Tag: seasons

Hope for Less-Than-Fair-Days

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Joy is not a passing fling for the believer. His heart is ever rejoicing because the God of all heaven instills in him the ability to find a reason to praise regardless of the season one is encountering. Be it sunny skies or rainy days, the seed of praise still grows in the heart of His, and their joyfulness cannot be sequestered. Even if the skies or tides do not turn in our favor, God above all, is still worthy to be praised.

As noted in “Singing in the Rain,” dreary situations may come, and times of trouble and hardship can arise, but our hope for these less-than-fair days, and every day, is in our Heavenly Father. Therefore, whether sloshing through the rain of affliction or traipsing through the meadows of peace, we can say, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” Psalm 43:5.

Our hope is in God who never changes even if our situations do.

“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Ornamental Christianity

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Image by Theo Crazzolara from Pixabay

We are in July!  Can you believe it?  It seems that this year has gone by so fast and pretty soon the heat of the summer we are experiencing will be a faded memory, put on the shelf in lieu of seasonal changes and holiday greetings.

It is during this month that a lot of people fantasize about the coming Christmas season.  “Christmas in July” sales start popping up along with shows trying to get us into the holiday spirit before it’s time.

Can I say, enjoy this season because that season will come.  Before long, you’ll be pulling out the decorations, complaining about hanging the lights, and putting up the tree with the various ornaments upon it.

Some ornaments are purely decorative, bought at a big box store.  Some have sentimental value attached to them, being handed down through the family lines or bought to commemorate something or someone special.  Some may be handmade by a child with the parents proudly displaying the gift of Christmas cheer on the tree.

Regardless of the types of ornaments, where or whom they come from, or how they were made, they all have one thing in common – they are just for show.  For most, they come out only during this special time of the year to be put on display so that all who enter the house might take in its beauty or meaning.

I have found that many treat Christianity as that ornament, only to be put on display at certain times.  We are called, my friends, not to put on a show here and there, but to be authentically real for Christ through and through.  That realness then becomes the mark of who we are and Who it is that is living inside of us.

At every turn of life, and in every season, we are to display His glory in our lives.  We are to show the world the Christ in us.  We are to be light, not seasonal or wishy-washy ones, but lights that will daily shine for our God as Jesus commanded: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Ornamental Christianity is not to be a thing.  We are designed to shine authentically for Christ in every way and in every area of our lives.  Not just in opportune times or seasons.

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