Shirt off His Back, Cross off Her Neck 1-22-15

“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests,but also for the interests of others.” 

Phil. 2:4

We’ve all heard of the cliché, “Give the shirt off your back.” The dictionary tells us its connotation: First recorded in 1771, this idiom means in an act of self-sacrifice, to give anything one possesses in order to help another in need.

Well, while in Costco last week, after complimenting a woman’s necklace, in a gesture of complete altruism, Betsy was “given the cross off her neck.” Not the shirt off her back, but her cross necklace off her neck! Wow.  What this woman didn’t know was the heartbreaking phone call Betsy had received a couple hours prior. Acting on news unbeknownst to her, in divinely orchestrated timing, this saint came to the aide of Betsy’s aching heart with a symbol of a cross… God’s message to Betsy saying, “I am in complete control, trust Me.”

S. Harris shares this equation: Self-sufficiency is the opposite of Christian faith; self-will is the opposite of Christian submission; self-seeking is the opposite of Christian compassion, and self-righteousness is the opposite of Christian humility and reverence. ~Last week in Costco, amidst a world entrenched in “I am most important” mentality, the opposite occurred…the essence of Christian love was refreshingly exemplified to all onlookers by this virtuous woman. Our Lord smiles.

“Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

1 Jn.3: 18

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though He was God,

He did not think of equality with God

as something to cling to.

Instead, He gave up His divine privileges;

He took the humble position of a slave

and was born as a human being.

When He appeared in human form,

He humbled himself in obedience to God

and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor

and gave Him the name above all other names,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.”  Phil. 2: 5-11

Today, may we live out the heart of Christ with the breath of our lives.

Much love and hugs,

Shaun and Betsy

Broken, but Not Crushed 1-8-15

“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Phil. 3:12

Broken, but not crushed.

As we enter this New Year and reflect on time gone by, good and difficult memories intermingle, creating a myriad of emotions within. The particular emotions and memories that “stick”, however, are the ones to which we place our focus.

On what memories are we going to choose to focus our thoughts?

Personal story: After unpacking from a recent family trip, we were unable to locate our camera. This particular Cleary adventure had been a mixture of both wonderful memories and broken dreams. Longer story short, our camera was found in a parking lot, broken, but not crushed.

~We find this broken camera “picture” analogous to events and relationships in so many of our lives.

Our camera, which had recorded pictures of all of our precious memories, was nearly lost/destroyed. Yet, despite the odds, the camera was both found and in tact enough to recover our good memories captured within its images.

Over time, as we focused on these captured images of joy, we healed and moved on from broken dream imagery, as God filled us with new dreams of hope and purpose.

We found like Paul: “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward

what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which

God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3:13-14

Our minds, like cameras, contain captured images. It’s a matter of choice and discipline which images we choose to place our focus. Likened to Samuel with God in 1 Sam. 15:35-16:1, there is a time to grieve/mourn alongside God. ~Then, there comes a time to move on. In 1 Sam. 16:1, the mourning period came to a close when God came to Samuel saying, “How long will you mourn?...Fill your horn (picture of authority) with oil (picture of anointing) and be on your way to the place I am sending you.” And God’s pattern is the same with His beloved today: there’s a time to mourn, then a time to move on in our Eph. 1:10 promise, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

May we embrace all that He has for us in 2015 and refuse to allow negative memories to permeate and control us. Amen.

Much love and hugs,

Shaun and Betsy

“We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you (“pleroo” meaning to be totally controlled by) with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” 

Col. 1:9