Blessing Others on Her Birthday: 14 Random Acts of Kindness

Last week we celebrated Emily's birthday. In lieu of a party with friends we decided to do something different in honor of our daughter's 14th year. I had read about people doing random acts of kindness on their birthdays. One act of kindness for every year old they are. After proposing this idea, Emily thought about it for a day or two and then came back to me saying she wanted to do it. She had a few acts of kindness in mind already. The thing that blessed my heart most were the words, "My birthday doesn't need to be all about me."

So a week in advance we made a list of the "Random Acts" we felt led to do and began to gather the necessary supplies. We pulled out gift bags and tissue, New Testaments and tracts.  We purchased bubbles, stickers and sidewalk chalk; chicken salad, candy and cookie mix. In all we prepared 14 kinds of gifts.

Giddy with excitement we set out bright and early on the morning of her birthday to bless others, showing God's love in practical ways.

1. Emily delivered gift bags to our neighbors that contained homemade cookies and a New Testament. We affectionately call these kinds of gifts "food for the stomach, food for the soul". (My kids and I have used this concept for years to share a little snack and God's love with the homeless, giving snack cracker packs and a tract.)

2. She left a gift of bubbles, sidewalk chalk and candy for our neighbor's little girl to come home to as and after school treat.

3. Before leaving the neighborhood, Emily placed a bag of cookies and a tract in the mailbox and to bless the mailman.

4. Having made Emily an appointment for a much needed haircut, we took that opportunity to bless our friend and favorite hairdresser. We baked her some special muffins and picked up a glass of her favorite tea.

5. Wanting to include some very special kid missionary friends in our day, we packaged stickers in an envelope and took them to the post office for an international stamp and mailed them to the U.K. When the mail lady asked if we wanted a passport application to go with our order so we could go visit them, we were able to say we'd already been there and share that they're there to plant a church in Glasgow.

6. Emily lit up at the idea of blessing a sweet widow we've befriended. We took her a little package of cookies as well. Unfortunately we missed seeing her and had to leave them on the doorstep.

7. Next we met up with a young lady whom we love that will be relocating to Haiti next month to devote her life to missions. Emily cleaned out her closet and came up with a bag of gently used donations for the girls she will serve in an orphanage there.

8. We lovingly prepared a picnic style lunch basket with chicken salad, croissants, apples, kettle corn and sweet orange tea. It was delivered to a very special first time mommy with a one week old bundle of joy!

9. Our next stop was the All Children's Park where Emily had fun handing out ice cream cone shaped bottles of bubbles to parents for their little ones. Those we encountered were pleasantly surprised by this gesture and wished her a happy birthday.

10. We drove to the pediatricians office where Emily donated a bag full of new and gently used books and magazines for the waiting room. The office manager that received them kept saying how much she "loved" her idea and hoped it would spur their staff on to pay it forward.

11. At a laundromat down the street we asked to hang bags on the washers to bless incoming customers. Each bag contained a R.A.O.K. Card, detergent pods and a copy of the instructions from the bag.

In the early afternoon we took a drive to have lunch with our son Cory, so Emily would get to see her brother on her birthday.  Then he patiently hung out with us at the mall while she did some birthday shopping.

12. Along the way, Emily handed out little boxes of candy she had prepared to bless the clerks and wait staff we would encounter throughout the day. She stretched them out so last one would be given to our waitress that evening.

13. As we headed back to town we made a b-line for Target. Having a tender heart for our human trafficking ministry, she wanted to look at the registry available for a nearby safe home opening soon and buy an item on the list with her birthday money. The registry items are helping to accessorize the home so girls rescued from child sex trafficking will have a beautiful place to live while they heal.

14. Finally, before meeting family for dinner we took little bags with quarters in them to the kiddie ride area at the mall. We taped some to the empty rides for future customers to find, and gave one in person to a mom and her little one so he could ride the race car he had his eye on.

These 14 Random Acts of Kindness made for an amazing day. When asked, Emily couldn't begin to say which one was her favorite because she had too many special moments. As we drove between stops she said she wished we'd started doing this on our birthdays a long time ago. She declared it should definitely be a tradition going forward.

Showing God's love in practical ways is a wonderful way to spend a birthday. Happy Birthday to our girl who's beautiful inside and out! Now to make my list of 40-something acts of kindness so I'll be ready when my turn rolls around...

Resurrecting Hope

"Then I thought, 'To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.' I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all Your works and consider Your mighty deeds." Psalm 77:10-12

We find here a theme that is all too familiar in the book of Psalms. Asaph the psalmist is crying out to God in despair. He feels forgotten. Overlooked. Faint in spirit. Rejected. Disregarded. Anxious and unable to sleep. His hopes dashed. 

Considering the psalmist's stressed state of mind, we see his despair rooted in wrong thinking. In verses 1-9 his mind is fixed on the discouraging circumstances that surround him. Such stressors might come from delayed or unanswered prayer, marital or financial struggles, wayward children, strained relationships, health concerns, shattered dreams, death of a loved one, or countless other trials. His mind was focused on the things he could account for: the facts and the things he saw or felt. But Asaph's view is limited. And feelings are not trustworthy. His finite view was never meant to be his source of hope. In limiting his faith only to what he could discern in the situation, he limited his view of God. A small view of God made his circumstances feel overwhelming.

But in verse 10, after wallowing in his despair, he has a thought. A thought no doubt placed by the Holy Spirit. He decides to shift his focus and console himself by remembering the goodness of God. 

The miracles.

His power and might.

Redemption.

His leadership.

God's faithfulness.

He focuses on the power and authority represented by "the right hand of the Most High". In so doing, he becomes intentional about fixing his mind on the truth of God's character vs. the lies and doubt he had so easily succumb to. 

Some circumstances in life are meant for the testing of our faith. Others are "our cross to bear" so to speak, meant to bring God glory and accomplish His divine purposes. Either way, when we fix our mind on the problem, our view of God becomes small. We are easily overwhelmed, frustrated, depressed or angry. But when we shift our focus to "the right hand of the Most High," putting God in His proper place in our lives, our circumstances pale in comparison. We remember His ability to redeem them. Or to do something in us through them. Consoling one's heart and mind (or inner self) with remembrances of God's faithfulness, meditating on His goodness, and reflecting on His abilities is good therapy. It's preaching the gospel to yourself. For the discouraged and despairing it causes a shift in mindset. 

It lightens the heavy load. 
It lifts our downtrodden spirit.
It resurrects hope. 

Lord Jesus, You are Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, and You sit at the right hand of the Father. Whatever our circumstance,You want our eyes fixed on You because You are Able. Able to bring peace. Able to bring joy. Able to bring hope. Able to make us content. Able to make a way. For Your ways are higher than ours. You see the big picture. You have a grand, master plan. Help us not to get wrapped up in our finite view that leads to despair. Rather, help us to fix our eyes on You and Your abilities, and rest in the fact that You have our best interest at heart. Father God, You always know best. May our hope and peace be in You alone. In Jesus' name, amen.

Desperate or Deliberate?

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

Luke 11:13

In this passage about prayer Jesus is sharing through parables some instruction on how to pray. These parables are in response to one of His disciples saying to Him back in verse 1, "Lord, teach us how to pray..."

In Luke 11:6 I read about the persistent friend. This friend goes to his neighbor at midnight and knocks asking for some bread saying, "...a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him."

As I think on this in relation to prayer, I realize this is how prayer so often goes. We are presented with a question or a situation and we don't know how to respond. Our friend pours their heart out on an issue and we have no idea what to say or how to encourage them. In turn, our lack creates a need. In that need we go desperately to the Father in prayer. We run to the Lord and ask for help. We know He is our "ever present help in time of need" (Psalm 46:1). We need the Holy Spirit to intervene and help us, or show us what to do...so we ask for Him.

(pause there for a moment while I share my heart)

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I've been in a long season of spiritual growth in the Lord and at the same time, in a 'not so fun' place with Him. My God has been allowing the sinful nature that is in my heart to surface. Once He showed me one thing, He'd move on to another. And another. Sometimes He made things abundantly clear by showing me multiple examples of a sin or wrong attitude coming out of me. I can't even begin to tell you how heartbreaking and sobering this private process has been. I strive to live a life that is pleasing to my Lord, so to have Him show me all the depravity that was still in my heart... Well, that hurt. It hurt because I knew it grieved Him. Sin in my life defames His name. When everything else drained out the ugliness remained. Like a sifting. There it was. All of it. With everything else removed I could really see what was in my heart. For the most part I'd say it was just God showing me. And me being frustrated with myself. No one else needed to know. Only God and I could do anything about it.

Meanwhile, during this process, my pastor had been encouraging our church staff to pray daily and ask the Lord to fill us with the Holy Spirit. To pray before we even get out of bed something along the lines of, "Lord, please fill me with the Holy Spirit. Empower me to do Your will today." I began doing this rather sporadic at first, then gradually with more consistency. Mostly because I had some questions in my mind.

Then a couple weeks ago, I came to Luke 11:13 in my Bible reading. I've been camped there ever since.

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

Marinating in this passage I realized how often I was willing to give myself up and let the Holy Spirit take over when I was desperate. Desperate for an answer on an issue. Desperate like the friend asking his neighbor at midnight for some bread. Desperate when I lacked confidence to do something I was called to do. But in recent months after those promptings by my pastor, and the evidence of such fleshly attitudes in my life, I did start asking the Holy Spirit to fill me up before I started my day. I was doing it but wrestling with it at the same time, trusting the Lord to show me the answer to my question which was, "If I already have the Holy Spirit, and trust that He is present in my life, why do I need to keep asking for Him?" I knew, that I knew, that I knew, that I was sealed with the Holy Spirit the day I trusted Jesus with my life. Ephesians 4:30 assures me when Paul says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." So in my heart I really wrestled with why I needed to ask for something I already had. I was sure it was biblical, I just needed to understand it in my head and my heart.

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With that in mind, this passage sort of stopped me in my tracks. It was the phrase "the Holy Spirit" that got my attention. I'm not sure I had ever really taken note of the difference between this verse and it's parallel in Matthew 7:11. The verse in Matthew was the one more committed to my memory. Take note:

Matthew 7:11 --
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

Luke 11:13 --
"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

In studying this passage at length, I have learned that the change in the phrase from "good gifts" to "Holy Spirit" is known as a metonymy of the cause. The first verse here is stating the effect. The second, the cause.

METONYMY (Mesa + onoma = a change of name)
One word is used in place of another to portray some actual relationship between the things signified.

All "good things" come through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the evidence of good things in our lives found in Matthew, can be replaced with the ultimate source of the good things, the providential work of the Holy Spirit, as found in Luke.

So to answer my own question, I believe this is one of those mysteries in the Bible where the answer is "both/and". I am sealed with the Holy Spirit -- therefore He is "with" me -- because I have placed my faith in Christ. The Spirit is also "in" me giving victory over the flesh, developing Christian character, healing infirmities, inspiring me when I pray, cleansing me, sanctifying me, comforting me, and interceding on my behalf. As I yield myself day by day making more and more room for the power of the Spirit, He acts and works within me and I operate less and less in the flesh. The Bible also implies that the Spirit can be "on" me, anointing me to do some special service for God. I am both sealed with the Spirit and I can have more of the Spirit.

(Ref: The Scofield Study Bible, New International Version, 1984, "The Holy Spirit in the New Testament, Summary" on page 1431.)

As I have been praying this prayer, I am realizing that more than being filled daily, it's a yielding to the Spirit that is already there willing to act and work in and through me -- when I let Him. It's asking Him to guide me in His ways and intentionally laying mine aside. It's seeking the Spirit deliberately, not out of desperation. In doing so, I find that I am calling on the Spirit more and more throughout the day. Instead of asking for help after things happen or when I get fearful, anxious, desperate, etc. I am now asking for the Spirit to take over in the mundane. Before I speak. Or respond. Or react. Just to take over period. I'm tired of doing part of the day in the spirit and part of it in my own strength. I want the Spirit to just lead so that my responses and reactions are not selfish or in the flesh, but instead reflect the fruits of the Spirit. Responding and relating with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. God's Word says, "There is no law against behaving in any of these ways" in Galatians 5:23 (CEV). I just want to be covered with His grace. More than anything, I want the Holy Spirit infusing my life day by day, hour by hour. In accordance with God's Word I can ask for that! The Amplified version says He gives "to those who ask AND continue to ask Him!" I see it as a conscious, constant yielding of myself to the Spirit. In other words, surrendering my all, moment by moment, for His best.

Father God, I thank You for Your patience with me when I don't fully grasp or understand Your Word. I thank You for answering when I ask for clarity. I ask that You fill me to overflowing with the Spirit so that I can act and think and do according to Your will. Keep working in and through me I pray. Help me to keep dying to the flesh so I look more and more like You. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Choosing the Better Way

"...Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:42

This story about Mary and Martha is so familiar it is easy to look over, but I asked the Lord to show me something new as I studied it this morning. I read about Martha opening her home to Jesus (she was very hospitable). When He came in, her sister Mary chose to sit down at His feet and listen to what He had to say. Martha, on the other hand, was distracted (the complete opposite). She chose to busy herself with all the preparations she felt necessary to host Jesus as her guest.

As I read these verses the Lord revealed some key points in a different light. First, Martha opened her home and welcomed Jesus in, but then left Him sitting in the living room, so to speak, while she busied herself with household tasks to host Him. If this were happening in modern times, she might have run to put fresh sheets on the bed, dusted and vacuumed the guest room, picked some fresh flowers to put on the dresser, laundered the towels and put fresh ones in the guest bath, straightened up the kitchen, unloaded the dishwasher so she could load the dirty dishes in the sink, pulled up her recipe boards on Pinterest to see what she might make for dinner, run to the store for a few ingredients, donned her apron and slaved over the meal, set the table with fine china, lit the candles, and then took a quick shower, whew! ...before announcing, "Dinner is served!" All the while, her sister sitting at Jesus's feet, hanging on His every word. 

Mary had much to do to feel ready for this guest she'd already invited in, so it's understandable why she'd be a teensy bit frustrated with her sister for not helping her. But Jesus said, "Martha, Martha...you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her." I believe this parallels well with our walk with Christ. We ask Jesus in to our hearts and lives, go to church and worship Him on Sundays, then leave Him in the living room all week and fail to spend time with Him. 

Mary chose to lay busyness aside and sit at the feet of Jesus. She chose to give Him her full attention as their honored guest. She chose to be fully engaged and listen intently to the words He spoke. I believe she drank deeply of the wisdom He shared, allowing it to penetrate her heart in a life changing way. 

Mary wanted Jesus there. There was no question about that. She was the one that invited Him in after all. But before she took time to visit with Him and hear His heart, she chose to do other things. This very concept is one the Lord has been teaching me at new levels in recent months. I always want Jesus near, desire to spend meaningful time with Him, and with my whole heart I want to do the things He calls me to do, but many times my obedience has come with distractions or was delayed. Sometimes I've been up to meet with Him, but found myself so distracted by the cares or to do's in my mind that I wasn't fully present and hearing what He had to say. Or I would put Jesus off in a sense saying, "Lord, I'll meet with You this morning, but first let me..." Or, "Lord, I will work on that project You've asked me to do, but first I need to do such and such." The Lord has convicted me of the "But first's..." We can be so busy trying to prepare to spend time with Him, that we never really get around to spending undistracted time with Him. I am trying to be much more diligent about saying, "First, I'm going to spend time with Jesus, then I will..." Or "I'm going to [work on this project] out of obedience to the Lord first, then I'll run my errands or meet my friend for coffee." In so doing, I'm learning that busyness returns void, but God and His work do not. I'm choosing Him first.

Father God, I am human. I mess up. I have flaws. I get distracted with the best of them and I like to have my "to do" list all checked off. But I have found a better way. You are the better way. When I choose to put You and Your work first, all that really needs to be done gets done. Help me to keep putting You first. Help me to be fully engaged when I spend time with You and in Your Word -- only then will I be changed by it. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

A Right Heart

"He answered, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27

A lawyer, testing Jesus with his questions, asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replies with two questions of His own: What is written in the law? And, how do you read it? Verse 27 (above) is his reply, to which Jesus tells him he answered correctly.

What the lawyer describes is a heart that is first, right with God. And second, right with others. The first, loving God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, represents a vertical relationship with the Father. It's what enables me to live in right relationship with Him. (The key to salvation is to be in relationship with Christ.) In this place my wrongs are confessed, my sins are forgiven, my trust is in Jesus, and my life's energy is focused on my God and the things He has called me to do. The second, loving my neighbor as myself, represents horizontal relationships. It is striving to live in right relationship with those around me; those in my sphere of influence in as much as it depends on me. In so doing I want to reflect Christ with my words and actions as I interact with others. I'm not perfect in this by any means, but it is my deep desire to honor the Lord in this way. When I am wronged, I must choose to forgive so my heart is right with God and towards the offending person, whether or not they ever receive it. It also means meeting the needs of others according to my means as God makes them apparent. In short, it's having a right heart with God and loving others the way I want to be loved -- in a way that looks like my Jesus.

Father God, Thank You that my name is written in heaven. Today and every day please help me to live in right relationship with You and with those in my circle of influence. I want my life to be a genuine reflection of my relationship with You. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Deceived No More

"...Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." Luke 10:17

Having been sent out by Christ, the disciples returned to Him with joy. Though they had surely endured trials, opposition, discouragement and the like on their mission, they came back joyful talking about their successes. Primarily, their success when employing the power of Jesus' name: "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." They were acknowledging the truth that all victories over Satan come through the power of Jesus' name.

We as believers, just like the disciples, have access to the power of Jesus' name. It is through Christ's name and His alone that the power comes, and to whom the glory must return. Whatever is done in Jesus' name, honor must be given to His name. Satan's rightful place is under Jesus' feet. "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand until I make a footstool for your feet.'" Psalm 110:1. "...the saints have no greater joy or satisfaction in any of their triumphs than in those over Satan. If the devils are subject to us, what can stand before us?" (Henry)

As this new year begins, give your spiritual life a fresh perspective. Refuse to believe the devil's lies! Decide to no longer be deceived by the evil one. Ask the LORD to reveal the enemy's schemes in your life and then rebuke Satan in Jesus' name. Proclaim truth where the enemy would have you believe lies. And give glory to the Father when the enemy flees. You have power in Jesus' name!

Father, I thank You that my name is written in heaven, and because it is, I have power and authority over the enemy in Jesus' name. I ask You Lord to reveal Satan's schemes in my life. Show me where I've been believing lies. Empower me to stand against the enemy in Your name, and stand up for Your truth. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

This is how I did this exercise this morning...

I took a blank sheet of paper and a pen and sat before the Lord quiet and undistracted. Praying, I asked God to reveal the enemy's schemes in my life. I wrote down every lie that came to mind that I had been believing, trusting that God was answering my prayer. Using that list, I confessed them one by one out loud to the Lord and rebuked the enemy. (This is done audibly so the enemy can hear me - only God is omniscient - Satan cannot hear my thoughts.) I penned a prayer like this one in my journal to use, and ad libbed or adjusted as I prayed and the Spirit led. I repeated it for every item on my list.

Sample Prayer

Dear Lord, I have believed (insert one of the lies or schemes God showed you). I now know that is a lie from the enemy and I refuse to believe it any longer. Your Word says (insert a truth from God's Word) and I choose to believe the truth. As a child of God raised up and seated with Christ in the heavenly places, I rebuke the enemy in Jesus' name and command Satan to leave my presence in this area and never return. He has no power or authority over my life because I belong to God. Help me Jesus, to walk in a way that honors You and reflects this truth. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Do You Have Room?

"She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7

No room in the inn? The Savior of the world was about to be born but there was no room for His mother Mary to give birth to Him. The phrase "no room for them in the inn" is where I have camped my thoughts and study time today. Joseph and Mary returned to their own town, the city of David, to register for the census. Given the numbers of people that had traveled to Bethlehem for the same reason, the city and its "inns" were full.

As I studied, I discovered that the modern Christmas legend that paints the manger scene as a building with guest rooms not unlike a hotel, and a heartless innkeeper that turned a young woman away about to give birth, is rather inaccurate. Digging down a bit, it is found that the Greek word used for "inn" here is not the same word used in other parts of the gospel. The word here, kataluma (inn) actually refers to a lodging place for a guest. It was guest room, if you will, such as one at a personal residence. It is the same word used for the room where the disciples ate the Passover meal, an upper level room. So at the residence where Joseph inquired, the guest room was already full probably due to travelers that arrived before them. They were likely directed to the homeowner's main room, the lower level floor where the animals stayed at night to feed, keep warm, and produce warmth for the owners and guests on the upper level while they slept. It was in a place like that that the baby Jesus was born, wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in the manger, the animals' feeding trough.

This paints a different picture than the hotel being full and the couple being sent out back by an insensitive innkeeper to a barn full of smelly animals. In fact, on examining this passage again, there is no reference to animals being present at all. Given the poor status Joseph and Mary held, not being from a line of wealth or notoriety, no special concessions were made. They were likely given what was left available, not necessarily turned away. This leads me back to a quote I penned in the margin of my Bible, "Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus" (Neal A. Maxwell).

Father God, I pray that for the very first time this Christmas, many will come to understand who You are and why You came. May the realization that the Savior of the world was born penetrate hearts and change lives here and around the world today. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.