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LauraMThomas

Writer/Editor

Laura M. Thomas is writer and editor at This Eternal Moment. A homeschooling mom to three little girls, she loves writing, reading, the great outdoors, and afternoon nap times.

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In Response to Current Events

Threatened Attacks on D.C., Syrian Refugees, and the Role of the Christian

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This week, my Facebook news feed has exploded with hundreds of people’s opinions about the Syrian Refugee Crisis, ISIS’s threatened attacks on Washington D.C., and everything pertaining to these matters.

I have read much of what my friends and acquaintances have written on these matters and respect the opinions of all those who have shared their thoughts via social media. In many ways, social media has become a modern day “Public Square” (albeit from all over the world perhaps rather than purely local) for people to voice their thoughts.

However, I know I’m not the only one out here wondering (with all the opinions swirling around) two things: What are the facts and what can I do about them?

Seeing that I am not an expert on the matters being discussed, I found this article a friend of mine posted quite helpful in it’s basic breakdown of the facts of the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

We must each ask ourselves how, as followers of Christ, should we respond to these matters?

Regarding threats from ISIS to harm the people and city I live in and love – I am choosing to respond in this way:

1) To Pray For the Persecutors – I’ve had the chance to interact with many people in my lifetime who have come from very difficult family situations. If I were taught from childhood that a certain country or people group was my enemy, I would likely believe it. I’m not choosing to fight hate with more hate, but to pray for the people who are choosing to give their lives to the killing of other human beings.

I pray that they, like Saul on Damascus Road, would encounter the living Christ and awake to the truth of their destructive hatred and Christ’s unconditional love…grace that extends even to terrorists and suicide bombers.

2) To Not Live In Fear – a friend of mine wrote about this on her blog this week as well. Christ has clearly instructed His church, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…” (Matthew 10:28).

This does not mean living in ignorance. What this looks like is to stay watchful and alert; to pray for those who are in positions to defend and protect our country, all while continuing to live your normal life with a deep sense of peace and trust in God.

3) To Resist Empty Verbal Sparring and Actually Do Something:

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a) Pray for Leaders – As a Christian, I am called to “pray for leaders and those in authority…” (1 Timothy 2:2). I am to pray for them regardless of whether I agree with them. They (not me!) are making really important decisions that impacts thousands of people. I need to cry out to the Lord to give them wisdom and discernment, that they would not be influenced by fear or petty political power plays.

While I may not agree with their decisions, I ought to respect the fact that they are in a position I am not; that what they need from me in this time is prayer, not verbally lambasting them in the public square (which accomplishes nothing).

b) To Welcome Strangers and Assist Those in Need – As a Christian, I am called to welcome strangers as I would welcome Christ Himself.

If I am arguing for refugees (who have gone through the necessary vetting process) to be able to enter our country and find freedom here, am I personally willing to welcome them? To help them adapt to a new land and culture?

I’m not sure yet what doors God will open for me, but I think what is important is a willingness to serve and be hospitable to those who come to our nation and neighborhood from troubled lands of origin. To demonstrate the love of Christ with our actions.

Here’s at least one group who is offering opportunities for citizens to be involved in serving refugees: World Relief. Here is a list of groups who are currently serving refugees who you can contribute to financially.

In summary, let’s not waste our energy in verbal assaults. This neither weakens the enemy nor strengthens the afflicted. Let’s seek to be respectful of the thoughts and opinions of others regarding complex issues.

Instead, let’s expend our energy in two primary places: on our knees in prayer for the persecuted and persecutors, for our leaders, and for all those who are grieving the loss of loved ones. And may we live and love without fear; embracing with open arms in our communities the refugee and the needy, remembering that when we do, we are serving Christ Himself.

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5 Simple Ways to Grow in Thankfulness

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Thanksgiving is coming up and I’ve been meditating on this passage in 1 Thessalonians 5, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” As we seek to live with thankful hearts before the Lord, here are some ideas of how to get our thanks and praise on:

1) Begin and End your Day with Thanks: Thank the Lord for the gift of a new day. Thank Him for sleep, for the strength to face the opportunities and challenges of the day with grace. Thank him at the end of the day for all the ways you saw his hand at work that day.

2) Practice Giving Thanks As a Family: Take turns sharing each day with one another what you are most thankful for that day. Built into my morning devotion time with the girls is “thankful time” – we sing a little song that they love and then each person gets a turn to share what they are most thankful for. It is a great way not only to turn all of our hearts towards the Lord in gratitude, but also uncover what is most important to those you love.

3) Give Thanks for Daily Bread: Many families already say “grace” at meal times, but this simple practice shouldn’t be passed over ~ it helps us to stop briefly before digging into our food to remember and thank the one who provided it in the first place. Often when we sing our “thankful song” together, I am reminded that the God who provides for us will also sustain us in times to come and it fills me with gratefulness and hope.

4) Keeping a Gratitude Journal: Ann Voskamp’s bestselling book, “One Thousand Gifts” goes into this idea in much more detail, but the idea is simple – keep a running list of the things that you are thankful for. Ann found she began with seemingly small things that made her smile like “jam piled high on toast,” or “sleep – deep and long.” This type of documentation can help us to be aware of blessings we may have overlooked otherwise. By writing these “gifts” down, we take a picture of them in our memories and choose to focus on how they have enriched our lives.

5) Replace Grumbling with Thanksgiving: We all have “pressure points” that seem to pull the worst out of us. I saw this picture on Facebook that sums up this point entirely. The original source for this list and photo is Chelsea Lee Smith of MomentsADay.com :

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What may seem like a burden to us are often great blessings in disguise – it all depends on our perspective. So – what are you thankful for today?

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In It For The Long Haul!

Cultivating a Spirit of Endurance

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I will never forget the one and only day I spent on the high school cross country team. It was a sweltering August day in Georgia and I was 16 years old. Dozens of teenagers showed up to practice that day and had no problem running three miles at the speed of light around the country roads surrounding our school.

I was not one of them. About a mile in (and a mile behind the others) I had to admit defeat as I flailed back to the school and collapsed on the pavement, sweating and discouraged.

As I lay on the ground I realized that the one thing I needed that hot August day was the one thing I didn’t have: endurance.

You Have Need of Endurance

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Twenty years have come and gone since I quit the cross country team before the season even began. However, it is ironic to note that the same day I quit the team was the day I began to run. And I have been jogging for twenty years now, only stopping when absolutely necessary.

I knew I wanted to run, but I had to develop endurance.

Paul encourages the early church with his words in Hebrews 10:35-36: “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”

Endurance by definition is “the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue,stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina.” 

We live in an era of instant coffee, microwave dinners, online shopping, and even pain relievers that promise “instant” relief from headaches.

But when it comes to our faith, endurance rather than fair-weather friendship is what Christ is after.

The Way of Endurance

We can cultivate endurance through faith, focus and habitual practice.

Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith is a gift from God. We can’t conjure up faith. We can’t make ourselves believe that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He has promised. God’s Spirit is the one who draws all people unto himself. We are utterly helpless without him.

When He opens our eyes to the truth and we are filled with faith, we can then receive God’s grace to endure. Without faith in God’s grace, spiritual endurance is impossible.

If you are looking for examples of those who finished well, check out Hebrews 11. These are individuals who endured great hardship, persecution, ridicule, and pain because they were focused on the outcome of their faith – the salvation of their souls. Of Moses it is said, “he endured as seeing him who was invisible.”

For those who long to endure, Scripture gives some clear directives: “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and…run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

It’s not enough to catch a glimpse of Christ as we begin to run. That’s why the passage says we ought to “fix our eyes” on Christ, which implies a constant focus. We must make it a habit to gaze upon Christ if we want to finish our race strong.

In summary, when we begin each day with the end in mind we will surely run well. Keep the truth before you. Keep Christ and the love He demonstrated on the cross ever before you. Keep your mind set on things above. Keep running, friends!

 

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