“Honey is the only natural edible product that consists of all the substances necessary to sustain life, including vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and water. It’s also the only natural edible product that contains pinocembrin that improves brain functioning.”
Wow, did you know that? 🤯
And check out these other facts about honey – https://amishhoney.com/blog/9-interesting-facts-about-honey
“I don’t feel very much like Pooh today,” said Pooh.
“There there,” said Piglet. “I’ll bring you tea and honey until you do.””
A.A. Milne
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/81466.A_A_Milne
A cup of cinnamon tea with a teaspoon of honey and a scoop of collagen gets my day started. But it hasn’t been as enjoyable lately because I’ve been waking up with past junk on my mind. So, I threw it out in prayer and asked the Lord to help me remember something positive. Just simply praying released the sadness that had crept into my heart. ❤
A couple of days later my husband Mike was heading out to go over to his mom’s house to meet with a handyman. There was some confusion with the plans for a project and they were hoping to clear it up. Before leaving, Mike grumbled to me about the situation and I replied, “Remember, you get more with honey than you do with vinegar.” It was something my dad used to say, and it recalled a time when he used it to lift me up – just what I had asked for in prayer. 🙏
As a teen, I worked as a paper carrier – I delivered newspapers. Collection time wasn’t my favorite. Back then, everything was done by knocking door-to-door for payment. Sometimes I had to chase people down by showing up at odd hours to try to collect their dues. I remember grumbling as I headed out early one weekend morning on the hunt for some straggler customers. My dad was in earshot of my gripes, and as I walked out the door he shouted out, “Remember, you get more with honey than with vinegar.” By him saying that, he helped me to check my attitude before greeting people. 🤝
It’s a phrase that became a proverb – https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/honey-catches-more-flies-than-vinegar.html – and it expresses that kindness reaches people better than cruelty. Scripture tells us that:
“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones”
– Proverbs 16:24, NKJV
One of my favorite acts of kindness in Scripture was that which was shown by Rebekah to Eliezer, Abraham’s chief servant – his right-hand man. To get the whole picture, read Gensis 24 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2024&version=NIV. I don’t know if she assumed that Eliezer was someone who she should impress, or if she was just that considerate. I think it’s the latter of the two, and she tugs at my heart because she appears to have been an animal person.
She was also determinedly strong, with stamina because it took a lot of time and effort to hoof water for all those camels. Here’s a brief, to the point synopsis https://ponderingscripture.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/genesis-2417-19-watering-the-camels/.
Would you put yourself out like that? 🥵
Zacchaeus may have been short, but he didn’t fall short of Jesus. You can read about him here, in Luke 19:1-10, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2019&version=NIV. As a tax collector he was rich but not popular. Still, he threw his dignity out the window and climbed a tree to check out Jesus.
Jesus knew Zacchaeus was in that tree, and in His kindness, Scripture tells us that He looked up – a look that most likely changed Zacchaeus’ heart right then and there.
It caused an uproar amongst people who learned that Jesus would stay with Zacchaeus, someone they considered to be a “sinful man.”
But Zacchaeus was already a changed man who “said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.”” 💰
The sermon at my home church this past weekend was a tough one. Our pastor taught on “Conflicting Principles” – Message to a Messed Up Church https://calvaryaz.com/sermon-audio/glezzb8hh37p7gk-necgy-xj9zy-cf8bb-shd2a-a2rf6-ctnzf-n97p2-ssymb-wl3rz-3elef-8ff7j-ma27l-lfgsn-6kkfg-7mfss-atfkl-xyw9z-d3f97-cnpm9.
A lot of my take away from it is the way we interact with one another, whether in kindness or not – whether Christian or not. But especially for his teaching, our pastor was addressing church members – because there are conflicting principles within the church, not just outside of it. 🌏
The message of 1 Corinthians 5 is no joke. Something I’ve heard said a lot, whether from Christ followers or not, is that these are different times – meaning that the message of 1 Corinthians 5 is no longer applicable. I used to think the same way – until Jesus got a hold of me.
Something that the Lord has really hammered home with me is His immutability https://www.gotquestions.org/immutability-God.html. As God’s Church, His immutability should put fear back into Christ followers and a higher respect for His Word.
In kindness, let’s keep one another on God’s path. My pastor put it like this, “Relationship precedes rebuke.” 👉
The Apostle Paul puts it to us like this:
“What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod,
or in love and a spirit of gentleness?”
1 Corinthians 4:21
Recent Comments