stay

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay close to Jesus.  That's the way I ended an email to a friend who lives in an area experiencing an ice storm...

Stay Warm

That is advice for a winter day. Stay warm. If you can, stay inside, by a fire, and with someone you love. For those who have lost their heat, have no home, have no heat, or must work outside in this weather, I am sorry that circumstances require you to work outside in the cold. For those who are serving others by working outside, I am thankful for your faithfulness in doing what you do. For the rest of us who can, stay warm.

Stay warm on the inside as well. Don't just avoid the cold temperatures, but avoid the cold heart, the cold attitude, and the cold spirit. Staying warm is a choice we will have to make. It is not natural. It will not come easy. It may never be noticed or appreciated. But, choose to stay warm.

Matthew 14:13-14, "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."

The world has a tendency to want to squeeze us into its mode of skepticism, negativism, cynicism, and suspicion (Romans 12:1-2). Don't let it happen to you. Stay warm.

Stay Safe

Stay safe if you must get out in the weather. Icy roads are treacherous and dangerous. A common warning when winter storms come is, "If at all possible, stay at home." Sometimes it is better not to stay home from work, and miss the ball game, than risk your life, or the life of someone else by trying to navigate slick roads. When the weather is bad, it is good advice to stay safe.

Stay safe, though, is not always the best thing to do. Sometimes people of faith are asked to take a risk, to do the ill-advised, to step out in faith, or to take the road less traveled. When you do, you may be criticized, you may be ridiculed, and you may be called foolish, childish, or even crazy. Do it. Step out. Don't play it safe. 

Matthew 14:27-29, But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."   "Come," he said.

His friends may have said, "Peter, stay safe here in the boat with us." If he had, he could have never said, "I walked on water!"

Stay Close To Jesus

Stay close to Jesus. This is always good advice. This always the best route to take. This is always the right choice. Warm weather or cold icy conditions: Stay close to Jesus. On your job or in your home: Stay close to Jesus. Working hard or on vacation: Stay close to Jesus. Through the good times and through the bad: Stay close to Jesus. In sickness or in health: Stay close to Jesus. Through times of wealth and times of poverty: Stay close to Jesus.

Matthew 14:29b-31, "Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him."

Wherever you are today, whatever you are doing, whoever you are with: Stay warm, stay safe, and stay close to Jesus.

-tom norvelle