January 21-Talk to People

Happy Lord’s Day. I trust you are going to be in worship today with other believers and that you are going to spend time today purposefully fellowshipping with others. If for no other reason, do it for your physical health. Julián Holt-Lundstat is a researcher at BYU and she looked at every aspect of peoples’ life styles to determine what influenced longevity—things like diet, exercise, smoking, sleep, relationships, and weight. She recorded everything for tens of thousands of persons and then just sat on that data for 7 years and then came back to see who was still alive and aggregated all of the data. 

What she found was having a flu shot was more important than exercise. Having a very tight group of people with whom you have a very close relationship (people you can borrow money from) is even more important. But most important is your social interactions, it’s how many people you speak to each day—the lady at the grocery store, the old man walking his dog, the little girl skipping rope, people you come into contact with everyday. Basically she found out that those folks who are the most friendly and speak to the most people everyday live the longest.And it was much more predictive than obesity, smoking, alcohol or drug abuse. 

So what does that tell us as Christians? It says that God made us to talk to people and not to sit in our little safe zones and steer clear of the rest of the world. We are made to interact as we go and come with everyone around us. Talking to people as we come and go and sharing the love of Jesus. 

“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed...”

‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭21:20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Lord of Heaven we praise you for all you are and for the mighty things you have done. You have made us amazing social creatures and we ask for the skill and the boldness to utilize the opportunities you provide to us. Thank you for this day and this life. You are a great God and we love you. Amen and amen. 

Love you dear friend,

Pam

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

January 17, 2020

Happy Friday. It’s the end of another week and we have had more opportunities to share the love of Christ with those around us and sometimes that takes quite a bit of effort. I don’t know about you, but I’m not always anxious to embrace others and really listen to them or share with them (especially those who I don’t know well). Sometimes, I just look at them and think “Are you for real?” I don’t always agree with people over politics, sports or of course, religion. And let’s face it, we’d rather spend time with people we like and mostly agree.  And then I read my Bible. God hasn’t called us to sit in our little groups with only those we naturally gravitate towards, but to love people—all people, even those who aren’t necessarily loveable. In this passage, Paul writing to the people of Colosse remarks on how wonderful it is that they truly love others. That love must have really been something over and above the normal and he tells them that it is evident that it comes from the Holy Sp
Read more

January 15, 2020

Happy Wednesday to you. I hope your week is going well. Yesterday, I went to Sams. I was out of things like trash bags, toilet paper, and chicken, so off I went. I like going to Sams because there is always lots to look at and the isles are nice and wide. Everytime I’m there, I am amazed at how much stuff and everything from diapers to TVs to mangos to beds. It just seems incredible that so many things in such quantities are all under one roof.  King David never saw a store with as much stuff aa Sams of course, but he did see countless miracles and understand that God has plans. He knew from creation and history that he was serving a God of miracles and he know that God loved him and his people and would take care of them. He was amazed and awe-struck by the fact that a God who had done such great and mighty things not only cared about his people but that He loved them with such a great love.  “Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can co
Read more

January 9, 2020

It’s Thursday and I woke up to the blowing wind! Lots of it—I’m dreading Boomer waking up and having to go outside with him. That harsh, bitter wind seems cruel and almost evil. But I’ll wrap myself up with a fe layers and boots and brave it all.  Sometimes I think we try to do that with things we know aren’t right—things that are evil. We try to wrap ourselves up and just wade into it, but Paul tells us we should reject it—stay away from it. “Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:20-24‬ NIV When he wrote this he’d been in Berea and the Christians there diligently searched the scriptures to make sure everything Paul said was in line. Paul here is encouraging the Thessalonians to
Read more