Love Your Neighbor

Thanksgiving! That wonderful time when we eat too much, watch too much football, and cram too many family members at the adult table. Unfortunately, if the daytime talk show hosts and political pundits have their way, fewer people will gather together. Today, we are hearing that if someone in your family or circle of friends voted against the way you voted, you should cut them out of your life. Your family is your constant. They support you physically, emotionally, and sometimes even financially. Yet a psychiatrist says that you should cut them out for your mental well-being.

Psychiatrists are doctors, and doctors are sworn to do no harm. This very behavior is harmful. Telling people not to love people different from themselves flies in the face of the second greatest commandment: to love your neighbor as yourself.

This reminds me of the man who was beaten, robbed, and left for dead and was ignored by his neighbors, who espoused the same political and religious beliefs. Worse, they were leaders in the church. Yet they ignored him. Not long after, a man who held polar opposite views from the injured man, a man the injured man hated, happened by. The man’s enemy was so concerned that he stopped, got out of the first aid kit, bandaged him up, and took him to a place where he could get proper care and food, and he even paid for it all. Again, these two men were sworn enemies, but the enemy helped the injured man. That is the story of the good Samaritan that Jesus told.

The Samaritans and the Jewish people hated one another. Jewish people considered Samaritans garbage, half breeds.  And the Samaritans did not have a high opinion of the Jewish people either. After telling the parable, Jesus asked his disciples which one of the three men treated the injured man like God commanded: to Love Your Neighbor as yourself. It wasn’t the two men who believed the exact same things that the injured and beaten man believed. No, it was the man whom the injured man considered his enemy. The Samaritan treated him as the Lord commanded and loved the man as he loved himself.

No one hates themselves. And everyone, no matter what their belief, their political stance, their financial standing, their race or gender, everyone is your neighbor. You and I are commanded to love everyone like the Samaritan loved the beaten Jewish man.

” Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love.”(1 John 4: 7-8) 

We are not to hate those who think differently than us; we are to love them and follow God’s example.  I believe in what the Bible says in Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases.”


In other words, no matter who is in charge, God can use anyone, even someone you do not like, to achieve his good and perfect well. That person may not even know why they’re doing it. But God is working in them. Put simply, no matter who’s in the White House. God is still on the throne of Heaven. Trust in Him alone. He has absolute authority.

Broken But better

Broken. Years ago, this crystal mouse treasure from my childhood broke when my children devised an elaborate and not well-thought-out plan to scale the living room wall using yarn. The display the crystal mouse sat on, along with Irish China and other cherished items, came crashing down, breaking into pieces. This past year felt a lot like that for me. I, too, am broken.  I lost two brothers-in-law within six months of each other. My children’s lifelong friend, a son to me, died at 27 years old. My good friend’s father, who treated my children like his grandchildren, passed away a few weeks ago. I have been hurt by people and places that are supposed to make you feel safe. It has been a time.

Like the crystal mouse, I found myself feeling irreparable. None of my efforts could restore the mouse or my brokenness.  I gave up writing devotionals.  After all, who am I broken and beaten to write words of encouragement to others?  Then, scrolling through Facebook of all places, God spoke. “The enemy will always strike the hardest when he knows God has something great in store for you.” For a while now, I have felt a tug on my heart to write for the Lord; it has to be a step up from my old TV news gig!!  I started my blog and had an overwhelming response.

Then discouragement came in death and hurtful people.  It is said that discouragement is the devil’s greatest tool. He uses it against us to undermine our spirit, to push us away from our goals and faith, to render us hopeless, and to doubt our abilities.  This hit me like a brick wall falling on me.  That, and when someone asked me why I had stopped writing. I told her I didn’t feel worthy.  She looked at me and said, “I need those.’ That was a God Wink. God encourages. God gives us talents to use for his glory.  Satan hates that.  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and ]have it abundantly.”(John 10:10) God wants us to have an abundant life, not a hopeless, broken one. Put your faith in Him to repair and restore you, to make you new again.  I couldn’t fix the mouse a beloved friend gave me as a child. I could make it new again with a simple search on eBay, and I found the exact one. It is not the original, but I am not the same person I was before I was broken. God has made me new and improved as I put my faith and trust in Him.

Storms of Life

The devastating effects of Hurricane Helene still wreak havoc in the southeastern United States one week later. People trapped in cars and houses, homes, entire towns, interstates, and roads -washed away by the relentless, surging flood waters. Tornadoes tore through other areas, leaving massive paths of destruction. Nearly 200 died, and hundreds more are still missing.  Power, cell service, and even water knocked out. At times like this, people ask where God is. The answer to that question is in the hands and feet of the people on the ground fighting to find the lost, help the injured, and deliver much-needed food and water. In totally isolated, unreachable areas, neighbors are helping neighbors, strangers helping strangers, showing the world we are not as divided as many would have us believe. God’s faithfulness never gets knocked out during the storms of life. He uses His people to show His love, the saved, to rescue the lost. The Bible tells us in Psalm 119 that His faithfulness extends to all generations, as enduring as the earth He created. Even in the worst storms, God is in control. The earth He created will endure. So will we when we put our faith in Him in our weakest times. That is when He pours in His power.

Deep Roots Not Rocks

Screenshot

Poor Charlie Brown. Nothing could be more disappointing than going door-to-door with your friends on Halloween while they got candy, and you exclaim, “I got a rock.” It may seem like getting an acorn for making it into law school or a sapling when you graduate. Elon Law does this. It isn’t meant to disappoint but to encourage. My son’s sapling grows next to our driveway, a constant reminder of how far he has come. At the commencement, he only knew a little about law. When he graduated, he had all the makings of a successful attorney. Like the sapling that will grow into a mighty oak, he can grow strong, deep-rooted, and wise. Friend, this is God’s will for us in life. He calls for us to be deeply rooted in Him. This protects us against the storms of life that would otherwise blow us over. Draw close to God through a relationship with His Son. Pray. Obey. Read the Bible. He guides us, strengthens us, and nourishes us with these. Like the giant oak, you will grow strong and wise as you remain deeply rooted in The Source of Strength.

Sticky Situation

Remember Sticker Charts? I tried them with my kids. We had Chore Charts, Teeth Brushing Charts, and Behavior Charts. The last one got a little- well, sticky. My oldest apparently wrote the book on picking on younger siblings. My daughter learned quickly that throwing a fit drew attention to it. I was not too fond of either of those. So I bought sticker charts, where he would get a sticker for being kind to her, and she would get one for keeping calm. 

Five Days of stickers meant a trip to the Dollar Store! It got off to a rocky start on Day One. Both slipped up once. I gave them the stickers anyway. My friend questioned me. I didn’t expect them to get it 100 percent right the first day I told her. So, I gave them what they didn’t deserve And not what they deserved: Mercy and Grace.

This is what God does for us. With mercy, he withholds what we deserve, the punishment for our sins. His Grace gives us what we do not have, His favor. The Bible tells us, “The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.”(Psaqlm 145:8-9)

We are his works, and even though we all fall short (Romans 3:23), when we give our hearts to Jesus, God no longer sees our sins and shortcomings. He sees his perfect Son. Only then can we enjoy the fullness of His Grace and Mercy.

Name That Tune?

In college for some reason that defies logic, I thought the words to “Little Red Corvette” were “pay the rent collect.” It is not even close, and it doesn’t make any sense. Venmo and PayPal didn’t exist then. Don’t mock me. Everyone gets the words wrong to a song or two. Sometimes we know the words but not the meaning of the song. The beloved hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” starts with the image of a peaceful rolling river. The author penned the original poem, not in a time of peace but in tragedy. Horatio Spafford, a 19th-century Christian Chicago businessman, lost his real estate holdings in a fire, and his only son died shortly after. Looking for a way to lift his family’s spirits, he booked a trip for them to Europe. The ship carrying his wife and four daughters struck another, killing all four girls. On his way to grieve with his wife, he wrote what would become one of the most memorable and comforting songs. His “lot” could have destroyed him. It would make perfect sense to turn from God, not to Him. Yet, he chose to look to God for peace. The Bible tells us to take everything to God, and he will give us peace that we do not understand. The same peace he gave to a man who lost nearly everything yet could say “It Is Well With My Soul”. Friend, God can do the same for you. Whatever your “lot,” God can take it and give you peace.

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

Real Customer Support

When you order high-speed Internet, you can be sure of one thing: the customer service will not be. Gone are the days when someone came to your house to install it. Now, the box arrives on your front porch with pictorial instructions on how the whole thing is supposed to go together. Now, I know plenty of intelligent people who can’t figure out how to add an attachment to an email, much less set up their Internet. I found a QR code that instructed me to hold my camera to the Wi-Fi hook-up in my house. Wedging between a wall and the entertainment center, I captured the photo only to be told I had the wrong equipment and to call an 800 number. An automated voice asked a series of questions I couldn’t answer, including how they get those little ships in the bottles and why they put salt in ice cream. The story gets worse, but we will stop there. What happened to customer service? What happened to people that you could depend upon to help? Friend, we get wedged into impossible circumstances in our lives as well and turn to all the wrong places, including ourselves, for help. There is help for all of our troubles in life. It is straightforward, personal, and loving. The Bible tells us that God is our strength, our help in trouble. He waits for us to call on him. Yet we will jump through hoop after hoop, trying to figure it out ourselves. Nothing is too complicated for God. Go to him in prayer. Read the Bible. Let him be your refuge in times of trouble. He alone holds all the answers!

Settling For Crumbs

A replica of a famous painting once hung in my in-laws’ house. I love art, and this moved me. “The Gleaners” shows poor women picking up leftover crops after the reapers had harvested. This is the story of Ruth in the Bible. She and her mother-in-law Naomi lost their husbands. Ruth followed Naomi to Bethlehem to glean because there was a famine, and they had no one to support them. The man who owned the field they gleaned saw them and took pity on them. He invited Ruth to his dinner table, where he had plenty. He later married Ruth and redeemed her and her mother-in-law from their poor existence. Friends, this is what our Redeemer wants to do for us. God sent His Son to save us from settling for the crumbs of life. Jesus tells us that he came to give life to the fullest. We have to be willing to “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”(Matthew 6:33)

Menacing Monkey Bars

My nemesis: The Monkey Bars. We moved to Missouri from Pennsylvania when I was in grade school. No playgrounds at my old school, just painted Hopscotch and Four Square games on the asphalt. The new school had it all, including the monkey bars. The other kids had two years of experience crossing the dastardly jungle gym apparatus. They could swing their legs up and through and sit on top. I couldn’t let go of one rung to get the next. And so it is with life. We watch as we think everyone else has mastered it, painfully hanging on where we are because hurt has paralyzed us.

A quote attributed to author/theologian C.S. Lewis says, “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.”

While there is a debate over whether he ever said this, there’s no debate over its truth. Not letting go makes it impossible to move forward. God has a grand design for your life. Our verse today tells us not to cling to the past. God is making all things new. He restores you through a relationship with His Son. Let go of what you hold onto and take the Savior’s hand. He will make a way in your wilderness, which will be New and Improved.

Watch Your Mouth

I spend a lot of time with young children. You have to watch what you say. They make Artificial Intelligence look like nothing when it comes to imitating you. The other day, while shopping with a two-year-old, listening to “Old McDonald”, she paused and shouted, “Sing it, CeCe.”, her pet name for me. Now, here’s the thing. That’s my line. I always say that to her and had no idea she picked it up. No harm here. But the Bible warns us to steer clear of negative talk because it is harmful. The words we speak and the things we post can make or break someone else and us. Christian, people look to you. They expect differences from the world. We can’t bad-mouth others and give glory to God. Our words must point people to the God who saves. What we say matters. It can make people stronger or tear them down. Choose to build others up for the benefit of ALL who hear.