Today is Mother’s Day a day we celebrate and thank our mothers for the love and support they give to us.

What an amazing example God gave us in Jesus’ mother Mary. First the faith expressed when the angel came to her telling her she would be the mother of the Savior Jesus. Expressed in the words of faith in God facing the unknown. Luke 1:38 “Be it unto me as you have said.” Mary also was with Jesus through His persecution and death. How difficult that test of faith must have been for a mother. We can only imagine the strength and comfort she provided for the other followers during that time.

I am incredibly blessed and thankful to God that I have a mother like this that is a strong example of Christian faith; unselfish supporter and comforter of me and her whole family. I am also incredibly blessed by my wife who is a wonderful Christian example for our family. If you also have a mother like this here, or who is now in heaven, be grateful and use that gift to make you all the Christian you can be.

Dear Lord, thank you for the unique and special role You established for mothers. Help them cherish that special role, and help them feel our thanks for all they do and have done for us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

The internet has become such an amazing resource for so many productive activities, such as education, collaboration, shopping, sharing and connecting with others. However like so many technological advancements, it is also used for wasteful, destructive, and distasteful activities.

Proverbs 15:14 says, “A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.” NLT

It is up to each of us to decide how we will use the resources God gives us. Every day, even each minute, we are making decisions whether to pursue the positive or “feed on trash.” Will we click on that trashy headline about some celebrities’ arrest, or drunken misadventure, or the keep our minds on higher things?

Paul writes in Philippians 4:8, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Dear Lord thank you for the incredible technologies that we have today, help us to use them for good and focus on the best you things you have created. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

A business coach I follow has a concept to describe two different mindsets people tend to have. He metaphorically describes the mindsets as “neighborhoods.”

One neighborhood he describes as the “Abundance” neighborhood. In this neighborhood, or mindset, people are grateful for what they have and for the contributions each other make. They work together to resolve issues in ways that benefit each other, and the success of each other builds to advance everyone and create abundance for the neighborhood. The foundation of this neighborhood is gratitude.

The other neighborhood he describes is the “Scarcity” neighborhood, where people believe there is only so much to go around, where there is friction between the “Haves” and “Have-nots,” and where the only way one person can “get ahead” is with someone else falling behind. The foundation of this “neighborhood” is envy.

David writes about the “Scarcity Neighborhood” in Proverbs 24:1,2 “Don’t envy evil people or desire their company. For their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble.” Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:4, “Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors.”

Mark 8:6 describes the “Abundance Neighborhood” in the account of feeding 4000 with seven loaves of bread and a few fish, “So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd.”

What neighborhood do you live in?

Dear Lord help us build our foundations on gratitude for all that you have provided us, and believe in the abundance that you provide for those who trust you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We all have occasions when our faith loses some energy. For some people, this occurs when something bad happens. They wonder “how could God have let that happen?” and their faith weakens. For others, they have been hoping and praying for something for a long time, and their faith begins to weaken waiting and wondering.

One of the great aspects of the Bible is that it contains examples that are similar to most anything we encounter in our lives today.

Paul wrote the book of Romans about 20 years after his conversion from a persecutor of Christians, to a leader of them. Even he after spreading the news of Jesus Christ throughout the region for 20 years, needed occasional encouragement.

He wrote in Romans 1:12, “When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.”

Paul is showing us that even he needed support in his faith journey. If Paul needed that, undoubtedly so do we. This is one of the reasons it is important to socialize with Christian friends and attend church (mostly remotely right now) where we can get the support and encouragement, to help us through those times our faith is challenged.

Dear Lord, thank you for the opportunity to associate with other Christians to whom we can provide encouragement, and from whom we can get encouraged. Help us remember how important this is. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I have heard it said, “You become who you run with, and they become you.” Obviously you don’t actually become that other person, but when we spend lots of time with someone, their lingo, attitudes, and perspective influence ours. It is very important, therefore, to manage who we spend our time with, because, positive or negative, they are influencing and changing us.

The Bible talks about this in Exodus 23:33, where God tells the Israelites, “Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.” Proverbs 24:1, says “Don’t envy godless men; don’t even enjoy their company.”

The interesting thing is that in modern times with television, podcasts, youtube, and other connections, our circle of people influencing us does not just consist of the people we physically spend time with. We can be just as influenced by people we follow on social media, television, and the like; so we need to be careful who we are “running with” even in our “virtual circle”

Dear Lord, help us have the courage to remove those who are negative influences from our circle, and when that is not possible, help us be the positive influence that raises the group to a higher level of faithfulness to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen

PS. Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife, Liz. I am so blessed to be running with you!