Ingredients
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Friday, December 30, 2022
Reaching for Responsibility - Martin Wiles
“Were you born in a barn?”
I suppose I heard the question the most from my
mom and her mom. Like all children, I often came into the house in a hurry.
Perhaps I played a game and needed something from the house. Flying in, I would
leave the door open, thinking there was no point in closing it when I was going
right back out. Or maybe, I needed to use the bathroom quickly. My excuses or
reasons for leaving the door open didn’t matter. Mom hollered the question.
Mom’s mom parroted her. She lived in an old
farmhouse in the country with no central air or heat. The windows were raised
in the summer, and the wooden door stood open so what cool air existed could
flow through the screen door. The problem at her house was flies, which
accumulated in large numbers due to two nearby chicken farms. Since the house
had no central heating, leaving a door open in the winter created a different
problem. An open door brought the question from her lips whether it was winter or
summer.
In my young mind, the question concerned
responsibility. At my age, I didn’t understand the costs of electricity, but I
knew enough to realize that closing a door was something I should think about.
I guess the lesson stuck because I later used the question with my children,
grandchildren, and students. While leaving the door open to my classroom didn’t
let hot or cold air in, my students needed to learn a lesson about
responsibility that would carry over into other areas of life.
Paul took the matter of responsibility to yet
another level: a spiritual one. God’s children are responsible for sharing
God’s love with others. Some plant the story’s seed in another person’s life
for the first time. Others water the seed by reinforcing the story with life
examples and actions. Whether we water or plant, God holds us responsible.
Responsibility is taught and caught. We teach it
in various ways to our children, grandchildren, friends, co-workers, and casual
acquaintances. We also catch it by looking at the example of others who do a
better job than we do. Once we listen and heed the lessons, we can lead others
to do the same.
As a Christ-follower, we are responsible to obey God’s commands, to love God with all our hearts and others as ourselves, to serve God with the gifts He’s given us, and to be an example to other people. When we do, we have attained responsibility and closed the barn door.
In what areas could you be more responsible?
Prayer: Father, may we be responsible for those
things you have given us to do.
Tweetable: How are you reaching for responsibility?
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Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Discerning Life’s Direction - Martin Wiles
Direction determines destination, making discerning life’s
direction a critical matter.
Google Maps is my favorite driving directions app. Siri is
nice, but she tends to misunderstand my southern accent. With Google Maps, I
simply plug in my desired destination, and it takes me there. It even has a
voice to guide me, so I don’t have to distract myself by looking at the listed
directions.
But for Google Maps to guide me, I must put in my intended
destination. Once, I plugged in Herdon, West Virginia—where my brother and his
wife once lived. We wouldn’t have arrived at our desired destination had I
entered another destination. We arrived six hours later, but only because I
initially headed in the right direction.
The psalmist did what all people must do at some point in
life: ponder their direction. A relationship with God, career, college, residence,
investments, and relationships. All require going in a particular direction to
reach the proper destination.
At nine, I discerned the direction I needed to go. That
direction involved turning my life over to Jesus Christ, asking him to forgive
my sins, and committing to serve him faithfully and unashamedly. For most of
those years, I’ve headed in the right direction. When I have, I’ve always arrived
at my intended destination: godly living.
The few times I’ve taken a detour, I’ve found myself involved
in pursuits and relationships I should have left alone. Direction determines
destination. But if I consulted my life map, God faithfully returned me to the
route that led me back to my intended objective.
Heaven is my ultimate destination, and each day brings me
closer. I may make a few more unintended detours, but God assures me I’ll
arrive safely. My heavenly guide is better than any app I could download. He
always gets me where I need to go if I take his advice and follow his
directions.
Let your life destination entail loving and serving God with all your being.
Prayer: Father, guide us to your destination for our lives
and give us the fortitude never to veer from the route.
Tweetable: How do you discern your life's direction?
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Monday, December 26, 2022
Fatal Attractions - Martin Wiles
What I’m
known for is as important as why I’m known for it. Unfortunately, fatal
attractions find themselves in the mix.
White was a
well-known family name throughout certain portions of West Virginia and beyond.
The family patriarch—who initially brought the family’s notoriety—was renowned
as a tap dancer. Unfortunately, he was shot and killed.
His daughter says
two more of her brothers were killed. Those who survived carried on the family
reputation of murder, theft, attempted murder, and illegal drug use. And
without shame. Only one of her brothers made it out of the poverty, fatality,
and hopelessness the rest of the family experienced—and only by moving to
another state.
Though the
family could quote scripture, it made no impact on them. Instead, what came out
of their actions revealed what was in their hearts. They wanted to be
remembered for the hell they raised and for their don’t-mess-with-us reputation.
Jesus states
a well-known fact. When we see good works, they flow from a good heart—although
one tainted with sin. When we witness evil deeds, they flow from a wicked soul—although
one touched with good.
What I’m
attracted to is crucial. Because my heart is tainted with a sinful bent, I am
drawn to those things that either conflict with God’s will for me or fall
outside my best interest. Things that will only bring temporary pleasure or
exhibit a selfish nature. I’m also attracted to fatal attitudes and emotions.
Revenge is much easier than forgiveness, and anger much simpler than love. What
naturally draws me is fatal and will show up in ungodly actions and attitudes.
Only Christ can
change what attracts us. When we ask for his forgiveness, he gives us a new
nature. The things that attract us will change when we feed that new nature
through spiritual disciplines such as Bible study and prayer. And so will our
actions and attitudes.
What things or attitudes attract you? Our answer reveals the state of our hearts. Be attracted by good and godliness.
Prayer: Father, draw us to feed our inner selves so our outward actions will promote love for you and others.
Tweetable: What is a fatal attraction to you?
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Saturday, December 24, 2022
Christmas Separation - Martin Wiles
We, here, at Love Lines from God, wish all our supporters a very Merry Christmas.
Ah, the good old days when no
Christmas separation existed.
I remember them well. My
parents planned our Christmas Day celebrations, and I didn’t complain. For
lunch, we headed to my paternal grandparents’ home. The five of us gathered
with my dad’s sister, my uncle, and their two kids. When we all walked into the
house, we discovered a mountain of presents around an artificial tree nestled
in the corner of a large living room. Our eyes bulged as we eagerly awaited the
opening ceremony.
But not yet. First, we had to
eat lunch. My grandfather’s tradition was ham, and he knew how to cook it just
right. My grandmother cooked the sides. When all was done, the adults gathered
around the dining room table, and we siblings and cousins sat at the kitchen
table. Of course, I didn’t mind. The old home only had gas space heaters, and
one sat beside the kitchen chair I always sat in.
We gobbled our food, knowing
what was next. As we circled in the living room, my oldest cousin played Santa
and handed out the gifts. After a couple of hours of opening and playing with
our toys, we headed thirty minutes down the road to my maternal grandparents’
old country home.
Mom’s sister, my uncle, and my cousins
lived just next door. They walked the short distance to my grandparents’ house,
and we ate again. The present pile here was much smaller, but the love was just
as great.
Fast forward twenty years. My
family, my brothers, their wives, and all our children were gathered at Mom and
Dad’s house. Our grandparents had died long ago. Now, Mom carried on the
tradition. The food was homecooked, the presents were piled high, and the
fellowship was precious.
Fast forward another thirty
years. Now, we’re all separated—by miles, divorces, remarriages, grandchildren,
and deaths. So we will celebrate this Christmas in segments: with one brother
and some of his family, then another brother and his family, and finally, our
children and grandchildren. The entire process will spread over two weeks, not
one day.
Such is the life most families
live at Christmas. But despite the changes and the separations, one thing never
changes: God’s love. Paul reminds us that nothing—death, divorce, remarriage,
sickness, disease, financial challenges, a sour economy—can separate us from
God’s love.
Regardless of the Christmas
separations we experience, we can still celebrate the birth, life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we can relish in His forgiveness,
the abundant life He gives us presently, and the eternal home He promises us.
Nothing can separate us from Him in the present or the future.
Among Christmas’ separation,
celebrate the togetherness you can have with Christ and others.
Prayer: Father, we thank you
that nothing can separate us from your love.
Tweetable: How do you handle the Christmas separations?
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Friday, December 23, 2022
Check the Company - Martin Wiles
“Choose your friends wisely.” A saying that
reminds us we need to check the company we keep.
Dad said it frequently, but I wasn’t interested
in choosing the type of friends he referred to. In my teenage world, I didn’t
want to be a goody-two-shoes, which Dad wanted. Perhaps he chose the wrong
friends as a teenager and didn’t want me to make the same mistake—but I doubt
it. According to my grandmother, he was a model boy. Maybe he could see my tendencies
to lean toward the bad guys and wanted me to know the dangers of doing so
before I got into trouble.
I obeyed Dad’s directive until I entered high
school. Then, I became the bad boy and chose bad boys to hang around with. Todd,*
my best friend throughout high school, was one. Initially, I didn’t know him
from school, but from the part-time job I had bagging groceries at the local
Piggly Wiggly. We became fast friends, and I soon picked up his habits—smoking,
drinking, and experimenting with drugs. Since the 1970s were in full force, we
didn’t do anything that most others weren’t doing as well.
Todd didn’t claim to be a Christian and didn’t
have parents who were either. His mom modeled good behavior, but his dad did
most of the things Todd did and didn’t seem to care if Todd wandered into
errant behavior.
Once I had found one friend who helped me walk
the wrong path, finding others to reinforce my misbehavior proved easy enough.
Before long, everyone I hung around with did things my dad warned me against. I
had a few church friends who stayed on the straight and narrow, but I wasn’t
interested in following their example. I wanted to go with the crowd—and did
until I became a young adult.
Paul makes a simple statement that rings true
every time: the people we associate with influence us.
Although Jesus interacted with some people who
didn’t follow His example, He spent most of His time with people who chose to
adhere to His principles and lifestyle. His periodic association with
unbelievers pointed them in the right direction and away from the crowd they
had chosen.
Our pull toward the bad is natural since we are born sinful. We must have more strength and wisdom than we can muster to go the opposite way.
God, however, will enable us to ignore peer pressure and go His way if we trust Him. An intentional decision to surrender ourselves to God’s will and to walk with Him in faith daily helps us check our company and choose friends who will aid us in our spiritual journeys.
What steps can you take to do a better job of checking
your company?
Prayer: Father, guide us to choose friends who
will build us up spiritually.
Tweetable: Do you need to check your company?
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Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Be Strong - Martin WIles
Sometimes,
what’s ahead and behind is just as important as what’s in the middle. And we
need to be strong for all of it.
My wife and I
once took a vacation to visit my brother and sister-in-law who had moved to
West Virginia. They lived in an area where coal mines are prevalent but not
much else. Their home was situated on the side of a mountain and in a valley
where the sun doesn’t rise until ten in the morning but sets at three in the
afternoon.
Across the
highway was a small stream paralleled by railroad tracks. Several times each
day, I heard a whistle blow, saw a bright light, and then marveled as two
engines slithered around the corner of the mountain, pulling numerous cars
loaded with coal. After what seemed like an eternity, the end arrived, pushed
by two equally strong engines. What pulled the train was just as important as
what pushed it.
Moses led the Israelites through forty years of wandering in
the wilderness. God led them with a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar
of fire at night. Neither their shoes nor their clothes wore out. He supplied
water, meat, and manna. He went before them to the Red Sea and positioned
himself behind them when Pharaoh’s army pursued them. But then, it came time
for Moses to die. Joshua would take over. God would be the energy behind him
and the Israelites as they conquered the Promised Land.
God gives us the same promise. I’ve learned when I don’t let God
go before and behind me, I’ll make a mess of things. He doesn’t appear in a
pillar of cloud or fire but in the continual abiding presence of his
Spirit residing in me.
If we pay attention to the still small voice speaking to our hearts, we’ll find the power to make the right decisions, take the proper paths, and find the correct answers to life’s most important questions.
Like the train engines, God provides the strength. All we
must do is rely on it. What are you finding strength in to face each day?
Prayer: Father, we pray for Your strength to face life’s
journey and all it holds.
Tweetable: What are you finding strength in?
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Monday, December 19, 2022
Gaze on God’s Gentleness - Autumn Wilson and Rebecca Riddle
How have you seen God’s gentleness?
- When a friend understands your struggle with infertility, God may gently tell you that he understands too.
- When someone in the drive-thru ahead of you pays for your Starbucks, God may gently encourage your own charity.
- When your voice catches in your throat as you listen to a heated debate, God may whisper for you to keep your mouth shut.
King Saul hunted David across Israel, seeking
to murder the man whom God had anointed as the next king. Yet, in a moment of
divine opportunity, God led Saul into the caves near the Crags of the Wild
Goats while his army stayed outside.
Unknown to Saul, David lurked in the back of
the cave with his own army. King Saul—the man who murdered men, women,
and children for giving David bread—stood a few inches away, vulnerable to
David’s righteous indignation. God had promised David, “Behold, I will give
your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to
you.”
What seemed good? Grieved by his king’s
hatred, David could have pulled his dagger and ended Saul’s life. He and his
men could have rushed from the cave like bears and slaughtered Saul’s army. Then,
David could have taken the throne.
Instead, David cut a corner of Saul’s
garment. But guilt washed over him, and he staggered from the cave, fell on his
knees, and confessed to his king. David refused to slaughter his hunter. In a
moment of divine opportunity, David chose an unusual path: gentleness.
Just as David showed Saul gentleness by
honoring him as God’s anointed, God showed David gentleness by shepherding him
onto the throne of Israel.
Slowly, each tribe chose to follow David. The
tribe of Judah came first. Then, seven years later, the remaining tribes came
to David, asking him to rule as their king. Not with force but with gentleness,
God fulfilled his promise to David by making him king over all of Israel.
Think of some ways you can gaze on God’s
gentleness.
Tweetable: Are you gazing on God's gentleness?
Autumn Wilson is a writer and perpetual student of church history. She lives in Dallas, TX, where she studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. On any given day, you can find her staring at a blank Word document, wrangling third graders at church, furrowing her brows at Anselm, or creating homemade escape rooms.
Rebecca Riddle is a lover of loose-leaf tea and biblical languages. She currently studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Grateful for remote learning, she chooses to live in North Carolina, where you can often find her outdoors in the company of her dog and a Canon.
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