BEAUTY TIPS 1

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" (Proverbs 31:30).

Beauty is important in any culture; even those of more that 3,000 years ago. What makes a beautiful person? I think I can share some common-sense thoughts about beauty that are applicble to both women and men.

1. Do not compare yourself to others; it will not make you any happier. Even those who truly have a gift of physical beauty compare themselves to other beautiful people. It only creates anxiety, and in the long-run, that is not pretty. Rather, accentuate the positive with good grooming, dress and becoming the kind of person God wants you to be.

2. Develop positive relationships. Positive relationships help us to see ourselves in the best light while negative and critical relationships tend to make us view ourselves in a harsh light. If you have come to believe you are unattractive, perhaps you need to evaluate your relationships.

Grace&Peace;
Tom

THE GAIN IN GRIEF

A friend commented to me that the positive perspective of loss is that it opens the way for new opportunity. That it does. I think the following poem called THE VALLEY OF VISION expresses that truth.

Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
Where I live in the depths but see thee
in the heights;
Hemmed in by the mountains of sin
I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
That to be low is to be high,
That the broken heart is the healed heart,
That the contrite spirit is the
rejoicing spirit,
That the repenting soul is the
victorious soul,
That to have nothing is to possess all,
That to bear the cross is to wear
the crown,
That to give is to recieve,
That the valley is a place of vision...
Let me find
Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley
(author unknown to me).

Grace&Peace;
Tom

MOVING ON

'Teach people to live with loss as opposed to forget and move on' (A paraphrased statement from grief workshop).

In our culture, dealing with grief has become a neat five-step process that, when it is finished, enables one to "move on" with their life. "Move on" has always been a troublesome phrase for me because of the implication that what is past should be left behind and that there should be no pain.

Moving on is necessary because life moves on; one is sick when they live in the past. Nevertheless, our very identity is linked to the past. The people, places and situations of our past all have something to do with who we are now. To leave them behind, try to forget and act as they never existed is sick too. Even heaven will not be a healthy place if there is no memory, no connection to the past because without that there is no personal identity.

Even though a person needs to learn to adjust to a new life and learn to function acceptably, does not mean that pain will end. There will be songs, smells, sights, and sounds, touches and tastes that will suddenly bring back memories of the one lost; at some unguarded moment feelings of grief will return. It must be understood that moving on means that some pain comes along in the baggage.

"...that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope" (I Thessalonians 4:13). The great dynamic that helps us to move on is the hope that we have ahead of us when we will live for eternity with our loved ones in Christ!

Grace&Peace;
Tom

GRIEF IS ALWAYS AN ISSUE

"Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

I went to a workshop on loss and grief yesterday. One of the points the psychologist, who was the presenter, made was, "Loss is anytime life is different from how I wanted or expected it to be." If that is the case, and I think it is, then there are few counseling situations in which grief is not an issue. With every problem comes the realization that life doesn't match the picture of what life should be in our head. Our "should-be" world has been lost. So grief is always an issue.

Grief is a normal human response. It is nothing to be ashamed of, but it is something that only God can help you find meaning in.

Grace&Peace;
Tom

THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE GOSPEL

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galations 3:28).

It was in the light of the cited text that James Russell Lowell wrote the following poem in 1845. Lowell was an abolitionist and the poem was intended to shape Christian thought as to their responsibility.

"Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God's new Messiah,
Offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by for ever
'Twixt that darkness and that light.

"By the light of burning martyrs
Jesus' bleeding feet I track,
Toiling up new Calvaries ever
With the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties,
Time makes ancient good uncouth;
They must upward still, and onward,
Who would keep abreast of truth."

Grace&Peace;
Tom

FRANKLIN'S ASSESSMENT

A few weeks before his death, Benjamin Franklin wrote to Ezra Stiles, president of Yale College: "As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity, tho' it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble. I see no harm, however, in its being believed, if that belief has the good consequence, as probably it has, of making his doctrines more respected and better observed." *

Franklin stood in judgement of Jesus the Christ and found him to be a great moral teacher, but that is all. Franklin expected to find out the truth when he died, but why did he not stop to think that at his death it might be a little late to do anything about it? Franklin was a man of common sense. Poor Richard's Almanac was a reflection of Franklin's philosophy and even some of the teaching of Jesus. However, though one must have common sense, God says that those who are righteous will live by faith and will trust Jesus the Christ.

Grace&Peace;
Tom

*Jesus Through the Centuries
Jaroslav Pelican
Yale University Press

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED

"And the crowds asked him, 'What then should we do?' In reply he said to them, 'Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whever has food must do likewise.' Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, 'Teacher, what should we do?' He said to them, 'Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.' Soldiers also asked him, 'And we, what should we do?' He said to them, 'Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages'" (Luke 3: 10-14).

Both tax collecting and soldering were not thought of as honorable occupations by many people then and now. But God sees them as necessary occupations in a fallen world. I'm not sure why he didn't include lawyering here--maybe that's because they are beyond redemption. That's just a joke. While there are some occupations that are not honorable, these are. Dignity is brought to them by how they are done. John the baptizer did not tell tax collectors to stop collecting or soldiers to stop soldiering! He told them how to do it in a way that honors God.

What are you doing? Where ever Divine providence has placed you, bring dignity to what you do.

Grace&Peace;
Tom

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

When God made us in His image, even though the fall into sin blurred that image, it was not obliterated; it can still be seen, and thus the need for connection with God is still in our hearts. We try to fill our need with other gods, other relationships and experiences, but the hole in our hearts will not be filled except by Him. I say that to introduce St. Augustine's confession, "Thou hast made us for thyself, and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee."

We have a need that ONLY God can fulfill.

Grace&Peace;
Tom

IS THERE EVIL OR JUST DYSFUNCTION?

When one studies psychology it is easy to come to the conclusion that people who do bad things are just dysfunctional. Is there truely evil? The Bible says there is. As we remember 9/11 this little blurb I found written by Walter Lippmann on October 30, 1941 is very appropriate; even more so in these present days. This was written when the Nazis were causing havoc in Europe and just five weeks before Pearl Harbor.

"The modern skeptical world has been taught for some 200 years a conception of human nature in which the reality of evil, so well known to the ages of faith, has been discounted. Almost all of us grew up in an environment of such easy optimism that we can scarcely know what is meant, though our ancestors knew it well, by the satanic will. We shall have to recover this forgotten but essential truth--along with so many others that we lost when, thinking we were enlightened and advanced, we were merely shallow and blind."

Walter Lippmann was a syndicated columnist during the 30's through the 60's. He tended to be on the liberal side, but he was right on target with this comment!

Grace&Peace;
Tom

BE MERCIFUL

"for he (the Most High) is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36).

In my personal Bible study I am reading through the gospel of Luke. This verse stood out at me this morning. How is God kind to the ungrateful and wicked? He allows them to live, enjoy the sunshine and the rain, and have an opportunity to choose the life He offers. Some will, but most will not; it's their choice.

We are to be that merciful. We are to be kind and gracious to all people. It is a terrible burden to carry anger and be judgemental. In the Matthew's sermon on the mount Jesus says, "blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy." That is not only true in our relationship with God, but it is also true in our relationship with our fellow men. We tend to be treated in the same way we treat others. If we are gracious it will tend to follow that we will be treated graciously.

Grace&Peace;
Tom

PROPER MOTIVES FOR PRAYER

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).

A recent respondent questioned, 'How can I know I have a proper motive in my prayer?' John Calvin believed that a human being could do nothing good. If a person did something apparently good, it was done with an improper motive. The only way a person could do a genuinely good thing is if the Spirit of God motivated him to do it. I do not agree entirely with Calvin's conviction because we human beings are created in the image of God and do good things for each other.

It is a legitimate concern about the motive of our prayers, they may even seem to be selfish but remain legitimate. When the Lord taught his disciples to pray he said that we are expected to pray for our daily bread--our sustinance. Isn't that selfish? God cares for His children and wants them to have goood things!

Generally, though, our motive is to be to glorify God. I might want to do something or have something that isn't wrong in its self, but if having it or doing it doesn't result in glorifying God, the motive is self-serving. That is why self-examination is to be a constant in the life of the Christian. "Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (I Corinthians 11:28).

Grace&Peace;
Tom

HALF-HEARTED PRAYERS

". . . yet because of the mans's persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs" (Luke 11:8b NIV).

My son, Tom, is doing a sermon series on prayer. In preparation, he asked the question, 'does our persistence in prayer change God's mind?' One of the respondents to Tom's question pointed out the "persistence" might not be the best translation of the original. The KJV uses the word "importunity" and, indeed, that is what my analytical Greek lexicon uses as a translation. Importunity is to vex by demanding too often, to vehemently or unreasonably, according to "Webster."

When a person is importune he is bold and shameless in his requests. He doesn't care what the other person thinks. He is going to get what he wants! Earlier this week I published the prayer of Martin Luther for his friend, Frederick Myconius. Luther only prayed it once, but it was certainly bold. One beloved reader responded that she was finished with "whimpy prayers." That certainly fits here! I do believe that our bold persistence has value and significance because it is indicative of the passion that we have. Will God listen to half-hearted prayers?

Grace&Peace;
Tom