Sherry Sharp

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV.

Friends of my family have come to visit for a couple of weeks; accompanying them is their eight-month-old baby daughter. Although it could no doubt go without saying, this precious little being is an absolute delight. She coo’s and smiles all the time. In conversation with her mama, we discussed how everything in the world is a new discovery in her baby’s eyes. For example, she is easily entertained just looking into the face of another human being. Give her a kitchen spatula and she will play for half a day wielding it around and around before finally inserting it into her mouth for a taste. Like other eight-month-olds, this little one is learning all day everyday things that are new.

After spending a couple of days with our friend’s baby, it occurred to me that her perception of the world around her is very different from mine. Of course, I have lived many decades longer than this baby girl has been alive, so naturally, her “extraordinary” is only ordinary to me. I have looked into many human faces, and I have wielded a spatula more than a few times in my kitchen while cooking meal after meal. In fact, I have probably become somewhat critical if not cynical about the world in which I live.

Sometimes I must remind myself, that God created all things. How easy it is to forsake what is true. “In Christ…we are new…all things have become new.” The sunrise, sunset, flowers, trees, indeed all things, including you and me are new, if only we will choose to experience life through a fresh lens, much like my new little baby friend. Oh, the wonder of the creation; even more so, the absolute wonder of Creator God, who makes all things new.

Lord, forgive me for becoming jaded about the things that have become familiar. You have given so much beauty. Help me to look expectantly and eagerly with fresh eyes at everything and everyone, knowing that You are the Giver! 

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3, NKJV

My eyes were closed in prayer when my wrist began to vibrate underneath my watch. These intrusions happen throughout the day and always demand my attention. Opening my eyes and looking down at the watch, I read these words, “Pause and reflect to have a more mindful day.” This is not the first time seeing the message, so I did pause and become curiously mindful of the meaning behind the phrase. Although the message to “Pause and reflect” pops up periodically on my 21^st Century Dick Tracy type watch, the intention of the message is as old as humankind. Surely, Isaiah had the same thought in mind when he penned chapter 26.

Today, technology with its built-in algorithm can remind us to do as the Psalmist instructed in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Emphasis mine). Pause and be mindful. I have often wondered, without God, what is the substance of mindfulness? Some days, I am strong with courage and the will to survive in a world that seems to have lost its way. However, apart from knowing Jesus as the True Constant, never changing, everlasting Source of peace, what do you and I have as a reliable anchor?

From now on, whenever I see the words “mindfulness” or “meditation,” I will thank God for His Son, Jesus, who never fails to deliver what is impossible to muster up on my own…peace. No friend, no family member, and no worldly philosophy is trustworthy and faithful like Jesus. He is my Rock and Sustainer and deserves my trust. I pray you will trust Jesus, too.

“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24, NKJV

Sometimes it is a simple truth that works like a soothing salve on a wounded heart. The Bible verse in Psalm 31 is that “soothing salve” for me.

Perhaps like you, friend, when I peruse my daily “inbox” of emails, the current events news catches my eye and demands my attention. Like driving past a wreck on the highway, my human curiosity cannot help but be drawn to the carnage forbidding me to look away. Finding encouraging news articles to read has become harder and harder.

So, how do we face the “Breaking News” as the ding alerts rattle our phones? Is our world really polarized beyond any hope of finding common ground from which to start a conversation? Families with generational diversity find themselves unable to discuss current issues without yelling or the opposite, shutting down any conversation when complete agreement with one side of an argument or the other cannot be met.

Is there a remedy? While I cannot promise an easy solution that will solve every issue demanding attention and that divides humanity, spending time with the LORD in quiet helps me to see chaos from a different perspective. For those of us who need eyeglasses to see the world clearly, sitting down with God and reading His Word is like putting on our spiritual “glasses;” everything happening around us when seen through God’s lens of truth becomes clearer.

Human conflicts are not new; they just come packaged in soundbites that reflect the modern culture. Satan has been hard at work since the beginning of creation to wreak as much havoc as possible before his time runs out. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesian 6:12, NKJV).

However, put on your “spiritual glasses!” Jesus tells us, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, emphasis mine, NKJV).

The problem is Satan. The remedy is Jesus!

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trust in Him!” Psalm 34:8, NKJV

Our family was dining at a very nice resort restaurant to celebrate a special occasion. As we looked over the menu for the Saturday brunch, the server pointed us to the wine list. We were in a part of the country where vineyards are plentiful, so those who had interest perused the selection. One in our party called everyone’s attention to a bottle of wine that was selling for $14,000. No, I did not make a mistake in the number of zeros.

“Huh?” I said. “Seriously?”

“Yep!” was the reply. “$14,000.”

“Wow. That must be some bottle of wine.” We all agreed.

After a good laugh, we also agreed that such a select wine would be wasted on us, since not one of us has a discerning taste for grapes. A Sommelier, on the other hand, is a person who specializes in different wines and who most likely could taste the difference between a multi-thousand-dollar bottle of wine and a bottle selling for $30.00.

How sad for the person with such finite taste buds, I thought to myself; they probably can never fully enjoy wine of lesser quality.

Then, the Scripture from Psalm 34:8 came to my mind. When you and I experience the love of God, through Jesus Christ, just like the wine expert, absolutely nothing else the world has to offer will or can satisfy our hunger and thirst for what is spiritually “good.” Unlike the expensive bottle of wine, however, what Jesus offers is free to anyone who asks.

Friend, as one who has “tasted” of the goodness of the LORD for the last forty years, nothing and no one compares. I invite you to do the “taste test” of Jesus; He is faithful and He will never disappoint you.

For deeper study, read John 2:1-12.

“Be happy in your faith at all times. Never stop praying. Be thankful, whatever the circumstances may be. If you follow this advice, you will be working out the will of God expressed to you in Jesus Christ” (J.B. Phillips New Testament).

Bee Happy! Psalm 37:4” so reads the garden flag waving in my front yard adorned with colorful embroidered flowers and whimsical flying bees. In the community where I live, yard flags are a common addition. Our yards are small and look very much alike, so between flags and flower plantings we have an opportunity to express our different personalities. Walking through the neighborhood, I enjoy seeing the embellishments people have chosen to share with passersby.

The sentiment, “Bee Happy” is cute, colorful, and quirky which is why I like it, but I am a little troubled that it references the Bible verse in Psalm 37 without further explanation. Bible scripture can be read in a variety of translations and paraphrases. Psalm 37:4 in the Easy English Bible does read “Be happy…” however, taken out of context often leads to a misunderstanding of the intended message. You see, according to the passage, the reason to be happy are the words that follow, “that the LORD is your friend.”

Ironically, looking from the perspective of context, Psalm 37 is about how we should consider ourselves when dealing with “evildoers.” Hm…I wonder how that message might look on a garden flag in the front yard?

Well, the fact is, you and I do have so much for which to be happy. regardless of our circumstances, which may or may not include “evildoers.” Understanding and believing that “the Lord is our friend” should fill us with joy and happiness. Probably each one of us has a story that includes at least one person who does not like us. For certain, we all have an adversary, Satan, who hates God and, therefore, hates those who love God and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Satan wants to steal our happiness, joy, and peace.

But for Jesus…as the flag states, “Bee Happy!”

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was…” James 1:23-24, NKJV.

Most houses have them these days. When I recently moved into my new home, it came with a security system, of which I was immediately skeptical. Every previous residence has had a security system that has either malfunctioned or seemed to have a mind of its’ own. With fear and trembling, I decided after a few nights in the new house to set the alarm. The emotion of “fear and trembling” was not because of a possible unwanted intruder, rather it was because I did not trust the alarm not to go off erroneously.  

For a couple of weeks, I have been setting the alarm and it has behaved perfectly. Routinely, now, I activate the alarm system, head to bed, and sleep peacefully throughout the night. Because the alarm is reliable and trustworthy, I rest with no worries either of an intruder or of the system malfunctioning.

God’s Word instructs readers over and over about trusting in the Lord, who is reliable and never “malfunctions.” The Prophet, Jeremiah writes, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose trust is the LORD” (17:7, NKJV). When we profess faith in God by the blood of Jesus Christ, unmistakably we are declaring that God stands above any earthly power or adversary. If one declares faith in God, but then lives in fear, he (or she) is the embodiment of what James says about being a “hearer,” versus a “doer” of God’s Word. We claim to be a believer in God, and people in the world are watching to see if we are authentic by being a “doer,” or are we simply saying we believe but live as those who do not know and trust in God by faith.

The illustration of the home security system may seem like an over-simplification of what it means to have faith in God. I would disagree. Just as you and I put our trust in the house alarm to warn us of danger, and go to sleep, trusting, then surely God wants us to put our faith and trust in Him, letting go of all anxiety and fear.

Fear or faith…which one is your master?