Share the Load - Martin Wiles

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 NIV

With more than two thousand miles to walk, he chose carefully what to put in his backpack.

World War II was over, and Earl Shaffer needed to walk it out of his system. He chose the Appalachian (or Government) Trail to do so. At the time, the trail began at Oglethorpe, Georgia, and extended to Mount Katahdin, Maine. Since most of the men had been away fighting in the war, the trail had fallen into disrepair, making the journey more challenging. 

Earl’s motto was “Carry as little as possible but choose that little with care.” And he did. He carried a survival tent, poncho, rain hat, knife, axe, sewing kit, snake-bite kit, cook kit, clothing, and a week’s worth of food. Even though he chose the bare minimum to put in his pack, he still felt overloaded. 

Because of Earl’s training and determination—and because he carefully chose what he carried—he became the first person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. 

I’ve done a little backpacking myself and know how important it is to choose my load with care. My first extended backpacking trip with my daughter revealed I hadn’t learned Earl’s wisdom. My pack weighed in at fifty pounds, and my daughter’s at thirty-five. Although we had fun, we also experienced misery because of unnecessary weight. Our loads slowed us down and taxed our backs. 

What Paul states in this verse makes common sense. Any burden shared is lighter. Jesus said the load of obeying him was easy, so if following him is causing us misery, we must be doing something wrong. 

Burdens are cumbersome when we carry the wrong things in our life’s pack. They might include bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, immorality, depression, frustration, hurt, or lies. When we carry unhealthy emotions, actions, or relationships, our souls ache. Nor does anyone want to help us bear them. 

Helping others with their loads makes the load lighter. Many people helped Earl along the way, making his journey more bearable. People who took him to get food and supplies. People who gave him a place to stay out of the inclement mountain weather. Giving others permission to hold us accountable, helping others bear their life loads, and depending on God for strength are all vital. 

Don’t try to do life alone. Share the load. 

Father, motivate me to carry others’ loads and, most of all, to depend on you for strength to do so. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book 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.

Angels of Mercy - Martin Wiles

And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. Hebrews 13:16 NLT

We sat on the porch and watched the angels of mercy come, one after the other.

My wife and I were visiting a shut-in couple from our church when the angels of mercy arrived. As we enjoyed the cool fall weather, I watched the front door of the house across the road open. A lady with a covered tray walked out and across the street. She strolled up the couple’s front steps and told them she had made them supper. As she named off the southern meats and vegetables under the foil, the husband’s mouth watered. She took the meal inside, placed it on their table, made a few minutes of small talk, and then left. 

A few more minutes of conversation passed when a neighbor on the left walked over with a plastic bag and said, “Thank you, Papa, for watching my kids.” 

“You’re welcome, honey,” he said. 

I wondered how he had cared for her kids, since he could hardly care for himself or his wife. His eyes lit up as he looked inside and discovered six packs of bologna—one of his favorite meats to fry and make a sandwich from. 

“Thank you, Lord,” he whispered, tears dotting his eyes as his neighbor walked away. 

Both angels were from different races and cultures—one an African American and the other Hispanic. But it mattered not to this couple living in a neighborhood that had changed drastically since they purchased their home fifty years before. God has sent his angels, and they were thankful.

Like most people, I sometimes focus more on my own needs than on others’. I want God to send his angels in the form of others to help me, but I forget he wants to send me as an angel of mercy as well. But putting my eyes and hands on others relieves the emotional intensity of the hardships I might be facing and reminds me that I don’t have to look far to find people in more dire straits than I am. 

Opportunities to be used as God’s angel of mercy abound. Being one requires living with intentionality, desire, love, and openness to the opportunities God places all around us. 

Ask God to send you angelic opportunities. 

Father, thank you for the privilege of serving as your hands and feet in this world. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book 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.

Purpose Driven - Martin Wiles

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13 NIV

“I’m in the middle of the road with a flat tire. Can you tell Dad to come and help me?”

My daughter was under the gun. She had given her landlord notice that she was moving out by the end of the month. Although she took a few days off from work, she hadn’t finished as much as she anticipated. On her last day off, as she rushed back and forth to the storage shed, a previously patched tire decided to leave her stranded in the middle of the highway—with three children in tow.

My wife and I hurried to her aid—not knowing whether we could help. We both suffer from back injuries, and changing a tire isn’t as easy as it once was—or even possible. I managed to loosen the lug nuts but couldn’t figure out how to remove the jack (what happened to the good old days when everything was simple).

Frustrated, my daughter called a cousin who is a mechanic. Without effort, he removed the jack and changed the tire. When I commented on how easy he made the job look, he said, “Everyone has a purpose.” His was to help people with mechanical issues in their vehicles.

Paul reminds us that God has a purpose for us and works to fulfill it.

Discovering God’s purpose is essential for living the abundant life Jesus promises. God’s ultimate purpose is for everyone to know his Son as their Savior. He works to fulfill that purpose by sending his Spirit to convict people of their sins. He calls some into full-time mission work to take his message of love to those who haven’t heard. He calls others into full-time work to equip believers to do the same in their everyday worlds.

God wants us to know and experience his love, draw closer to him, and then make his love known to the world. We were created to have a relationship with our Creator.

We don’t have to be a career preacher or missionary to share God’s plan with others. Living out God’s love in our actions, attitudes, and words accomplishes his purpose. My cousin can do it as a mechanic. So can the attendant at the office store, the teller at the bank, and the CEO of a major organization. And so can you—wherever God places you.

Don’t wander through life wondering what your purpose is. Live a purpose-driven life now.

Father, help me to live with purpose by making your love known through my daily experiences. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book 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 Misjudgment - Lynne Phipps

You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. Romans 14:10 NIV

As I filled my gas tank at the service station, a lady driving a pickup and pulling a long boat trailer pulled into the pumps closest to the convenience store door. Unfortunately, she misjudged the length of her vehicle and the angle she needed to pull alongside the pumps. The misjudgment caused her to end up with the front passenger side of her truck up on the walkway leading into the store, while the boat trailer on the driver’s side was wedged solidly against the side of the gas pump.  

I wondered how she would get out of this mess. Several men had already gathered around and were assessing the situation, trying to decide the best way to rectify the problem. The poor driver stood to the side, obviously embarrassed by the predicament she had created. My heart went out to her.

Misjudging situations and ascertaining the correct angle for tackling problems can be difficult. It can also be embarrassing, especially when others judge us harshly or unfairly. Something I admit I have been guilty of from time to time. 

As God’s children, however, judging others is not our job. Only God knows the heart, and it is up to him to make judgments. Through our prayers, the Holy Spirit can guide us daily, helping us discern the right angle for tackling any and all problems. He can also remind and nudge us when we are tempted to judge others’ misjudgments.  

The great preacher, John Wesley, wrote, “Do all the good we can, by all the means we can, in all the ways we can, in all the places we can, at all the times we can, to all the people we can, as long as ever we can.” 

Think of ways you can do good rather than judge. 

Father God, thank you for the grace, love, kindness, and mercy you always show when judging me. Please remind me that judging others is never my job. Instead, I am to express the love and goodness of Christ in all I do at all times and in all places. Empower me to do so, as I rely upon the power of your Holy Spirit within me. In Christ’s name, amen.

Lynne Phipps and her family live on a small hobby farm in the heart of Alberta, Canada’s farming country. She has been writing devotions for forty years and never tires of the spiritual correlation the Holy Spirit blesses her with. He uses normal everyday events and the behaviors of the multitude of glorious creatures He has brought across her path to point her to the truths of God. Lynne is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More, Christian Devotions, and Love Lines from God. 

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 Blankets - Lynne Phipps

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6 NIV

While watching television, I often busy my hands with crocheting baby blankets.

Over the years, some have gone to individuals, while others have gone to groups and churches. The ones I remember best, however, went to an orphanage in Guatemala. Missionary friends had let me know that newborns, in the poorest sections of the country, were sent home from the hospital wrapped in newspapers to keep them warm. Having delivered newspapers for many years, I remember how black my clothes got from touching the newsprint. They truly did look like filthy rags. Surely the babies of Guatemala deserved something better. Eventually, with the help of our missionary friends, we delivered handmade blankets to those hospitals. Many newborns were no longer wrapped in the equivalent of filthy rags.

Scripture also talks about filthy rags. Isaiah says all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). How, though, can the right things, the good and lovely things which we do, be classified as filthy? In fact, they are not.

When we seek to wrap ourselves in the blanket of them, however, with the belief that they will make us acceptable to God, they become as pitiful and useless as filthy rags. Our good deeds mean nothing to God when it comes to preparing us to stand before Him. They all fall short. No amount will cover our sins or make us righteous before Him. So what are we to do if our good deeds are not enough to gain us entrance into heaven and fellowship with God forever?

Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, but we can be justified freely by God’s grace through Jesus Christ.

Blanketing ourselves in God’s grace—believing in Christ and the work He did when he shed his blood on the cross—is the only way we can stand in righteousness before a holy God. Our righteousness does not come through good deeds but through the righteousness of Christ. 

Examine yourself to see what you are blanketed in. 

Lynne Phipps and her family live on a small hobby farm in the heart of Alberta, Canada’s farming country. She has been writing devotions for forty years and never tires of the spiritual correlation the Holy Spirit blesses her with. He uses normal everyday events and the behaviors of the multitude of glorious creatures He has brought across her path to point her to the truths of God. Lynne is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More, Christian Devotions, and Love Lines from God. 

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.

 

To Help or Not to Help - Martin Wiles

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Hebrews 13:2 NLT

He stood on a busy intersection, holding a sign we couldn’t read. To help or not to help, that was the question. Although the town where we lived wasn’t large, we had begun to see more homeless and indigent people standing on corners near our local restaurants and retailers.

As we pulled out of one parking lot after our meal, my wife and I strained our necks but couldn’t read his sign. After visiting the pharmacy to pick up medicine, we passed the man again on our way home.

“I’m going to circle around to see what the sign says,” my wife remarked.

I was glad. Lately, we had been paying it forward. Perhaps this was another opportunity. As we neared the gentleman, we noticed he didn’t look like the others we’d seen requesting help.

The man’s sign read, “Trying desperately to help my family. Waiting on my disability check.” He didn’t appear disabled, but then again, many who are don’t. We pulled to the stop sign next to him. My wife said nothing.

“What do you think?” I finally asked.

“I don’t feel the tug,” she said. And we drove on.

God regularly places opportunities in our path. More if we ask Him too. But I can’t take advantage of every good opportunity, nor does God expect me to. I’m not a wealthy man. Even Jesus, with all of heaven’s riches at his disposal, didn’t heal every sickness or meet the needs of every person who wanted his help. There were times when he left the crowds to pray to his heavenly Father or to move to another region.

Knowing which helping opportunity God wants us to seize takes much prayer. This helps us look and listen with spiritual eyes and ears. We must ask God to send the opportunities, but we must also ask him to let us see them. Busyness and selfishness will often cause us to miss out.

The tug my wife mentioned is what we call God’s Spirit. We both feel it when it’s an opportunity God wants us to take. It’s an overwhelming pressure to intervene—a feeling of guilt when we let the opportunity slip by.

Ask God to show you the situations where he wants you to intervene. You can’t do it all, but you can do something.

Father, guide me to those people and situations where you want me to intervene. 

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.

How to Be a Person of Excellence - Patricia Jordan

Give my greetings to the brothers (and sisters) at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. Colossians 4:15 ESV

Not many women of excellence will see their names written in a book or be remembered a few generations from now. Nevertheless, their commitment to do what is good and right influences generations to come. Their reputation for excellence will always be a light for others.   

A lifestyle of excellence includes wise use of time, thought, and energy; honesty; and responsibility for the use of resources, with consideration for all involved.

Those who build a legacy of excellence change people’s lives for the good of humanity. Those who show benevolence, protect life, and honor God by avoiding profanity and immorality build an honorable legacy.  

Nympha was a biblical woman who did those things. Nowhere do we read that she sought self-glory. What we know is that she left a lasting legacy of excellence through her Christian commitment and hospitality in helping to establish the Laodicean church. Her brief but important mention in Paul’s letter indicates she was wealthy enough to have a house large enough for the church to meet in and to provide refreshments to guests, as was customary then and still is today.

Also, helping to establish a Christian congregation shows she was a woman of influence. Nympha may have been a seller in the marketplace where she would have had many contacts, including those from polytheistic cultures. That is where she invited people to church and spread the gospel message

Nympha may have been Jewish and knowledgeable about the Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah. What we do know is that when she heard Paul preach about Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection, she received the message of salvation.

Many Laodiceans also received salvation through the preaching of the gospel by Paul and his evangelistic team. They then spread the gospel message everywhere they went.   

Nympha showed that our acts of kindness lift people of all generations out of spiritual darkness. This first-century woman’s actions still influence us today.

Let God show you how to be a person of excellence. 

Dear God, you know my thoughts, my coming and going. Nothing is hidden from you. Let my thoughts and actions be pure and acceptable to you, Lord. Amen.

Patricia Jordan is a seventh-generation southerner from the Appalachian Mountains. She is thankful to return and live there after living in various parts of the world with her retired military husband. They have raised three daughters. She has published You Are Valuable (Westbow), which is her story of how she overcame chronic low-grade depression through Bible study, prayer, and talk therapy. Lately, she has turned her writing talents to writing devotions about walking with God.  

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book 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 Joy of Serving Others Well - Martin Wiles

Don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13 NLT

I noticed the handicap van they drove and knew it was time for me to serve. I would soon learn the joy of serving others well.

Saturday morning. My wife and I were in the middle of packing for our move later in the month when we ran out of boxes. She suggested I stop by McDonald’s and grab us lunch after I picked up a few boxes. As I waited in the drive-through line, I noticed an older couple in a handicapped-accessible van slowly pull through the parking lot and take their place behind me.

Our daughter once had the habit of paying for the person behind her when she bought food from Chick-fil-A. I had never done this before, but on this day felt God’s Spirit nudging me. I questioned myself. What if they have ten more people in the van with them? I decided to act rather than doubt. When I approached the window to pay for my food, I asked the attendant to add their tab to mine. It was an insignificant amount, but the feeling I received from obeying God’s prompting was unsurpassed.

As believers, we have been freed from sin’s penalty. The blood of Christ has washed away our sins. Rather than using that freedom to indulge in sinful practices, Paul says we should use it to serve others. By doing so, we obey the second greatest command: to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Serving others can bring joy when we do so with the right attitude. Serving with reluctance won’t work. When we serve reluctantly, we feel hesitation because we’re doing something we don’t want to do.

Serving with joy requires letting God change how we see situations. What we give through our act of service is not forced from our hands. Instead, we’re allowing the act to slip away as a form of appreciation for what Christ has done for us.

Nor should we serve with ulterior motives. If we brag about what we’ve done, the spotlight shines on us instead of God. Jesus said not to let our right hand know what our left hand was doing. He also warned about standing on a street corner and announcing what we’ve done for him. Our motive in serving is to give God praise, not ourselves.

Learn the joy of serving others well, but not because you feel forced or want recognition.

Father, thank you for giving me opportunities to serve others in your name. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book 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.

What It Means to Love a Neighbor - Martin Wiles

The second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31 NLT

The note was attached to the door; the decision had been made. But what the entity didn’t know was what it means to love a neighbor. They would soon find out.

At nine years of age, he was doing what most boys his age did in the summer: romping and playing. Until his sister noticed how yellow his eyes were. She ran inside to tell their mother, who immediately took him to the emergency room. The local hospital transferred him to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Two days later, he had a new liver.

This family was our neighbors, but we knew nothing about their tragedy. We only knew we hadn’t seen anyone at home for three weeks. Initially, their youngest son did well. Then his body began rejecting the liver. They made several trips back and forth to Charleston, and each time we waited for an update.

During their last trip, my wife noticed the local power company had taped a notice to their door. She knew what it was, caught the bearer of bad news, and asked how much the bill was. The mom had not been able to work due to the circumstances, and the dad had missed numerous days himself. If $450 wasn’t paid by the next day, their power would be disconnected—an added grief they didn’t need.

“Why don’t we take a love offering at church?” my wife asked.

Since no one but us knew the family, I didn’t know how the people would respond. But I decided to take a chance. We’d had the young man on our prayer list. On Sunday morning, the church gave $406. When I announced the total at the evening services, the remaining balance was quickly received. As soon as the power company opened on Monday morning, my wife paid the balance.

Loving my neighbor is a good feeling—whether they live beside me or not. Doing so also helps me obey what Jesus termed the second-greatest command. Only loving God with my entire being surpasses it.

Opportunities to love our neighbors—whomever and wherever they might be—abound. But like my wife, we must be attentive to the working of God’s Spirit in our spirits to see them. If we live life selfishly, we’ll miss most, if not all, of the opportunities God sends.

Ask God to open your eyes to opportunities to love your neighbor.

Father, enable me to love others as passionately as you love me.

I invite you to try my book Grits, Grace, and God in eBook or paperback. If you want a daily dose of God's grace, this book 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.

How to Love the Overlooked and Forgotten - Martin Wiles

But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. Matthew10:29 NLT

The peeping alerted me that something was amiss.

A mother bluebird had hatched several nestlings in a birdhouse outside my office window. As I worked, I enjoyed hearing their peeps as the mother and father bird made numerous trips to feed their young.

But on one day, the peeping differed. I looked outside, thinking the babies had flown the coup. And they had, except one who languished on the cement porch. I quickly scooped up the hatchling and returned it to the nest. But mom and dad never returned. I saw them flitting around in the yard, but they ignored the peeps of the abandoned baby. Although I tried feeding it insects, it was dead when I arrived for work the next day.

In warning his followers about the persecution on their horizon, Jesus reminded them that not even a sparrow falls without his knowledge. He loves the least. I thought of the verse when I opened the birdhouse and saw the dead baby. My heart broke as I realized sin was the reason this scenario had gone awry. God didn’t want the nestling to die.

Loving the least is rarely easy. I thought of the Andy Griffith episode where Andy’s son, Opie, adopted a nest full of baby birds and nurtured them until they were ready to fly. His attempt succeeded; mine failed. But at least I made the effort.

Although animals aren’t created in the likeness of God as people are, and though they don’t have immortal souls as humans do, they are still a part of God’s creation, which he expects us to care for. Many years ago, God entrusted Adam and Eve with the care of his creation. His instructions to them have been passed to all earthly inhabitants.

But loving the least extends beyond animals and the environment to people as well. We are God’s highest creation, made in his image. It may be easier to hobnob with those in places of importance who can scratch our back in return, but God wants us to love the least, too. Those in dire straits. Those who can’t fend for themselves. Those to whom life has handed a tough hand of cards.

Learn to love the least, not just those who can help you in return.

Father, create in my heart a love for all people and for everything you have created.

I invite you to try my book Grits, Grace, and God in eBook or paperback. If you want a daily dose of God's grace, this book 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 Kindness Finger - Martin Wiles

The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. Acts 28:2 NLT

While driving down the road, my granddaddy gave the kindness finger to every driver he met.

Down South, we pride ourselves on friendliness. Some parts appear friendlier than others. During a particular time of the year, everyone I pass in their yard will probably be waving frantically. (In reality, they probably aren’t any friendlier. They’re just shooing away gnats.) I’ve had the privilege of talking with many people who have moved from other regions of the United States and had them tell me how friendly we are—a welcome relief.

My granddaddy fell under the category of friendly. He drove first an ice truck, second a milk truck, and finally an ice cream truck for more than forty years. When I was old enough, I spent the entire summer helping him deliver ice cream. Every vehicle he met coming down the road, he gave a kindness finger to—the index finger. In the South, that’s the finger we give. Rarely do we throw up a hand; we merely lift one finger.

Before I knew any better, I often wondered how my granddaddy knew so many people. Then I discovered he hardly knew any of the people he offered a finger to. He was simply being friendly and living out what he had learned from residing in the South.

Paul and those with him on the ship encountered friendliness after their ship ran aground. He was on his way to Rome to stand trial for his faith in Christ. While on this unexpected stopover, he and the crew encountered friendly islanders who gave them a kindness finger. In return, Paul showed them a kindness finger by healing the chief official’s father.

So how do we give kindness? Kindness is not genetic, but it is learned and free. If we want friends, we must be one. Coming from an environment where anger and rudeness were shown is no excuse to act the same way. God considers us his friends when we accept his Son as our Savior. Since he accepts us as friends, he expects us to return the favor. While having more than a few good friends in a lifetime is rare, we can show a finger of kindness to everyone we meet—even our enemies.

Ask God to help you give a finger of kindness to the people in your path.

Father, I accept your friendship through my relationship with Christ and ask you to help me to be friendly to others as well. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book 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.