Peace and Harmony

by Aleta Kay

          In my last post I started a study of the book of Philippians. Chapter two tells us we need to be in agreement with each other. Harmony is important in music but also in relationships. There is so much dissension and disharmony in the world today. When finances get tight, harmony seems to rush out the family door like the battering winds of a hurricane.

           It seems we are most cruel to those we claim to love when times are bad, while we treat neighbors and strangers as rare gifts. There is something dreadfully wrong with this picture. It has always baffled me that people can behave this way.

          Philippians tells us we are to have the mind of Christ. This is not easy to do because it is hard for us to keep our minds on our Lord. Life has so many distractions and things that scream for our attention. Our little ones cry; the bill collectors call; the car breaks down; the flu is going around; and on and on. So how do you keep your focus on Christ, allowing your mind to soak up His thoughts and attitudes with all this chaos? How do you keep harmony alive when you feel like giving up?

          First, you need to realize that all the worry in the world won’t change any of the above situations. Worry is a complete, total waste of time and energy. Secondly, you need to realize that all of that worry can cause you serious health problems which will only add to all of the above. Thirdly, you need to place a much higher value on your family relationships. Someone has to set the atmosphere of peace. The greater the strain, the greater the need for peace.

          Play peaceful, soothing music, preferably hymns that will help increase your faith: “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee,” “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” “Amazing Grace,” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” etc. Some contemporary worship songs are helpful: “As the Deer;” “Shout to the Lord;” “Breathe,” to name a few.

          Create an atmosphere of caring and cooperation. Make a duty roster and explain to children that everyone is needed, and everyone must have some responsibility for keeping things calm and upbeat. Plan family fun times. Play games together. Do jigsaw puzzles; make posters; reach out to someone worse off than you and give them a bag of canned goods. Make a card for them. Watch a movie together (on a DVD you already have). Listen to each other’s feelings with compassion, not criticism or judgmentalism. Be supportive of each other. Now more than ever, you need each other.

          All of these things are having the mind of Christ because these are the things He would do. These are things that will bring peace and contentment in times of trouble. You can do it. Just don’t leave Jesus out of your life. Things really do go better with Jesus, even in the midst of trials.



How Will People Remember You?

by Aleta Kay



          I love the book of Philippians. Let me just quote a few verses from the first chapter.

          1:3—I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

          1:4—Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

          1:5—For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

          1:6—Being confident in this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

          1:7—Even as it is meet (helpful) for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

          1:9—And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

          1:10—That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Jesus Christ;

          1:11—Being filled with the fruit of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

          Here is the apostle Paul (formerly known as Saul, who persecuted Christians and thought he was doing God’s will) writing to the church, the Christians at Philippi, telling them how much he admires their faith. He appreciates their fellowship when he is with them. He remembers how they helped him when he was in prison (for preaching the gospel). Yet God showed His grace on Paul and delivered him out of his afflictions and imprisonments.

          Paul told them it was helpful and good for him to remember how they came to his defense. He is pleased with the unconditional love that they have for each other and prays that will grow in the knowledge of the Lord and learn more how to discern good from evil. Sometimes it’s hard to tell, but if we ask God to lead us, we will learn to discern in those grey areas.

          He prays that they will be filled with righteousness yet not be condescending, critical or judgmental. These are the things that please God and bring honor and glory to His name.

          The apostle Paul left quite a legacy and reputation behind when he died. So did many of the people in Philippi and other places where people found a relationship with Christ through his ministry. They, too, left good reputations and examples for others to follow.

          What are you leaving behind? How will people remember you? It's never too late to change your image; but don't just change it on the outside. It must be from the inside out or people will know you're a fake. Just ask God to help you. You'll be glad you did.

The Miracle of Christmas

by Aleta Kay



There seems to be a lot of confusion about this holiday. So let met attempt to clarify a few things. It is called CHRISTmas because it is the day set aside to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is not an X (yes, I’ve heard the story that early Christians used an X to symbolize their faith during times of persecution. Actually, they used the symbol of the fish because the first disciples called were fishermen and because Jesus said he would makes us fishers of men.

          Also, holiday is a combined word to mean holy day.

          I realize there are other celebrations for other cultures going on around this same time of year: Kwanza, Hanukkah, etc. However, around the world, for centuries, the 25^th day of December has been celebrated as the birth of Christ. I agree everyone has a right to celebrate their own traditions and holidays and festivals. But does that mean we have to cover up Christmas with other days? Why can’t Christians wish someone a merry Christmas? It doesn’t take away anyone else’s right to wish someone Happy Hanukkah or Happy Kwanza. Why are people so easily offended?

          There seems to be some confusion about whether or not Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin. I know it sounds impossible. But if God could create the whole universe with a multitude of galaxies from nothing, if He could create man from the dust of the earth, woman from a rib, why would He not be able to plant His seed in a virtuous young woman who had never been with a man? How big, how mighty is your God? My God has no limits. There are things He will not do, such as override man’s will. He will not go against His own nature. He is consistent. He doesn’t change.

          There was another miracle even before Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost and conceived Jesus. Her cousin, Elisabeth, well past child-bearing years, conceived in her old age. Her husband, Zachariah was a priest performing his duties in the temple when the angel came to him and announced that his barren wife would conceive. Zachariah could not imagine such a thing. He doubted and was struck dumb for nine months. The next words he uttered were at the birth of his son, John, when he pronounced his name.

          When Mary went to see Elisabeth, her cousin was in her sixth month of pregnancy. As soon as Elisabeth saw her, the baby in her womb leaped for joy and Elisabeth broke out in song and asked what the mother of her Lord was doing coming to her? She did not feel worthy to have the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ in her home. They rejoiced together.

         So you see, there were many miracles, some of which have been discussed in previous posts. The bottom line is: “The just shall live by faith: and if any draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38.

Are You Being Chased?

by Aleta Kay



          Remember when you had your first crush on the opposite sex? If you’re a female who grew up in an old-fashioned household, you were taught that girls don’t chase boys. You let them come to you. But you wanted him to notice you.  You wanted his attention. You’d do almost anything to cause him to look your way.

          If the boy did chase you, you may have pretended not to care. You played the coy, shy card. You wanted to see how serious he was. He’d pull your pony tail, accidentally bump into you in the hallway or on the way to the pencil sharpener. He’d put an eraser on your chair, tell you that you were ugly. But the whole time you knew he liked you and was just afraid to say so.

          Imagine Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. God has spent days just talking with them. Then one day the serpent comes along and convinces Eve that God is holding out on her. He’s not allowing her into His inner circle. God had told her that if she ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil she would become like a god and her eyes would be opened. (Do you ever try to protect your children from the evil in the world?)

          The serpent didn’t go to Adam. Adam would have been wise enough not to listen to the devil. That’s why the serpent went to Eve. The serpent knew how much Adam loved his wife. He knew that Adam would never want to live without her. So if the serpent could convince Eve that God was not as good of a friend as they thought he was, Adam would share the same fate as Eve. It was all a plot for the serpent to get revenge on his arch enemy, God.

          Later that day, after Adam and Eve hid themselves in the garden, God came in the cool of the evening and called them. “Adam, Eve, where are you? Why are you hiding from me? You’ve never hidden from me before. What’s going on? You ate the forbidden fruit, didn’t you?”

          God was, in essence, chasing them as a boy or girl would chase the object of their affection. God’s feelings were hurt. The relationship was broken. They had had such close fellowship; now there was a chasm between them. Innocence was gone; new knowledge had been introduced. God needed to find a way to bridge the gap. But things would never quite be the same because now the relationship was tainted by sin, whereas before it had been pure.

          God is still chasing people today. He wants to have fellowship with you. Most people, if asked if they are a Christian, will answer in the affirmative. “I believe in God.” “Of course I am; I go to church,” or “I’m Catholic” or some other denomination. Guess what? The devil, Satan, believes in God and trembles but he is definitely not a Christian.

          Going to church, belonging to a particular denomination, saying so many prayers a day, doing good to others, abstaining from drugs, alcohol and illicit sex will not get you into heaven. The only good thing inside any of us was put there by God. We can’t take any credit for it. Jesus said, “He that believeth on the Son hath life; and he that believeth not is condemned already.”

          It’s great that you believe in God, but do you also believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son; that he died for your sins and mine on a cruel cross, that he was buried for three days and nights and rose again? If you don’t believe that, you are not a Christian. You are a religious person and/or a churchgoer. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me.”

          Isaiah chapter 9 says Jesus will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. He is all of those things. Those are His names. May you come to know and love the Prince of Peace in this blessed season of peace. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Why Did Jesus Come?

by Aleta Kay



         I love this time of year. I love the decorations, the joyful songs, the glee of little children. People seem to smile more this time of year. There’s a feeling of festivity.

          But what really makes the holiday for me is knowing that Jesus chose to come to earth to be born as a baby, in a lowly stable. He didn’t choose to be born to rich people. He didn’t choose to have the announcement of his birth proclaimed to the dignitaries and celebrities. He chose to have the event announced to lowly shepherds. Jesus chose to identify himself with poor, uneducated people, the downtrodden of the earth. Why?

          Because he knew the hearts of people. He knew the social elite would reject him (and they did as he grew up).

          Luke 2:9-15 describes the atmosphere of his birth and the reason he came. The angels proclaimed: “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

          Colossians 3:15 says, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts….” This indicates that peace is a choice. We choose to live at peace with others, or we choose to wallow in anger, bitterness, hatred, strife, etc. Jesus is the author, the source of peace—true peace.

          John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you…”

          Sometimes we can drum up our own peace but it usually doesn’t last long. If we want real peace we must go to the source of peace—Jesus. Have you ever noticed: when a REAL Christian faces tragedy, illness, disaster, death of a loved one, the initial reaction may be fear or anger, but it is quickly replaced by a peace the rest of the world can’t understand? God the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and gives us comfort and a peace that tells us he will see us through whatever happens. God never promised he would keep us from heartache or trouble. He promised he would help us through everything. But he only does that for his children, and then only if we let him.

          So this holy season, take time to invite Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to be your savior, your peace. Ask him to forgive you of your sins and cleanse your heart from evil. Invite him to be your lord and savior. He’s waiting with open arms.

Are You Alive or Dead?

by Aleta Kay

         Our society has a fascination (and not a healthy one, in my opinion) with evil. We like to watch vampire movies, Halloween movies, ghost stories, macabre stories. Why we would rather see evil than good is beyond my understanding.

          Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath he quickened (made alive) who were dead in trespasses and sins…” We are spiritually dead without God working in and through our lives. When we repent (turn away from our sins, and turn toward God, asking for his righteousness to work in us) then we are made alive in Christ. As we then go to church, get involved in Bible study and prayer, we grow in the knowledge of God, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit (also called the Holy Ghost). We then learn to love him more and we learn to live by his standards and his rules.

          God promised his children an abundant life. This does not mean that we accumulate wealth and possessions. It means an abundance of joy.

          I know someone who is a Christian but it seems every time they start to get ahead a little something comes along and destroys what he has. “Satan roameth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” You may feel that the harder you try the worse things get. I’ll be honest. Sometimes I feel that way, too, but then I remember that all I deserve is hell and I certainly have better than that.

          The other thing I do is keep my Bible by my desk at work. I keep it open at Philippians 4:4-8 to remind myself to give my troubles to God. I can’t handle them but He can. My God is awesome and He loves me. He wants to fight my battles. My favorite verse in the Bible is Romans 8:28—“And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love the Lord, and are called according to His purpose.”

          Job (pronounced with a long o) lost everything he had in one day: his house, his children, his crops, and his cattle. Then he got sick and was covered head to toe with boils. Then his three friends came and accused him of having some secret sin in his life and telling him he needed to confess and get right with God. The fact is, according to scripture, Job had done nothing wrong. God wasn’t mad at him. God was showing off Job’s character to Satan. And Job passed with flying colors. Did he question God? Yes, he did. But in the end, he realized God had the right to do whatever he chose. We are merely God’s creation. He is the creator and can do anything he wants to. But when we learn to praise him even in the midst of trials and tribulations, that’s when he smiles down on us and pours out a blessing.

          Think about it: the world (unsaved people) are watching you, hoping you will despair and give up when things go wrong. That’s what they would do. If your faith is no stronger than theirs they have no reason to trust God. But if they see you praising and thanking God, trusting him, in spite of the struggles, that’s when the world begins to think maybe God could help them too. The Bible calls that bringing or giving glory to God. Sometimes I have to ask God to help me trust him when things seem to be falling apart, or when Satan seems to be ganging up on me. Every time I ask God for help I get it. He’ll do the same for you.



Are We Too Critical?

by Aleta Kay



          I hear it a lot: “Why should I go to church? The people are like piranhas: when someone makes a mistake they run them out of the church or make them feel so miserable they want to just disappear. They’re all a bunch of hypocrites anyway.”

          It is sad that so many people have had this experience. Not only to the “righteous” ones reject those who have fallen; they go tell others what sin or sins have been committed and warn others not to have fellowship with the one who has strayed from the path.

          The Bible does tell us not to have fellowship with those who claim to be Christians and live in open, unrepented sin. In the church at Corinth a young man was having an adulterous relationship with his stepmother. The church was very proud of their broad-mindedness and acceptance of the situation. The apostle Paul wrote the church a letter and said the elders (leaders) of the church should go to the man and confront him about his sin and plead with him to repent. If he refused he was to be banned from the church until he did repent. This was to be done in a spirit of love and compassion.

          We are to be the light and salt of this world. We are to, IN LOVE, confront sin. This does not mean with go with an attitude that has our fingers pointing at the fallen one’s nose and shouting “Get right with God or else!” No, we are to go to that person, show them the scripture that talks about that particular sin and plead with them for their own sake and the sake of their testimony before a lost and dying world to get back on the right track and forsake that sin. The Bible tells us we are to go in twos. Two people at a time. If the person refuses to repent the first time, we are to get the pastor and the head deacon to visit. All of this is to be done with compassion. If he still refuses to repent, he is then to be brought before the entire congregation and be told he can no longer be a part of their fellowship until he gets back on the right track. The Amish people call this shunning. The purpose is to make that person so miss the fellowship he once had with his church family that he will repent and come back to the fold.

          Nowhere in scripture have I found any verse or passage that tells us to treat each other with condemnation and criticism. Proverbs tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. It does not call all the other church members and start a gossip session. Love does not give all the sordid details as a prayer request. It simply says, “Please pray for……………….he’s going through a rough time.” That’s all that needs to be said. How would you like it if you made a mistake or fell into sin, or got into some kind of trouble, and the next thing you know the whole church is talking about it? You wouldn’t like it and neither would I.

          Galatians 6:1 tells us, “Bretheren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself lest thou also be tempted.” I think that pretty well says it all. Don’t be a critic or a hypocrite. Go to that person in the spirit of love and plead with them to turn from their sin. If they refuse you are not to have fellowship with them.

          For example: I have friends who are not Christians. I will visit them but I will not hang out with them. I know their reputations and I must protect mine. But they know I care about them. They know they can talk to me about anything and I will listen. If they want my advice I give it. If not, I just listen. I don’t repeat anthing anyone tells me. If I have to give reference to a situation, such as in this column, I don’t mention any names, only the situation. “There but for the grace of God go I.” If you can’t talk to someone about their sin with compassion then let someone else do it. Don’t ruin their chances of ever being accepted back in church by gossiping about them. Treat others the way you want to be treated.