A Bird & A Lizard

The work of redemption was accomplished by Christ in His death on the cross and has in view the payment of the price demanded by a holy God for the deliverance of the believer from the bondage and burden of sin. In redemption the sinner is set free from his condemnation and slavery to sin.  John F. Walvoord

As will often happen this time of year, my husband and I were sitting on our patio watching the bird activity.  As you know from past devotionals, we have many doves in our backyard so I think I may have seen Gladys.  The Pips are long gone or they could be coming back to our yard I just don’t recognize them.  Anyway back to my story.  Last night we noticed a bird landed in the yard.  This particular bird had an injured leg.  It was amazing how he could balance on one leg as he held the other one close to his body. 

As we watched him, he would hop on one leg and pick up things out of the grass.  I was watching him and all of a sudden he took flight and landed near the shed in our backyard. His keen eyesight had picked up a lizard on the building.  I didn’t even see it.  The lizard ran up the wall and under the baseboard of the shed.  This bird looked up under the baseboard and reached up and pulled the lizard out. The bird proceeded to beat the tar out of this lizard and yes, you guessed it, he ate the lizard.  Then even with an injured leg he took flight and flew away.

When I watched this bird I thought about the amazing things God created.  This bird was injured but he was able to stay balanced on one leg, his eyesight was keen enough to see this lizard that I didn’t even notice and he was still able to fly quite capably without wobbling. If God provides for this small creature in its injured state, how much more will he provide for me in my brokenness. Through the blood of the cross we are reconciled to God.  What an amazing life we are given.  Each of us can be partakers of an amazing inheritance and this one cannot be measured by worldly standards.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for loving me enough to want me to be with You forever.  When I look at the creatures you created, how can I not see your amazing power and the grace it took to forgive me of my sins.  I can’t wait to be in Your presence one day.  I look forward to that time with great joy.          

Scripture: For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.  Colossians 1:9-23

 

Crepe Myrtles

At the timberline where the storms strike with the most fury, the sturdiest trees are found.  Hudson Taylor

We live on a corner lot and we have crepe myrtles that line the parkway next to our fence.  There are five and they have gotten fairly large over the years.  Several years ago we went out of town for a weekend and when we got home we turned the corner on our street and one of the crepe myrtles had been wiped out.  Someone ran up the curb and took out one of our crepe myrtles. 

It would have been nice if the perpetrator had left a note on a branch of the victim.  Something like “I am so sorry I took out one of your crepe myrtles” or how about “look on the bright side, I missed three of them and only got one” or how about “rest in peace” but I am sad to say no one fessed up to the crime. 

Since whoever hit the tree took it off at the root we were left with a pretty uneven tree line.  We thought about replacing it but my Mom told us the root system was still there so it would come back.  We thought it would take it awhile to grow back and surely it wouldn’t catch up with the rest of our trees. We were wrong.  It grew faster than the other trees and after a couple of years it was the same size as the rest of them. 

Several years after that incident we had another crepe myrtle incident.  Someone had stolen a car and parked it on the street next to our crepe myrtles.  We live near a main freeway so it was easy to get to our neighborhood and park the car on the dark side of our street.  To hide the evidence they set the car on fire.  So I wake up around 3:00am and walk into the kitchen and there is a glow coming from our backyard.  I open the patio door and flames are shooting 30ft in the sky and one of my favorite crape myrtles is burning.

We thought the tree would die after that incident, but it didn’t.  It came back the next year and is now the same size as the others. 

This started me thinking about the tragedies and trials that occur in our lives.  We need to be like the crepe myrtles.  Resilient.  God gives us the tools to survive and thrive.  He also wants us to produce fruit in our lives.  When we become rooted in Christ we will bloom or bear fruit. 

One of the things our Pastor said yesterday was an epiphany for me.  When the disciples were at the last supper with Jesus he told them one of them would betray Him.  All of the disciples except Judas said “Lord is it I?”  Judas was the only one who said “Rabbi, is it I?”  The eleven disciples called Jesus Lord but Judas called Him teacher.  Judas didn’t have the Lord living in Him.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be complete in You.  You are not just the One who walks beside me, You live in me. If You live in me, the byproduct of that is I will produce fruit.  Help me to focus on You and not the world so that I can produce in abundance.         

Scripture: As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.  Colossians 2:6-10

Shining Your Light

Just as in prayer it is not we who momentarily catch His attention, but He ours, so when we fail to hear His voice, it is not because He is not speaking so much as that we are not listening. We must recognize that all things are in God and that God is in all things, and we must learn to be very attentive, in order to hear God speaking in His ordinary tone without any special accent.  Charles H. Brent

I was talking to my husband yesterday and he asked me if I had a bad drive to work that morning.  I stopped and thought about it then said “No, why do you ask?”  He said he read my devotional and thought maybe I had a bad traffic day or something. 

I had to stop and think about what I wrote about yesterday.  I told him that I had a great drive in that morning.  No mattresses, recliners, computers, chairs, carpet or other things lost on the freeway.  That’s a good day as far as I am concerned. 

I told him most of the time I don’t know what I am going to write about from one day to the next.  He said if he was writing and he approached it that way there would be a lot of days where there would be no devotional. 

I responded by saying that God gives me the topic.  If I focus on Him long enough it just happens.  Sometimes I will get so many topics that I want to write about, that by the time I get to work I forget half of them.  If I focus constantly on the Father there are unlimited supplies of material.

If we are to be a light to the world we have to spend time with the Father.  We won’t get this light any other way and we won’t reflect it.  Each of us is a light just waiting to be shone on the world.  Find your light.  I leave you with the following quote. 

“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.”  D.L. Moody

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, my time with You is precious to me.  The more time I spend with You the more I see You everywhere I go.  Thank you for opening my eyes and allowing me to see You in everything.         

Scripture:  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:15-16

 

Adapting or Transforming

Give up the struggle and the fight; relax in the omnipotence of the Lord Jesus; look up into His lovely face and as you behold Him, He will transform you into His likeness. You do the beholding--He does the transforming. There is no short-cut to holiness.  Alan Redpath

What [others] most need is to see in you a reflection of what God is like and of the transforming power of the Gospel. Your life can create hunger and thirst for God in others' lives and can be a powerful instrument in the hand of the Holy Spirit to draw their hearts to Christ.  Nancy Leigh DeMoss

I started thinking about chameleons this morning.  I find it interesting how chameleons are able to change colors depending on external factors.  If they are being hunted by predators, they will often change color to blend in with their surroundings.  The reason their eyes look so weird is their upper and lower eyelids are joined with only a pinhole large enough for the pupil to see through.  The other odd thing about them is their eyes are able to move independently from each other which means they can see you coming and going.

We often use the same type of adapting technique.  We change color so to speak by trying to fit in with those around us.  We will adapt ourselves to fit in with the crowd. We want other people to like us so we adapt.  The other thing is we take on the eyes of the chameleon.  Our eyes are so busy looking for the next thing that we lose sight of the Father.

Jesus didn’t fit in.  He was different.  He hung out with beggars, prostitutes, lepers, demon possessed individuals, tax collectors and any number of people considered by society to be the lowest on earth.  He didn’t try to be like everyone else.  His being different is the very thing that drew people to Him. 

God doesn’t want us to adapt to this world.  He wants us to be transformed into His likeness.        

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, my drive into work this morning was not as peaceful as it normally is.  I long for your presence in my life and this just reminded me that You are always there and there are no special buttons to push or complicated pictures to figure out.  Thank You for making it possible for me to spend quiet time with You no matter where I am.       

Scripture: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:1-2

 

A Single Candle    

It's what you sow that multiplies, not what you keep in the barn.  Adrian Rogers

I was thinking about candles this morning.  My Mom makes candles for Purple Ranch and one of the things we do at our events is we give a votive candle to anyone who is a cancer survivor. 

This past weekend we did the Ennis Bluebonnet Festival and we met some amazing people.  One of the most joyful things I get to do is to give another cancer survivor a candle.  We were blessed this weekend by getting to meet 3 cancer survivors and 2 people who had family members who are cancer survivors. 

You don’t often think of how close to the surface emotions are when it comes to cancer survivors or their family members.  There was one young woman whose mother was a survivor.  When I gave her a candle to take to her mother, tears welled up in her eyes.  There was another young mother who is just now going through treatments and has a young 9 year old son.    

I had another gentleman, whose mother is a survivor.  He asked me if we keep track of the number of candles we give out and if we write them off on our taxes as a donation.  I explained to him that we don’t know how many candles we have given out over the years, I just know the joy I feel in my heart when someone is touched by that small gesture. That joy is worth more than money could ever buy.

If I had to explain what it feels like to know the kind of love Jesus felt for people it would be in that moment when you hand them a candle and the tears well up in their eyes because they know a stranger cares about them and that same person is not expecting anything in return. In that moment my heart sings, that is the only way I can describe it.    

I thank my parents for giving me this opportunity to touch someone else’s life in such a small way.  When I look at my Mom’s hands where arthritis has bent the fingers, yet she continues to labor over each one, I understand where the joy comes from.  God created each of us to love one another.  We have to practice that kind of love every day for it to be present in our hearts.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am so blessed to be a cancer survivor.  Cancer was the biggest trial that has ever happened to me and I praise you for allowing it.  I see people differently now.  They are no longer just strangers.  You created them in your image and if I can help one person feel they are not alone in their fight against cancer, then I am blessed beyond measure. I praise You for the amazing gift of love.        

Scripture:   Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13

GPS   

Abide in Jesus, the sinless One - which means, give up all of self and its life, and dwell in God's will and rest in His strength. This is what brings the power that does not commit sin.  Andrew Murray

You ask for a practical direction to teach you to die well. Detach your souls from everything that you love, separate from God. This, in a few words, is the science of dying.   Louis Bourdaloue

I was sitting at a red lights this morning so I glanced over at the car next to me.  They had a GPS on the dash board.  I started thinking about how GPS has changed the way we get places.  If you have one you don’t have to ever stop at a gas station again to ask for directions from someone who doesn’t know where you are going either. 

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a God GPS?  Instead of calling it a Global Positioning System I would call it God’s Power Squared. This gizmo would be your warning system when you are heading into dangerous sin territory.  Sin has a way of sneaking up on us and wouldn’t it be great if we had this early warning system.  Instead of saying recalculating a James Earl Jones voice would come on and say “Do you really want to do that?”

We really do have early warning systems built in already.  The problem is we don’t use them as often as we should.  It is kind of like we turn the GPS off because we don’t want to hear her say one more time “recalculating”.  We have the Holy Spirit living in us that sends out warning signals we don’t heed.  We also have friends and family who are our early detection devices when we get off the path.  Sometimes our ego kicks in and we think we know what we are doing so we ignore the signals. 

The Bible is also our Map with all the directions we will ever need.  The problem with this is we often don’t open it, so how do we think we are going to get to our final destination without it.  If we don’t use the Heaven Map God provided we won’t reach the place God has prepared for us. If we use the tools God has given us, our GPS and the Holy Spirit, we are well on our way to finding our final destination.  Plan your trip.  You will be glad you did.           

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You give me the tools I will need to get to my final destination.  The problem is sometimes I ignore the directions you so clearly provide and then I get off course.  Sometimes I get so far off course it is hard to find my way back.  Please help me to keep my focus on You and to use the tools You provide.  You have prepared a place for me to live forever with You if I will just heed Your directions.      

Scripture:  “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool.  What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest? Has My hand not made all these things?’ Acts 7:48-50

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  Romans 5:1-5

 

Be Ready

God may just decide to use you for His purpose.

I always enjoy the story of David and Goliath. Goliath was a hardened and experienced warrior. David spent his life up to this point taking care of his father’s sheep. When David stepped up and said he would fight Goliath the Philistine, I am sure everyone laughed. I can just imagine everyone thinking this is just a kid and he thinks he can take on a giant. Little did they know that David had been through God’s preparation for just this moment. “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he had defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of the Philistine. 1 Samuel 34-37

I also like the part of the story where Saul tries to give David his armor. This shows where Saul’s heart was. Saul depended on the trappings of shields, sword and armor to protect him, whereas David depended on the strength of the Lord. Saul feared the Philistines and would not stand up to them, but David had no fear. I think the underlying purpose of this story was to show that Saul was not fit to be king. It was the beginning of the unraveling of Saul.

Do you ever think about how God might want to use you for his kingdom? God often chose the smallest, the youngest, or the weakest to reveal Himself to His people. Isn’t that also when we see God the most, when He uses someone that we think is less powerful or whom we think is less likely to succeed. We have to remember that God is all powerful. He can do anything. If He created us He can surely give us the power to overcome anything. What better way to show us Himself than to use someone that in our minds cannot do what God gives them the power to do.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am not brave, courageous or mighty. But I know that you have the power to show others You through me. I want to be ready when you decide you would like to use me for your kingdom in whatever way you see fit. Help me to be observant and recognize when you want to use me for Your purpose. You are amazing and deserve all the glory.

Scripture: David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45-47

 

Trading Cars  

So long as we are occupied with any other object than God Himself, there will be neither rest for the heart nor peace for the mind. But when we receive all that enters our lives as from His hand, then, no matter what may be our circumstances or surroundings--whether in a hovel or prison-dungeon, or at a martyr's stake--we shall be enabled to say, " The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places" (Ps. 16:6). But that is the language of faith, not of sight nor of sense.  A. W. Pink

Have you ever traded cars with someone?  In this case I needed to trade my SUV with my Mom so they could take my car home to load it for this weekend’s farmer’s market. 

This morning I am running a little late so I forgot my Mom’s car was parked in the front of our house instead of by the garage.  I run out to get in and the car isn’t there.  That is when I remembered I had Mom’s car and it was parked in the front. 

I drive a SUV and my Mom’s drives an Avalon.  So the first thing I notice is when I get in I feel like I am sitting on the ground.  Only those who drive SUV’s understand how weird it feels to get into a car after driving an SUV. 

So I get in and take off to work.  I didn’t have time to acclimate myself with all the buttons on my Mom’s car and since it was cold outside I couldn’t find the button that turns on the heater.  Glad I wore a coat.  Then there is the whole radio thing.  Since my drive in the morning is part of my quiet time with God, I like to listen to our local Christian radio station.  My Mom’s car has an area in the dashboard that shows you all kinds of things.  Date, time, temperature, trip miles, speed, tire pressure gauge, windshield wiper speed, how many revolutions your tires make per mile, wind velocity, humidity outside your car and a  bad hair day monitor.

If you think this didn’t confuse me, wait until you hear about the radio.  There was a seek and scan button, station selectors, CD and cassette player button.  The problem with all this is they think they made it easier to identify which button does what by showing pictures for everything. So there is a picture of a car.  I’m driving so I can’t tell that it is a picture of a car with the trunk open.  So since I am driving I am just punching buttons.  You guessed it the trunk pops open.  Boy am I glad I found that one. 

But I digress.  Back to the radio.  They don’t tell you that some buttons are multipurpose. For instance, if you hit the scan button once, every 30-40 seconds it will randomly move to another station.  It didn’t tell me how to stop the scan. So on the way to work I heard mariachi music multiple times, ZZ Top, Willie Nelson, Maroon 5, a preacher talking about the story of Daniel and then back to a Spanish station.  I have a 45 minute drive to work.  When I got within a mile of work I finally figured out if you press the scan button twice it stops on the station but you have to hit again to scan to the next.  I won’t even begin to tell you about the rear view mirrors and the seat controls.   

I am so glad God makes things simple.  He doesn’t complicate things with buttons that keep us so busy we forget He is there.  When I finally was able to stop the radio to the Christian station I breathed a big sigh of relief.  It reminded me that I should have just turned everything off and enjoyed the peace that surpasses all understanding by spending time with the Father.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, my drive into work this morning was not as peaceful as it normally is.  I long for your presence in my life and this just reminded me that You are always there and there are no special buttons to push or complicated pictures to figure out.  Thank You for making it possible for me to spend quiet time with You no matter where I am.       

Scripture: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  Philippians 4:6-8

Pray Without Ceasing   

The prayer offered to God in the morning during your quiet time is the key that unlocks the door of the day. Any athlete knows that it is the start that ensures a good finish.  Adrian Rogers

Many years ago I read a book by Bill Hybels called “Too Busy Not to Pray”.  It forever changed my way of looking at prayer. 

I have prayed the majority of my life but not with quite the same intensity throughout my life.  When I was younger my prayers were pretty superficial.  You know the ones I am talking about.  These are the prayers we pray when “me or I” is the main focus. We want a better paying job, more money, an easier life, more things and the list goes on.  These are the times when we treat God like the big vending machine in the sky.  Put your prayer in, press the button and you get what you want.  God doesn’t work that way. 

Sometimes our prayers are not answered the way we think they should be and we get frustrated and angry.  Why is that?  God knows what we need better than we do, yet we want to be the one who tells him what we need. 

One of the things I have learned is when I pray without ceasing, amazing things happen and sometimes I will never see the results of the prayers I pray.  That is the way God works.  Throughout each day I see people who need prayer.  They don’t have to know I am praying for them. 

I had a memory today of something that reminds me of the way God looks at us and prayer.  When my brother and sister’s and I were young Mom and Dad gave us bicycles.  I watched my Dad run many a mile alongside my two older sister’s as they learned how to ride a bike without training wheels.  When I received my first bike it was turquoise with a white basket on the front and white fringe hanging from the handle bars and it had a white banana seat.  I remember seeing pictures of me standing with this big grin on my face when I saw my new bike for the first time.  The thing is I would touch my bike and run my fingers through the fringe on the handlebars but I wouldn’t ride it.  I would watch my sisters take off on their bikes but I would just look at mine.  Mom and Dad tried to encourage me to get on and ride but I would have nothing to do with riding it. 

Finally one day I made up my mind that I had watched how it was done long enough and I felt like I knew I could do it, so I got on and my Dad didn’t have to run alongside me at all.  I just took off.  It was like I was flying. That is how I picture God and prayer.  When you finally understand how prayer works it is like flying.  There is no feeling like it in the world when you see prayer at work.  God just wants the conversation with you.  He already knows what your needs are, he just wants your time and the results are a true relationship with Him. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, prayer is my way of communicating with You.  There is nothing that can compare to my time spent with You.  The quiet time I spend in talking to You throughout my day gives me more strength to make it through a fallen world filled with tragedy.  I praise You for giving me the communication of prayer. Without it I would be lost.   
   
Scripture:  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

Cattle Guard  

Through salvation our past has been forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured.  Rick Warren

Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time? One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! It's what enables us to grow. Remember, earth is not heaven!  Rick Warren

We lived in the country growing up and often we would drive along and there would be open fields on either side of the road.  When I was a kid I didn’t quite understand cattle guards.  I mean you would have a herd of cows in the field with no gate to keep them there.  The only thing stopping them from running loose was a cattle guard.  It seemed kind of silly to me that you would think you could keep a bunch of cows in a fence when the gate was wide open or in this case no gate at all.  In this case necessity is the mother of invention because farmers didn’t want to keep getting out of the truck or off the tractor to open a gate so the cattle guard was invented.

You guessed it.  This started me thinking.  We are kind of like the cattle and Satan is the cattle guard when it comes to heaven.  The gate is wide open for any of us to walk through.  The problem is we walk up to the cattle guard (Satan) and decide we don’t want to take a chance or we decide we like the open field better (temptation) than a chance at heaven.  The open field in this case would be the things this world has to offer.  There are all the temptations that we can’t resist.  It is so much easier to stay on the other side than to risk crossing over.  If we cross over we might have to change what we are doing or our friends might not like us anymore.  So we decide to stay on the inside of the fence thinking we are safe and happier there. 

God created in each of us a longing for heaven.  If you feel like you are missing something in your life it may just be that longing for heaven that seems just beyond your grasp.  Take the chance and cross over. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there is a longing in my heart for heaven.  When I am driving to work every day in the quiet of the morning I am often thinking of You.  My thoughts so often turn to You because You are my salvation.  I have walked through that gate and I have never looked back.  You created in me a need for Your presence in my life.  Thank you for providing me a way to cross over to You.       

Scripture: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”  Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.  For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.  But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Taxes  

The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God's view of life: Life is a test, life is a trust and life is a temporary assignment.  Rick Warren

I was grumbling on Sunday.  The reason I was grumbling was because I was working on my taxes.  I know about now you are asking why did you wait so late to do your taxes.  It’s really quite simple.  Avoidance and procrastination. 

I was going through the software and it was asking me every question you can imagine and even some you can’t imagine.  There were new laws that went into effect and calculations that I am not sure the IRS can explain. 

My husband was sitting on the couch and I was at the computer.  I came across a calculation that was so convoluted that I roped him into helping me figure it out.  So with pen and pad in hand my husband listened to the explanation of the calculation and then we tried to see who could come up with the correct answer first or to see if either of us could come close to the correct answer.  I had the calculator so I did have an advantage.  The problem is there is no answer sheet to compare your solution to.  We called it a tie because we both came to the same answer we just calculated it differently. 

I went to the IRS website to seek an answer to our question.  I just thought I was confused before.  There are hundreds of topic discussions on the website and even more FAQ’s.  I mean, even if I started a year ago working on my taxes I still wouldn’t have a clear answer as to whether my answer is correct or not.  When I got to the section labeled Disaster Relief I thought “my taxes are a disaster and I do need relief” but I didn’t qualify.  I finally just broke down and filed an extension to give me a little more time to contemplate my answers.   

I am so thankful that God doesn’t work this way.  The Bible has the beginning and the end.  There will be no additional topics and no revisions.  When it comes to the end of my life here on earth there will be no extensions.  I may have a lot of FAQ’s but I know that if I dwell in His Word He will show me the way.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us a way out of this sinful life we live.  I praise you for the Bible that provides the instructions I need to live a Christian life and guidance for eternal life.  I admit I don’t always understand it and I frequently have questions but I believe that if I dwell in You the answers will come.       

Scripture:  Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.  For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.  Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.  Romans 13:1-7

Lie-o-meter  

Renewing the mind is a little like refinishing furniture. It is a two-stage process. It involves taking off the old and replacing it with the new. The old is the lies you have learned to tell or were taught by those around you; it is the attitudes and ideas that have become a part of your thinking but do not reflect reality. The new is the truth. To renew your mind is to involve yourself in the process of allowing God to bring to the surface the lies you have mistakenly accepted and replace them with truth. To the degree that you do this, your behaviour will be transformed.  Charles Stanley

I determined this weekend that I have a built in Lie-o-meter.  Right about now you are asking “what is that”.   

Last week I had an allergic reaction to something.  I haven’t figured out exactly what it was but for the past four days I woke up each day looking like I went 8 rounds with a prize fighter.  My eyes almost swelled closed and various shades of bloodshot. 

What does this have to do with a Lie-o-meter?  Well I decided to go to a local emergency clinic to make sure my eyesight wasn’t likely to be affected and that I wasn't contagious. 

I get to my appointment and am in with the doctor.  He first tells me he doesn’t like the way my eyes are presenting.  About now I’m thinking I wish there were more doctors who spoke plain English.  Something like this.  “Your eyes look really bad and I’m not sure what it is?”  I ask him if I am contagious.  He says no but he isn’t sure what is wrong.  So he then tells me he doesn’t have the proper equipment to check my eyes so he is going to send me to an ophthalmologist.  So I tell him I really need to get back to work. Then he says, “Oh you don’t need to go back to work, you’re contagious.” 

My lie-o-meter started going off faintly.  He just told me I am not contagious now I am but he doesn’t know what is wrong so he is going to send me to someone else.  So if I am contagious why did he not use gloves when he checked my eyes.  He then proceeds to tell me he sent someone to this particular ophthalmologist last week and this particular doctor saved the guys cornea.  My lie-o-meter is ringing louder.  Something just doesn’t sound right with this situation.  So he tells me he is going to call the ophthalmologist personally and get me an appointment within an hour on the same day.  Lie-o-meter lights are going off.

So I am thinking this doctor is a doctor so he might know what he is doing.  So he schedules an appointment for me at 1:00pm the same day.  My lie-o-meter is still ringing but I take the information and go back to the office to wait for my appointment.  I get to the doctor's office and my lie-o-meter is steadily getting louder.  I was early so they give me paperwork to fill out and as I am sitting there my lie-o-meter is getting so loud I can’t think about anything but getting out of this doctor’s office. 

So I grab the paperwork from the clipboard, walk to the window and tell the receptionist that I am canceling my appointment and I walked out.  Something just wasn’t right about this whole situation.  I got the distinct impression that the original doctor was going to get something out of sending me to this particular ophthalmologist.

One thing I have learned is that the closer I get to God the more my lie-o-meter works.  I think it is because I am listening more closely for His signals that something is wrong.  I believe that God wants to protect us but we have to use the tools he gives us to analyze the things around us so that we can determine when someone is lying or telling the truth.  He also gives us the Holy Spirit living in us to use as a tool to protect us.   The thing is we have to spend time with God to determine when it is God speaking.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for protecting me.  There are times when I will get a feeling that something isn’t right. I have learned that at those times if I tune in to that feeling, most of the time my feeling is right.  If I take the truth and compare it to what the Bible tells me, I can come up with the right answer with Your help and the resources You give me.       

Scripture:  “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.  John 14:25-28

 

Squirrels    

We want to reach the kingdom of God, but we don't want to travel by way of death. And yet there stands Necessity saying: 'This way, please.' Do not hesitate, man, to go this way, when this is the way that God came to you. Augustine

I drove into my driveway several days ago and glanced up to the top of our backyard fence and I saw something move.  Because I just caught a glimpse of it I at first couldn’t tell what it was.  I finally figured out it was a squirrel.  Squirrels are agile creatures.  This one climbed to the top picket of the fence by the gate and there was a space between the boards of the gate and the fence so he climbed in.  He was looking at me upside down.  So he stared at me and I stared at him.  It was kind of like the old gunslinger movies where the two opponents pace off and then turn and see which one will twitch first.  The thing is this squirrel didn’t flinch at all.  I thought he was dead.  He didn’t even blink. 

It just so happened that I had my camera in the car so I took photos of him.  I even got out of the car and walked up to the fence and he still didn’t move. When I got within 3 feet of him he finally crawled out and took off.  I’m thinking God created in him a defense mechanism that kicks in when threatened.  Kind of like the opossum where they play dead thinking you will ignore them. 

I did some research and found out that the Gray Squirrel is the only species that can descend a tree head first and the life span of a Gray Squirrel is approximately six years.  It’s a different story for urban squirrels.  I didn’t know there was such a thing as an urban squirrel.  I always thought a squirrel’s a squirrel. Most urban squirrels don’t reach their first birthday.  This is not due to predators, but rather to automobiles. This made sense to me because have you ever been driving through your neighborhood and had a squirrel run in front of you.  They will run across in front of your car and be home free, and if you are watching them you'll be driving and silently saying to yourself “Don’t do it, Don't do it” and then they will back track and run back in front of your car and get hit.  It’s kind of counterproductive.

So here are my God thoughts on us and squirrels.  We can be just like them.  Not the climbing down the tree head first part but the part where we are going through life making headway in the sin free department, just like the squirrel getting safely to the other side, and then we will turn right back around and head down the sin road fully knowing that we are on a collision course.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am sometimes like the squirrel who runs to safety only to return to sin and certain death.  I need your help to stay on this narrow path that leads to You.  Help me to keep my eyes focused on you as this life is not easy and temptation can lead me back to sin.  I praise You for your many blessings on my life and Your grace and mercy.      

Scripture:   But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.  Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.  And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:20-26

Hammocks    

Our earthly possessions will indeed perish in the final wreck of all things; but let the ship perish, let all we have sink in the deep, if we may come "safe to land." From these storms and billows--these dangerous seas--these tempestuous voyages--may we all be brought at last safe to heaven.  Albert Barnes

God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.  Billy Graham

I was thinking about hammocks this morning.  Maybe the reason this thought came up is because I was wishing I was lying in one at this moment.  So as often happens I decided to look up why they were invented. 

They were originally used in Central and South America for sleeping.  To protect themselves from creepy crawly things on the ground they would suspend their bed above the ground for protection from ants, snakes and other wildlife.  The problem I could see with this is trying to stay on top of the hammock and not face down in the dirt.  If the natives of Central and South America toss and turn as much as I do, they would end up in the middle of the creepy crawly things they were trying to avoid.  You know how it goes.  You sit on one side and lift your feet onto the net and it flips you on your head over the other side. 

The Navy also used them on warships due to lack of bunk space and also when they were at sea it kept the sailors from being tossed about because when they went over big swells or waves the person in the hammock stayed fairly stable instead of being tossed about.   

One of my favorite memories of a hammock was not long after my husband and I got married.  We had spent the previous six months prior to our wedding taking care of all the details.  Between doing the flowers, selecting caterers, getting the wedding dress and fittings for tuxes, we were basically worn out by the time we got married.  We went to Mexico for our honeymoon and since we couldn’t check into our room until late afternoon we changed into shorts and decided to walk around the resort.  The first thing we spotted were hammocks hung under palm trees near the turquoise clear white sands of the beach.  You could hear the rustle of the wind in the palm trees and the waves gently lapping against the shore.  These were no ordinary hammocks.  They were big hammocks with pillows.  We piled up into one, carefully I might add, and just laid there listening to the waves roll in. 

I like to think that heaven and God will be like that hammock.  Can you imagine being cradled in God’s arms gently swaying and not having to worry about Satan interfering and throwing you face first on the ground?  One of the great things would be you wouldn’t have to worry about the creepy crawly things.  Thinking of the wind rustling through the leaves and the waves lapping onto the shore makes me long for home.  A home where there is no pain and sorrow.  Are you ready?  Heaven!  I can’t wait.       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me of what heaven can be like.  I don’t know for sure what will be there or if they will have hammocks or even how I will live, but I do know you have prepared a place for us where there will be no pain and sorrow.  Thoughts of heaven make me home sick.  I look forward to that day with great rejoicing.     

Scripture: These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.  And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.  Hebrews 11:13-16