An Imperfect Me

Imperfection is the prerequisite for grace. Light only gets in through the cracks.  Philip Yancey

The one marvelous secret of a holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is "Christ in you."... Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy; it is drawing from Jesus the holiness that was manifested in Him, and He manifests it in me.  Oswald Chambers

Do you ever strive for perfection in things that you do?  It might be in your job, your family life or any number of things.  I admit I struggle with this on a daily basis.  I work in a busy environment with a lot of things going on every day.  This alone hinders the chance of ever doing anything perfect by the mere fact that it is busy.  Then I have the outside influences like other people who may thwart my pursuit of perfection. Have you ever worked with someone who you depended on to get you figures for a report or information to complete the report where you have a deadline to meet and they failed to meet the deadline?  It can be frustrating.

One of the things that I see happening more and more is the fact that there are so many different generations working together.  There are all kinds of studies and names assigned to the different generations.  For the purpose of this devotional I will call them by my own made up names, “Advanced in Years” or AIY, “On the Downhill Side” or ODS, and “Not Yet Over the Hill” or NYOH. So when a NYOH starts working with a ODS there are some things that occur due to the age difference.  An NYOH doesn’t like working with a time clock, whereas an ODS only knows how to work with a time clock.  So when you try to get these two to work together there can be problems.  You have an ODS who is always on time and an NYOH who shows up whenever.  The thing is they will both get the job done just not the same way or in the same timeframe. Too many times I expect perfection from the other person and when they aren’t I am disappointed.  Why should I expect perfection from another, when I understand and know that I am not perfect?

One of the things I have learned about perfection is that it has taught me how imperfect I am.  I will say, this is a very humbling experience.  When I begin to see the imperfectness in myself, I can then more easily see and accept the imperfectness in another. The most important statement I read about myself is the following:

“A person demanding perfect justice and fairness will always feel dissatisfied and will tend to be more preoccupied with getting their just treatment than they are with loving and being loved.” 

If I give up my right for fairness and justice, I can then begin to live in grace.

            

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I have pursued perfection in my life over and over again. Father, I pray for you to make me weak, because You tell me that in my weakness, I am strong.  Thank you for having patience with me when I fail you over and over again.  I want to be like Jesus, but I know my failings.  Help me to work on the things I can change about me to become more like You.

Scripture: And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

No More Woof

If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in. Frederick Buechner

There is a group in Scandinavia that is working on designing a set of headphones that you can put on your dog’s head and the headphones will read the dog’s thoughts and then speak for him.  The name of the headphones would be “No More Woof”.  I guess the theory behind this is that if a dog can only speak “woof” language, how is it possible for an owner to know what the dog is asking for.  

  

Last time I checked in with my dog, he pretty much makes it clear what he needs or wants without barking or woofing.  My dog has the unblinking stare down to an art.  If he plops down in front of you and stares at you without blinking, he wants a treat.  If he picks up the paper plate we use to feed him and shreds it after he is finished eating, this means he doesn’t like the food you gave him.  If he goes into the bedroom at night and you hear him muttering (I call it muttering because he doesn’t bark, he just makes a noise that sounds like muttering under his breath), that means it is time for me to go to bed.

My brother-in-law has a big lab named Duke.  Duke used to live in an apartment when he was a puppy, so to keep him from barking my brother-in-law trained him to pick up his blanket and carry it around in his mouth instead of barking.  He has this blanket that you will see him walking around with it in his mouth as the blanket trails behind him.  That’s what I call smart.  No headphones required. 

  

This made me think of the ways that each of us communicate to others without saying a word.  Our facial expressions can tell a great deal about a person along with our actions.  We are able to show fear, anxiety, anger, love, shyness, happiness, joy and many others just through our facial expressions.  Someone once said that the eyes are the windows to the soul and I think there is a great deal of truth in that. 

Jesus saw past the outer person to the person inside. I want to be more like Him.  If I look at the heart of the person instead of the outer shell, I will begin to see people the way Jesus did.  Every person on earth has pain.  It can be pain they have carried around for years or recent pain but Jesus showed over and over again how he looked past the exterior to see the heart of the person.

Prayer for the Day: Jesus, I want to be more like You.  Sometimes I try to hide my pain behind laughter or I try to cover it up and pretend it isn’t there.  I am guilty of both.  I want to use my own personal pain to help others.  If I am hiding my pain, how many others are doing the same thing.  Help me to see others as You do.  We are all broken people searching for someone to see past the pain to the hurting person inside.

Scripture:  Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.  Luke 18:35-43

God’s Power

God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this overwhelming victory, God has also empowered you to overcome any temptation to sin and has provided sufficient resources for you to respond biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God's power and being obedient to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any situation. John C. Broger

Our world runs on the power of electricity.  We use it for everything.  You only miss it when the electricity goes out.  That is when you realize how much we depend on a plug in the wall.  Have you ever stopped to think about everything you use electricity for each morning?

In a typical morning for me, I turn off the alarm that wakes me up each morning then I turn on the lights in the bathroom and kitchen.  I turn on the TV to watch the news while I am getting dressed.  I turn on the light in my closet to decide what to wear.  I walk into the kitchen and turn on the coffee maker.  I unplug my phone from the charger.  I open the refrigerator to get creamer.  I use a blow dryer to dry my hair.  I sometimes turn on the iron to press my clothes.  All of this power is used in the first hour of my day. 

This started me thinking about God’s Power.  How much more could we accomplish if we were plugged into His Power.  The problem is sometimes we don’t have enough faith to fully get plugged in.  Too many times we determine that we are “self” sufficient and are in control.  When we start thinking like that we are basically dimming the lights on God’s Power.  When we begin to think that we are in control we have lost the most powerful tool in our toolbox. How do we plug into His Power?  One of the hardest things for me to learn was to let go and let Him.  When my life is spinning out of control I have a tendency to try to grab the reins and take back control.  

When I was young we rode horses and one of the scariest things for me was to have the reins of the horse fall out of my hands.  In a controlled situation a horse is steered by the reins.  If you want the horse to go left or right you use the reins to pull in the direction you want to go.  When you drop the reins the horse gains full control.  You are no longer steering.  If the horse gets spooked then you are in trouble.  When a horse is spooked he will run uncontrollably anywhere and he totally forgets about the rider.  I’ve had them run up against trees and under low branches all while I am sitting on his back. 

When things in my life are out of my control I need to turn to Jesus and pray for His strength.  God also provided the Holy Spirit to help me in these times.  The key to doing amazing things for God’s glory is to let go and let Him lead.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I keep falling into Satan’s trap thinking that I am in control. Sometimes I hinder Your work in and through me, because I don’t trust You enough to be my strength.  Help me to let go and let You lead me where You want me to go.  You are all the Power I need.  I praise Your Holy Name.  

Scripture: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

What’s In a Name

You have been joined together with Christ... You bear His name. Are you ashamed to belong? Are you ashamed to bear that identification with other believers of like precious faith?... Shouldn't you be willing outwardly to identify with the visible, gathered members of that group to which you eternally belong?  John MacArthur

Seeking to perpetuate one's name on earth is like writing on the sand by the seashore; to be perpetual it must be written on eternal shores.  D.L. Moody

When I was in high school there was a guy I would see in the hall on my way to class.  I didn’t know his name but he always would call me by name.  The problem was he called me Judy.  Because I was very shy and I didn’t want to embarrass him, I didn’t know how to communicate with him that my name wasn’t Judy.  So every day in the hall he would say, “Hi Judy” and I would always answer.

 

Over the years I have had this happen over and over again.  When I first met my neighbor he called me Barbara.  Since I was no longer that shy introvert, I was able to communicate to him that my name wasn’t Barbara.  Now instead of calling me by my name he calls me a different name every time he sees me.  One day I am Bernice, the next week I am Clarise and a month later I am Denise. 

I am not sure why this happens to me all the time.  Maybe I don’t look like a Brenda or I don’t have a memorable face or the other person just may have a bad memory.  I started thinking about why names are important.  There were individuals in the Bible whose name was changed by God. 

Abram became Abraham – Genesis 17:5  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 

Sarai became Sarah.  Genesis 17:15-16  Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”

Jacob became Israel.  Genesis 32:28  And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Jesus renamed Simon – Peter.   John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

One day we as believers will be given a new name.  Our name that we have on earth will no longer be the same in heaven.   Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You gave names to people in the Bible that were different from their birth name.  I am not concerned about my name here on earth.  The only one I am concerned about is the one that will be written in the Lambs book of life. I want to be listed there when this earthly world comes to an end.

Scripture:   And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  Matthew 1:21-23

Revelation 3:5 - He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

The Enemy

Jesus defeated Satan in Gethsemane on the cross, not by directly confronting the devil, but by fulfilling the destiny to which He had been called. The greatest battle that was ever won was accomplished by the apparent death of the victor, without even a word of rebuke to His adversary!  Francis Frangipane

Satan's greatest success is in making people think they have plenty of time before they die to consider their eternal welfare.  John Owen

Sometimes sin is easy isn’t it.  The problem with Satan is that often we don’t even realize he is there and has a hold on us.  Have you noticed that the closer you get to God the more you are tempted to sin?  Satan doesn’t worry as much about those of us who are already in the middle of sin.  Satan is more concerned with those of us who are striving to be more like Jesus.  

The more you try to lead the life that God calls us to live, the more Satan will try to tempt us away.  I have noticed in recent years that the closer I get to God more trials cross my path.  It is a struggle every day and it would be so easy to throw up my hands and say I quit.  The thing is my parents didn’t raise a quitter. So every day I fight what Satan tries to throw in my path. 

When Jesus in human form went into the wilderness he was tempted by Satan.  If the Son of God was tempted during His time on earth, why then should we be any different.  God wants us to love Him freely.  If He wanted to He could make us love Him.  

As I was writing this devotional, I was trying to get into Bible Gateway where I look up verses.  Every time I tried to look something up on the website it got hung up.  The thing is I tried getting into other sites and had no trouble.  It was only Bible Gateway that would’nt open.  The icon would spin and spin but never bring up the verse.  

One thing I try to remember on a daily basis is that Satan is roaming the earth trying to find someone to devour.  I don’t want to be that someone.  If I understand that God allows everything for my good, then I will understand that I will be tempted over and over again by Satan.  The key to understanding is that if we look to God instead of at our trouble we will get through whatever Satan places in our path.  Satan can’t defeat us when we have God on our side. 

      

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there are so many times when I am tempted to give up or quit.  That is exactly what Satan wants me to do.  Thank you for giving me the strength to withstand everything Satan throws at me.  If I keep my eye and heart on You, Satan will not win this battle.  

Scripture: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:11-13

Messed-Up-Itis

God does not want you to become a Go; he wants you to become godly - taking on his values, attitudes, and character. Rick Warren

Several years ago I realized something about myself.  I have a disease called “messed-up-itis.”  Have you ever met someone and listened to them talk about the things that are messed up in their lives and thought, “Wow, they are really messed up or their life is really messed up?” 

I used to think that way.  I read a book several years ago that revealed some things to me that I didn’t know about myself. What I learned is that I am no different than the other person who is messed up or has a messed up life.  Since the dictionary is always coming up with new words each year, I thought they ought to add my disease to the list.  I have messed-up-itis.  Sort of like tonsillitis without the sore throat. 

When Adam and Eve ate the apple and listened to a snake in the grass, they contracted this same disease.  We as their descendants immediately became susceptible to the same disease.  Some of the symptoms are lying, deception, anger, hatred, abusiveness, jealousy, foolishness, pride and the list goes on.  I have also learned that there are different degrees of messed-up-itis.  I can be really messed up or a little messed up, but no matter what the degree, we all have it but there is a cure.

So in my messed-up-ness I sin. What can I do to heal from this disease?  The healing starts with my heart.  If my heart is not cleansed, all of the above listed sins will manifest themselves in me.  So today and every day thereafter I work on me.  I am the only one I can change to be what God wants me to be.  I am working on getting rid of my messed-up-itis. 

        

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am messed up. Once this disease gets a hold on you, it is hard to get rid of it and the symptoms that come with it.  I pray for guidance and mercy from You Father.  If I am ever to be all you want me to be, I must first cleanse my heart of the sins that often overtake me.  I praise You for Your patience with me and Your love for me.

Scripture: When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” And He said, “What comes out of man that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” Mark 7:14-23

Jury Duty

Remember that even Jesus' most scathing denunciation - a blistering diatribe against the religious leaders of Jerusalem in Matthew 23 - ends with Christ weeping over Jerusalem. Compassion colored everything He did.  John MacArthur

This week I had the opportunity to see our judicial system at work.  I am not sure how it happens but every year at this time I receive my summons for jury duty.  My husband receives one in random years but I receive one every year like clockwork.   So I was selected out of 600,000 names.  Last time I checked the population of Dallas is over 1.2 million so why does my name get pulled every year?  It always amazes me how much time is wasted in the process.  I always arrive early because when you have jury duty in Dallas County, you are arriving with approximately 2000 other people to serve and parking is a nightmare in downtown Dallas.  I say 2000 and that is an estimate because the numbers went up to 3000 and if you calculate how many people don’t show up that probably makes about 2000 of us sitting in the same room. 

You do get to see a movie and they try to make it better by using local newscasters to narrate but it is not an academy award winner and once you’ve seen it one time you really don’t want a repeat performance.  They have a check in process and on this day there were three windows but only two open so you can imagine the lines.  I had plenty of time to think about the process so I came up with a few time saving things they could do to make things more efficient. 

Everyone who receives a summons gets a sheet with a bar code on it.  The little ladies behind the desk take your sheet and scan it with a bar code reader.  I am thinking a little signage would help and maybe a freestanding barcode reader.  The first sign for one line could say, “If you registered online or by mail step up to the barcode reader and scan your form.  I already know how to do this because the grocery store trained me.  The second sign would read “Questions”.  The third sign would say “Pick the line that best matches your situation.”

So you are expected to be in your seat in the jury room by 8:30am.  So I am sitting in the jury room reading my Kindle.  Finally around 8:45 the lights dim and the movie comes on.  The movie covers all sorts of topics.  Who can serve and who can’t, if you are too old or too young, why it is important to serve, and it even covers your mental capacity to serve.  Once the movie is over there is a 20 minute break.  

Then a young lady comes out and there is an eraser board easel at the front of the room and she starts to write down the court numbers, presiding judges and floors they are located on.  Since there were a lot of cases scheduled for the day this process took a while.  I was thinking if they already know this information, and they must, why don’t they have that already listed on the board prior to us getting there.

We then go through orientation.  This part covers how parking is not free, where the cafeteria is and that they only accept cash in the cafeteria.  Since they only accept cash, orientation tells you where the ATM’s are in the building and you get directions to the cafeteria.  You learn where the bathrooms, vending machines and water fountains are, how to get Dart passes validated and they even tell you when you go to the cafeteria or the hallways you are not to discuss the case being presented.  Once this orientation is complete we get another 20 minute break. 

The lady then starts selecting groups of numbers for the various courts.  Since there was only one small eraser board at the front of the room she ran out of room so she had to erase and rewrite the cases smaller so she could fit more on the board. When your number comes up all the jurors in the group are required to go to the front of the room and get a juror badge.

 

As I watched this process I thought of the purpose of the process.  It is intended to give a person who has committed a crime the opportunity for his/her peers to judge their actions in an impartial manner and decide whether the person is guilty or not. 

This made me think of Jesus.  He was judged and found guilty.  His guilty sentence was not based on truth or facts. Jesus was sinless and died for our sin not His.  Pontius Pilate bowed to popular demand and crucified an innocent man.  People testified against Him, Judas betrayed Him and Peter denied knowing Him, and yet he still showed compassion to those who accused Him.  I want to be more like Him.  I have a long way to go but I will continue to strive for that goal. 

       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be more like Jesus.  I live in a sinful world and it is so easy to get drawn into what the world does and to forget what you placed me here for. Give me the strength and courage to become more like Jesus.    

Scripture: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Matthew 23:37-39

David’s Failure

A wrong view of God leads inevitably to a failure to enjoy and grow in His grace. Failure to appreciate His love, His kindness and generous heart leads eventually to a life which bears no fruit and makes no progress. The lesson is clear: if you would grow in grace, learn what grace is. Taste and see that the Lord is good (see I Peter 2:2).  Sinclair B. Ferguson

I love to read about David in the Bible.  He is one of the best examples of someone who failed over and over again, yet he was still loved by God.  If you study the life of David, he had quite a few large failures.  He started out so well with the whole David and Goliath thing.  He was brave, strong and he stood up for God when no one else would. God gave him the power to overcome Goliath.

 

David didn’t always make good decisions.  His choice to stay home and not go out to battle was the beginning of one of his worst failures.  Remember how David slept with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and then found out Bathsheba was pregnant.  To cover up his sin, he sent Uriah, the man he planned to kill, with a letter to Joab telling him to put Uriah at the front of the battle and retreat from him so that he would be struck down and die.  That was pretty cold to hand the guy you plan to kill the very letter that contained the instructions for his death. 

The thing is there were consequences for David’s sin against Uriah.  In 2 Samuel 12:10-14 we find out David’s punishment for his sin.  Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’”So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” I can’t imagine the death of a child and that was part of the consequence David paid for his sin.

If I look back over my life, I have failed over and over again.  I failed tests in school and even a course in college.  I’ve failed friends, family members and some people I may not even realize I failed along the way.  The thing I have learned is that failure doesn’t have to be my epitaph.  I can be a different person and the person God calls me to be.  Failure doesn’t have to define who I am or where I am going.  It is a part of my life and I accept it as such.  Failure and its consequences are the refining process God uses to make me more like Him.

         

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I have sinned and failed You in so many ways.  Sometimes it is hard for me to understand that You could forgive me.   Then I see Jesus and the sacrifice He made and I understand that You love me too, even in all my failings.  Thank you for redeeming me.  

Scripture:  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:32-33

Loving Others

Here is a spiritual principle: We cannot exercise love unless we are experiencing grace. You cannot truly love others unless you are convinced that God's love for you is unconditional, based solely on the merit of Christ, not on your performance. Our love, either to God or to others, can only be a response to His love for us.  Jerry Bridges

Years ago I would read the paper and in the comics section there was always a “Love Is” cartoon.  It always showed a little boy and girl and below the picture it would say what love is.  Sometimes it would show the little boy giving the girl a flower and the caption would read “Love is…giving her flowers”.  Another one would read “Love is…turning his head.” 

Thinking about those long ago cartoons, I started thinking about what love really is from a biblical perspective. The kind of love that the Bible says we are to have is kind of difficult.  It is hard to love someone who is unlovable.  We were placed on earth to (1) love God and (2) love others.

Sometimes I think we are confused about what love is.  Real love means that we must give up our time for another.  That is how real love grows.  We can give someone money, gifts and all sorts of things, but that doesn’t constitute what love is.  One of the biggest mistakes we make is in thinking that we can give someone enough things that they will know we love them.  We each have a finite amount of time in each day to love God and others.  How do we go about showing love to others?

One of the ways I showed love to my niece and nephews was that I always made time for them.  When they were younger and involved in sports and other activities, I always made a point to get involved in what they were doing.  The thing is, I sacrificed things I wanted to do or had planned to do so that I could spend time with them.  When my nephew was playing football, I would schedule a weekend and take off a Friday from work to drive to Houston to see him play.  When my nephews played soccer I helped coach their team.  That meant giving up portions of my Saturday’s and evenings after work to coach and support them in their activities.  When my niece came to town and was staying with my parents I always made a point to drive out to their house and spend time with her. 

There is another thing that deters us from loving others as God would.  Have you ever met someone and already had a preconceived idea of whether you would like the person or not.  Maybe you had a friend who told you something about the person and you decide that if your friend doesn’t like this person, you won’t either.  I’ve done this in the past so I know what I am talking about.  

Over the years I have learned to discard what a person says about someone else.  If each person you meet has a clean slate when you meet them, you stand a much better chance at learning to love them for who they are and not for what someone else thinks about them. 

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You love me even when I sin.  If You can love me in the midst of my sin, how can I not love others the same way?  Teach me of Your love.  I want the kind of love that sees past the sin to the sinner.  If I look at myself realistically, I will understand that I need the same thing from others. 

                  

Scripture:   Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:12-17

What Lens Do You Use?

If we bear the cross we shall be neither controlled nor influenced by worldly affection but shall be fit to love in the power of the Holy Spirit. Even so did the Lord Jesus love His family while on earth.  Watchman Nee

How do you see people?  By that I mean when you look at someone, what lens do you use?  I have a camera and it has a 14X zoom lens.  When I look through the lens I can see a ladybug on a bush across my yard or when I watch my nephew play football, I can see his face up close even though I am sitting in the stands.  If you were to take the lens that you view the world through, what would you see?   

Too many times I think we look at others with a filtered lens.  I’ve been guilty of it.  When I see or meet an individual for the first time, I make a judgment about that person before they even say anything.  If the person’s hair is different or their clothes are not the current style, we start to see the person through the filter of the world.  If the person doesn’t act like us, talk like us, or look like us, we determine that they are not worth our attention or time.

 

When you remove all the filters from the camera lens, you start to see the world as it is, not how we think it should be. How many times have you heard about the model who had things airbrushed away before she appears on the cover of a magazine?  We are totally shocked when some tabloid takes a photo of that same person and we almost don’t recognize them.

The other side of this is that sometimes we use a filter on ourselves.  We show the world what we want them to see, not who we really are.  When we do this we have placed a filter on their lens.  We decide that we don’t want them to see the sin inside of us, so we pretend we are something we’re not. 

One of the things I love so much about Jesus is that He didn’t view the people in the world as we do.  He didn’t use a lens that filtered out the sin in the person’s life.  He looked at them as God looks at us.  Jesus’ only lens was love.  He looked past the sin to the person within.  God created each of us in His image and Jesus loves each of us exactly how God created us.  

       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to love like Jesus did during His time on earth.  He looked at people with an unfiltered lens.  Help me to remove the filters I use to look at people and myself and see others as Your children.  When I stop looking at and judging others by the worlds standards, I will see what Jesus’ love means.    

              

Scripture:    For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38-39

The Stop Sign

That which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God; our suffering has meaning and purpose in God's eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into our lives only that which is for His glory and our good.  Jerry Bridges

I had an eventful drive home yesterday.  This is the third time we have had snow and ice this year so I am becoming resigned to the fact that if it gets below 32 degrees and it is slightly wet there is no telling what will happen and it often does.

I work to the north of the Dallas Metroplex, (I should say way north).  So I watched the news yesterday and knew there was a chance of snow but the weather guy said it would be dry and no chance of it sticking.  I’m beginning to think I should be the weather person because I can do as good a job as my weather guy by stepping out my back door and looking around.  I don’t even need all the gizmos and gadgets they have to change maps and stuff.

 

Anyway I did fine driving the 27 miles home until I drove onto my street.  It was a solid sheet of ice with snow on top.  So I am creeping slowly down my street trying not to bounce off of the cars parked on either side of the street.  I was doing fine until I came up to my corner.   I had to turn and I was going slowly but my car didn’t slow down.  So I am headed for the curb and the stop sign on the corner.  I find it interesting how clearly you see things when you have no control.  This is the first time I ever noticed that the stop sign on the corner of my street is one of those break away kind, maybe because I was getting ready to see it up close and personal.  You know the kind of sign I am talking about.  It has notches along the sign so that if someone like me comes along and hits it the sign will just break away.  The only reason I know it was this kind of sign is because I could count the notches going up the post I was seeing so clearly as I headed toward it.  So I slid across the street headed for the curb and the sign. 

It felt kind of like what it must feel like to drive in the Geriatric Indy 500.  So as I get closer to the sign my SUV starts to turn sideways parallel to the curb.  My front wheel goes up the curb, the rear end slides around and the back wheel hits the curb and the front wheel goes back off the curb, I then slide a few more yards, turn into the alley slide a few more yards and pull into the driveway of my house.  My husband is standing next to his truck scraping the ice off his windshield. I felt like jumping out of my car throwing my hands in the air and having someone poor champagne over my head. 

I open the door and step out and he asks me, “Who hit something on the corner?”  I said “It was me”.  He said, “What were you doing?”  I said, “I slid around the corner and hit the curb, missed the stop sign, slid up the alley and here I am."  He said “I just heard what sounded like someone else do the same thing.”  He didn’t even tell me what an awesome driver I was to have missed our fence and the neighbor’s brand new one, along with the stop sign and his truck.  

When you are out of control the only one who is in control is God.  Remembering that one important fact comes in handy in all sorts of situations.  God can handle our most out of control moments and turn them into a blessing.  God gave us control over ourselves.  That is where we can choose to have self-control or be out of control.  He promises we will be fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ when we practice self-control.  When outside circumstances take control, let go and let Him. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, over the years I have been in circumstances where I felt out of control. What I learned over the years is that in every out of control situation You intended good to come out of it. Years ago I when I was driving and got into an out of control situation, I would white knuckle my way through it.  What I learned over the years is to praise You for getting me through it because You are in control.  

    

Scripture: But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-11

The Dream

Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays. Andrew Murray

Have you ever had a dream to be or do something and someone came up to you and told you that it wasn’t possible or you couldn’t do it?  The discouragement that comes from doubt and disbelief can bring a dream crashing to the ground. 

For the past ten years I have watched my parents build a business.  My Mom had a dream and she and my Dad have pursued it with passion.  They started this business when she was in her 60’s. If I ever question what God can do all I have to do is look at my parents and I am amazed. 

The thing I admire most about them is that their customers come first.  It isn’t about how much they make, but it is about helping others.  In everything they do with their business they are helping people. 

I like to think about what a reporter with a camera would see if they were watching and videoing them.  Every event they do, there are always people who just stop by to visit.  It is not unusual to see them at a farmer’s market with their booth packed with people. Sometimes the majority of those people are just stopping by to visit and get a hug.  The thing is my parents welcome visitors.  The most important part is that the people who just stop by to visit know that they are loved.  The second most important thing is every person on earth is just a visitor here and if we want to make a difference in this world for God, love is where it starts.  

We are only here for two things.  We are to learn to love God and other people. My parents have taught me how to love God and other people.  I pray that I can be an example to others as they have been to me. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, over the years I have watched my parents build a business based on faith and love.  We’ve prayed for Your guidance and blessing and that Your will be done.  You have blessed us beyond measure.   Their business is not a mega-million dollar company, but they have wealth beyond measure.  Money doesn’t matter to You but people do.  I praise You for giving my parents the ability to love others.  That is an invaluable lesson I learned from them.   

Scripture: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-39

Be Generous and Do Good

Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.  Galatians 6:6-10

Make Me Broken

Learn this lesson: not to trust Christ because you repent, but trust Christ to make you repent; not to come to Christ because you have a broken heart, but to come to Him that He may give you a broken heart; not to come to Him because you are fit to come, but to come to Him because you are unfit to come. Your fitness is your unfitness. Your qualification is your lack of qualification.  Charles Spurgeon

Have you ever prayed to be broken?  Brokenness is not fun and it isn’t meant to be.  Brokenness means we are at the bottom not the top.  In our humanness we want to be unbroken and untouched where tragedy and trouble don’t happen.  The problem is if we remain unbroken we often will never see God as the Redeemer of brokenness.

There have been many times in my life when I was broken and I admit I never prayed for it.  The thing I have since learned is that God loved me enough to allow me to be broken whether I wanted it or not.  One of the definitions I read about the word brokenness is that it means to not function properly or to be out of working order. 

What does brokenness do for us? It helps us to understand that we can’t do it on our own.  Our strength is not enough and never will be enough.  It brings us to the end of ourselves.  When we are at the end of me we are then free to accept that we can’t do it alone and we are then able to look up.  God never intended for us to go on this journey alone.  He wants us to turn to Him but sometimes we won’t do that until we learn that He is the only one that can help us. If we allow pride or selfishness to stand in our way, then we will never see God in the proper light. 

Too many times when we are in the midst of trouble and sorrow, the first thing we do is look for an escape.  How many times have you asked yourself “If I can just escape the pain I will be fine”?  If you have ever done that and then later looked back, you will probably find that you didn’t learn much from the escape.  The times that I learned the most and became the closest to my Creator was when I didn’t escape and went through it.  If your escape includes going around, over or under the obstacle; stop what you are doing and look up.  God will help you through it if you will let Him.

I have always been moved by music.  There is a beautiful song by Sidewalk Prophets called “Keep Making Me”.  The following are three verses of the song that describe what it means to let go and let God.

Make me broken
So I can be healed
‘Cause I'm so calloused
And now I can't feel
I want to run to You
With heart wide open
Make me broken

Make me empty
So I can be filled
‘Cause I'm still holding
Onto my will
And I'm completed
When You are with me
Make me empty

Chorus
‘Til You are my one desire
‘Til You are my one true love
‘Til You are my breath, my everything
Lord, please keep making me

Make me lonely
So I can be Yours
‘Til I want no one
More than You, Lord
‘Cause in the darkness
I know You will hold me
Make me lonely

Writers: David Frey / Ben McDonald / Sam Mizell

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I have been broken over and over again in my life.  The one thing I know above everything else is that You held me when I was broken.  You loved me through it all.  If I had never been broken, I would never have seen You as my Savior and Redeemer.  I praise You for my brokenness because it helped me to know what Your love is and if brokenness draws me closer to You, then I am thankful.

Scripture:  The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.  Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.  Psalm 147:2-6

Come Back New

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 behavior will be transformed.  Charles Stanley

I was listening to a commercial on the radio this morning.  It had a serious undertone to it just by the music in the background and the guy’s voice.  It started out talking about a little boy in school who was asked to tell about an experience he had, but as the commercial went on it said the boy couldn’t speak and didn’t say a word.  The speaker went on to say that it wasn’t because he was embarrassed to speak in front of the group, or in front of a special girl who was in the room.  It went on to say the reason he couldn’t speak was because there were no words to describe the experience.  How could you describe ruins that were older than your grandfather, or watch movies under a blanket of stars too many to count or swim with turtles close enough to touch? The last line was what got me.   If you went on this trip you would come back “new”. 

I have been on many Caribbean trips in my lifetime.  I have been to the Bahamas, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Playa del Carmen and I’ve even been on a cruise to Jamaica, Cozumel and the Grand Caymans.  Every trip was exciting and the scenery was beautiful.  I’ve seen beautiful white beaches that looked like sugar and soft breezes blowing palm trees while waves washed onto the shore.  I’ve seen stars too numerous to count.  The thing is I didn’t come back “new”.  I came back sometimes with sunburn, other times worn out and then there was the whole thing about I didn’t want to come back home at all.  Don’t get me wrong.  I enjoyed every trip and the beauty of my surroundings. It is pretty hard to describe a sky so blue, the sun so bright and the sand so white that it hurts your eyes to look at it.  But the one thing I didn’t do was come back “new”. 

I think the guy in the commercial and I have a totally different concept of what it means to come back “new”.  When my pastor buried my sin when I was baptized, I came back “new”.  I was no longer that old self.  My sins were washed away and I could see things I had never seen before and felt things I had no hope of feeling before my baptism.  Coming back "new" changes you from the inside out.  It is like the waves on that white sandy beach crashed over you and as they receded, they took the sin and shame with them.  When you come back “new” it is indescribable, overwhelming and amazing.  Choose to come back “new”.   

    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I have seen some beautiful things and places in my life, but none can compare to my first sight of You.  The washing away of my sin renewed me and changed me.  I will never be the same and Jesus made it possible for me to return to You.  I am “new” from the inside out and I am forever grateful for the beauty of You.

Scripture: Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

And He said to me, “It is done!  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.  He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. ” Revelation 21:1-7