Conducting your affairs with justice

Psalm 112:5 New International Version (NIV)

5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.

God tells us to be generous and lend freely, but we are to do so as stewards of God’s money. For everything we have is of God and therefore we should treat it as God’s money.

The classic film It's a Wonderful Life celebrates the significance of one man's contribution to his community. George Bailey (played by James Stewart) consistently demonstrates self-denial and generosity. A proprietor of a loan institution, George helps families through tough Depression-era times.

Bailey's Building and Loan is put in jeopardy by George's uncle, who misplaces $8,000, and George realizes he could go to jail. He wishes he'd never been born. But Clarence Oddbody, an angel dispatched from heaven, shows George what the world would have been like had he never been born.

Early in the movie, George marries his sweetheart, Mary, on Black Tuesday in October 1929. The stock market has just collapsed. En route to the train station, the cab driver calls attention to a crowd clamoring for their money at the Bedford Falls Bank. Fearing a similar scene at the family business, George asks to stop by the Bailey Building and Loan.

George jumps out of the cab and finds a crowd of people waiting at a locked door. The stock market collapse has motivated his clients to try and withdraw their money. Though perplexed about what to do, George opens the door and lets in his friends, who demand their money at once. George attempts to calm the crowd, all the while knowing he doesn't have sufficient cash on hand to honor everyone's request.

George tries to calm the crowd, saying, "We can get through this thing all right. We've got to stick together, though. We've got to have faith in each other."

An elderly woman responds, "But my husband hasn't worked in over a year. I need money."

Just in time, George's new bride has an idea. Retrieving the honeymoon nest egg from her purse, she holds up the money and asks, "How much do you need?"

Immediately, George announces, "I've got $2,000. This should tide us over."

One man insists on withdrawing all $200 from his account. George pleads with him not to be greedy, so the money will go further. Several others ask for more modest amounts. As the time approaches 6 o'clock, George and Uncle Billy count down the waning moments that will close out the business day. "5…4…3…2…1…Bingo!"

Uncle Billy beams, "We're going to make it, George. They'll never close us up today."

[It's a Wonderful Life, (RKO Radio Pictures, 1946), rated G, written by Philip Van Doren Stern, directed by Frank Capra; submitted by Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois]

The Gospel

Romans 1:16 New Living Translation (NLT)

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

The gospel is given to free us from the condemnation of sin. It was given first to the Jewish people and then to the Gentiles. It is a freeing power to help us who are in sin move from sin to the better things God has in store for us.

JoHannah Reardon from Sycamore, Illinois; wrote the following newsletter in ChristianBibleStudies.com. When our children were young, my husband and I decided we wouldn't watch R-rated movies. We wouldn't allow our children to watch them, so we decided that to watch them ourselves would be confusing to them. We made this decision in good conscience and never regretted it. I found, however, that it made me feel judgmental toward other parents who watched R-rated movies. I began to feel they weren't fully committed to Christ because they watched things I'd decided not to watch.

Even as I write this, I realize how ridiculous it is to judge someone's relationship with God by what rating of movies he or she watches, but it was so subtle at the time. Since it was a sacrificial commitment for me, I instinctively evaluated other people's spiritual dedication when they talked about the latest movie they'd watched. As I made this judgment, I never thought about my own sin or all the things that person was doing right. Instead, I focused on this one thing I thought they were doing wrong.

The ability to see sin in others and ignore it in your own heart is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a Pharisee, and being a Pharisee is so easy. It's great to make rules to guide our own behavior, but when we extend those rules to everyone around us, we're in danger of becoming pharisaical.

A work in progress

Philippians 1:6 New Living Translation (NLT)

6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Sometimes we see nothing but a mess in our lives, but God sees something different. He sees a work in progress waiting to be completed.

Kellie Kutkey from Vancouver, WA writes in Today's Christian Woman, an article."Heart to Heart." We live in a small house, so even little messes seem big. Recently, I looked at my sewing projects and thought, If my child left this mess, I'd be mad. Then I realized I wasn't angry at myself because, in my eyes, I could see the finished product--to me it wasn't a mess at all! I'm thankful God looks at me the same way. He sees in me the righteousness of Jesus--and I can be confident that "He who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).

Praise His name

Isaiah 12:4 New Living Translation (NLT)

4 In that wonderful day you will sing:

    “Thank the Lord! Praise his name!

Tell the nations what he has done.

    Let them know how mighty he is!

The prophet Isaiah reminds Israel that there would come a time where the people would remember to praise and thank God for the things that had been done. It would be a time of true worship, praising His mighty name.

The praise chorus "We Exalt Thee" took on a whole new meaning when I heard my three-year-old daughter singing her version: "We exhaust thee. We exhaust thee, O Lord."

[Tammy Lindsey, Utica, New York. Christian Reader, "Kids of the Kingdom."]

It’s true, we probably often exhaust God in the things we do and say. But our purpose is to fellowship with God and praise His name. Hence, the words of the song actually go as follows:

I love you Lord

And I lift my voice

To worship You

Oh, my soul rejoice

Take joy my King

In what You hear

And let it be a sweet sweet

Sound in Your ear

We exalt Thee

We exalt Thee

We exalt Thee

Oh, Lord

Releasing the feeling of vengence

Leviticus 19:18 New King James Version (NKJV)

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

God tells us we are to have within ourselves a spirit of forgiveness so we do not take vengeance out on others for the wrong done to us. Instead, we are to express love, a love that reaches out and forgives and embraces the person. Is there someone you are holding a grudge against or feel bitter towards? Pray God will release you from those feelings and instead fill your heart with love.

On July 12, 1986, Steven McDonald, a twenty-nine-year-old police officer on patrol in Central Park, stopped to question three teenagers about a bicycle theft. The oldest, a fifteen-year-old, took out a gun and shot him in the head, neck, and arm. McDonald was rushed to a hospital, where surgeons told his wife that he would be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. McDonald spent the next eighteen months in the hospital.

A few years later, McDonald made headlines again, this time because he publically forgave his shooter. Before his death in January 2017, McDonald explained why he forgave his shooter:

Looking back, pondering on my life since that time, it's clear to me that God was in charge. All he wanted was the opportunity to use me. He just needed my yes, and that was made possible by prayer. It's that simple, really. Through the family and friends that God put in my life, and their prayers, God spoke to me and said, "Will you love this boy who shot you?" And the best way that I could love him was to forgive him. Left to my own abilities, I don't think I would have done it. … And I know that I would have died a long time ago had I not listened to God, said yes to God, followed the example of his Son, and loved and forgiven.

Steven's son Conor McDonald, now an NYPD sergeant, recounted how his father would call him every day at 5:00 a.m. while he patrolled, just to wish him a good morning, and how during his college years his father would make a weekly trip to Boston just to have lunch together at Applebee's. "My father was always committed to me," Conor said, "He did more than most able-bodied fathers could ever do with their sons. … My parents created the most phenomenal life out of such darkness. It was due to their unmatched, unconditional devotion and love for each other, which I witnessed from the beginning of my life."

[Adapted from Sam Hine, "God's Cop," The Plough (April 2017)]

Trusting God and turning loose

Psalm 91:1 New Living Translation (NLT)

1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

    will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

God who trust and follow God will find peace and rest in Him. Often we hold onto things we need to turn loose of. When we do God will be there to see us through.

One of the most difficult realities faced by most parents is the gradual "letting go" of their children—releasing the little ones from their protection and watching them make their own way in the world. For Tracinda Foxe, however, that "letting go" came much too early in her baby's life, and was much too literal.

In December of 2005, Foxe's apartment building in the Bronx caught on fire. With flames quickly engulfing her third floor bedroom, she was forced to contemplate the unthinkable. Outside, a group of onlookers had gathered some 30 feet below her open window, and they watched with growing concern as smoke billowed around the mother and her 1-month-old child. With no fresh air in the apartment, Tracinda leaned out the window with her baby.

Finally, with all other options exhausted, Tracinda let go. The infant tumbled three stories down into the waiting arms of Felix Vazquez, a Housing Authority employee and catcher on a local baseball team. A former lifeguard, Vazquez performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the baby until paramedics arrived, which saved its life.

Moments later, Tracinda was rescued from her apartment by firefighters, and was reunited with her child. Neither was seriously injured. Asked later about the painful decision to drop her baby from the window, Tracinda said: "I prayed that someone would catch him and save his life…. I said, 'God, please save my son.'"

[Catherine Donaldson-Evans, "The Good News of 2005," Foxnews.com (12-30-05); submitted by Bryan Latchaw, Oskaloosa, Iowa]

The Glory of God

Psalm 19:1-2 New International Version (NIV)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

    night after night they reveal knowledge.

Everything that is of this world was and is created by the hands of God. God placed marvelous things before us that declare his glory. In the skies we see the stars, the moon and the planets. on special occasions we see meteors falling and burning in the sky. God’s glory pours out during the day and again at night. May we stop and acknowledge God for all His glory!

Sue Monk Kidd wrote in Today's Christian Woman an article, "Heart to Heart." One August night, my children dragged me to the backyard to watch a meteor shower. I reluctantly joined them thinking, I have so many details to tend to before we leave on vacation. I don't have time for idleness. Suddenly, golden fire balls streaked across the blackness. "God made this," I whispered. It was a rare moment. Not because of the sight, but because I stepped beyond my familiar world into one of wonder and discovered the Creator in the midst. Could it be God filled the world with such beauty to lift people like me away from our obsession with details--to touch our lives with a magnificent awareness of himself?