Category: Reflective Focus

Reflective Focus

Your Money and Your Life

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Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle (Proverbs 23:4-5 NLT).

Like most everyone else, I have been paying close attention to the headlines about the worldwide economic situation. What is happening today will not only affect me now and in coming years, but will potentially affect every member of my family – including my grandchildren.

Debt that is being incurred now will be born by those tomorrow. Reading articles like “The Next Generation’s Debt Burden” on gop.gov and staring a few moments at usdebtclock.org can be very depressing. Ignoring the reality, however, will not make this money problem go away.

News from other countries is now instantaneous. Bloggers and tweeters share opinions immediately. A crisis in one part of the world – no matter what it is, economic, war, weather, political unrest, etc. – is felt around the world. The domino effect of this financial crisis has shown us that we are all part of a global community.  It is truly worldwide.

Recent research done by Britain’s University of Cambridge has revealed that the suicide rate in the United States more than quadrupled between 2008 and 2010. Aaron Reeves, who led the research, submitted his results to the Lancet Medical Journal. Obtaining his data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, his analysis showed that around 1500 more people in the U. S. committed suicide compared to what would have been expected or forecast if trends from 1997 to 2007 had continued.

Rising unemployment was blamed for at least one quarter of the rise in suicides in the U.S. since the beginning of the Great Recession.  Greece, Spain, Britain and other countries with similar rises in unemployment have also produced a similar increase in their suicide rates.

Before this report was released, The American Journal of Health reported that the largest increase of suicides occurred during the Great Depression. Obviously money woes  – or more accurately, how you deal with money issues – can have a disastrous effect on your health and your life.

This problem seems to be predominately in affluent cultures. Luxuries are considered necessities. Where abundance is available, it comes to be expected and missed more sorely if it becomes scarce or disappears.

Helen Steiner Rice, a well-known poet, married Franklin Rice in 1929. Franklin, a wealthy man, was so confident that the nation’s problems were short-term and would recover from the economic downturn that he invested even more heavily in the stock market. Shortly after losing his fortune due to that unfortunate decision, Helen discovered that he had killed himself, leaving her this note:

“Darling, the only thing I’m sorry about is that I never could give you all the things I meant to. I hope you believe that I really wanted to give them to you, and I could have given them to you before everything went….Keep the picture of me in my uniform and think of me once in a while…You’ll get along fine, I know. You’ll always go on. I only knew one world. I just can’t go down and become a bum–I have to go out with the band playing.”

Of course, what Franklin did caused Helen much more pain than the loss of any material things. She not only no longer had her husband by her side, but after the estate was auctioned off to pay creditors, she had to go back to work. A strong Christian woman, Helen never remarried, but recovered from her loss by seeking God’s direction in her life.

As a missionary, I am privileged to have friends around the world who are extremely happy without any possessions to speak of. Some of them have never known the kind of luxuries that many in the developed western world have become accustomed to. Often they don’t have enough to eat, but that doesn’t stop them from loving God and others. It is not that they are unaware of their lack. It’s just that their perspective is on the eternal, not the temporal. Just like Jesus, doing the will of God is their food. Even though there may be instances of suicides in these places, I am unaware of any. My friends are too busy being productive in God’s work to worry about what they don’t have.

Helen Steiner Rice says,

“Our greatest comfort is to know that ‘the same God who helped us before is ready and willing to help us once more.” All God asks of us is that we believe, and we must believe enough and have enough faith in Him that we will refuse to let anything shut Him out of our lives.

Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain,

Laughter and teardrops, pleasure and pain –

Low tides and high tides, mountains and plains,

Triumphs, defeats and losses and gains –

But there never was a cloud that the SUN didn’t SHINE THROUGH

And there’s nothing that’s IMPOSSIBLE for Jesus Christ to do!”

© Stephanie B. Blake

February 2013

* Quote and poem taken from In the Vineyard of the Lord: Lights and Shadows from the Life of Helen Steiner Rice, Fleming H. Revell Company, 1979, p. 112, 113

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Reflective Focus

Importance of a Forever Focus

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So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  – For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever (2 Corinthians 4:18 HCSB and GNB).

From the time you wake in the morning until you go to sleep at night, a multitude of things and people compete for your attention.

  • If you have a job, pleasing management and keeping that job can be a constant concern.
  • If you have a family, spouse and children want and deserve a good chunk of your time.
  • If you are socially minded and volunteer either at church or in your community, what you have committed to demands your follow through.

These responsibilities can, at times, be overwhelming. Not only are you accountable for your commitments; in order to accomplish them you need to take care of yourself – eat well, sleep well, exercise and give yourself some down time.

Perhaps you have done everything you can to maintain good health, but you are not well. Perhaps you have lost your job, your marriage fell apart or your children do not want your companionship. Perhaps, as a Christian, you believe in the promises of God and know that He will work things out in due time for HIs glory. In the meantime, you want to know how to keep a proper perspective while you are waiting for “forever”.

Follow the Perfect Example

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2 NASB).

Jesus, every bit as human as we are, set the example for us on how to stay focused on God with a ‘forever focus”. Every circumstance, meeting, and trial had an eternal perspective.

  • Even as a young boy, He was focused on doing His Father’s will. His comment to His mother when she found Him in the temple at twelve was, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
  • He was tempted just as we are, but HIs focus on God, His word and His will enabled Him to resist the temptations of the devil.
  • Even though He got hungry just like we do, there were times when He was so focused on the Father’s will that He skipped eating. My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work (John 4:34 NASB).
  • He needed sleep like the rest of us (so much so that He took a nap in the middle of a storm), but there were times when instead of sleeping, He spent all night in prayer.
  • He was surrounded by many who wanted His attention. In compassion, He stopped and met their needs, demonstrating His power and the love of God as He did so, but He never forgot His mission.
  • It seems contradictory to our senses that the author of Hebrews described His endurance of the cross as a matter of joy set before Him, but that was the way Jesus looked at it. Certainly, there was no joy in the cross itself. It was horrible and unjust. Christ’s focus, however, was always on what He knew would be accomplished once He endured the shame of the cross – the salvation of souls and the growth of His eternal family.

The circumstances of Jesus’ life on His journey to the cross – tempted by the devil in the wilderness, nowhere to lay HIs head, rejection by those He had created, misunderstood even by His followers – did not slow Him down because He never took His eyes off the Father and doing His will.

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21 NLT).

It should be the same with us. Just like Jesus, you choose each day what you will focus on. Know that whatever comes your way, if you are a child of God, He will make things right. Trust Him.

This life is not all there is.

Whenever this life on earth is over, those who rejected Jesus will experience an eternity without Him. Those of us who have chosen to follow Jesus will spend forever with Him. If you focus on Him now, your life will be so much richer than it would be otherwise. As a child of His, He is involved in your life now and He will be involved forever. He has promised to never – not ever – leave you or forsake you.

When your focus is on God and His forever purposes for your life, you start seeing life a little from HIs perspective. He knows the beginning from the end. He doesn’t reveal all there is to know about your future, but He doesn’t need to. Your experience with His faithfulness in your past is enough to trust Him for whatever will come in the future. He is not bound by time like we are so we know that what He says He will do will happen.

One of the reasons we have difficulty with a forever focus is because it is hard for us to see past the moment. We must, of course, live in the now, but having learned from the past, we can look to the future knowing that God is in control of it all.

I believe that this one focus is so important that my website is named One Focus Ministries and my blog One Focus. Naturally, this is a common theme throughout the devotionals and Bible studies on this site. Bible studies (under the Word Focus tab) One Day at a Time, Focus on the Shepherd’s Voice and Focus on Fullness of Joy and devotionals (under the Reflective Focus tab) Focus is a Choice, Trusting God: A Predetermined Choice and Trusting God Completely are a few examples of this theme. Every One Focus blog deals with seeing God’s hand in everyday life. We don’t need to wait until we have passed from the temporary to the eternal to experience a forever focus. Jesus showed us how that forever focus helps make sense out of today.

© Stephanie B. Blake

January 2013

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Reflective Focus

The Christmas Story Told by John

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Families gathering around the Christmas tree usually turn to Matthew or Luke to read the Christmas story. Angelic visitations, the birth of Jesus in a manger and the search for the Christ child by shepherds and wise men are pictures that come readily to mind. Descriptions given by Matthew and Luke have resulted in magnificent artwork of the nativity scene.

Joseph’s visitation by an angel of the Lord in his dream was to let him know that Mary’s child was of the Holy Spirit. Matthew said this event fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy. “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which is translated, “GOD WITH US” (Matthew 1:23).

Where Matthew and Luke record the birth of the baby Jesus as fulfilled prophecy, John takes a different approach to the event. IMMANUEL didn’t appear on the day Jesus was born. IMMANUEL has always been. With a bodily form, we could now set our eyes upon Him. Jesus Himself created the prophets and it was His Spirit that gave the prophecies to them.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:1-3).

In John’s gospel, it was Jesus Himself who gave us details about why He came the way He did. His birth was His plan. When the right time came, He fulfilled His plan.

The Bread of Life

“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

The birth of the Christ child put flesh on the Son of God so that He could accomplish His redemptive plan.

The Light of the World 

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…”I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 1:4-5;6:12).

In the Old Testament, a man could not see the light of the eyes of God and live. Righteous men of the past looked forward to that day; we who have been born since His return to Heaven have His word and the word of His witnesses that the Light became flesh; those who walked and talked with Him in person could actually peer into the eyes of the light of the world. His birth made that possible.

The Door

“I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:7-9).

Without the birth of the baby Jesus who grew into the man who became our Savior on the cross, mankind would have been unable to have fellowship with God. There is no other door.

The Good Shepherd 

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

The good shepherd existed long before the Christ child was born because God is the good shepherd. David described Him. It was the body of the good shepherd that hung on the cross for us – the body that was conceived by His Spirit and birthed by Mary on Christmas day.

The Resurrection and the Life 

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

Jesus came to die for our sins. He did that as a man – a substitute for the sinner. If it had ended there, He would only have proven that He was our loving replacement. It was in resurrection that death – our penalty for sin – was conquered.

The Way, The Truth and The Life

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Man has tried and continues to try to find a way to God other than through Jesus. It is not possible. As Immanuel, God in the flesh, He explained why.

The True Vine

Jesus lived on earth as a man. He walked and talked with His followers. He became our Savior and example. By His life and His words He showed us how we could share in His kingdom and His joy. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

In Jesus’ prayer to the Father in John 17, He gives the real reason He came in the flesh: to glorify the Father, to finish His work, and to share His glory with those who believe. This is the purpose of the Christmas story. The child in the cradle became the Savior on the cross, the Redeemer who rose and the Immanuel who shares His glory with those who love Him.

© Stephanie B. Blake

December 2012

Scripture quotations taken from the New King James version of the Bible.

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Reflective Focus

Ten Talent Men

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Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents…. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them (Matthew 25:16, 19 NAS).

The familiar parable of the talents is a tale of three men. The last man buried the one talent he was given. What the Lord gave him was never used at all – a sad story of a wasted life. God was not glorified. The man’s inaction led to condemnation from Him.

The first two men were both commended when they increased their talents. The master’s reply was exactly the same to both men. No matter how many gifts the Father gives His children, if they use them well, He will be pleased. The emphasis is not on the number of gifts, but on the heart of the receiver. A grateful and willing servant will be productive and give something back to God – glorifying Him with his actions and receiving a blessing as he does.

Fortunately, many Christians are very careful not only to use the gifts God has given them, but increase them as well. This devotional is about two of those men. They were given at least five talents each. In gaining five more, they became ten talent men.

My husband’s father has already entered the presence of the Lord. I believe that when he did, he was greeted with, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21).

Pop could and would fix anything, not only in his own house, but also for anyone else who needed something done. He worked hard all his life to provide for his family. After retirement, he worked as a volunteer helping build and maintain churches, campgrounds and renovating widow’s homes.

Without complaint, he cared for Mom as she suffered with Alzheimer’s. Even after she began ill, he continued his volunteer work – always taking her with him, checking on her in the process. His pastor recounted that when there was work to be done at the church, the foreman would assign something to Pop, turn around in a few minutes to see him behind him, and would ask him if he needed help with the assignment. His answer was always, “No, I’m finished. What else do you have for me to do?”

The other ten talent man is a longtime friend. Having faithfully served as a foreign missionary, he continued to work in the church after he retired. With a goal of learning something new every year, he acquired new skills. He built an elevated garden with an inbuilt sprinkler system; learned how to fly remote control airplanes; flew and built complicated kites; taught himself how to sail and much more – all the while making himself available to anyone in need.

Neither of these men would have ever considered burying their talents. Faithful in the few things, their reward is in bringing joy to the giver of our greatest gift – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

November 2012

© Stephanie B. Blake

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Reflective Focus

Jesus and Money

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When possessions become more important than God or people, your perspective in life is backwards. It is God who gives us all things to enjoy. Without Him, we would have nothing. He puts such a value on us as people that He sent His Son to die in our place.

That’s why, I think, that when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, He replied, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself'” (Matthew 22:37-39).

Obeying this commandment enables us to view life the way God intended. Giving Him first place in your life does not rid you of anything. Instead, it enriches you.

Those who are truly rich are those who can love – they can receive love and they can give love.

JESUS AND MONEY

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Jesus demonstrated how to prioritize.

His choice of earthly status was deliberate. The Son of God chose to be born in a humble stable with a manger for His crib. He did not choose a princess to give Him an earthly body, but a young peasant girl. The man who raised Him as a child was not a lawyer, a teacher or a rich man. He was an ordinary carpenter.

Jesus mingled with both rich and poor. He did not condemn the rich, nor accuse the poor. His teachings, especially the Sermon on the Mount, address attitudes toward money – always emphasizing that a person’s heart will be bound to what he treasures.

The group of twelve disciples that followed Him throughout His ministry came from all walks of life. Most were fishermen. One was a tax collector. Some of their occupations were unknown, but once committed to following Jesus, they left behind their old lives. They lived as their Teacher lived – without dependence on worldly goods.

At one point, Jesus appointed seventy other disciples to go to cities ahead of Him. His instructions were specific. They were to go out two by two carrying no supplies with them. The willingness of those they visited to supply their needs with an open home and shared possessions would be evidence of their reception to the message of the disciples.

Jesus often spoke about material things and money, knowing that was always an issue on the minds of men. Many of His parables were about money, property or wealth.

He wanted to drive home the point that what you do with the material resources you have been given is very important and has consequences.

© Stephanie B. Blake

October 2012

* an excerpt from “Money: How to Be Rich Without It and How to Stretch It Using Ten Hints from the Past and the Technology of Today”

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Reflective Focus

Trusting God Completely

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Children trust loving fathers, not because they understand everything they say, but because they are sure of their father’s love. However, some children with loving dads accept their love, but reject their control. Raising such a child can literally be a tug of war. 

As children of God, we might say we trust our heavenly Father, but when we reject His control, we show that our trust is not complete. Many Christians have no problem trusting God in some areas of their lives while in others they doubt His love and sovereignty.

As a result of the loss of his son, Rabbi Kushner wrote When Bad Things Happen to Good People. One chapter is entitled “God can’t do everything, but He can do some important things.” His conclusion is that God is good, but He is limited by what He can do. The fact that it was a bestseller is evidence that people are interested in this subject. Some who reviewed the book said it made them feel better about God. Some would rather believe that since life is not fair, God is not in control.

Limiting God in any way limits the areas in which you believe you can trust Him. There will always be circumstances in your life when you won’t understand what God is doing. You can’t and I can’t understand because God has a totally different and perfect perspective. He sees what we do not see and He knows what we do not know.

Trusting God Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges helps give the proper perspective. Just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we should trust Him no matter what happens.

Trusting God is Literally the Center of His Word

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man (Psalm 118:8 – located in the center of the Bible).

If we really believe that God is our Heavenly Father whom we can trust, then we know that whatever He allows in our lives is ultimately for our good.

Trust is a Choice 

Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You (Psalm 56:3).

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3).

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him (Nahum 1:7).

As a child of God, trust in your heavenly Father should be a predetermined choice.  He is trustworthy.

“I rather like the small boy’s version of the hymn Trust and Obey when he said that at Sunday school they had been singing “Trust and O. K.” Good! Everything must be O. K. if the life has been committed to His precious keeping. There is no other way.” – Expositor

© Stephanie B. Blake

September 2012

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Reflective Focus

A Story of Grace and Peace

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A Story of Grace and Peace*

Prayer is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God. ~ Oswald Chambers

This is a story about twin girls born into a royal family. Grace was born first, but right on her heels, Peace came into the world. They were always together: thinking the same thoughts, singing the same songs, and radiating love from themselves to others. Grace was definitely the outgoing one: running here and there, laughing, and bringing such joy to everyone she met. Although Peace had more of a quiet nature, her calm assurance seemed to balance the exuberance of her sister. Inseparable, they completed each other.

Grace and Peace had as their hero Agape, their older brother, who was their Father’s firstborn child and only Son. Agape really was the image of His Father. Agape lived His life to show the people of the world what the love of their Father was really all about. Agape watched over His sisters and guided them gently through each day. Every day, as they wandered through the land of the living, they shared with others the love they had for each other, as well as the love they had received from their Father.

The sisters had been given a very special assignment by their Father. They were to tell others that, if they accepted the Father’s love that Agape showed them, they would be adopted into their Father’s royal family.

As Agape wandered through the land with His sisters, He often talked to His Father about those who were glad to hear their special message of love and adoption. Some people received their message with great joy and gratitude. Others were jealous and blinded by an evil presence from seeing the truth of Agape’s message of the Father’s love. Nothing that happened to Grace and Peace could distract them from continuing to spread their message of joy, but the blindness seemed to spread faster than they could communicate the good news of adoption.

However, their family did continue to grow one by one. Each one who believed in their message began to understand the meaning of the special names given to the twin girls. The Father gave to each adopted one the attributes of Grace so that, when the ones who were blinded tried to taunt and ridicule them, they were able to handle the jeers of the crowd. Agape showed them by His own example how that was possible.

The ridiculers often were confused by the ability of Agape, Grace, and Peace to continue to love them no matter how badly they were treated. The blind ones really could not understand Peace. Even though they tried their best to rid her of her sense of security and joy, she was never moved to do anything but continue to give them the Father’s message of love and tell them how that love was evidenced in the life of her brother Agape. The adopted ones were blessed with the same sense of belonging and security that Peace had. The stability of the love of their Father kept them all secure and filled with an indescribable joy.

As time went on, the blinded ones became so jealous of the growth of the royal family that they were determined to stop it. They thought that, if they murdered Agape, the Father’s one and only Son, the growth of the Father’s family would be halted. The blinded ones eventually were successful in bringing about the death of the Son. Before His cruel murder, Agape talked to the Father about the adopted ones who would be left behind. He asked Him to protect them, to unify them, and to grant them the character of His dear sisters Grace and Peace.

The death of Agape did indeed greatly discourage the adopted ones. His death could have destroyed them if Grace and Peace had not stayed by their sides with the truth that Agape had just gone home to be with their Father and prepare a place for each of them. The Spirit of Agape continued to live in their hearts and enabled them to walk daily with Grace and Peace

One of the leaders of the blinded ones attacked the Father’s adopted family even more fervently after Agape went home to His Father’s house. However, the Father’s plan was that this Persecutor would be used more than any other adopted child to spread His message of love.

Agape delivered His invitation personally to the Persecutor. As the evil one had blinded his heart, the Father blinded his eyes in order to make him listen to Agape. When his eyes were blinded, his heart began to see for the first time.

When the Persecutor understood and accepted the truth of Agape’s message, he was himself adopted into the family. The Father then gave him the ability to communicate that message, so the royal family grew even more as time went by.

Since the Persecutor had been so strongly blinded by the evil one, he understood the strategies of the attack upon the royal family. He realized the necessity of Grace and Peace in their lives. The Father gave him the assignment of strengthening the faith of the family. Just as Agape had talked to His Father about the adopted ones, the Persecutor continually discussed the needs of the royal family with their Father, interceding on their behalf.

~~~~~

         This allegory sets the stage for the prayer driven life of the apostle Paul, the Persecutor. After meeting Agape – Jesus – and being adopted into the royal family, he warned other adopted ones about the treachery of the “god of this age” who blinds the minds of those who do not believe (2 Corinthians 4:4). The ministries of “Grace” and “Peace” continue to be gifts from the Father to those in His family.

© Stephanie B. Blake

August 2012

* an excerpt from The Prayer Driven Life

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Reflective Focus

Lace, Ladies and the Lord

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Speeches and formal announcements often begin with Ladies and Gentlemen. This greeting is more distinguished than Women and Men. When a man is called a true gentleman, that is meant as a compliment. When a woman is referred to as a lady, her gentle characterisitcs are recognized. Not every woman is a lady, however, nor is every man a gentleman.

Ladies and gentlemen are people of character. The truth is that every young female is a girl and every adult female is a woman, but it takes effort to be a lady. Every young male is a boy and every adult male is a man, but it takes work to be a gentleman.

God wants His sons and daughters to be people of good, gentle character. He can even take people with very rough, crude backgrounds and transform them into ladies and gentlemen.

Iris Blue’s testimony is a wonderful example of what God can do. She was a very rebellious young person, ran away from home, got involved in drugs and was sentenced to eight years in prison on armed robbery charges. Her attitude in prison was so bad that she had to serve an even longer sentence. After leaving prison, she continued on her path of rebellion until a young man told her about Jesus Christ and how He loved her. She responded to His love and her testimony is that she “knelt down a tramp and stood up a lady.”

God’s design for Iris was to transform her so that she could share His love with others, which she does. Her life and the lives of all God’s daughters who are gentle, caring and God fearing have some similarities to a beautiful work of art called lace.

Ladies are a lot like lace. They are created.

Someone has to create the lace. Handmade lace is always more valuable than lace made by machine. As time, effort and thought are put into the creation of the piece of lace, it becomes a work of art. The pattern of the lace reflects the design of the maker. If there is a mistake made in the handmade process, the thread is torn out to the point of the mistake and started over at that point. The important thing is the end result even if the process takes a long time.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth (Psalm 139:13-15 NIV).

Ladies are a lot like lace. They have a beautiful pattern.

Lace has a beautiful and intricate pattern. God has a plan for every woman’s life. He has a beautiful pattern in mind that is very individual. He weaves the delicate threads of a women’s life to make her the lady He wants her to be.

For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

God was not surprised with Iris Blue’s rebellious life. He knew that His transformation of her life would reach many people for Him.

Ladies are a lot like lace. They are delicate.

Lace is delicate and complimentary. It decorates. It covers but not completely. It lets light show through. It has been said that “the light that shines the farthest shines brightest at home.” Ladies, who are God fearing and gentle in their own families, can be examples to a lost world.

Real ladies bring light into the lives of others – the light of Jesus. The word lace could be used as an acrostic: Ladies Are Christian Examples. Jesus’ example was full of grace and truth. He gave us the fruit of His spirit and all these things are qualities that a lady should have: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Ladies are a lot like lace. They add an element of luxury to their surroundings. 

Lace is a gift item. It is a luxury. Lace is considered a luxury and not everyone has the ability to have it, but ladies are capable of making luxuries where they are not otherwise possible. A German saying makes this point: “Honor the women. They braid and weave heavenly roses in earthly living.”

Ladies are a lot like lace. They are appreciated in a social setting.

Lace is only appreciated when it is displayed. Lace stored in a drawer does not contribute to the beauty of the surroundings. It must be displayed. A woman’s beauty is also displayed in her actions.

Lace and ladies are created with a beautiful, delicate pattern, providing luxury to their surroundings, having their greatest impact in society.

The death of two famous women – Princess Diana of England and Mother Teresa of India – occurred in the span of a very short period. Both were ladies in their own right, each contributing to society by their gentle spirits and loving concern for others.

The way a woman lives her life determines whether she is just a girl, a woman or a real lady.

© Stephanie B. Blake

July 2012

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Reflective Focus

Good Business Practices and Biblical Principles

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Fortune magazine, in existence for ninety years, every year produces a Fortune 500 issue, an annual ranking of America’s largest corporations. Besides listing top corporations, Fortune is full of articles on good business practices. Some of these practices led to the success of the companies. In addition, the interviewers for each article believe the information they are providing will help their readers reach some measure of success in their own business ventures.

Little did most of the reporters imagine that these interviews reveal what God has told us all along: biblical principles lead to good business practices.

The following are representative of this truth. These articles appeared in the May 2012 issue of Fortune 500.

1. Executive Dream Team: Team Players Trump All-Stars: Formula for a Winning Company? Execs Who Play Well With Others by Geoff Colvin

Geoff Colvin, looking forward to Fortune’s Executive Dream Team series, states they will be looking for “superstar performers who can work together, pushing a larger agenda than just their own advancement.”  Uncovering some foundational principles for teams that worked well together and lasted for a long time, he said, “Trust is the most important element in team success.” Among team members, differing experiences, ways of thinking and strengths are good. Conflicting values are not.

Biblical principle (Acts 2:43-47)

Perhaps the best-known biblical team was the disciples of Jesus. Only one of them (Judas) had conflicting values although the team itself was as varied as any group of that age. A compilation of fishermen, tax collector, political zealot and other tradesmen (whose specific trades were unknown), none of them were professional theologians. After Judas left the group and Jesus gave these men His great commission, what His disciples accomplished together – even with continual persecution – changed the world.

2. The Way We Work: Want to Move Up? Get a Sponsor by Jennifer Alsever

This article examines some critical differences between mentoring and sponsoring. Ms. Alsever states, “A mentor can coach you, give advice, and help prepare you for your next position. A sponsor will go out on a limb for you, open the door to your next job, introduce you to the right people, and make the case for you in those top-level conversations that could make or break your career.”

Biblical principle (Acts 9:26-31)

The Bible certainly has many examples of mentors. Paul was a mentor to Timothy and Titus, helping develop them as young preachers. When Paul was first saved, however, what he needed most was a sponsor. He got one in Barnabas who brought Paul to the disciples and spoke to them on Paul’s behalf. It was because of Barnabas and his sponsorship that Paul was able to work with the disciples that previously had such good reason to be afraid of him.

3. David vs. Goliath: Business Cards, Popcorn and Hyperlocal Listings: How Three Small Owners Created Successful Businesses from Scratch by Elaine Pofeldt

Ms. Pofeldt explains her premise in her title. Small business owners, with the right idea, have a chance of success even against larger established businesses.

Biblical Principle (1 Samuel 17)

The title says it all. Even a non-Christian, non-Bible based, totally business oriented U.S. magazine is aware that everyone will understand the David vs. Goliath analogy. No one is too small to get the job done right. Like David, depend on our big God.

4.  How Amazon Learned to Love Veterans: Won over by their logistical know-how and “bias for action,” the online retailer is on a military hiring spree by Adam Lashinsky

Mr. Lashinsky reports that” it’s easy to see what hiring managers see in veterans, particularly the young former junior officers who literally are battle-tested in addition to being well educated.” He quotes Josh Teeter, the general manager of one of Amazon’s facilities: “They understand that it’s not about them. They have a huge running start. They’re smart. And they’ve already met a certain bar.”

Biblical Principle (Titus 2:1-8).

Here’s where the mentoring comes in. Known in Christian circles as the Titus principle, it is expected that the older men and women will use what they have learned to teach younger members of the church. It is not so much an age principle, but an experience principle. Older men and women of the church have “been there, done that.” The principle is good for the older members and good for the younger ones. What the elders have learned through experience, positive and negative, over the years will not go to waste if they can help steer younger ones through pitfalls and keep them from making the same mistakes or help keep them focused on what is truly important. This is a ministry of encouragement and guidance. Just like the veterans, they understand that life is not about them. It is about loving God, seeking His guidance, doing His will and bringing glory to His name.

© Stephanie B. Blake

June 2012

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Reflective Focus

The Best Place to Stand

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“Be still and know that I am God… And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Psalm 46:10, Exodus 14:13).

Not many of us are comfortable standing for very long, especially if it requires standing still. Observe people standing in line at a store waiting to pay for their purchases, looking for the shortest line and sometimes changing when one cashier is working slower than the others. Standing in a corner is punishment for some children.

In order to be productive (or feel productive), most of us think we need to be on the move. We leave little room in our lives for standing.

Interestingly, the English word stand is both a verb and a noun. The very fact that it has a verb form indicates that there is decisive action involved.

Among the definitions for the verb form of the word stand are:

  1. Have or maintain an upright position, supported by one’s feet: Sally stood in the center of the room
  2. Rise to one’s feet: they stood up when the king entered the room
  3. Move to and remain in a specified position: he stood aside to let them enter
  4. Be situated in a particular place or position: the courthouse stood in the middle of town
  5. Remain upright and entire rather than fall into ruin or be destroyed: only one house stood after the tornado came through the town
  6. Remain valid or unaltered: the decision stands
  7. Remain stationary: the train stood on track 2
  8. Remain on a specified course: the ship was standing south
  9. Adopt a particular attitude toward a matter or issue: the people took a stand on that issue

To stand is to take a position. It involves a choice. You can choose to move from a lying or sitting position to a standing position. You may also choose to stop moving in order to stand. The choices are not one-time choices, however. They are continual. You decide not only that you will stand, but you must also decide whether you will remain standing or fall back to the position you previously had.

Contrary to what seems to be true, standing can be hard work. Since it somewhat goes against our nature to stand, God has to continually instruct us to do so. He knows our tendency to move ahead of His plan for us.

Obviously, there is a time when we need to move on, but our reluctance to stand still can adversely affect our relationship with God. Until we learn to stand before Him, there are several things we may miss. The Bible describes in detail an upright man – who is a person who has learned to stand before God.

Stand before God to hear Him speak

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel for the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners…but his delight is in the law of the Lord (Psalm 1:1).

Moses knew the need to stand before the Lord. Moses instructed men inquiring about whether they could participate in the Passover after they had been come in contact with a human corpse to stand still while he asked the Lord about it (Numbers 9:8). While the people were to return to their tents, God told Moses to stand by Him to hear the commandments that God had for His people (Deuteronomy 5:31).

Stand before God to see Him work miracles

As we stand before the Lord, He works His miracles of nature. Samuel instructed the people to stand and see God work a miracle before their eyes (1 Samuel 12:16). As they stood before the Lord, He brought thunder and rain just as Samuel said He would. Elijah, on the other hand, told Ahab there would be no rain – not even dew – for years, except at his word because of the Lord God of Israel before whom he stood (1 Kings 17:1).

Stand before God to worship Him

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3-4a).

Part of the job of the Levites was to stand every morning and evening to thank the Lord and praise Him (1 Chronicles 23:30). Hezekiah, who opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them, brought in the priests and Levites and instructed them to stand before God and serve Him (2 Chronicles 29:11).

Stand before God to let Him fight your battles

Jehoshaphat, being warned that a great multitude was coming to attack his people, sought the Lord. Through Jahaziel, God’s Spirit spoke to Jehoshaphat and the people. The battle was not theirs, but the Lord’s. They were not to worry. Their part was to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:15-17).

When a Christian puts on the spiritual armor of God, the protection it provides allows him to stand and be victorious. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all , taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:13-16).        

Stand and Deliver, a movie produced in 1988, is on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 most inspiring movies. It tells the story of a California high school teacher who, determined to lead his students to a new level of accomplishment in math, did what others thought was impossible. He designed an intense math program for his students which required substantial sacrifice on his part as well as theirs. Not only did these troubled teens learn the basics of mathematics, but they mastered advanced algebra, math analysis and trigonometry in preparation for calculus in their senior year. Through all kinds of personal hardship, every student passed the AP calculus exam in their senior year only to have those results challenged by the Educational Training Service. Once again, their teacher came to their aid, getting the ETS to agree to let his students retake the test to overcome the implications of cheating.

Christians have a champion who is always on our side. He alone is in a position to obtain for us what would otherwise be impossible. His sacrifice enables us to stand the test of opposition and our own sinful nature. We can trust that if we stand righteous in the presence of the Lord through His Son Jesus Christ, He will deliver.

May 2012

© Stephanie B. Blake

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