hballingerLeave a comment

Leading our Children

Psalms 22:30-31 NLT
Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord. His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything he has done.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
———————————————

Some of my favorite times are spent in praise with Mia singing songs,  praying together,  and reading from the Bible and from children’s  Bible story books.

It’s encouraging to see her excited about learning more. It also helps to keep me accountable when I realize that she watches everything that we do and say.

Our 4 Kids volunteers do such a great job of showing the kids on Sunday an example of Christ’s loving compassion and teaching them lessons from the Bible that they can apply in their lives. These lessons are so important to Mia’s spiritual development, that we want to supplement this daily at home with prayer, praise, a mix of Christian videos (Veggie Tales), and reading/discussing.

Our children are surrounded by the influences of the world in their daily lives,  and we aren’t trying to create a completely sheltered and separated “religious” life – we want Mia to be equipped with the tools she needs for her life ahead, a relationship with Jesus Christ and with  other loving believers. It is this relationship that will last the test of time and be passed down generation to generation,  because hope, faith,  and love overcome and last forever.

hballingerLeave a comment

The World Bears Witness

Psalms 19:1-3 NLT
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
———————————————

As we ride around in the car as a family, we try to take note of the beauty of the sky. My go to phrase is,  “Doesn’t God have the most amazing paint brushes?”

Yes,  we can look at the evidence of the world around us,  and we can understand the evidence for a creator and intelligent design. Many throughout history have come to this conclusion from the evidence at hand. So what is different in a Christ follower?

We make the bold claim that this creator God came in the flesh as a man,  Jesus Christ, he lived a blameless life, was persecuted and suffered death on a cross as a sacrifice to renew our relationship with God and to demonstrate God’s loving mercy and forgiveness to us, and he rose from the dead as an example of how we too will rise from these perishable bodies into an imperishable and eternal life.

We do not follow a teacher that had wise advice and instructions for our lives here in the flesh, we follow a risen Savior who gives us the example of preparing ourselves for life eternal, understanding the temporary nature of this physical life that we see with our senses, and believing in those things unseen but nevertheless just as real.

Shouldn’t our lives speak just as loudly about our God as the beautiful skies?

hballingerLeave a comment

Words and Thoughts

Psalms 19:14 NLT
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O  lord , my rock and my redeemer.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
———————————————

This tongue is small,  but it’s words when let loose can have devastating consequences.

These thoughts aren’t seen by others, but left unchecked,  they can have devastating consequences on my attitude and perspective.

Since I am the temple for the presence of the Holy Spirit, don’t I want to take captive my thoughts and my words?

Those thoughts that come in unwelcomed, those temptations,  don’t I want to resist them, and pray that they be taken captive and cast out of my presence?  So I have to ask myself,  am I putting up a resistance to thoughts and temptations, or am I satisfied with letting them remain a part of my life?

And whereas those thoughts affect me on the inside, the result comes out in my words and my actions – which affects others around me. Am I bringing more light and love and forgiveness and mercy into the world each day with my words and actions, or is the darkness in my words and actions a reflection of my inner thoughts and the state of my heart?

If we spend our time just trying to clean the outside of the cup, our words and actions,  while letting our thought life run wild, we are in for a tiring battle. But if we accept Jesus Christ into our lives, and we focus on taking captive the thoughts and temptations on the inside, there will be visible changes on the outside as a result of our changed heart and attitudes.

And the best praise that we can lift up to God is not a life of continual sacrifice and prayers for forgiveness – but a life of renewal, using this Holy Spirit to take control of our lives. And we do this with time spent in an active relationship with Christ, through time in the Word,  prayer,  fellowship, and service.

Oh,  that my life might be a praise – that my story might be a life saved by His grace,  renewed by His sacrifice, and used for His glory and honor.

I love you,  friends. Have a blessed day.

hballingerLeave a comment

Waiting not Idle

Psalm 27:14 ESV
Wait for the Lord ; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord !

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
——————————————–

So how do we wait for the Lord?

It tells us – be strong, and let our heart take courage.

This Psalm is about relying on the faithfulness of God in the face of our enemies.

And our enemies are not flesh and blood, but are the unseen forces in opposition to God’s will – those that hide in the darkness, separated from the light.

And waiting for the Lord doesn’t mean being idle,  because we are called to go forth,  to go out and make disciples of all the nations. No, it doesn’t take strength to live an idle life.

It takes strength and courage to live a thankful life dedicated to the Lord – day by day, even moment by moment – because we have hope in promises and things unseen, but that we know deep inside to be true.

So we wait in faithfulness, but we are busy with the work at hand until then.

Each day,  there are so many opportunities that I don’t want to miss. Let me walk in His strength and power today, having courage that I will be greatly used,  even in the little things, like an encouraging word, a helpful hand, a faithful prayer, sharing the Word of God – as I wait patiently,  yet I am busy with the work at hand.

So let’s wait for the Lord in strength and in courage.

hballingerLeave a comment

The Elderly Widow

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.

As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.” “That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is  something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged … it’s how I arrange  my mind.

I already decided to love it … “It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away … just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account … you withdraw from what you’ve put in .. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.

________________________________________

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

No one can go back and make a brand new start.

Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards.

Don’t stay on the bumps too long. Move on!

When you feel down because you didn’t get what you want, just sit tight and be happy, because God has thought of something better to give you.

When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means.

There’s a purpose to life’s events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.

You can’t make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can be loved, the rest is up to the person to realize your worth.

It’s better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the one you love because of pride.

We spend too much time looking for the right person to love or finding fault with those we already love, when instead we should be perfecting the love we give.

Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can take his place. Friendship is like wine, it gets better as it grows older.

May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. “I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”

— Author Unknown

hballingerLeave a comment

Gathering in Unity

Matthew 18:20 ESV
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
———————————————

Scripture tells us that He is always with us.

So this is not about Him being with us any more or any less just because we are gathered with others.

This tells us that when we are gathered in His name with others,  He will abide with us in unity,  we will be as one,  unified each as a part of the whole. And it is this unity where we find those gems and pearls that we would not find so easily on our own.

Because,  you see the things of God like wisdom,  truth,  and love – when we share them,  they are not split in half like when we share physical treasures. No,  spiritual treasures are multiplied when we share them with others.

If I have an abundance of love and share it with you,  I walk away with no less love than I came with,  in fact,  yours is increased,  and so is mine. So this is why fellowship is so important. It is the unity of fellowship where the fruits of the Holy Spirit are multiplied, and when we share openly with each other, it has a compounding multiplying effect – because He is among us,  inhabiting our praise,  inhabiting our fellowship,  inhabiting our service unto others. And where He abides,  fruit grows abundantly.

hballingerLeave a comment

Secret Motives

Jeremiah 17:10 NLT
But I, the Lord , search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
——————————————–

Yes, the Lord searches our hearts.

People around us can only see our actions, so our actions matter in how they can influence and be an example to others –

But more important is the state of our heart, because our attitude, our reason behind the actions is what matters to God.

That is why a person with a cold, dead heart that shows up every Sunday for church because it is his civic duty to be a good example, may be in a much worse state with God than that homeless addict who is trying his hardest to get his life cleaned up to serve the Lord, but who outwardly serves as a warning to others about the dangers of drugs and addiction.

Yes, the Lord uses both as an example to teach us about the dangers of this world of tricks and traps. Some traps are easy to see and recognize, like addiction – but some are more sly and clever, like pride.

This is why our hearts are where the work that matters happens.

Soften our hearts, Lord. Help us to know your love, trust your love, show your love, and be your love today.

hballingerLeave a comment

Tapped into the Vine

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT
“But blessed are those who trust in the lord and have made the lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

Proverbs 11:30 ESV
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.

…

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
——————————————–

I am tapped into the true vine, Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

And this Holy Spirit that guides me and teaches me, He is the water that nourishes my soul so that this new creation inside me is alive and growing.

And when I am alive and growing, these living waters that fill my vessel spill out onto others around me, through these actions in my body that are a result of His will, not my own.

So any souls won are won by Christ who lives in me, not won by me – and this is why I lay down any crowns at the feet of Christ instead of proudly claiming any crowns as by my own works. He chooses, He calls, He extends grace.

I am simply a vessel, hoping each day to be equipped and ready for service, lifting my life as a sacrifice of praise to my Lord and Savior, who I love dearly, because He first loved me, and He rescued me, and now He lives with me, and guides me, in a renewed life that I never deserved.

hballingerLeave a comment

He guides me

Psalms 16:7-11 NLT
I will bless the lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY …
——————————————–

Yes, He guides me, even in those seasons of trial, even in those seasons of mourning – He is always with me. And we pass through these seasons, not left devastatingly destroyed and crushed by our circumstances (even though at times it may seem that we come quite close) –

But once we have come out the other side, He is proven faithful and true, we will know one day what purpose it served in our life and the life of those around us, and it will be clear to us. But today, we hold on in faith.

You have offered us this imperishable life of Christ alive in us, reshaping and remolding us in preparation for our final destination – eternity not limited by the confines of this current physical body and life.

This life is but a shadow of what lies ahead, so let’s prepare ourselves with those things that matter most, and let’s welcome our brothers and sisters to join us on this wonderful journey.

Let’s know the beauty and love and value that can be found in each and every person that we encounter each day, and let’s remind them off that in the way that we treat them today. Let’s see past the chains and struggles and circumstances of their life, and let’s plant and water the seed of Christ in their life.

I love you friend, and my hope today is that we can love and encourage those around us. A door held open, a smile, a wave, a thank you, a hug, a prayer, and a truthful, encouraging word may turn the perspective of another just enough to help them through a struggle today. Imagine if we all supported and loved and encouraged each other openly – even those we don’t agree with – won’t that help us all find common ground and agreement, rather than argument over who is “more right” and who is “more wrong”?

Let’s be light and salt in our lives today, friends. I love you.

hballingerLeave a comment

The Godly are Disappearing

Psalms 12:1-8 NLT
Help, O  Lord , for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!
Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts. May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues. They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”
The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.”
The Lord ’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.
Therefore, Lord , we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
——————————————–

This passage was our family’s Life Application devotional for this morning. It takes an especially strong meaning on a morning of family absence and loss.

Yes, the godly are fast disappearing.

Ask me if I rejoice for those that are absent from the body and with God (2 Corinthians 5:8), and my voice will reply truthfully yes.

But ask me if I mourn with my family and with all who mourn the absence of a loved one, and my heart cries out with a voice so strong that I am overcome, with tears and groaning that written, or even spoken, words will not capture.

And yes, we will be surrounded by empty,  but well intentioned words from those who both are and aren’t a part of our lives, but who see the circumstances of this season of our lives. And there are even those who will use flattery and deceit,  because being purely of this world that is the only way they know how to behave.

But what is important right now is that this promise He gives us. It is true. He does rescue us as we have longed for Him to do.

Those of us whose bodies of flesh have worn out from our lives walking and loving and serving and raising families – when the burden of this fleshly body can no longer hold back this new creation from being reunited with our Lord and Savior in fullness of His glory and grace and honor and power. And He rescues us, drawing the unperishable out from inside its perishable vessel.

We know with full confidence,  Lord,  that you are faithful. We know with full confidence,  Lord,  that you preserve and protect your children. Let us use our time that we have in these fleshly vessels to continue your work, to fulfill your purpose,  until these bodies wear out and your promises are fulfilled in their fullness.

Let us see past the evil and wicked and proud ways of mankind around us,  and see their chains – let us see their desperate need for this grace and healing and renewal that only comes through Christ Jesus,  our Lord and Savior. And use us to share this Hope, Faith, Love, and Truth so they might recognize your voice and accept your grace.

I love you,  friend.  But my love by itself would fall so short of the love that we each need to know personally in our lives. This love I share is not just my own love,  but it is the love of Jesus Christ, of God come in the flesh, reaching out to touch our lives today,  so that we might accept this truth,  believe and be saved, hold tight to our faith and be fruitful, share love and see others strengthened and encouraged,  and share truth so that others too might be prepared for that day, when the imperishable is called out from the perishable.

His promises are true.

Do you know Christ dearly and closely today,  friend?

Is he alive in your heart and in your day ahead.

We only get one today,  one opportunity to serve the purpose that He has for our lives today.

Our lives can either be an example to others of His way down the narrow path – or an example to others of our own way, stumbling into darkness.

What example are we setting for those around us that watch our lives? Are our words and actions and decisions leading others around us into the place that we want them to go? Are we leading them into light or into darkness?

Help us,  Lord, in your strength to live the life today so that others might see your light, your love,  your mercy,  your grace,  and your truth.