Way too busy for church

I am too busy to go to church

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“Are you going to church this morning?” Mary asked her mom. “Oh, no!” she replied. “I have way too many things to do! I just don’t have the time right now.”

It’s amazing how busy our lives are. What is even more amazing is how much we can miss because we are so busy. Even today, with worship services available online, we still find excuses. What will it take to put God first?

Jesus had a very close friend who was very busy. Her name was Martha. Jesus had come to her home for a visit, and Martha wanted to prepare a special meal for him. She was busy with the meal preparations and she was irked that her sister Mary was not helping her.

What was Mary doing? She was listening to Jesus teach God’s Word. When Martha complained about her business and Mary’s lack of help, 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 away from her” Luke 10:41-42.

Mary could have been busy too. But she chose to put off her business to listen to Jesus’ word. The Word that Jesus spoke had eternal consequences because it was God’s Word of love and forgiveness.

That precious Word was more important than anything Martha might be busy doing. God’s love and forgiveness is the one thing needed in your life too! Being busy is okay, but as you realize the good news of God’s Word you can find room for it in your busy day. Put God first, and all the earthly things will find their place.

How can I help when others are depressed?

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What a helpless feeling! A friend, spouse, sibling, co-worker shows all the signs of depression. The person has gone from full of energy and life to tearful, lethargic, unmotivated and overwhelmed. The change from positive and confident to pessimistic and hopeless is heartbreaking to observe. You desire to help your loved one, but how do you? What can you do? Perhaps you have tried to cheer them up or invite them to functions so that they can get out and be with other people. Maybe you have attempted to talk them out of their depression by telling them it will get better soon or encouraged them to look at the positives in their lives. Despite your efforts, does it seem like nothing you do really helps?

There are things you can do to help someone you care about who is depressed. You can be a loving listener, an encouraging voice, and a praying heart. You can remind them of the many blessings that they have and help them identify the times in their lives in which they have not felt depressed. You can encourage them to seek the counsel of a physician, therapist, or minister. However, the most important gift you can give them is to remind them that they are loved unconditionally by Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the only one who understands their suffering completely. The Bible explains how God became a man, in Jesus. And He lived on this earth with all its challenges. Jesus suffered as He endured pain, hunger, fatigue, rejection, loneliness, and more. Ultimately, Jesus even experienced death on a cross. The Bible says in Philippians 2:6-8, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Not only does Jesus understand what it is like for us to suffer but he did all of this so that we can be saved. Jesus died for us that we may receive the ultimate blessing of eternal life in heaven. Sharing this gift with someone we care about who is depressed is perhaps the best medicine!

Resources: Care for My Family

Blessed are the Merciful

Blessed are the Merciful

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Mercy is certainly something we like to be on the receiving end of. A police officer pulls you over. You know you rolled through that stop sign. Will he show you mercy and not give you a ticket? You show up just a few minutes late for work. It doesn’t matter that you think you have a good reason – you are late. Will your boss show you mercy? You forgot your anniversary! There is no good excuse. Will your spouse show you mercy?

If I like to be on the receiving end so much, why is it that I often struggle to be merciful to others? Do I pass up opportunities to show mercy? Why do I have a hard time forgiving my spouse when I want her to be forgiving toward me? Why is that I have such a hard time showing kindness to my co-worker? Why do I resent my elderly neighbor when she asks me for a few minutes of help in her yard? Is it often because I feel like if I show kindness and mercy to others it will take away time and opportunities for me? Will the time I spend showing mercy to others rob me of time for myself and take away my happiness?

What is mercy really all about? For the answer we need look no further than God. He shows us what real mercy is all about. God looked at sinful people – a people that could offer him nothing, a people helpless to help themselves – and he showed mercy. In love and mercy that astounds us, he gave his son Jesus to take our place. Jesus was perfect where we could never be. Jesus paid for the sins we could never pay for. Jesus lived, died and rose again for us so we could live forever in heaven– a gift of mercy!

The opportunities that God places before us in our lives to show mercy and kindness to other people can serve as constant reminders of the mercy that God has shown to us, a mercy we certainly didn’t deserve. It is God’s mercy for us that empowers us to be merciful to others and to even find happiness in bringing kindness and love to other people.

And do you know what God promises? As we show mercy to others we will also be on the receiving end of mercy! As our verse for this month goes on to say: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

Jesus is my Savior from Myself

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By grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9

“I can do it all by myself!” If you have children, you have heard these words. You want them to learn how to do things on their own, but usually they pick times to try when it is least convenient for you. Walking out the door, already late is the time they want to tie their shoes for the first time.

Have you ever thought, “I can do it all by myself?” Doing a project at work by yourself may result in a raise or promotion. However, trying to get into heaven by yourself will never work.

Think about this question: “If you were standing outside of heaven’s gates and God asked you, ‘Why should I let you in?’ what would you say?” Would you answer?: “I was a good dad/mom.” “I was faithful at work.” “I never (fill in the blank).”

If you answered that way, can you hear it? It is the sound of silence; the sound of heaven’s gates NOT opening. God requires us to be perfect like him. That means that if we want to go to heaven we can never do any wrong…ever!

The truth is that no matter how hard we try, no matter how much good we do, we will never be perfect. Even just one wrongdoing disqualifies us from heaven. Honestly, we commit many, many wrongs in life. So for the prospect of heaven, each of us has to admit, “I CAN’T do it by myself!”

But we don’t have to do it ourselves! God tells us in his Word that we have been saved BY GRACE! Though we are undeserving, God deeply loved us. He sent his Son, Jesus, to open the way to heaven for us. Jesus did this by sacrificing his innocent life in our place for all of our wrongdoing. Now, through Jesus we are perfectly right before God, all because we didn’t do it ourselves. Jesus did it for us!

Why should God let you into heaven? You can point to Jesus and say, “Because of him.” Jesus is the one who opens heaven.

Thank Jesus for this wonderful gift! He is your Savior who did it all for you!