Wednesday, September 17, 2014 “…brings forth out of his treasure things both old and new” –Matthew 12:35 Good Morning Heavenly Father, Family & Friends!! (*) Yesterday’s Discovered Treasure for Today: “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near (Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT). (*) Today’s Application: Over the years I’ve found favor being in the presence of people of all ages, likes and dislikes, of this persuasion or that persuasion and within the church I serve or another church of their particular choice. I’ve discovered along the way that happiness and pleasure come in the form of healthy give-and-take relationships with other individuals or families, from welcoming encounters when both parties are respectfully and expressively involved and when the personal boundaries of each are highly valued. The more I can invest in such an involvement, the more I’ve reaped benefits of lasting value. On the other hand the less I’m emotionally involved in a desired relationship, the less satisfaction and fulfillment I receive. I’ve discovered too being around a number of folks over the years, when this ingredient of becoming emotionally involved is lacking on their part, life then by their own admission has become notably boring, lonely and indifferent in their pursuit for happiness and a fulfilled life. This may have developed because of a disappointment of sorts, a broken heart, and death of a loved one or a grave misunderstanding of what their expectancy should be in relational kinds of ways. If we withdraw from God, our family, our work, our church and other activities that have been discovered drawing people and families together over the years, we then will become unhappy and lonely as fulfilled happiness is found in achieving a proper balance between creative solitude and in the inspired giving and receiving of friendship. It has been said that “no matter how brilliant or successful we may be, we will ultimately become unstuck, unglued and distant if we fail to make true emotional contact with those around us.” How can we make true and lasting contact with those around us when there are hundreds of people we walk alongside of each day in our community we know absolutely nothing about or what we do know is not something that would attract us? The answer is we usually cannot in general kinds of ways, not in anyway regularly nor deeply. But we can in smaller settings when becoming familiar with folk where we regularly shop, eat out at, are serviced by, share in a hobby with or where we choose to worship as our treasured Biblical text implies today. Most generally we will find there (when looked for) people who carry the same habits, tastes, attitude and complimentary values we carry for ourselves. Let it become a valued treasure hunt, for there is a treasure of friendship to be found in these smaller settings of familiarity. Let’s together be found “making a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk [by being] gentle with one another, sensitive…forgiving one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ has forgiven us” (personally edited for emphasis from Ephesians 4:31-32 The Message Bible). 0;-).
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 12:06:37 +0000
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