Frank’s Reflections

There will come a day when the Son shines. No more nights of gloom. No more pain or disappointments. Our tears will become a thingof the past. Everything will be bright and filled with boundless joy. This future, just over the horizon of our earthly life, is not a distant dream but a reality we can bring closer now by spreading joy and hope. 

However, Jesus has given us moments here that reflect the promised land. We experience times of joy and moments without pain, tears, or disappointments. Our joy radiates in our smiles that beam from ear to ear. In these ticks of time, we catch a glimpse of the eternal joy that awaits us. Yet, as we enjoy these temporary times, we sometimes forget our spiritual purpose here. We can share our inner source of strength and joy. The earthly well of jubilance never runs dry. It’s always ready to replenish our cup of refreshment. If we neglect to replenish our bucket, our spiritual joy will disappear. 

While you delight in your surroundings, do you see family, neighbors, friends, or coworkers who could use a cup of encouragement and hope? You hold the ingredients that can show them joy and hope—like a kind word, a prayer, or a caring gesture. Your smile, your prayer, or your caring gesture can often do more for you than they do for the recipient. You have the power to be God’s hand at work by reaching out in small, meaningful ways to others every day. We all need encouragement at times. That’s one of the many wonders of Jesus in you that gives you a glimpse of glory, where everything is all smiles and the incredible joy of being in the presence of God.

Imagine a future without pain, only joy. A future without disappointment, only glory. What a day that will be—Jesus, our hope and eternity!

Omniscient is a big word not in our normal vocabulary. It simply means all-knowing. A term used to describe our all-knowing God. He knew 10,000 years ago that you would be reading this.

Our all-knowing Lord knew the day you were formed (Psalm 139:13). He knew your every childhood hurt. Every skinned knee, bump, and bruise long before they happened.

He knew your every thought, dream, and word that would come out of your mouth. He knew your first steps that left your parents in awe, and your every step since then. Nothing about you surprises Him. He even knows the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30 and Luke 12:7).

He is with you beside the still waters (Psalm 23:2). He knows every detail of your life, even the day, hours, and minutes you will have till your last breath (Job 14:5). You see, He watches over you because He loves you.

It would be good to sit in a quiet place and reflect on God’s goodness in your life—His protecting hand, His timely provisions, and your prayers answered. All of this at a time of your need.

Somehow, we take the Lord’s daily provisions for granted. We underappreciate our health until it begins to fail.

If you’re still wondering about the big word omniscient, turn to Ecclesiastes 3:2-8. As you read these verses, you will be reminded that God knows everything about you, and He knew you before you were even born. 

Now ask yourself, why are you reading this? What is the Lord speaking to your heart about? I think He has a mission for you. He has arranged all the necessary things in place for you to accomplish this errand for Him—will you do it?

Life doesn’t seem fair at times. Bad things do happen to good people. We don’t understand why they are happening. Sometimes, we think God is punishing us for something. We even ask ourselves why but can’t find an answer.

There’s a lesson to learn in every circumstance. Things not to do, things to do better, and occasionally lessons to share with others. Patience is best learned through adverse circumstances.

God, in thinking about us, recorded experiences in the Bible for you and me. Below are several Bible experiences we can relate to in difficult times. 

Jeremiah, God’s messenger in difficult times of Israel’s history, was thrown into a pit of mud. His offense was warning Israel’s leaders about their future. But through God’s use of Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian, Jeremiah was rescued (Jeremiah 38:6-13).

You know Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for being true to God. And the Lord shut the mouths of the lions and used them as a pillow for Daniel. God intervened and kept him safe.

Joseph was sold as a slave by his brothers. Ultimately, Joseph ended up in prison for being moral. Years later, he was released to provide for his dad and his scoundrel brothers. Joseph even told his brothers that they had meant it for evil, but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20).

The widow in Zarephath was down to her last meal. She was asked to share it. In her obedience and generosity toward Elijah, God provided for her until the famine ended.

The hardships of life can be depressing, yet God uses adverse events to prepare a people for a future service to the Lord (Luke 1:17).

If you wait, look, and trust, you will find that He is always willing to intervene and prepare you for later events. Your immediate circumstances are difficult to understand, and you may not see God’s hand in them, but His unseen hand is supporting you. There is light at the end of your dark tunnel. The twists and turns of events may make you think God doesn’t care or that He has abandoned you, but He hasn’t.

Somehow, someway, sometime in the future, everything will be clear. God is at work in your life for His glory. And these events are God’s invitation for you to trust Him.

The longer I live, the more I see and experience. Two words make my brain spin. They’re all about character. 

The first word is honesty. Hopefully, you were taught at a young age to be honest. Lying is as natural as breathing. We learned to lie early in life. We think it will hide the truth and keep us out of trouble, but it doesn’t. Usually, we get into deeper trouble because of our dishonesty. It’s always better to tell the truth even if there are negative consequences.

Honesty pays positive dividends in the long run. Honesty is another word for truth-telling. Honesty reveals character. People trust you if they know that you are honest. Other honest people appreciate this human characteristic. Honesty is included in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:16). Do not tell lies about others (CEV).

The second word that I can’t get out of my mind is integrity. This word goes beyond honesty, which implies being truthful even when we are wrong. Integrity implies being dependable regardless of the circumstances.

A person of integrity is not only honest but also guided by deep-rooted principles. There is no wavering in his character. People know how a person of integrity will answer regardless of the surrounding events.

We were not born with an integrity gene; we developed that over time. Somewhere in our past, we realized honesty was the best policy. Later, when the winds of adversity blew in our face, we decided to stand on our moral principles regardless of the wind’s velocity. That’s when integrity became a foundational part of our lives. Then we realized some things are valuable to our world and, more importantly, to our Lord.

May you rightly decide to be a person of integrity above all else.

Saying I’m sorry isn’t always acceptable to the recipient. The receiver has the responsibility to accept or reject the words, “I’m sorry.” To accept brings forgiveness. Hopefully, the ill feelings will disappear. However, forgiveness doesn’t always disappear from one’s memory. That apology doesn’t always erase the hurt feelings. Sometimes the pain lasts for years, depending on the depth of the scars.

Forgiveness has a healing effect, and it’s vital to our personal lives. Without forgiveness, bitterness can creep in, poisoning a person’s mind and relationships, and even damaging one’s mindset forever.

On the spiritual side, forgiveness is liberating. When an individual comes to the Lord and experiences redemption, he’s free! The weight of his guilt is gone—removed and covered by the blood of Jesus. The amazing part of the Lord’s forgiveness is the erasure and eradication of it from His memory. That kind of forgiveness is beyond our human understanding because we still have a memory and we don’t have an erase button. But Jesus has the power to forgive, forget, and move on. We don’t have that ability. We can forgive, forget most of the time, and move on sometimes, but ever so slowly. The grace of our Savior encourages every believer to forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead (Philippians 3:13). 

Our sins are gone, forgotten, and never to be remembered by the Lord. With that thought and promise of forgiveness, we too can move on with our lives and serve the Lord as long as we have breath.

Life has many twists and turns—some will come unexpectedly and challenge my mental well-being. After several recurring events, it is easy to become overly cautious. With that thought, I remembered the old Boy Scout motto: “Always be prepared.” The word always stuck in my mind. Consequently, the acronym below: 

A stands for attitude. If I can get myself in the right frame of mind, I can find a positive thought or behavior to share with those around me.

L reminds me to listen; listening is one of my fallacies. I’ve failed many times to listen to someone complete their thoughts before I interjected my line of thinking.

W is the nudge to be watchful. Some of life’s greatest lessons are learned from others rather than our own trials and errors. Being watchful is a better alternative than enduring unnecessary pain and heartache from our mistakes. 

A reminds me to adjust. Adjust to what people are saying and respond appropriately. My response should always be tactful, while sticking to my beliefs and convictions.

Y reminds me not to yell, but to yield respectfully. Yielding does not mean compromising my convictions but choosing my words wisely.

S stands for service. It’s our godly responsibility to serve others, especially before we serve ourselves. Putting others first is the biblical example for our behavior.

These six musings may be helpful in case you want to “always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope” (1 Peter 3:15 CEV).

Have you ever asked the question, “Why do you pray?” Here’s a thought to consider. Do I pray because someone taught me to or because it has become a habit? When you get into a bind and have nowhere else to turn but to God, what do you do? Turn to the Lord and be completely honest with Him about my thoughts—the ones I kept private, even the ones I didn’t want God to know.

I expressed my hurts to Him—those inflicted by others and those I inflicted on myself. When hurt by others, I’ve had thoughts of revenge. After all, they deserved to be hurt. It wasn’t long before I realized that revenge wasn’t my job; that’s God’s (Romans 12:19). But letting go and trusting the Lord to honor His Word was another lesson for me.

Personal desires have surfaced in many prayers; after all, the Lord did say that He would give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). God didn’t grant many of my requests. I’m thankful for His discernment. Some of my requests would hinder my service for Him. Many of them were not for the betterment of God’s kingdom.

Many of my prayers concern the healing of friends and acquaintances. Once again, our wonderful Lord intervened in the lives of many, but not in the lives of some. That caused me to question some of His decisions, but through prayer I learned to trust His resolve. Yes, He does what is best for His plan and purpose, not just personal desires.

Salvation for the unsaved is a major concern in the expansion of God’s kingdom. Self-discovery helped me realize that, in many cases, my pleading was short-lived. Consequently, I didn’t see my desired answer. Maybe someone else did. Sometimes we expect God to take care of us first, and to leave others to fend for themselves in the meantime.

The reality is that God hears and answers all our prayers. His answer is best, and ours isn’t. If we accept His answer, whatever His answer, it’s always best.

All our requests are in heavenly records. He did answer every request, even if not in the way we expected. Many of His answers were yes. Let’s be thankful for the privilege of making a request.

Lord, help me to ask in the proper way for Your glory.

Why did Jesus ask The Disciples 90 questions?

He Had to Ask is a chronological journey through the Gospels that explores the questions Jesus posed to His disciples. These questions weren’t just for them; they’re for today’s believers. Your reading will cause you to reflect on Jesus’ questions, inspire you, and encourage you in your faith. Your relationship with God will deepen your joy of living in God’s kingdom. 

Using Scripture as its foundation, He Had to Ask uncovers key themes, including:

• The importance of faith and trust in God’s provision.
• Living a life of service, compassion, and humility.
• Recognizing and engaging in spiritual warfare.
• Seeking eternal rewards over earthly gains.
• Forgiving others as God forgives us.
• Sharing the Gospel with boldness and urgency.

He Had to Ask offers practical applications for our daily lives, while encouraging you in your daily walk with Jesus.

In case you are interested, Frank has the following books available at your favorite online store:

Dare To Start: 32 Devotions For Young Men

He Had To Ask: 90 Questions Jesus Asked His Disciples

They Had To Trust: Stories of Those Who Said Yes to Gods

They Had To Ask: Questions the Disciples Asked Jesus

What motivates you? Have you ever given it a thought? Where does the thought originate? Why did you have it? Were your intentions honorable?

All good things have their roots in God. Conversely, all evil things are not of God but of His enemies. The ultimate source of evil is the devil. When you really think about the previous three sentences, they can make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

God knows every heart of every person on His earth. He knows our thoughts and intentions; yet He still loves us. That’s hard to fathom. In spite of us, our Lord still cares about us. He wants only the best for His children.

His best requires our obedience, not perfection. No one can reach flawlessness. That’s impossible because of our sin nature. Recognizing our imperfections and limitations should motivate us to live honestly before our Savior.

When you pray, bring your heart, not your mind. Our thoughts can try to justify everything. Whatever our wrongful actions are, God already knows about them. Trying to convince Him otherwise is useless. Instead, be honest with God and yourself. You can fool yourself but never try to fool God.

Your best motive and action should be to do what pleases the Lord. Treating people right, including those who mistreat you, is a better choice. That will bring inner peace to your heart. Even that thought originated from God. The Bible says, “But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you (Matthew 6:33 CSB).

Most of us don’t understand our potential, whether in our early or senior years. Our mindset isn’t open to achieving beyond our call to duty. We limit ourselves mentally. We are afraid to attempt something new or extraordinary. There’s a biblical pattern for doing more for God and ourselves. It’s found in 1Thessalonians 5, starting with verse 14.

The first directive is self-encouragement. You can do more, but you have to try. Certain things do not fall into your lap. There is initiative on your part, coupled with determination, effort, and patience to achieve.

With the above, there should be enjoyment. You must like what you’re trying to do or achieve to build the inner satisfaction that you are making a difference in your world. It may not be tangible, but someone or something will improve as a result of your efforts. That’s the inner joy of companionship, thanksgiving, and the privilege of knowing your prayers bring results.

When you examine your accomplishments, whether large or small, there’s a sense of pride. Be warned not to gloat but to savor the moment. Self-induced harm may occur from elation lasting too long. Or the failure to recognize those who helped along the way. None of us are independent of others.

The next thought is to keep going forward. There’s always more to do. More people to help, more ways to improve. God’s not finished with you until you breathe your last breath. Even then, you may do more by leaving a self-sustaining project. You can leave the means to help others after you arrive inside the pearly gates. That may not happen if you quit along the way. Your potential is unlimited with the proper mindset.