Meandering Monday - How’s Your Listening? - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

Now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. Hebrews 1:2 NLT

As a teacher, I’m especially familiar with the difference between hearing and listening.

I don’t teach any deaf students, so, technically, all my students always hear what I say. But on test days or instances when we are orally practicing what they’ve heard, I readily realize not all of them have listened. Or when I give instructions and a student immediately asks me a question I just answered, I know hearing took place but not listening.

With my ears, I receive sounds, but to listen I must engage my attention and mind. Listening requires focusing on what I’ve heard and then processing it, so it stays with me and is ushered into my long-term memory.

Hearing and listening don’t always take place at the same time. The entire Old Testament record is the story of God speaking to people who often didn’t listen. From the first couple to those living when Jesus arrived, disobedience revealed itself as a universal thread. God spoke through visions, dreams, prophets, and natural phenomena. While those who witnessed these feats and heard these messages appeared to listen, many didn’t hear. Had they, their actions would have differed.

God also spoke his love through sacrifices. Rather than requiring a person’s life because of their sins, he allowed them to bring a substitute. Animal sacrifices, however, were only temporary and symbolic. Since they weren’t perfect, sin was only momentarily covered.

But when God spoke through his Son, he completed the required sacrifice. No more killings. Just listening to and accepting the one who has been offered on our behalf.

When we truly listen to God’s message of love, actions will follow. Not only will we accept but we will also prove we’ve listened through our lifestyles. We will love God with our entire beings, love others as we do ourselves, and adopt attitudes that honor our Savior.

Are you listening to what God is saying to you?

Prayer: Omnipotent God, enable us not only to hear but also to listen to You when You speak. 

Tweetable: How are your listening skills? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Enjoy the Chase - Martin Wiles

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life. Psalm 23:6a NKJV

Among the many children’s games, this one I enjoyed.

We called it “Tag,” and, as far as I know, kids still play it. Since I got glasses at an early age, I had to be careful what games I played, inside and outside of school. Mom and Dad warned me regularly not to break my glasses. In those days, they didn’t have insurance to cover the cost of replacing them. I could have removed my glasses during the game, but that would have accomplished little. I was half-blind and could not have seen who I chased.

I was also a skinny kid, so tackling and roughhousing didn’t dot my list of things to do. I feared getting hurt or breaking a bone. I suppose I grew up a cautious kid because of my stature and my eyesight.

But “Tag” I could handle. No bodily contact. Just reaching out and touching the person or people I chased. That also carried over into “Flag Football,” which I didn’t mind either. No tackling. No chance of getting hurt. Just chasing the person with the ball and pulling a flag from his pocket.

David, as a shepherd, enjoyed chasing and being chased. The entire psalm details how a good shepherd chases his sheep with certain things: food, water, green pastures, a rod, a staff, peaceful waters. And David’s God, his Shepherd, chased him with those same symbolic things.

When a shepherd chases his sheep with the proper things, they find themselves corralled into a privileged position. In turn, the sheep leave behind them good fertilizer and pastures that are free of bothersome weeds. The sheep follow, and they leave things behind that follow them.

As followers of the Good Shepherd, we live in a privileged position. Free from condemnation. Able to love unconditionally. Safe in eternity. Free to live with an unexplainable peace. No matter our circumstances, we move on, one step at a time, knowing our Shepherd will guide us to green pastures.

Through our experience with our good Shepherd, we experience goodness and mercy. Mercy defined is undeserved favor. We don’t deserve what our Shepherd does for us, nor could we ever earn His favor. Our good deeds won’t save us. Our only hope lies in His goodness and mercy, which He freely gives when we ask. From that moment on, He chases us with daily love.

But our Shepherd doesn’t want us to only receive His goodness and mercy. He wants these same two traits to follow us so that others might experience what we have. He wants us to become channels. He chases us with mercy, we receive it, and then we leave it behind for everyone we encounter. They may not deserve it, but we give and leave it anyway. Because God has chased us, we chase.

Thank God daily that He chases you with goodness and mercy.

Prayer: Father, thank You for your goodness and mercy that follows us all the days of our lives. 

Tweetable: Are you enjoying God's chase? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Baked Chicken Spaghetti

 

Ingredients

1 CAN MUSHROOM SOUP

                           
1 CAN MUSHROOMS

1 CAN BLACK OLIVES (DRAINED)

1 ONION (CHOPPED)

2 CUPS SHREDDED MOZERELLA

1 BELL PEPPER (CHOPPED)

1 CUP SHREDDED PARMESAN

      
1 JAR RAGU (GARDEN)

12 OUNCES SPAGHETTI (COOKED, DRAINED)

    
1 TEASPOON OREGANO

       1 BOX TYSON (DICED CHICKEN)

           
1 CAN TOMATOES

         1 TEASPOON BUTTER           

1 CAN ROTEL

Directions
SAUTE CHICKEN, ONION, PEPPER, BUTTER, OREGANO, AND SALT/PEPPER.

ADD TOMATOES, ROTEL, MUSHROOMS, AND OLIVES.

ONCE ALL VEGETABLES ARE TENDER, ADD RAGU AND MUSHROOM SOUP.

MIX SAUCE AND NOODLES IN A CASSEROLE  DISH.

TOP WITH CHEESE.

COVER WITH ALUMINUM FOIL.

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 35 TO 40 MINUTES.

Tweetable: Why not serve up this healthy pasta meal? 

We believe good food and God's Word go well together. After you've enjoyed this dessert--or even as you enjoy it--why not hop over to our main page and enjoy one of our encouraging devotions.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Walk-on Wednesday - Take the Oil - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Psalm 23:5b NKJV

Never had I encountered such aggravation.

Although my mom birthed me in New Jersey, I knew nothing of living there. After three months, my father was discharged from the Army, and we headed back to the lower regions of South Carolina where most of my family resided.

I’m sure I encountered these insects of aggravation soon thereafter—although I had to age a little before I understood what they were. Gnats. The most aggravating insect I’ve ever encountered. During my middle school years, when Dad moved us to Tennessee for four years, I enjoyed not having to fight with these persistent bugs which love to fly in ears, noses, and mouths.

When we moved back to South Carolina, my vacation from gnats ended. I suppose I learned to live with them because nothing got rid of them. Dousing myself with insect repellant kept them off the exact parts of my body where I put the repellant, but they swarmed in front of me and around me, looking for one spot where I had not lavished any repellant.

People not from the South think we in the South are friendly because we generally wave at everyone. What they don’t know is that often we’re just shooing away gnats.

A good shepherd, David included, knew all about aggravating insects and parasites. Although the summer grazing on the mountain summits excited the sheep, the bugs that come along with the warm weather didn’t. One type of fly entered the sheep’s nose and laid larvae in their heads. The resulting bug ran around in the sheep’s head, causing the sheep to thrash about and bang their heads against anything that might provide relief.

To prevent this fly from entering the sheep’s nose—and to keep the rams from hurting each other during mating season—the shepherd applied various oils to the sheep’s head and nose.

I’ve discovered aggravations are parcel to life. They don’t all come at one time, although sometimes they seem to bunch up, but they do appear regularly. A lost job, a low-paying job, a broken-down vehicle, a malfunctioning appliance, an untrustworthy friend, a bullying peer, an unpaid bill, an unexpected surgery, or a rebellious child or grandchild. The list seems endless.

A part of enjoying life is expecting the aggravations. They infiltrate a world cursed by sin—a world that changed from God’s original purpose the moment Adam and Eve decided to disobey His instructions. When we expect the aggravations, our attitudes don’t deteriorate so quickly when they arrive.

God also gives us the mind of Christ. Jesus always operated according to the Father’s will, never sinning despite the aggravations He encountered. Allowing His Spirit to guide and prepare us helps us face aggravations without responding in an unChristlike manner.

When we learn to live life joyfully, even with the aggravations, our cup overflows. Like the sheep who grazed contentedly because the shepherd had warded off the bugs that aggravated them, we’ll face life with optimism, knowing our Good Shepherd’s blessings will outweigh the aggravations.

Don’t let life’s aggravations cause you to miss out on God’s best for you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your oil of love that gives us strength to face life’s aggravations and keep going.

Tweetable: Are you accepting or rejecting God's oil? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Meandering Monday - No Fool Here - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1 NKJV

A recent movie, God Is Not Dead, featured a college freshman who was welcomed to one class by a professor who instructed the students to write “God is dead” on a sheet of paper.

According to the professor, scientific developments had eliminated the need to believe in a Supreme Being. Admitting this would eliminate his need to even discuss the possibility of a Supreme Being.

One student, however, challenged him and was allowed the opportunity to engage the professor in a debate…a debate he won when he asked the professor if he hated God. When the instructor admitted he did, the student queried, “How can you hate someone who doesn’t exist?”

Calling someone a fool may be scripturally dangerous, but God defines just who a fool is.

Believing in a Creator is not foolishness. Rather, foolishness believes everything in the natural realm just happened to appear in some primeval cesspool and evolved over billions of years into what we observe now. It appears obvious that the natural order bears the imprint of an Intelligent Designer who ordered the natural laws.

Nor is it foolish to acknowledge sin. Every day, the actions of people bear out what the Bible pronounces as actions that result from sinful natures: crime, greed, immorality, dishonesty. Because of our condition, we need a Savior, and God provided him in the person of Jesus—the sinless Son of God. On Calvary’s cross, he bore the sins of the world so that we might be set free. Believing frees us from condemnation and returns us to God’s good graces.

Believing death is not the end also isn’t foolish. God has created eternity in our hearts. Since the beginning of time, people groups have worshiped various gods, proving they believed in someone or something higher than themselves. Christians believe this someone is the only true and living God who has prepared an eternal home for those who love and serve him with their entire being. Science hasn’t eliminated him; he still exists.

The fool says there is no God. What do you say?

Prayer: Thank You, merciful God, for providing the means of our salvation through the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus.    

Tweetable: Are you a fool for Christ or one without Him?  

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Life Under the Rod and Staff - Martin Wiles

For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 NKJV

I would have rather had Dad’s version any day.

Discipline was a normal part of my growing-up years. Until I left home at eighteen, Dad and Mom used various forms of it to guide my life. I never had to worry about what the rules were. My parents wrote them on paper, communicated them by example, and spoke them through words.

I wasn’t an openly rebellious child—until I reached my teenage years—but like every other child, I had a bent toward disobedience. Inevitably, I broke some of my parents’ rules, which represented God’s rules. When I did, discipline followed.

Dad normally carried out the discipline—and I would have rather had him do it. Dad was cool, calm, and collective. If my infraction warranted time in my room, with a calm voice he sent me there. If my actions merited a spanking, he calmly applied the buckleless black belt to my hindquarters in a predetermined number of licks.

Mom also disciplined with love—but seeing it proved difficult. She normally waited until I or my brothers had irritated her to no end. Then, she applied the discipline, which was always the belt. Although she never abused us in any form, her strikes, while on the bottom part, resulted from anger and frustration.

Some distinguish between discipline and punishment, saying the first involves a teaching element while the second merely stops the behavior, giving no teaching element in the process. I never knew the difference growing up. My behavior stopped, and I learned.

As a child and teen, I lived under the rod and the staff. So did David’s sheep. Like any good shepherd, David carried both instruments. He used the rod for discipline and protection. When a sheep wandered off or sought to eat poisonous weeds, he threw the rod. If he needed to inspect a sheep for parasites, he used the rod to part their wool. When a sheep strayed too close to a ledge, he used the crook in his staff to pull it back. If he wanted to spend a little extra time with one of his sheep, he used the staff to draw the sheep near.

As our great Shepherd, God uses both instruments on us as well. God’s discipline proves His love for us. If He let us go our own rebellious way without intervention, His actions would prove His lack of care and concern for us. Discipline, in whatever form—and contrary to how it might appear at the moment—shows love, not hate.

God also uses His staff—the indwelling Spirit He gives when we choose to follow Him—to guide us along the right paths, draw us near to Him, and rescue us from dangerous adventures. He also uses His Word to remind us what the right paths are.

Don’t fear life under God’s rod and staff. They demonstrate His love.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for loving us enough to correct us when we go astray. 

Tweetable: Do you willingly accept God's discipline? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Beef and Gravy

 

 

Ingredients

1 ½ POUNDS STEW MEAT

     
2 SOUP CANS OF WATER

   
2 CANS CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

1 ENVELOPE LIPTON ONION SOUP MIX

 

Directions

BROWN MEAT IN A DUTCH OVEN.

MIX SOUP, WATER, AND ONION SOUP MIX TOGETHER.

ADD TO MEAT AND BRING TO BOIL.

TURN UNTIL TENDER.

Tweetable: Why not try this delightful delicacy by itself or over rice? 

We believe good food and God's Word go well together. After you've enjoyed this dessert--or even as you enjoy it--why not hop over to our main page and enjoy one of our encouraging devotions.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Walk-on Wednesday - God’s Adequacy, Our Inadequacy - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. John 6:11 NLT

Adequacy is the state of having enough or being satisfied.

For some, this means being able to afford the latest play toys: cell phone, television, Xbox, iPod, gun, golf clubs, or sports paraphernalia. Others measure it by how many of life’s pleasures they can purchase and enjoy. Cars, boats, houses, vacation homes, jet skis, motorcycles. Yet, others have learned to find adequacy in life’s simple things.

Five thousand plus people clamored around Jesus. Some wanted healing, some were simply curious, and some loved his teachings. As darkness threatened, food became a concern. Searching the crowd, the disciples could find only a young lad with five loaves of bread and two small fish. Sitting the crowd down in groups, Jesus used what appeared to be inadequate and made it sufficient by multiplying the elements and feeding the entire multitude.

Inadequacy is never a problem when God is in control. My inadequacy may seem enormous, but God can take my little and make it adequate for any task he assigns. He dispenses gifts and talents to his children, but without depending on his adequacy, I’m inadequate to use them properly or to their fullest extent. God’s Spirit residing in me is my Source of adequacy for all life’s challenges.  

Thinking we’re more adequate than we are leads to pride, a characteristic repeatedly rebuked in God’s Word. A more honorable quality is humility, which is praised on numerous occasions in the same place.

Humility admits our inadequacy while pride will lead us to think we’re adequate without God’s assistance. As Jesus challenged the disciples’ faith level by telling them to feed five thousand plus hungry people with the meager meal from the small boy, so admitting our inadequacy allows God to challenge, strengthen, and grow our faith as well.

When we recognize God is our adequacy, the impossible becomes possible.

Prayer: Thank You, Father, that Your grace and strength are adequate for any situation we face and for any duty You disperse. 

Tweetable: Is God your adequacy...or things? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Meandering Monday - Running from Problems - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

Elijah was afraid and fled for his life…There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. I Kings 19:3, 9 NLT

Jack was a runner…but not for exercise.

Jack ran from problems—or more accurately addictions. Nor were his addictions chemical. They were sexual. Though he was a happily married man, he had a habit of having affairs. His first was during his military career and with his best friend’s wife. His wife forgave him, but they changed locations by moving across the country. Moving didn’t solve his dilemma. Before long, he had suckered another innocent married woman into his deceptive web. When his wife discovered this affair, they moved back across the country.

Elijah was also a runner. When the wicked queen placed a death threat on his head for killing some of her pagan prophets, he ran for his life. His final destination was a cave. Here, God brought him face to face with his problems: unfounded fear and lack of trust.

Running from problems never leaves them behind; it just puts us in a different location. A better option is examining and admitting why I’m in the predicament. Like Elijah, I have to answer the question, “Why are you here?” Is it fear, lack of trust, a rebellious spirit, or unconfessed and willful sin?

Until I admit my problem, I’ll remain in the cave. Rather than running from my problems, I should run to them by facing them and securing the help I need. The help may come in the form of confession, a Christian counselor, or an accountability partner.

Instead of facing his problem, Elijah threw a pity party. He thought he was the only one left following God when there were actually thousands more. Wallowing in self-pity or seeking sympathy from others won’t cure our problems. God gave Elijah a few tasks to complete that would take his eyes off himself and focus them on others. In the end, his running ceased when he began depending on God for success.

Are you running from your problems or running to God for help?

Prayer: Eternal and all-powerful God, remind us You are larger than any problem we may face. 

Tweetable: Are you running from your problems? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Walking Through the Shadows - Martin Wiles

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Psalm 23:4 NKJV

Our destination lay just a little over a mile away.

After hiking three miles and setting up camp, my daughter and I headed for the summit of Sam’s Knob. Getting there required passing various shadows, some of which could have proved dangerous. We passed the shadow of the creek, which we rock-hopped. We passed through wild berry patches, and we knew what animal loved to feast on them. We didn’t care to see him—at least, not close up. And we climbed a steep, rocky path before reaching the summit, rocks on which we could have easily injured ourselves.

When we finally reached the summit, we agreed the journey through the valley was worth it. Three hundred- and sixty-degree views greeted us, and we marveled at God’s beauty. Although thunderstorms dotted the surrounding peaks, they could not spoil our joy.

As summer neared, David and other shepherds made their way to the mountain peaks so their sheep could find fresh grass on which to graze. Getting there required passing through mountain valleys where robbers and predators lurked. The summit is probably where David was when the prophet Samuel visited his father’s house to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king of Israel. David did not fear while on his journeys to the mountain peaks. He knew his Shepherd would protect him.

Shadows make the things they represent appear larger than they are. Nor are the shadows the real thing—although they represent reality. Shadows cannot hurt me, although some of the things they represent might. The shadow of a tree is harmless; the shadow of a bear lurking in the berry path might not be.

Although mountain valleys are beautiful, I often must pass through difficult shadows before reaching the summit. Unless I take a helicopter, no other way exists to reach the peak without passing through the valley.

Our Shepherd gently guides us through the valleys of danger, discouragement, depression, fear, and anxiety—protecting and leading us each step of the way.

The shadow we all want to avoid is death, but that, too, is only a shadow. When we know Christ as our Shepherd, death becomes only that moment when we close our eyes to open them in heaven. It cannot harm us, nor does it have any power over us. Jesus defeated death, and when He is our Shepherd, we will too.

Death is powerless because God has forgiven all our sins, He has released us from condemnation, and He has accepted us into His family. We have no reason to fear.

Don’t let life’s shadows frighten you. Your Shepherd will lead you safely through each one.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for guiding us through the valleys to the mountaintops. 

Tweetable: Do you fear the shadows? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Broccoli Cornbread

 

Ingredients

4 EGGS (BEATEN)

1 CUP SHREDDED CHEESE

8 OUNCES SOUR CREAM

1 ONION (DICED)

1 BOX JIFFY MUFFIN MIX  

1 SMALL BOX FROZEN CHOPPED BROCCOLI

Directions

STEAM BROCCOLI UNTIL TENDER, THEN DRAIN.

MIX ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER.

BAKE IN GREASED PAN AT 400 DEGREES FOR 20 TO 25 MINUTES.

Tweetable: Why not try this mix of healthy and sweet? 

We believe good food and God's Word go well together. After you've enjoyed this dessert--or even as you enjoy it--why not hop over to our main page and enjoy one of our encouraging devotions.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Walk-on Wednesday - Can We Know the Truth? - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

Series: Hey God…I Have a Question?

“What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.” John 18:38 NLT

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the truth isn’t.

What is truth? Is there truth? Where can I find it? Is truth for me truth for everyone? Does it change?

All questions people wrangle with and reach different conclusions about. Relativism makes truth relative, or changeable. Individual relativism allows the individual to set the parameters. Cultural relativism lets each culture define truth.

Imagine the missionary’s surprise when, after telling a native tribe about Judas betraying Jesus, he noticed they praised Judas instead of seeing his error. In their culture, betrayal was an honorable trait.

As Jesus stood before Pilate, he proclaimed to represent the truth. Pilate contemplated his statement and asked his infamous question, “What is truth?” Jesus said he was and is the way, the truth, and the life. Not all agree.

Truth is not relative…either to individuals or cultures. What I think is the truth matters not; nor does what others think. Truth for me cannot not be the truth for you. But individual relativism promotes this concept. You do what you want, and I’ll do the same. Stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours.

Cultural relativism manufactures the same mistake. What is true in one culture is true in another. Just because a culture may accept rape as legal doesn’t make it so in God’s eyes.

Individuals and cultures don’t erect the rules for determining truth. Moral absolutes transcend individuals and cultures, and God establishes them. They are viewed most clearly in God’s Ten Commandments and in the two commands Jesus said were the most important: love him with all one’s heart and our neighbors as we do ourselves.

God established moral absolutes...truth…in the beginning and recorded them in his Word. Jesus represented truth when he resided on earth. What we think should be or is the truth is immaterial. It only matters what God proclaims.

Have you discovered the truth?

Prayer: Thank You, most glorious Father, for giving us the truth. 

Tweetable: Have you discovered the truth? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.