Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

Kissing Cardinals

One morning I looked out my kitchen bay window and saw two beautiful cardinals on the ground foraging for food. As I watched, to my amazement, the male hopped over to the female and put a seed in her mouth. It looked exactly like they were kissing! I later read that this is called courtship feeding. The male repeated this process multiple times as I intently watched. This romantic-looking act is a key part of their courtship and is quite heartwarming to witness. I’m glad I was looking out the window and didn’t miss this  “nature blessing” God wanted me to see. No wonder my pastor recently told the church family to “watch the birds!”

This male bird was doing his best to woo the female. God did the same thing for mankind when He sent His one and only Best to die on the cross for the sins of the world. God desires a personal relationship with everyone so He patiently woos us.

Jesus taught His disciples and the multitude that gathered: “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are? And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” (Matthew 6:26,30 NLT).

The beak-to-beak feeding demonstrates the male bird’s ability to provide food and establishes a mating ritual. Jesus asks a rhetorical point-blank question for all of us to consider: Why do you have so little faith when you can see God’s handiwork all over the place? We can see God’s design for taking care of feeding the birds. Two reasons why we have so little faith is because we’re not paying attention to God’s constant care, and we’re  guilty of neglecting the study of His Word. Faith doesn’t come by prayer. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17 HNV). We can build our faith by reading portions of scripture out loud. I double-dog dare you to do it!

God is the Master Creator of bonding: Male and female, parent and child, friend and friend, and most important, God to child (those who are disciples of Christ Jesus). I have loved this scripture for many years: “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT). Whether you’re married or single, God created humans to need one another and to bond to one another.

Encouragement and strength are found in unity; individuals are stronger when they stand together in love, life, and faith. The act of bonding makes life better because two or more can survive and overcome challenges easier. Yes, Jesus is always with us and we can take His promise to never leave us or forsake us to the bank. But it’s best to have a Jesus-like person with skin on to hold our hand or hug our weary shoulders and take us to the Throne Room in prayer.

God takes care of the birds and you’re much more important to Him than birds! He’ll walk with you through the fire and bring you out victoriously. And God isn’t anywhere near broke! “My God supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

The Key: Believers and birds — God takes care of both.

When You Get the Short Straw

By Patty LaRoche

Have you ever been around a “Negative Nilly” kind of relative? Nothing is ever okay, not the weather, the restaurant food, the comfort of their vehicle, their bed, and certainly not you. They are constantly tired, overwhelmed, hot, cold, stretched to the limit, disappointed or living in their past regrets. Sitting next to them at family get togethers means you got the short straw, and whatever positive you share will be met with a downer tale of woe.

You’ve just been promoted? Must be nice; these people have lost their last five jobs because someone was jealous of them. You’ve joined a wonderful Bible study and met some great friends? Swell; these relatives have tried every church in town and can’t find any that aren’t filled with hypocrites. You recommend a restaurant; they got food poisoning the last time they ate there. The problem with these people is they have “a problem for every solution,” constantly finding ways to criticize or complain. They sprinkle passive-aggressive comments like confetti. This can drain your energy, cause frustration, anxiety, or even depression, as well as hinder your spiritual progress.

“Do not be misled,” starts 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Bad company corrupts good character.'” And yes, bad company can include relatives. We must surround ourselves with positive, uplifting people who encourage our walk with God.

We once had family members who came to stay with us for a week. Never once did they offer to help make dinner or clean up afterwards. They spoke only of themselves and never asked any questions about how our lives were going. Dave and I had two young children who needed our attention. It was as if we had added two more. On the fifth day, Dave told them that they were in charge of the meal that evening. He was my hero.

Christians have difficulty setting boundaries with people like that because we feel we are letting God down and not discipling well when we protect our emotional health by acting in our own self-interest. The problem with that is our “loved ones” have gotten away with this behavior by manipulating the entire family with their negativity, and no one wants to be the one to create distance from these toxic relationships. No one benefits.

An anonymous source said this about negative ninnies: “Keep them in your heart but out of your life.” I’m pretty sure Jesus would agree.