Will you be my neighbor?

I did a 4-day devotional on the YouVersion app about Fred Rogers. I never got the connection that he was teaching us how to be Christlike, how to be image-bearers. I didn't understand that he was "repairing creation" by using his talents and television show to "make goodness attractive."
     His theology was, "love your neighbor as yourself." Thus, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and "Hello, neighbor." So many aha moments going through the devotional; I wish I could share them all, but that would be copying. He was such a special man, and I'm truly inspired by him and his love for Christ and how he used his talents to share Christ with so many.
     We can show others how to be Christlike by example. Let's pray for the ability to love our neighbors (everyone we meet) as ourselves and for them to see Christ in us.

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart 

and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, 

and your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for everyone to treat each other with kindness. Let's pray for patience, understanding, and love toward one another. Let's also pray for hearts to be softened, and for salvation for the unsaved.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Compassion

My stomach is in absolute knots as I write this. Yesterday, there was just so much news of anger and violence and threats. You can protest without making it racial; you can protest without making it personal.
     People who I interacted with, in our office building, and even within our office were not wearing masks, not really following social distancing. Maybe I'm the only one taking this seriously, but I used to get bronchitis and know what it's like to have trouble breathing. I don't want to take unnecessary chances of getting this virus just because it's uncomfortable to wear a mask and it's inconvenient to social distance. I can do those two things for myself and for those I come in close proximity to.
     Plus, I'm reading prayer requests from other countries and what they're going through. I just can't even imagine how much worse things are in some of these countries like India and Bangladesh.
     And then, I find out about people having microchips implanted in their hands and my first thought is "mark of the beast". Has no one seen, "I, Robot" or "Vanilla Sky" or other futuristic movies like that and understand the potential here of giving up the last morsel of privacy by having hardware inside your body? Get a smartwatch if it's too cumbersome to carry your phone around.
     I know that God has got this. I know that all things work according to His plan and that this very well could be the end times, but there are still so many people who need to be saved first.
     I apologize if this is a bit of a downer post, it's just my heart is aching from everything going on, for those who are so angry and for those who are having anger directed at them. I feel for all of them. As we're praying for kindness this week, let's also pray for hearts to be softened, and for salvation for the unsaved.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, 

holy and beloved, 

compassionate hearts, kindness, 

humility, meekness, and patience,

Colossians 3:12 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for everyone to treat each other with kindness. Let's pray for patience, understanding, and love toward one another.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

The real enemy

It never fails that when I start to try to improve myself to be a better image-bearer for Christ that the real enemy comes after me with a vengeance. He tries to distract me from my purpose with either something shiny (like new material possessions) or with insignificant but completely frustrating trials. This week he used both tactics. That's how I know I'm on the right path, though. For him to put so much effort in me, I feel like I'm leveling up, so to speak, in my ambition to become the person Christ wants me to be. I get goosebumps thinking about it!
     How's your week in prayer going so far? I can tell a real difference at work. With me changing my attitude, and praying for both of us, and trying to find likable aspects in the other person, we have been getting along better, even talking a little bit and it's just been an amazing transformation. I pray that you are seeing changes in your own life. The power of prayer is just so amazing! I honestly cannot understand why everyone doesn't pray.
     I found the above image on Pixabay; it was created by Joan Cabras. I know I give credit on the photo's properties but feel like it needs to be included in the body of text here, also because this took some thought. I've said this before, but it continues to amaze me: the outcry for tolerance in this country is almost deafening, yet those same people spread hate and shame others, and are extremely judgmental. They're nearly impossible to deal with because they talk out of both sides of their mouths. So, even though it isn't January 1st (we can make resolutions at any time of the year after all), I thought we could meditate on these things in our pursuit of loving everyone.
1. Delete hate
2. Practice tolerance
3. Demand wisdom
4. Remember compassion/empathy
5. Replace fear with love

Beloved, let us love one another, 

for love is from God, 

and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

1 John 4:7 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for guidance, strength, wisdom, and courage for each of us to love everyone as Jesus commands us.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Instagram @archadia27
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Be forgiven

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; 

condemn not, and you will not be condemned; 

forgive, and you will be forgiven;

Luke 6:37 ESV

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Matthew 18:21-35 NIV

Always forgive

So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; 

and if they repent, forgive them. 

Even if they sin against you seven times in a day 

and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ 

you must forgive them.”

Luke 17:3-4 NIV

The freedom of forgiveness

Bear with each other and 

forgive one another 

if any of you has a grievance against someone. 

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Colossians 3:13 NIV

Do you see a similarity between all of this week's Bible verses? Forgive as God forgives you. We all want to be forgiven, but sometimes, when it comes time for us to forgive someone, we struggle with it. After my first husband passed away, I felt like it was necessary to forgive him for the many ways he wronged me, mostly for the hurtful things he said. I had a really hard time with it and told myself that he never, ever apologized; he didn't ask for my forgiveness so, therefore, I didn't have to forgive him. Yet I spent a lot of time (and money) in therapy because of it. I realized that the only way to be free from him was to forgive him, wholeheartedly. I wrote him a letter and poured out my heart. It cleansed me and allowed me to move on. Now I'm able to look back on our 25 years together and remember the good times. The bad stuff is no longer overshadowing the past and I feel so much more at peace now. Not forgiving someone, whether they ask for forgiveness or not, can darken one's heart. Don't let that happen. Forgive, and then forget. It will free you.

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who needs to forgive another.
I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Instagram @archadia27
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

As God forgives you

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, 

brawling and slander, 

along with every form of malice. 

Be kind and compassionate to one another, 

forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31-32

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who needs to forgive another.
I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Instagram @archadia27
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Honor the face of an old man

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, 

younger men as brothers, 

older women as mothers, 

younger women as sisters, 

in all purity. 

1 Timothy 5:1-2 ESV

“You shall stand up before the gray head 

and honor the face of an old man, 

and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. 

Leviticus 19:32 ESV

Retirement age

I've been told by nearly everyone I know who has retired, that it isn't what it's cracked up to be. People get bored quickly and miss the comradery of co-workers and clients. They miss having somewhere to go every day, and they miss being needed. So many people identify with their job that when that job is gone, they lose their identity and essentially, they lose themselves.

Here, in the U.S., it seems like there is no time or patience to deal with the older generations. Fifty years old is considered (even if it's just jokingly) "over the hill." When sixty-five was set as the official age of retirement, it seemed to set a standard by which to gauge a person's abilities. Once you're sixty-five, it's your time to retire, whether you want to or not; you're no longer useful in the workplace. I think it's influenced how society looks at the capabilities of anyone over sixty-five. Is it really the best fit for our seniors to be greeters at Walmart?

My parents are eighty-years-old and their faculties are still pretty sharp. It's funny (kind of)...if I'm talking to my dad, he'll tell me something that my mom said that makes him worry about her mind. If I'm talking to my mom, she'll confide in me that Dad forgot something she supposedly told him repeatedly. As far as I can see, their minds are at least as good as mine.

My final sentiment is this. Treasure the older members of your family, friends, and neighbors. Somehow find the time to visit, or call, or at least drop them a card so they know that someone is thinking about them. What I hate more than anything is people who are disrespectful, even angry, who don't help when asked all because the senior in their life is having trouble remembering things and it's frustrating. These same people will then cry and mourn and grieve when that person passes away. Don't wait until then to show you loved someone. It's meaningless after the fact.

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.

Psalm 71:9 ESV

Honor and care for your family

“Honor your father and your mother, 

that your days may be long in the land 

that the Lord your God is giving you.

Exodus 20:12 ESV
 

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, 

and especially for members of his household, 

he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

1 Timothy 5:8 ESV

Compassion and tolerance

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Please join our prayer group as we spend the week praying for the elderly. Please ask God for guidance as to how to make a difference in the lives of those older than ourselves. Listen for God's direction. He answers all prayers. I'll post a daily reminder to pray on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Thankful for our Veterans

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." 

John 15:13
Even though Jesus was speaking of Himself in that quote, it is what our military does for all of us. Spending only one day a year to honor them and thank them isn't nearly enough.

There was a man who worked somewhere near our office twenty-plus years ago who had vanity plates that said Iwo Jima (or some variation of letters, but you knew what it was saying). I didn't know any better back then, but now I wish I would have sought him out and at least shook his hand. I wish I would have told him "thank you". My grandpa, dad, and late husband were all very knowledgeable about the wars. I would watch the movies with them, and I visited a lot of museums, but I never did any sort of personal gesture.

Since remarrying, I've watched my husband go out of his way to acknowledge the veterans he comes in contact with. If he sees one at a restaurant, he'll secretly pay for the veteran's meal, or if he meets one on a street, he'll at least stop the soldier, tell him "thank you," and shake his hand.  These are just small, easy things to do, but how many of us do this? Where would we be without these brave men and women? By even just acknowledging them, you're letting someone know that they are seen, recognized, noticed.

Please join our prayer group as we spend the week praying for our veterans and active military soldiers. Please ask God for guidance as to how to honor these men and women; ask for the unsaved soldiers to receive salvation, and ask that any residual effects from the wars leave them so that they may enjoy the rest of their lives in peace.

I'll post a daily reminder to pray on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Hate crimes and compassion

   When I was praying, asking God for direction as to who to pray for this week, I came across an article about a Jewish nurse who treated the suspect of the Tree of Life Synagogue. The nurse's name is Ari Mahler and he chose to show the suspect compassion, saying that he didn't see evil in the suspect's eyes, just confusion.
   I'm ashamed to say that I don't think I could do that. When Christians were being murdered, no - when they were being executed and the executions were being broadcasted, I was angry. I wasn't just angry with those who did this, but with everyone who shared their faith, even though the perpetrators had twisted the beliefs of their religion to include executing non-believers of their faith.
   Forgiveness is a huge part of Christianity, and I sometimes struggle with it. We're to love our neighbors as ourselves, ("our neighbors" meaning everyone). I try to do both of these, even when it's extremely difficult because I believe it is paramount if we are to ever put an end to crimes of hate.

Please join me in praying for the Tree of Life Synagogue victims and their families. Please pray to end hate and hate crimes.

Consider following along with our prayer group where we come together with one voice during the 7:00 hour to pray for the people around us. Please join with us this week as we pray for the victims of hate crimes.

I'll post a daily reminder to pray on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power