By Joy Le Page Smith, MA

This means those who believe in Him have opened their hearts to Him when they “heard the knock.” What a privilege it is to have heard the knock! I am referring to the scripture, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If any man [or woman] opens the door and answers, I will come in, (Revelations 3:20). 

From there on, we glorify God with how we lead our lives. What does that mean? Well, it does not mean we are perfect. We are growing into His perfection. We are on a very beautiful growth path. We hear His nudges and are learning to follow. Like I heard the nudge to call a friend last week to ask how she was doing. She cried and said, “How did you know I was having a hard time?” It was the Lord who knew while I, like all other believers, try to keep ears open to that Voice within. It is an exciting way to live.

It is hard to believe our lives “glorify God,” but this prayer of Jesus’ in John 17:10, helps us understand. He was praying for His disciples and said to His Heavenly Father, “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.”

As followers of Jesus–more than any words we say–our lives tell the story. We no longer are all about serving ourselves. No, we have “sight and sound” coming within our hearts that find us doing what we can to also make life good (or better) for others, as we encounter them within our daily lives. We have no need to make it obvious. “It just happens.” It is in our hearts to do what God prompts us towards. At points we may not be very well liked by some who are looking on. 

Jesus knew His teachings would make us different and He said “I have given them your Word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world,” (John 17:14). Some persecutions can come to believers who are following the guidance of God as they live their lives.

Jesus was hated so much by the religious leaders of the day that He was killed–hung on a cross between two thieves to die! Even people who think they know God, yet are following a regime of their own making, can be majorly misled. God’s Word is trustworthy for those who honor it as coming from the Divine Creator of all that exists.

A post titled, “How can we trust the Bible to be true?” holds answers to questions you may have. You can use the search option of this blogsite to reach it, or use this link: http://healingwithjoy.blogspot.com/2024/10/can-we-trust-bible-to-be-true.html

May we all be highly blessing within this day . . . as we celebrate the life or our Lord and how He came to live among us and to teach us how to live holy lives. (Not perfect, mind you, just “holy.” And, we learn as we go.) 

How wonderful it is that the grave could not hold our Lord–and His shed blood is known to cover our sins as we receive Him as Lord, Master of our souls, and seek to follow His will for our lives.

By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA

When my father-in-law, Harvey Smith retired he finally had Sundays off; he and his wife, Helen, began the weekly venture of going to church. One Saturday night he telephoned. “Do you know that it’s hard work working for the Lord?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, I went to ‘Work Day’ at the church yesterday. I came home all sore and with aching muscles! Helen told me, “Don’t complain, you were working for the Lord. I told her that it sure felt like I was working for Hap Whipple! That little man (straw boss of the day) is so skinny he looks like the handle on the lawn mower I was pushing.” (Unlike people living in Arizona, those  in the Northwest, where we grew up, have lawns.)

 It didn’t quite ring true to Dad that Whipple could send several men twice his size home with aching muscles. He said, “I found out you get just as tired working for the Lord as you do working for yourself.”

I laughed. But isn’t it true with all of us? We become enthused about doing something for God. We roll up our sleeves, plunge in, only to find it is hard work. Worse yet, sometimes there is opposition. The doors of success and progress still seem to move on creaking hinges—if they open at all. The romance of the thing goes out the window when the project does not roll out easily, the way “we” planned.

Meeting with rejection or criticism, we often respond with rebellion. “O.K., God, if that’s how they’re going to treat me–forget it! You can get someone else to do it.”

We want to be holy; we long to do what enhances God’s kingdom, but we also want things to go our way. We want some appreciation and maybe a little recognition, right?

Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon your shoulders . . . my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He also said to count the cost before starting “to build.” There seems to be a bit of a dichotomy. Perhaps this can only be resolved by putting the whole picture together.

The Bible teaches us to link our lives with Christ through reading God’s Word (the Bible). Doing so brings contentment, joy, great love and peace! Plus, assurance of eternal life! Jesus left what must have held “glorious splendors” in heaven to come to earth and become our Savior. He counted the cost and said, “Yes.”

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry there was a period of popularity.  People flocked to see His miracles. But in comparison to the multitudes who came, only a handful were touched permanently by His love. Shortly, opposition set in. You know the story. Jesus followed the destiny laid out for Him –to the cross . . . and to the grave from whence He arose as we  will also arise.

Perhaps you or I will not be asked to die a martyr’s death, but we have been commissioned to lay down our lives daily in the making of frequent choices—choices which embrace His will rather than our own. We are called to die to our inner, carnal drives and preconceived ideas . . . the desire to be appreciated and recognized—and to have some power here on earth. Instead, the Lord calls us to serve. Out of love alone.

When we have done our best to follow what we believe He has asked of us, then we meet with opposition. Solace comes in knowing that He, too, was criticized and misunderstood. Even the greatest gift humankind could ever receive—redemption through Christ’s death on the cross—was not understood and appreciated by most. In fact the religious leaders of the day persecuted Him. Jesus warned His followers not to expect better treatment.

So, how is it that Jesus said, “His burden is light?” It is light only when we embrace the truth of His having gone before us. He suffered in all ways as we do, even more! Yet, He conquered all temptations, all the drives and emotions you and I experience.

As we know, within our life spans we meet up with some times of frustration, disappointment, failures and physical difficulties. There are times of grief, even periods of sensing spiritual depletion, if only momentarily. What gives hope while we are feeling unsure, questioning or perplexed, are passages like Romans 8:18-19: “For consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”

With Christmas passed many will have enjoyed it as a holiday, a time to exchange gifts. Wrappings and bows are gone. But let’s not miss the greatest of all gifts–Jesus came–as Savior to  the world! It was a rescue venture! It opened a door through which, by choice, we can enter—becoming children of God. Yes. It is a choice. We can’t simply fall through that doorway to heaven because Grandma prayed for us long ago.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).

By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA

Years back our then bachelor son, Tim, “lost his heart” to a lovely, young woman. He was inspired, yet, distraught as her job found his friend moving to another state. However, Tim seemed tireless, able to make a “short distance” out of the 450 miles it took to visit her.

Once, while we had an hour together before his leave-taking he and I talked and prayed together. Upon telling him of something I planned to do for his friend, Tim’s eyes filled with love and he said, “Oh, Mom . . . if you do that for her it will be as if you are doing it for me.”

A momentary sense of déjà vu—then a recognition that Jesus had spoken these same words yet a bit differently to His disciples: “I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me” (Matthew 25:40).

When Tim made this point on behalf of the one he loved his words were rich with meaning. In an instant I saw how it was Jesus’ love for His beloved that saw Him beseeching us to serve. Surely, we have done it unto Him when we serve another who is in need.

Perhaps occasionally it is important to examine “heart motives.”  Is the service we are giving to our fellow man really an act of love? Done with love of our Lord? Or, out of our hopes to please, gain favor or be noticed? Prestige? A place in the “inner circle”? Power? How often are deeds done out of a sense of obligation—working to pay back what we have received? The truth is we don’t have to prove our worth or earn our space! God created us. We are His children — good, acceptable and beloved. On the other hand, pride is, at times, a motivator. Pride can come through our always being the one who helps. Always needing to be the giver. Sometimes it is good and right to sit back, allowing others opportunity to serve. It is very important to also be the receiver of loving care.

There are times when we serve others out of sympathy. Even though this emotion is a valid response, we best be careful. Here again there can be a self-serving twist. Conrad Baars, MD wrote in Healing the Unaffirmed, that the emphasis must lie “on a state of being for and with another, of being moved inwardly by his goodness and unique worth prior to doing anything for him.”

Other times, out of fear of disappointing another or losing face, we give. But, when we look at the life of our Master, we see that of all the things He could have done, He moved and acted only through the motivation of love. In His Words, “I do only what I see the Father doing.”  And His Father, after all, was love. For, “ . . . For God is love,” (1 John 4:8).

Now let’s take a moment to look at what, for many of us, is a common failure: the inability to accept and lovingly serve our own selves. Dr. Carl Jung put it eloquently:  “what if I should discover that the least of all brethren, the poorest of all beggars, the most insolent of all offenders, yes, even the very enemy himself – that these live within me; that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness, that I am to myself the enemy who is to be loved?”  Jung was concerned about our refusing to receive the least among the lowly in ourselves with open arms.”

We esteem our bodies enough to shave and bathe, groom and consume nourishing foods, yet whip the inner self into frenzies of doing as we have not yet discovered the beauty of being. Once we are able to cherish the true essence of ourselves and what we were created to be, that which is done to validate and love ourselves will act as springboards moving us speedily and spontaneously into God-directed service. New fervor and vision will be held.

Could it be possible Jesus wore a smile when He said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul. And love your neighbor as yourself?” Was He gently using humor to make His point of how far we are from loving God until we can also love ourselves? Then our neighbors?

Do not mistake hedonism; pervasive consumerism; demanding or expecting allegiance from others; and outright selfishness as the act of validly loving oneself. However, truly knowing how to generously treat the person called “me” to the best life has to offer is an artful way to live—one in which our hearts can celebrate!

Let us “break forth into joy, giving thanks for the beauty of our personhood.”  And, in so doing heap love upon our Lord.

Joy Le Page Smith is a Board-certified clinical chaplain with with degrees in psychology and theology. View her children’s book as a video at healingwithjoy.blogspot.com Also, find many articles addressing life’s difficulties at Healing-with-Joy.com