eyepiece in her hand.

“How did you manage to find it, Mom?” the teenager asked.

“We weren’t looking for the same thing,” she replied. “You were looking for a small piece of plastic. I was looking for $150.”²

What we look for and see in life is largely determined by our values. More often than not when kids inherit a small fortune which cost them nothing and for which they did nothing to earn it, they pretty much blow it within two years. Also, if suffering people don’t have any value to us, we will largely ignore them and not do anything to help them. Furthermore, if I don’t see people the way God sees them—lost sinners in need of a Savior and of such infinite value to God that he gave his Son, Jesus, to come to earth and die on a cruel Roman cross to pay the penalty for all our sins—I won’t do anything to seek to influence them for Jesus nor do anything to help win them to him.

What we value is what we seek after and find.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to set priorities for what I value most in life and give of my best to seek, find and fulfill what these values imply—and help me to ensure that these values are in direct harmony with your eternal values. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV).
2. Alan Smith, TFTD (Thought for the Day)
http://www.tftd-online.com

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“I being in the way, the Lord led me.”¹

Somebody has pointed out that there are two ways to reach the top of an oak tree—you can climb it or sit on an acorn and wait!

I was criticized for suggesting in a Daily Encounter that I wanted Jesus to be my co-pilot. I was informed that Jesus is to be our pilot.

I know that sounds good. However, in the Christian life it is sometimes difficult to discern how much God does for us and how much we need to do for ourselves. One thing is certain, God will do for us what we are not able to do for ourselves (that’s why he sent Jesus to die in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins), but he won’t do for us what we are quite capable of doing and need to do ourselves. If he did, he would be being codependent and that would keep us over-dependent, irresponsible and immature.

God has promised to give us wisdom if we ask for it, guidance if we seek it, and be with us wherever we go if we ask him to—providing we stay within the limits of his guidelines and boundaries. The fact is, however, that we are always responsible for the decisions we make and the actions we take. We are in charge of our life.

When Abraham sent his chief servant (possibly Eliezer)² to seek a wife for his son, Isaac, as he set out to do this, he prayed for God to direct and help him make the best choice. He didn’t sit around waiting for “the right person” to come along. He went looking for her. However, as he did his part, God led him. That is why he said, “I being in the way, the Lord led me.”

Doing our part is accepting personal responsibility. As I do this, I can rest assured God will do his part. We will sit and wait for a long time if we expect otherwise.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to act responsibly in everything I do and lean heavily on you for wisdom, guidance and direction. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Abraham’s servant, Genesis 24:27 (KJV).
2. See Genesis 15:2.

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“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”¹

On one occasion when I was in a particular group, one man constantly and bitterly complained how negatively other people treated him.

As kindly as I could I finally said to him, “You know, John, what we project is what we get back!”

I felt as though my words fell on “deaf, angry” ears!

The fact remains, if we constantly project negative vibes and express negative words, that is what we will receive in return. Also, if we constantly project feelings of anger and express angry words, anger responses is what we will receive in return.

On the other hand, if we constantly project loving and warm feelings and express kind, loving and encouraging words, that, too, is what we will receive in return.

Unless we are being persecuted because of our Christian faith, as a general rule what we consistently project is what we consistently get back. As Jesus also said, “We reap what we sow.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to realize and accept the fact that if I am constantly feeling put down, rejected or criticized, chances are (in most cases) it may just be because of the attitude that I am projecting. Help me see what my problem is and lead me to the help I need to change. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus (Luke 6:38, NIV).

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“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”¹

A friend sent me the following illustration: One of my teachers had each one of us bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes. For every person we refused to forgive for whatever they did, we were told to choose a potato, write on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag.

We were then told to carry this bag with us everywhere for two weeks, putting it beside our bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to our desk at work, etc.

The hassle of lugging this around with us made it clear what a weight we were carrying spiritually and emotionally, and how we had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget it and leave it in embarrassing places.

Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated. This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for nursing our grudges. Too often we think of forgiveness as a gift to the other person while it clearly is for ourselves!

So the next time you decide you can’t forgive someone, ask yourself, Isn’t your bag heavy enough?

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to forgive all who have ever hurt me and to never nurse a grudge—no matter what others have done or have failed to do—just as you always forgive me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus (Luke 6:37, NIV).

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“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”¹

Many years ago Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929) said: “While sitting on the bank of a river one day, I picked up a solid round stone from the water and broke it open. It was perfectly dry in spite of the fact that it had been immersed in water for centuries. The same is true of many people in the Western world. For centuries they have been surrounded by Christianity; they live immersed in the waters of its benefits. And yet it has not penetrated their hearts; they do not love it. The fault is not in Christianity, but in men’s hearts, which have been hardened by materialism and intellectualism.”

Intellectualism (this does not mean being intellectual) can be and often is a defense against facing one’s reality, and used as a means to rationalize the belief system we want and choose to believe. If we intellectualize or rationalize away God, then we can deceive ourselves into believing that we are ultimately only responsible to ourselves. In so doing we harden our hearts against truth and reality.

Materialism is often a symptom of buried emotions, especially the emotion of wonder. Instead of finding fulfillment in the wonder and beauty of creation and nature, we get wrapped up in things. As the saying goes, instead of loving people and using things we end up unhappily loving things and using people. Another way to harden our hearts and a dangerous way to live.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be totally honest with myself and with you and learn how to enjoy the beauty of your creation and the simple things of life and therein protect my heart from becoming hardened. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus (Luke 12:15, NIV).

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“The LORD confides in those who fear [reverence] him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me!”¹

“Loneliness, it’s such a sad affair” sang Karen and Richard Carpenter some years ago. Sad to say for Karen she was apparently singing exactly how she felt for, feeling unloved and lonely, she starved herself to death.

Probably most of us at one time or another know the painful pangs of loneliness. We were created for relationships and without sufficient love and human companionship we “limp along in the shadows of life” starving for human love, warmth and connection.

King David also knew what it was like to be lonely especially when he was on the run from King Saul who was desperately jealous of him and was seeking to kill him.

I know what it’s like to be lonely, too—even when among friends—with that deep down feeling that leaves one feeling empty inside. My problem? Because of past hurts I was afraid to get too close to people for fear of being hurt again.

But I, too, sought the Lord in my loneliness and shared my fears, failures and insecurities with him and asked him to give me the courage to face the cause/s of my fear and to lead me to the help I needed to overcome them. I had personal issues to work on and resolve, and while it took time I’ve come a long way since then and am more open to love than ever before.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you so much that you hear the cry of my heart when I reach out to you in my loneliness and pain. Help me always to be honest with myself and you and please give me the courage to face the cause/s of my loneliness, accept responsibility for what I need to do, and lead me to the help I need to overcome. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

For additional help in overcoming loneliness, go to: http://tinyurl.com/3bg5xy

1. King David (Psalm 25:14-19 NIV).

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“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”¹

Some time ago a friend sent me a report about some 600 lawyer hopefuls who were taking the California state bar exam when an older student had a heart attack. Two of the students stopped to help him but, as the story went, were not allowed any additional time to finish the exam. Unfortunately, I’m red faced, in that part of the story was true and part of it was a hoax and very misleading. So I am deleting the story and apologize for my error.

The point I was trying to make was the devastating effects of legalism which is still very much alive and well in many circles today in both secular and religious institutions. Legalists are basically insecure people who use rules and regulations to control others and to keep themselves feeling safe. It is of course a fasle security.

Jesus ripped apart the legalistic religious Pharisees of his day who loved their stupid man-made rules more than they loved people. No wonder Jesus blasted them. And how like Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. A fellow Jew had been robbed and beaten and left by the side of the road in great pain and distress. When a priest came by and saw him, he passed by on the other side of the street. Another religious leader did exactly the same thing. But a man the Jews despised, a Samaritan, “took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please delive me from the curse of legalism and help me to be like the Good Samaritan. Because of all you have done for me, give me a compassionate heart for others who, like me, are also in need. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 1:27.

2. See Luke 10:30-37.

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