Month: October 2023

We take meds to relieve a headache or other pain.  We change positions to alleviate pressure sores or tight muscles.  We leave the room to alleviate the tension when we sense an argument brewing.  I’m not sure what these goats were trying to alleviate by climbing the rocks but they were entertaining as we sat at a picnic table eating and watching them which helped to alleviate my stress.

On that particular day I was on my way to the vet to put down my 16-year-old cat.  She was stressed out and not doing well, and I wanted to alleviate her pain.  However, in alleviating her stress and pain, it became my stress, emotional pain and grief.  She is no longer in pain and it took two months for me to work through my own, but I think I’m on the other side now, though I know there are and always will be moments of flashbacks that will cause momentary grief.  I miss her but I knew she was struggling and it was best for her. 

The Bible uses the word alleviate in two places in one version (ISV).  The first is in the familiar story of Joseph being in charge of food during the famine in Egypt.

“If you’re honest men, leave one of your brothers here in custody,
then the rest of you can leave and take some grain with you
to alleviate the famine that’s affecting your households.”
Genesis 42:19, ISV

God had orchestrated Joseph’s life and his brothers’ lives so that they would meet again and give Joseph opportunity to prove God is in control when he could have denied food to his brothers who sold him out of hatred.  If Joseph had not been committed to God, things could have gone a lot differently for him while he was in prison, and his brothers and father might have starved to death during the famine.  But God chose to use Joseph to alleviate the food shortage for many people including his own family.

The other passage that uses the word alleviate has a broader reach.  It includes seeking, justice, defense, and pleading.  Alleviate is interchangeable with relieve, reprove, and help in other versions of the Bible.  Put all these words together, and it is a huge challenge for us to alleviate not only oppression (in the following verse) or famine (in the previous verse) but anything that is wrong or pressing in on people’s lives.

“Learn to practice what is good;
seek justice,
alleviate oppression,
defend orphans in court,
and plead the widow’s case.”
Isaiah 1:17, ISV

When financial issues press in on an individual or a family, we need to help alleviate some of their stress and strain however we can.  Share food from your garden.  Slip some cash into their hands or pockets to help them buy necessities.  Teach them how to sew or other trades that can help them provide for themselves. 

What can YOU do to help alleviate someone’s burden?  I just came back from a walk and was thinking and praying as I walked.  You never know what you might come up with while you’re outside away from all the distractions of phones and computers!  Allow the Lord to speak to you while you’re enjoying His great creation and getting some needed exercise—a win/win all the way around!  More about how nature affects our peace in my next post…stay tuned.

I enjoy celebrating special occasions with friends and family.  Just last year I invited friends, family, and church family to celebrate my birthday.  After all, it’s no fun celebrating alone!  I’d had birthday dinners over the years and a small party or two with family when I was a teenager, but never one with friends, so it was a very special day for me to have everyone present.  Today in this post I am celebrating my 100^th post on this Perfect Peace blog, all in a 10-month span of time.  I hope and pray they have been uplifting, encouraging, or maybe thought-provoking for my readers.

“This day belongs to the LORD!
Let’s celebrate and be glad today.”
Psalms 118:24, CEV

What days do you like to celebrate and why???  For me, days of celebration are happy and joyful occasions that I like to share with others.  It might be an accomplishment, a new page of life, a milestone, the completion of a project, or any number of reasons.  I’m always glad to celebrate with others, too…weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, graduations, holidays.

Did you know that God celebrates with us, too?  He does!  The Psalmist David said this day (every day) belongs to the Lord and we should celebrate together (let us) and be glad.  God gives us every day of life to enjoy and use for His honor and glory.  He wants us to celebrate with Him and be glad for each day He gives us.  Too often we (myself included) get up in the morning grumpy that we have to get out of bed and do the same things we do every day.  I look extremely forward to Sundays because it is a different day of the week, the Lord’s Day, when I can be with my church family, sing His praises, and bask in the warmth of His love.  I could do that every day, but it’s different when you’re celebrating with someone instead of by yourself.

It is definitely nice to have some different things to do and look forward with anticipation to special events, but God tells us to enjoy every day and celebrate it whether it’s the same as yesterday or holds something new.  There are people who look forward to a day without pain or a day without frustrations.  Others look forward to a visit from a family member or friend after spending countless days alone.  How can you celebrate with each of them in the midst of their pain, frustration, or loneliness?  Ask God and He will show you.

I did not mention a funeral above in my mention of celebrations, but a funeral can also be an affirming celebration of the life of the one who passed from death to eternal life if they knew the Lord.  They are no longer held captive by things that held them back on this earth.  They are free to move around, see, hear, and talk in ways they never thought possible.  Their sickness or disability is gone.  Their sadness is replaced with joy in the presence of their Savior.  Their loneliness has given way to renewed and new friendships, people to do life with forever.  Of course we who are still here on this earth have mixed feelings of joy for them but grief for us as we live on without them.  But the blessed hope of being together for eternity is a huge cause to celebrate. Today plan a celebration even if it’s just that you got through the day safely and productively.  It could be as simple as time to prop your feet up and read a book or as elaborate as dressing up and going out to a fancy restaurant.  But however and wherever you choose to celebrate, include the Lord, the giver of every good and perfect gift, who never changes which in itself is a cause to celebrate in the face of a changing world.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
James 1:17, NIV

I’m not the craftiest person on the earth, but I occasionally get the urge to try.  I was on a prayer team at the time and created patches for us to wear on our lanyards so people would know who the pray-ers were.  We should all be people who pray for and with each other, but that was our specific “job” at an event.  We were there to be available for anyone who wanted someone to pray with them.  I remember one time in particular where there were three of us at the front after a session and there was a waiting line for all of us to hear their requests and pray with them on the spot.  It was almost overwhelming to see the need, but also a blessing to be used of God in this way.

I found that most of the people who came up to me for prayer were not in a peaceful spot and their prayer requests were for comfort, calm, and peace in the midst of their tough situations.  Are you the kind of person whom people feel free to approach and ask for prayer?  Today I’d like to suggest some ways of being intentional in prayer that may help you and your church create meaningful prayer connections and help to impart peace to those who are hurting.

Prayer Request Box – That seems to be one of the first connection points that is established.  While it works for some people, it doesn’t for others…especially if there is no further contact.  Once the person drops a request in the box, how do they know who, if anyone, is really praying for their request, and what if they really need to talk about it or update it? 

Prayer Chains – Prayer chains are great if everyone who signed up is indeed willing to stop and take that prayer request to the Lord in prayer when it arrives in their email inbox or voicemail.  But does it end there???  ALL requests presented should be shared no matter how insignificant they may seem to one person; obviously they are important to the one who shared them.  Remember how Jesus told the Disciples to let the little children come to Him, even though they were ready to shoo them away.  It was His way of saying they are important, too.

Point of Contact – There needs to be one point of contact for incoming prayer requests and the same person sending them out.  In a lot of churches it is the pastor who is already busy.  He definitely needs to be in the loop, but assigning that point of contact to someone who is really into interceding for people can be not only a help to him but also an opportunity for that person to minister to needs by connecting further.

Prayer Team – Of course anyone can pray and anyone can ask anyone to pray, but having one or two people designated as a prayer team for each Sunday before and after the services can be a great relief to many.  I was on a prayer team such as this at one church and it gave me opportunity to share, pray, and minister to people who I would not have normally interacted with on a regular basis.  There may be an individual who wants to share a prayer request, but they’re new or shy and won’t just walk up to anyone.  If there is a designated prayer person, they might be more likely to approach that person.

Prompts – When sending out prayer requests, it is good to have a Scripture verse or quote that encourages prayer and gives the receiver a springboard for praying for that request, maybe even a suggestion of how you might want to pray.

Acknowledgement of Requests – It is so important to respond to requests given.  If it is by a prayer request card or an email, acknowledgement lets the requestor know that their request has been received and is being given attention.  There are several ways of doing that which I have found are very well received by others.  One is a written personal prayer for the situation in the request and the person or persons involved as well as the one who made the request.  Another is a Scripture verse to encourage the recipient, and for that I like to go to the internet and find a picture with the verse on it.  The picture brings cheer and focus to the recipient as they meditate on the verse in the picture.  Quotes from reputable Christians are good, too, but Scripture is always best.

Question for Follow-up – When the prayer point of contact person acknowledges the request, it helps to know if further contact is desired.  You can ask if they would like a visit or a phone call, or if they would like to be connected with someone who will pray with them on the phone or in person.  It’s also good to ask if there’s anything else they need help with (such as transportation, meals, or a babysitter).  Most people hesitate to ask for help when they’re overwhelmed with a situation, but if you ask, they will usually tell you.

A Prayer Meeting – A prayer meeting can be valuable for those who are intercessors, but not so much for the pew person.  A prayer meeting that spends more time talking about the requests than praying for them is in trouble.  The purpose of a prayer meeting is to bring the needs before God in prayer, not to discuss the reasons why things happen, the people involved, or what a person thinks they should do.  Something I heard in one prayer meeting really turned me off as an intercessor and more so as one who shared a request.  “This is just between us but…”  Don’t talk about the people in the requests; just pray!  It’s good to perhaps sing a song or read a few verses of Scripture or a SHORT devotion to focus, but that should not be the primary reason for gathering together as intercessors, and if it takes up too much time, people can get antsy because they come to pray.  We’re all busy and I don’t mind spending time in prayer, but then let’s get busy praying.

Pray WITH the Person – Never say I’ll be praying for you and walk away.  Stop and pray WITH the person right then, joining hands if possible and a quick hug after.  That can be so extremely meaningful and comforting.

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.”
I Timothy 2:1

Ah, the good old days.  This 1954 photo of family members who have all departed from this world to their eternal home in Heaven pictures hospitality to me.  We all met together on holidays to share our food and spend time together.  As Fall morphs into Thanksgiving and then Christmas, things seem to get busier and busier for people.  Extended families make it harder to have the close connections and familiar traditions of yesteryear because families are spread out and new traditions are being made.

I think a good definition of hospitality is sharing willingly and gladly with others what you would share with your own family out of responsibility to care for your family.  Hospitality is treating outsiders (non-family members) as you would your own family.  Picture that holiday dinner table.  You invite a friend, neighbor, or some other person whom you don’t know very well.  You wouldn’t think of seating them at a separate table or serving them different food (unless dietary restrictions dictate it).  Hospitality is sitting together, eating food prepared by and for all in attendance, and sharing conversation.

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
II Samuel 9:7, NIV

The Bible shows us many ways of being hospitable.  In the above verse, King David had gone out of his way to find out if any of his friend Jonathan’s family was still living.  When he found out that Mephibosheth was indeed still alive, he extended more hospitality than anyone could ever hope for.  As was custom in those days, when a king was killed or deposed, his entire family would be killed to prevent them from taking over the throne.  The fact that Mephibosheth was still alive gave David the opportunity to extend hospitality and kindness to his friend’s son.  Sometimes hospitality takes on a face of caring for those who least deserve it, or those who don’t expect it, or those who may take advantage of the hospitality.  But we are nevertheless commanded to show hospitality regardless of the outcome.

Meals were central in Jesus’ time and a shared meal became the center point of Christian worship.  Jesus ate meals with believers and sinners alike.  A prayer of blessing over the meal brought everyone together in thought and spirit.  The most familiar and meaningful of all meals, of course, was the Lord’s Supper or as some call it, the Last Supper.  Jesus showed hospitality throughout that entire evening as he washed the Disciples’ feet, as He broke the bread and shared it, and as He verbally prepared them for what was ahead for Him and for them.

What are some positive results of showing hospitality?

• New friends
• Opportunity to share the Gospel
• Blessings for both sides
• A new appreciation or understanding for what others may be going through
• Respect
• Learning from and about others
• Ministering to Jesus through others
• Preparation for further service

“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.
Always be eager to practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:13, NLT

The above verse specifies helping God’s people who are in need.  That doesn’t mean that we ignore those who aren’t within the church fellowship, but all too often some Christians can be so focused on reaching out to the unsaved that they forget that quiet person who sits at the end of the pew in the corner alone and doesn’t speak up when they have a need.  There will always be someone worse off than you and I, but there are times that we need to speak up and allow others to help us whether it’s a physical hand, emotional support, or financial assistance.  If you have a need, don’t be afraid to speak up whether it’s to your pastor, a friend, or another believer in your fellowship.  Others don’t know what you need if you don’t tell them.

Thus far we’ve talked mainly about a meal, but hospitality can be shown in other ways as well.  When a family down the street has a house fire and loses everything, we can show hospitality by providing clothing for them to wear.  You notice a traveler’s car is stranded by the side of the road and discover they ran out of gas.  Provided it is a safe situation, you could give them a lift to get gas or go get gas and bring it back.  Maybe someone you know needs a place to stay as they travel in your area or while their home is being repaired.  Consider offering your spare room that is not being used anyway. 

Look at your resources and consider what you have that you could share with others. Maybe it’s a loan such as a car while theirs is being repaired, or a crib for a new family who can’t afford one, or a gift of other possessions that can help someone get back on their feet.  We all have plenty of things stored away that we never use which could be a godsend for someone else.  One of the biggest and least costly resource is your time.  Those who live alone need a second pair of hands or expertise to do some things.  Consider taking on minor car maintenance for a single woman.  Just someone to check the oil, fill the washer fluid, and put air in the tires would be a huge blessing, one thing off her to-do list that she may not even think about.  Kids can take the newspaper or the mail to the door of an elderly neighbor.  When you’ve cooked way too much, remember your neighbor who lives alone and doesn’t like to cook.

How will you show your hospitality to someone today?