Dear Audrey,

Happy birthday #7.

Perhaps you already know this about me but… I love leftovers!

This year your birthday falls really close to Thanksgiving. And as you know, we have really yummy Thanksgiving food. And lots of leftovers – which I am still enjoying.

Turkey… yum!
Mac and cheese… yum!
Deviled eggs… yum!
Stuffing… yum!
Sweet potato casserole… double yum!
Mocha cheesecake… triple yum!

My philosophy has always been that if it tastes good once then it tastes good twice. Or three or four times. It has never bothered me to eat the same meal several nights in a row.

Did you know that there are several stories about leftovers in the Bible. In the Gospel of Mark chapters 6 & 8, we read about the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the 4000. In both cases there were lots and lots of leftovers.

Jesus used leftovers to make a specific point. Note what He said in Mark 8:19-21…

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.”  “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.”  And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

What didn’t they understand?

They didn’t understand that Jesus could supply all their needs. Paul reminded the Philippians of this when he wrote: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

This is an important lesson to learn early in your life. Say, when you turn 7 years old.

Why you might ask? Because there will be MANY times in the years to come when you will feel like your needs are not being met. I will say a few things about this:

• Don’t confuse your needs with your wants.
• Sometimes God’s provision doesn’t come according to YOUR timetable.
• More often than not, God’s delay is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your faith in Him.
• And often God’s delay is a tough test that He wants to turn into a tremendous testimony.

But never doubt that our God will ALWAYS supply all your needs.

The next time that you have leftovers for supper might be a good time for you to say a prayer of thanksgiving – letting Him know that you have confidence that He will indeed always “supply every need of yours according to His riches in Christ Jesus.”

Never forget that you are very loved,

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Dear Grayson,

Happy Birthday my 12 year old grandson.

I feel like I have done something right as a grandfather. I have passed on my love for the New York Mets to one of my grandkids. With that in mind, I wanted to chronicle why 2024 was a great year to be a Mets fan and perhaps learn some life lessons from this past season.

The Mets lost their first 5 games of the season and by the end of May they were dead in the water. They were 11 games under .500 and on a downward spiral.  Both their won-loss record and their attitude reflected this. Most Met’s fans had already given up on the season. And with good reason. They were going nowhere fast.

On May 29th, Francisco Lindor called a team meeting that changed the attitude in the clubhouse. A little over 24 hours after that meeting, he powered the Mets to a 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks going 4-for-4 with two RBI. He was backing up his bravado with his bat. By the end of the year he was being talked about in MVP conversations.

On June 12, Grimace, the McDonald’s mascot you associate with Happy Meals, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Mets won their next 7 games. Baseball players are perhaps the most superstitious  of all athletes… so Grimace became their unofficial mascot and the Mets had  the best record in baseball from that point onward.

What do Alex Cohen (wife of Mets owner Steve Cohen), Jose’ Iglesias, Candelita, and Jerome McCroy all have in common? OMG! It was not only a chart topping song by Iglesias (aka Candelita) at the end of June, but also a Met’s battlecry which they used every time they hit a home run. The Mets were having FUN.

The Philadelphia Phillies had a great season and locked up the division pretty early. Four teams battled for three wild card spots to the very end of the season. But because of a rain-out, the Mets and the Braves had to play a double header on the Monday AFTER the season ended. The Mets had to win one of the two to advance. In the first game the Mets were up by 3 going into the bottom of the 8th but gave up 4 runs to fall behind 7-6. Lindor then hit a dramatic 2 run homer in the top of the 9th to give the Mets the victory they needed. OMG!

In the wild card series versus Milwaukee, Pete Alonso blasted a go-ahead, three-run home run in the ninth inning of the winner-take-all game 3 to power the Mets to a 4-2 victory. OMG! On to Philadelphia.

It was Lindor again who played the hero in the best of 5 divisional series against the Phillies, In the 6th inning of game 4, Lindor hit a grand slam to give the Mets a lead they would not relinquish. OMG! On to Los Angeles to face the team with the best record in baseball this year and the  Hall of Fame trio of Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman.

And alas, the Mets finally got beat. The Dodgers won the series 4 games to 2. The Mets walked too many, left too many on base, and did not get the clutch hits that had gotten them to the championship series. But it was fun fun ride and if I am being honest they were beaten by a better team. The Dodgers would go on to beat the Yankees in the World Series.

So even though the Mets lost it was a fun season to be a Mets fan. And even though the Mets lost there is a lot to look forward to. And even though the Mets lost there are some great lessons to be learned from their season.

Never give up! – It would have been easy for the Mets to give up lots of times along the way. This in true in life too. But it might be that when you most feel like giving up that a great story is just beginning to be written. In case you’ve never heard me say it, “Live a life worth telling stories about.”

Leadership Matters! – Great teams have great leaders. You are only 12 but already I see some great leadership qualities surfacing in your life. One key quality for great leadership is great character – and you are a young man of exceptional character.

Expect the unexpected! (You never know how or when God might flip the script) – God has a habit of doing the unexpected. You just never know when the Lord might show up. One aspect of faith is the “expectation of things hoped for.” So even when circumstances are bleak keep expecting God to show up – but get used to the idea that He might do it in an unexpected way.

Have Fun! – Another way to say that for those of us who are believers is to “live life joyfully!” Winning is great and I love to win. But losing doesn’t make me a loser. As long as my identity is founded in Christ I can always find joy no matter what the circumstances of life happen to be. Might as well have fun in this journey the Lord has me on.

I know that you are beginning a fun adventure today. I’m looking forward to hearing about the details. So happy birthday and bon voyage and get ready for the 2025 New York Mets!

Never forget that you are very loved,

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Dear Grandkids,

You already know that Nona and I love to travel.  You also know that we recently returned from a cruise to the Mediterranean Sea. (This retired gig does have some perks). While the trip is still fresh I wanted to highlight for you some of the things that we loved about the cruise. So here are my Top Ten highlights and a few pics to give you a taste of what we experienced. These are in no particular order.

1) Time together – You might think this a funny thing to mention since we live in the same house and are seemingly always together. But even in our semi-retirement, life is busy. We both have part time jobs and both have things around the house that we give attention to. So to be together 24-7 for two weeks was different. And believe it or not, we didn’t get tired of each other. (Maybe you should ask Nona if this was true for her). We have always valued shared memories and that is one of the reasons we love traveling. So even though these are in no particular order, this one is at the top of the list.

2) Time with friends – Repeating what I just said – we value shared memories. Our friends Tony and Kaylyn Fernandez joined us on the cruise. We had never traveled together but, at least in my opinion, we had a great time experiencing new places and nourishing our friendship. Now we have lots of shared stories to tell and memories to recall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) The footsteps of the Apostle Paul – When we picked the cruise we did it it was not with the intent of visiting a bunch of Biblical sites. But a real bonus was that it turned out that way. We visited Malta where Paul was shipwrecked and bitten by a snake (Acts 28). We visited Ephesus where Paul lived for 3 years and planted a church (Acts 19) – and where the Apostle John also lived at the end of his life. We visited Rhodes (Acts 21). We visited Corinth where Paul planted a church (Acts 18). I am currently teaching the Book of 1 Corinthians at our church so this was especially interesting to me. We visited Athens where Paul preached and engaged some of the great thinkers of the day (Acts 17).

4) Cinque Terra revisited – 10 years ago on my Sabbatical we were in Italy and stayed in Cinque Terra for 3 days. CT is a series of 5 small villages on the Italian Riviera that are stunning. We had always said that we wanted to go back but didn’t know if we would ever be able to. So to revisit it and to be able to show it off to our friends was a real treat.

 

5) The cruise ship – This was our 5th cruise, We sailed with Royal Caribbean to the Bahamas; Norwegian to the Western Caribbean; Norwegian to the Baltics; Princess to Alaska; and this time with Holland America. We were on a ship called the Oosterdam. It was awesome. Our state room was spacious with a balcony. The food was great. The service was great. We would definitely consider cruising with Holland America again.

6) Memorable meals on the ship – One of the fun things about cruising is that food on board in included in the price. Which means that you can order whatever you want. Pretty much every night we would EACH order several appetizers, several entrees and several desserts – just because we could!

7) Memorable meals off the ship – We had a great time exploring all the ports we visited but perhaps some of our best memories will be the extended lunches we had – just relaxing and chatting and marveling at the beauty around us as we reflected on just how blessed we were to be able to do what we were doing.

 

 

 

8) Memorable sunsets – These speak for themselves…

 

 

9) The weather – Spectacular.

10) New countries visited – We started in Barcelona and spent 2 days there before we boarded the ship. Then ported near Monte Carlo, the ports that served Florence and Rome, Messina (Sicily), Malta, Ephesus, Rhodes, Santorini, and finished in Athens where we spent two nights before flying home. I had never been to Spain, Malta, or Turkey so it is always fun to add more countries to my list of countries visited. I think I am up to an even 50 now.

All of this to say that we had a super duper, incredibly awesome, bodaciously fun adventure traveling this part of the world and knocking one thing off my bucket list. And we are already beginning to think about a travel adventure with all of you. We are starting to save and think about where we could all go (we might even invite your parents) to celebrate our 50th anniversary – which is just 7 years away. So help us think what a trip like that might look like.

Never forget that you are very loved,

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Dear Grandkids,

In many ways our nation is a divided nation. But every 4 years we come together in unity to root for our Olympic athletes as they compete against the rest of the world. For these two weeks, it doesn’t seem to matter if you are democrat or republican, wealthy or poor, black, hispanic, or white, a believer in God or not. There is something about the Olympics that draws us together as a country.

Such is the case right now as we watch the Paris Olympics – in spite of some of the controversies that have claimed (more than necessary) social media attention. We collectively cheer robustly at the “thrill of victory” and seemingly sigh en masse at the “agony of defeat.” We find ourselves caught up in the drama that unfolds before our eyes of people that we had never even heard of two weeks. We learn about their stories and our hearts  are captivated by the commitment and perseverance it takes to be a world class athlete.

There is a story from the Paris Olympics that you may not be familiar with – probably because it happened 100 years ago. A lot of people from my generation are familiar with the story because it was actually made into a movie 42 years ago. A really good movie by the way. But I have come to find out that your generation and younger have never even heard of the movie Chariots of Fire much less of who the movie was about.

Eric Liddell was 22 years old in 1924. He was from Scotland and his parents were missionaries to China. He attended British prep schools while growing up and spent years without seeing his parents. He was a devout Christian and a very very fast sprinter. He believed that God had made him fast for a reason and determined to use his gift for the glory of God.

In 1924, Liddell was considered Great Britain’s best hope of winning the 100 meters at the Paris Olympics. But when he learned that the heats for the 100 were scheduled for a Sunday he pulled himself out of the race because of his convictions about what you could and could not do on the Sabbath. Some admired his conviction but a lot of people thought he was being unpatriotic. For Liddell, it was a matter of personal integrity and obedience.

He instead began training for the 400m which was not his specialty. Few people gave him any kind of chance to medal. But he won his qualifying heat, and then to the amazement of everyone, won the gold medal and set a new world record in the process. Here is the clip from Chariots of Fire depicting the race…

I have always loved this quote from the movie that you heard near the end of the clip: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

Eric Liddell, who became known as “The Flying Scotsman,” returned home as a conquering hero. He then left for  China in 1925 where he served as a missionary until his death at the young age of 43 due to an inoperable brain tumor.

Liddell’s story is a great story. An inspiring story. A story worth telling. Perhaps there will be stories that come out of these Paris Olympics that will be just as inspiring and just as worth telling. We all have a story waiting to be told. I have no doubt that your story, when the last chapter is written, will be very compelling, with interesting plot twists, and an inspiration to those who read it. Just remember that God has made you for a purpose and you are to pursue that purpose to the glory of God. And when you do, you will feel His pleasure – which is a great way to walk through this life!

Never forget that you are very loved,

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Dear Grandkids,

I just recently learned a lesson that I wish I had learned many years ago. Evidently drinking water and staying hydrated is really important to staying healthy. You would think that this is something I should have known. I’ve been told that I needed to drink more than I do – but it always came across as a suggestion rather as a mandate. I mean after all, I have always been fairly healthy.

At least that’s what I thought. And then I did an inventory of all the medications I take every day:

• a pill to lower my LDL cholesterol
• a pill to lower my blood pressure
• 4 pills (2 in the AM and 2 in the PM) to help prevent kidney stone production
• 2 pills (1 in the AM and 1 in the PM) to control headaches
• Vitamin D because my D level is too low

Maybe I am not as healthy as I thought I was.

As you know I have been battling kidney stones since February. This past week I had my 5th surgical procedure since April to try to get rid of those pesky “thorns in the flesh.” I have been told that I am now at “ground zero” and have been cleaned out. And now I have come to find out that kidney stones are preventable. Say what? Maybe I have been told this all along but just wasn’t listening. Here are two recent conversations with doctors – see if you note a difference…

My urologist – ” You need to drink more – you need to be drinking 3 liters of fluids each day.”

My nephrologist ( saw him for the first time last month) – ” If you will drink 3 liters of fluids each day kidney stones do not have a chance to form in your kidneys because the crystals are getting flushed out.”

Being told to drink 3 liters each day from my nephrologist all of a sudden took on a whole new meaning. NO MORE KIDNEY STONES! So guess what I have started doing religiously every. single. day?

Communication tip: Information is good. But information with specific application is better. To say it another way: knowing the “why” behind the “what” can be motivational and transformational.

Here is another example of the importance of “knowing your why”: As a believer in Jesus we are told to read our Bible. We are often told WHAT to do without being told WHY.

The What Without the Why goes like this – “If you are a Christian, you need to be reading your Bible every day.”

How much better to include the why behind the what – “If you will spend time reading Scripture each day you can expect at least these 5 things: 1) that you will get to know God better and sense His nearness, 2) that you will begin to discern His will and purpose for your life, 3) that you will be better equipped to fight the evil one who seeks to destroy your soul, 4) that you will experience peace and contentment in a way that you have not done before, 5) and eternal things will begin to be prioritized over earthly things and you will develop a joy-fueled hope in this life as you anticipate the life to come.

Knowing the WHY we should read our Bible encourages me to want to read it. Not knowing the why encourages me toward legalism.

So I hope you will remember this – staying hydrated is supremely important. Physically, for the health of your body. And spiritually, for the health of your soul. As you drink the thirst quenching water of the Word you WILL be refreshed and energized and invigorated.

So when you finish reading this epistle, go grab a bottle of water AND your Bible and… drink – for your heart’s content!

And never forget that you are very loved,

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Dear Keller and Happy Birthday!

Your namesake, Tim Keller, died just a little more than a year ago. At 8 years old you probably don’t know much about him. But hopefully in the years to come you will get to know about him and read some of the books he wrote. As a short introduction, here are 12 of his quotes that will hopefully whet your appetite to read more about this man who was a pastor, church planter, theologian, apologist and disciple-maker to many of my generation. I did not know him and never met him but fun fact: we went to the same seminary – he graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary outside of Boston about 8 years before I did. I would encourage you to ponder these thoughts of his and talk them over with others who are either exploring the faith or are already pursuing God.

• “All death can now do to Christians is to make their lives infinitely better.”
• “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said. If he didn’t, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether you like his teaching, but whether he rose from the dead.”
• “Only if your god can outrage and challenge you will you know that you worship the real God and not a figment of your imagination. . . . If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.”
• “The gospel says you are simultaneously more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted than you ever dared hope.”
• “Tolerance isn’t about not having beliefs. It’s about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you.”
• “Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts… It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them.”
• “It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch.”
• “Religious people find God useful. Growing Christians find God beautiful.”
• “The Bible says that our real problem is that every one of us is building our identity on something besides Jesus.”
• “In many areas of life, freedom is not so much the absence of restrictions as finding the right ones, the liberating restrictions.”
• “What marriage is for: It is a way for two spiritual friends to help each other on their journey to become the persons God designed them to be.”
• “Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him.”

Tim Keller lived courageously and died courageously.  It would benefit your soul to get to know him. May your life also be marked by courage as you learn to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Never forget that you are very loved,

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Dear Judah and Happy Birthday!

Let me tell you a story about another young man named Judah.

But first a quick history lesson. Ever since the reign of King Solomon the nation of Israel had been a nation in turmoil. This was mostly because God’s people chose to turn their backs on the one true God and chose instead to follow after gods of their own making. Instead of worshiping Yahweh who had chosen them to be His very own people, they went whoring after anything that made them feel good about themselves – the gods of money, sex, and success were just as prevalent way back then as they are today. Yes, I did indeed use the word “whoring” because it best describes what God’s people did… and still do – and because it is a word that the Bible often uses.

Because of God’s unrelenting love for His people, He allowed foreign nations to invade Israel – hoping His people would turn back to Him in repentance and find their joy in Him alone. First it was the Assyrians. Then the Babylonians. Then the Persians. Then the Greeks under a man named Alexander the Great. Alexander died in the year 323 BC and his kingdom was divided up among his generals. These kingdoms then fought each other to try to determine top dog and by the year 198 BC Israel found itself under the rule of the Seleucids and the emperor Antiochus III. But it was under the reign of this man’s son – Antiochus Epiphanes – that our story really begins.

Antiochus took the name Epiphanes because it means “illustrious one” or “God manifest.” He thought of himself as a god and hated the Jewish people – whose temple in Jerusalem was the focal point of their worship of Yahweh. As emperor he tried to eradicate the culture of the Jewish people and started by raiding the temple, stealing its treasures, setting up an altar to Zeus, and sacrificing swine on the altar.

Now even though many of the Jewish people were willing to let Antiochus have his way, there was still a remnant of steadfast followers of Yahweh who saw his actions as blasphemous. One of these was a priest named Mattathias. he and his 5 sons rallied the Jewish population to fight. When Mattathias died in 166 BC, he left his son Judah in charge.

Judah. Aka Judas. Aka the Maccabee. Aka “The Hammer”.

Under The Hammer’s leadership, this Jewish remnant of guerrilla fighters , though greatly outnumbered, defeated Antiochus. In December of 164 BC they rededicated the temple to God – celebrating their victory and the temple’s rededication for eight days  – a celebration that is commemorated to this day  – at a holiday that is now known as… Hanukkah.

The Hammer was a man who was consecrated to God. He dedicated himself to fighting against the evil incarnated by Antiochus Epiphanes and fighting for the honor and glory of God. He was also a man who lived and led by his convictions. Convictions really do not mean much unless you are willing to live them out when life gets hard and when your lifestyle as a follower of Christ is being challenged. That takes courage – and The Hammer was indeed a man of courage. While many of his fellow Jews were willing to conform to the ever expanding Greek culture, Judah and his band of brothers stayed true to what they believed. It has been said that “the opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.” I like that!

I realize it may be several years before you read this. But my prayer even now is that you will live a consecrated life, living out your convictions with the kind of courage that inspires others to do the same.

Never forget that you are very loved,

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Dear Asher and Happy Birthday!

May your tribe increase!

One of my favorite Bible teachers when I was a younger man was a professor from Dallas Theological Seminary named Howard Hendricks (1924 – 2013). One of the things that he often said when he heard about someone who was having a significant influence for the kingdom of God was “May their tribe increase.”

You are 7 years old today. But one day, by God’s grace, you will have a tribe of your own and you will be setting the spiritual pace for your kids and grandkids and great grandkids. Let me tell you about an example worth following…

We read about Anna in Luke 2:36-38. Three verses. That’s all. But these 3 verses cement her legacy as a hero of the faith and as an example of a woman of God. Why??

Anna was a prophetess (v.36) – She knew the Word of God. She loved the Word of God. She treasured the Word of God. May God’s Word also be a treasure to you and provide nourishment for your soul as you grow up. It will sustain and comfort you in the darkest of days.

Anna was a worshiper (v.37) –  She was astounded by God and expressed her astonishment often through worship. I can tell by the look on your face in this picture that you love to be astounded.  Gaze often upon the beauty and majesty of the Lord and you will find yourself being constantly amazed.

Anna lived with gratitude (v.38) – Anna no doubt had much that she could have complained to God about. No doubt her life did not turn out as she dreamed when she was a young bride. But she chose to live gratefully instead of acrimoniously.

Anna pointed people to Jesus (v.38) – She “spoke of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Israel.” Anna was quick to tell others that Jesus was the One that gave meaning to her life and that He was the long awaited Messiah – the Savior of the world.

So I hope that you will take the time to ponder these three short verses and learn a few things from this humble woman of God. And as you do I will say once again… may your tribe increase.

And oh, by the way, Anna was coincidentally from the tribe of… Asher.

Never forget that you are very loved,

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Dear Miller,

A very happy birthday to you!! Oh to be 7 years old again. Believe it or not I can remember being 7 years old.  But it was indeed many many years ago.

So even as I am writing this I am in the middle of one of my kidney stone episodes. Surgery was a week ago but the last week, while not being terrible, has reminded me how much I value being in good health. It has also reminded me that I am not a young man anymore – even though I try to tell myself otherwise. So here are a few reflections of an older man – perhaps we can turn them into conversations one day.

• Never take good health for granted. Do whatever you can to get healthy and stay healthy.
• The choices you make as a young man will have very serious repercussions when you are an older man. Don’t just make good choices. Make great choices.
• Always have something fun and adventurous on the horizon that you are saving and planning and preparing for.
• Do that fun and adventurous thing above with other people. Shared memories are the very best kind of memories.
• Pursue joy! It is worth it. But be aware that most people look for joy in the wrong place and never find it.
• Find at least one really really good friend when you are young and cultivate that friendship for life.
• Find a vocation that will pay you for doing something that you love to do. 40 years is a long time to work at something that you do not enjoy.
• Learn a second language. Learn to play the piano. I wish I could do both. I can do neither!
• Always keep a book around. Read for the fun of it. Read to learn. Just read.
• Live simply. Money is nice but you don’t have to have a lot of money to enjoy life.
• Live generously. And you can do this whether you have a lot of money or not.
• Invest your life. Invest in eternal things – God’s Word and people. Invest in making memories.
• If at all possible, travel the world and applaud God’s creativity.
• Learn to ask great questions. Most people like great answers. I like great questions.
• Discover what it means to abide diligently in Jesus. And then never stop abiding.
• And finally… never ever get kidney stones. Seriously! I mean it! I’m not even kidding!

I’d love to chat with you about any or all of these. But don’t wait too long to ask me about them because after all… I am an older man now.

Never forget that you are very loved,

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Dear Ezra,

A very happy birthday to you!!

I have recently been pondering a few verses about being someone who refreshes others when they are around me…

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)

⁴ I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, ⁶ and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.^[a] 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

I have been around people who refresh me and I have been around people who drain me. I want to be a refresher. And I hope that you to do. Here are a couple of things that Paul mentions to Philemon that can help us be that kind of person.

v. 5 – “I hear of your love and your faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus” – It is refreshing to be around people who genuinely and obviously love Jesus. Their faith overflows. Their hope abounds. Their joy spills out of them. If we want to refresh others we need to cultivate our relationship with Jesus.

v.5 –  “… I hear of your love toward all the saints.”  What are some practical ways that we can demonstrate love toward others? It  really is the simple things: an encouraging note or text, a well-timed phone call, a hug, an unexpected gift, a shared experience, a conversation over coffee.

v.6 – “the sharing of your faith…” – This is more than evangelism. This is sharing an appropriate word from Scripture with someone who needs to hear from God. The Word of God is refreshing to those who are inundated by the lies that we hear every day as we walk through this world.

v.22 – ” prepare a guest room for me for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.”  Two things here. 1) It is refreshing to me when I know that people are praying specifically for me. That is something we can do for others – but don’t just do it, tell them that you are doing it and how you are praying for them. 2) Demonstrate hospitality – Use your home as an oasis where people can come and be refreshed. Let them see Jesus in your home – because they do not see him in many people’s homes. And it is very refreshing when they go into a home where Jesus lives.

It is awesome watching you grow up. I can’t believe that you are already 5 and almost going to school. My prayer is that as you go to school next year and in the years to come that you will be someone who “refreshes the hearts of the saints” as they are around you. I want to be that kind of person too.

Never forget that you are very loved,

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