Friendship Benefits - Martin Wiles

Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. Philippians 2:29 NLT

Both were named Mike, both were good friends, and both gave me friendship benefits in different ways. 

I met the first Mike when I was fifteen. My dad had been called as pastor of the church where Mike and his family attended. I had entered the rebellious stages of adolescence . . . and so had Mike. He had experimented with a little more than I had and was eager to introduce me to some other unhealthy habits. I eagerly followed his lead. Mike was a good friend—and would have done anything for me—but he influenced me negatively. 

I met the second Mike shortly after graduating high school when I began working in the warehouse at a local metal fabrication plant. He worked in quality control and had a desk in the warehouse. Mike had recently become a believer and eagerly tried to please God with his actions and attitudes. 

At the time, I still had a few rough edges, but Mike kept me sanded down. Every time I cussed, he gently called my name. Every time he saw or heard me committing wrongful actions, he lovingly called me out. Rather than get mad at Mike, I appreciated his concern and shaped up around him. I didn’t want to hear him say his favorite thing: “You ain’t right.” 

Many years have passed since I hung around with these Mikes, but I remember their influence well—both the bad and the good. So did Paul when it came to Epaphroditus. Paul was in prison when Epaphroditus delivered a gift from the believers in Philippi. 

Good friends hold us accountable rather than lead us into unwise and unhealthy attitudes and actions. We’ll appreciate their rebukes because we know they have our best interests in mind. 

Additionally, good friends show unconditional love. Regardless of how we act or respond to their rebukes, they will continue to love us as Christ does. 

Further, good friends lend a helping hand. Helping us may inconvenience them, but they don’t mind. 

And good friends share a common foundation with us: belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Wanting to be a good friend as well, we will return these favors. So, develop friendships that lift you up, not bring you down. Don’t let just any Mike into your life. 

Father, lead me into friendships with other believers who will enhance my journey with you. 

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Popeye’s Spinach Dip

Ingredients

8 ounces of sour cream

1 pack Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix

16 ounces frozen Spinach (thawed)

Directions

Mix all ingredients together.

Serve with your favorite chip or cracker. 

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Just Ask - Martin Wiles

Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! John 14:14 NLT

Ask, and you might receive; ask not, and you probably won’t. But one needed to just ask. 

Driving in unfamiliar terrain was once more frightening than now. Since there was no internet, I could not pull up directions on my computer or smartphone. My only options were to ask someone who had already been where I was headed or to purchase a map and figure it out for myself. 

And maps were readily available. The most popular place to find them was the local filling station. A place where attendants pumped gas, cleaned windshields, checked tire pressure, and monitored oil. And in the center of the pump island or just inside the station were maps. 

Having a map reduced—but didn’t eliminate—the possibility of getting lost. Names and numbers were crunched into small areas. Despite my best efforts, I’ve gotten lost. And being a typical man, I hated to stop and ask directions from anyone in the area. It was an admission that I couldn’t figure out my dilemma ... that I was less than an adequate follower of direction. I’ve wasted gas more than I care to admit while riding in circles—or sent my wife in to get directions more times than I care to remember. 

The solution was simple: stop and ask someone who lived in the area. Jesus provides such a simple solution for life in general. Have any kind of need? Just ask him. He’ll be glad to assist. 

Jesus’s help is never wrong. Others have given me faulty directions—though not intentionally. Maps have concealed information I needed to see, and GPSs and smartphone apps have sent me to the wrong place. Since Jesus is omniscient—all-knowing—I don’t have to worry about this with him. 

Jesus is always willing to help. While technology is readily available, it’s not foolproof. Others are sometimes too busy to mess with our life issues. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to be involved in every detail of our lives.

Jesus’s help is also free. Maps weren’t—and still aren’t. And although I can download a free direction app on my smartphone, the phone wasn’t free. Even if it was, my monthly service isn’t. Jesus charges zero. We ask; He comes to our rescue. 

Life issues present us with physical, emotional, social, and spiritual quandaries. But none are too difficult for the Savior of the world. 

Need a hand? Just ask Jesus.

Father, thank you for your continual readiness and willingness to help me with life issues. 

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

The Inbox That Wouldn’t Change - Matthew Musk

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 NIV

One afternoon, I found myself checking my email for what felt like the tenth time in an hour. I had submitted several writing pitches and hoped for a response. Deep down, I knew no editor was likely to review my work and reply within fifteen minutes, but that didn’t stop me from refreshing my inbox again. Nothing.

The strange thing is that refreshing the screen made me feel productive, even though it changed absolutely nothing. The answer would come when it came. My repeated checking could not speed it up.

Waiting is one of the most difficult parts of the Christian life. We often think of faith as action, but sometimes faith looks more like patience. We pray for guidance, opportunities, healing, or direction. But then we find ourselves staring at what feels like an empty inbox from heaven.

Yet God’s silence is not God’s absence. The psalmist doesn’t simply tell us to wait. He tells us to be strong and take heart while we wait. That means trusting that God is working even when we cannot see immediate results. Just because a door has not opened today does not mean God has forgotten about tomorrow.

Many of us spend our lives trying to refresh circumstances we cannot control. We revisit worries, replay conversations, and reach for answers that have not yet arrived. In doing so, we sometimes miss the work God is already doing in us through the waiting.

Today, instead of asking, “Why hasn’t God answered yet?” consider asking, “What is God teaching me while I wait?” The opportunity may come. The answer may arrive. The door may open.

Until then, trust the one who sees the whole path, even when you can only see the next step.

Identify one area of your life where you are waiting on God. Spend time thanking him for his faithfulness before you see the answer.

Matthew T. Musk writes about faith, everyday life, and the lessons God teaches in unexpected places. His goal is to encourage readers with practical, relatable insights that point them toward Christ. He lives in Michigan with his family and enjoys writing, reading, and finding wisdom in life’s ordinary moments.

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Restricted Use - Martin Wiles

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:13 NLT

If I didn’t pay, I couldn’t talk. I remember the days of restricted use. 

As my wife and I sat on the front porch of the one-hundred-year-old home we rented, we often heard it ring. A pay phone situated next to an old country store across the road. Each night around the same time, the ringing began. No one ever showed up to answer, and by the time we would have gotten up from our seats, crossed the road, and walked to the phone, it would undoubtedly have stopped ringing before we reached the receiver. 

Listening to the phone, however, took us back to a time when pay phones were everywhere. If I was away from home and needed to make a call, I either stopped by someone’s house or a business—or found a pay phone. But pay phones needed . . . pay—not only to start the conversation but also to continue it. Operators interrupted conversations with, “Please deposit _____ cents if you wish to continue your call.” If I didn’t, she ended the conversation. Money restricted use, unless I made a collect call and the person on the other end agreed to pay the charges.

God once restricted access to himself as well. He appointed priests to intercede for the people. They made the sacrifices, approached God’s throne, and heard the people’s confessions. Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place once a year, where he made a sacrifice for himself and then the people before confessing a year’s worth of sins. 

But after Jesus died on the cross, things changed. The curtain that kept people out of the Holy of Holies was torn in two, symbolizing unrestricted access to God for all who chose to approach him through confession and repentance. 

I’m glad the old way of doing things is gone—approaching God and making calls. A few hours without my smartphone and I experience nomophobia. We should feel the same about interaction with God. 

God is continually with us by the presence of his Spirit, and we need recurrent communion with him—and can have it. Talking with him doesn’t cost a dime, nor does he establish a time limit. We can come as often as we want and with as much stuff as we need to unload. 

What’s more, God wants us to come. After all, he’s the One who cleared up the old restricted-use policy. He wants us to share the details of our lives and ask for his guidance. He wants to share in our joys and our sorrows. 

Don’t let anything keep you from enjoying your unrestricted access to God.

Father, my praises rise to you for opening the way for me to come to you. 

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Squash Casserole

INGREDIENTS 

2 CUPS SQUASH (YELLOW)

2 CUPS CRUMBLED CORNBREAD

1 STICK MARGARINE (MELTED)

2 TABLESPOONS SAGE

1 CAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

1 EGG (SLIGHTLY BEATEN)

I ONION (CHOPPED)

1 TABLESPOON SUGAR

SALT/PEPPER

1/4 CUP MILK

DIRECTIONS

MIX THE SQUASH, ONION, SALT/PEPPER, AND SUGAR.

 COOK UNTIL TENDER.

IN A BOWL, MIX THE COOKED SQUASH AND ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS.

PLACE IN A CASSEROLE DISH AND BAKE AT 350 FOR 30 MINUTES.

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Life Cycles - Martin Wiles

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT

The days of getting up and being ready in fifteen minutes have vanished.

Although I’m in relatively good health, my life cycle has changed. This fact dawned on me one morning when it seemed I simply could not get ready. 

A diagnosis of glaucoma and dry eye disease means I must use three types of drops daily. One twice a day, another once a day, and still another several times a day. Keeping up with the schedule taxes my brain. 

Patches of extremely dry skin also resulted in a prescription cream that must be applied twice daily for two weeks, with two weeks off before repeating the treatment. 

And then there are the pills I swallow. One to control my acid reflux. A daily aspirin because I’m over fifty, along with the daily vitamin to make sure I get what I might not through food. Add a beta blocker to regulate my Tachycardia. Finishing off the list is another over-the-counter acid reducer to help the prescription-strength one. Of course, there are more for other age-related issues, but you get the picture.  

I shouldn’t complain—and usually don’t. Others are worse off than me. My wife has a pouch full of medicine she must take daily to deal with health issues far more severe than mine. And those with rare diseases or other life-altering medical issues can top her—such as my brother who has Parkinson’s. 

Reading what Paul says is comforting—and should be for all who have reached the later life cycle or are suffering with life-altering medical challenges. I may not spend as much time as some do dolling up certain parts of my body or toning my muscles, but I don’t neglect it through unhealthy habits either. Regardless, my body will do what bodies do: age, change, and eventually die. 

We can’t keep these bodies alive, but God can—and will. Just not in their present form. When we die, or when Christ returns, our bodies will be transformed and fitted for our eternal home. A home where no pain, sickness, disease, medicine, or death will inhabit. Nor will there be any more life cycles.

Enjoy the life cycles—despite the changes they bring. They mean you are one step closer to eternity. 

Father, give me grace to endure the changes I must face as I gracefully age. 

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.