Refining Me

The thankful heart sees the best part of every situation. It sees problems and weaknesses as opportunities, struggles as refining tools, and sinners as saints in progress. Francis Frangipane

God is in the process of refining me and to be honest with you, He has His work cut out for Him. 

I woke up late this morning.  Needless to say I get anxious when that happens.  I am not sure why, because the day is going to roll on without me even if I didn’t get up.  The other thing is I don’t have to actually be at work until 8:00am and I normally leave my house at 5:30am.  I know, about now you are thinking is she insane.  Why would she get up at 4:30am to be at work by 6:30am if she doesn’t have to start working until 8:00am.  Believe me, I have had people ask me if I am crazy.  Last time I checked, I didn’t think so, but then what do I know about crazy. 

So in reality I am not late just early.  The reason I get to work early is to write my devotional and spend the first hour and a half of my day meditating on God and His greatness.  So I am driving down the road in the “fast lane” and have you ever noticed how when you are in a hurry everyone else slows down.  I am trying to go 70 in the fast lane, which is the speed limit, and the only people in the fast lane are those going 60.   

Here’s the thing.  I get to work and one of my coworkers stops by my office to talk to me.  This is not someone that is normally in the office as early as I get here.  We start talking about how she spilled coffee on her new shoes this morning and then on her new dress.  She then starts to talk about how her mother is in the hospital and nearing the end of her life.  Her mother has alzheimer’s, dementia and is not eating or drinking.  Before you know it we are both in tears.  She tells me how she and her sister are trying to make end of life decisions for her mother and how hard it is.  In that moment it was like God hit me over the head with a two by four.  Why was I so concerned over being late? 

God did some refining in me this morning.  The things that I was anxious about this morning are minor compared to the big picture.  God really wants me to leave the details up to Him.  The problem is we live in a world where we are taught to be “self-sufficient” and “independent”.  When we live our life that way we tend to forget about God and His strength.

If God calls you to do something, His strength is and will be sufficient.  He promises us that His grace is sufficient.  Since the world teaches us that we should be self-sufficient I often forget that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness.  Why does it work that way?  Because when I am at my weakest and most vulnerable, that is when I understand that it is God working and not me.  When we determine that we can’t do it on our own, that is when God will do His best work in us.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I continually try to take the reins away from You and do things on my own.  As you so often remind me, Your grace is sufficient for me and Your strength is made perfect in my weakness.  Thank you for refining me.  When I am at my weakest is when I see You more clearly.  Help me to take pleasure in the difficulties that I encounter in life.  Through them I will see You. 

      

Scripture: Thorn in the Flesh

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

Gladys & Parenting

Above all, we [as parents] must make sure that the open book of our lives - our example - demonstrates the reality of our instruction, for in watching us they will learn the most. R. Kent Hughes

This year because our trees in the yard didn’t put on leaves until later in the season, Gladys decided to build her nest in the fan on our patio.  Initially when I saw them both land in the fake ficus on the patio and it started to sway, I thought “I hope they’re not planning on building a place there.”  So we removed the fake ficus and they chose the fan instead. The ceiling fan is hollow around the top so it made a perfect place for the nest.  Since Gladys is not a great nest builder the fan casing holds her nest in place and the Pips don’t fall out the bottom.  Since the fan is right outside our kitchen window we have had the opportunity to see the new Pips in action. 

If you want to see God in action, look at all the nature around you.  How could God not be involved?  We watched these two fuzzy little birds grow feathers in 2 days.  I was watching them this weekend and I took photos.  I think they are so used to my husband and I walking around out on the patio that they just sit and watch us just like we watch them.  It’s kind of like watching monkeys at the zoo.  

    

On Sunday I stepped out onto the patio to take some photos of them.  The babies have gotten so big that they barely fit inside the fan casing.  So I took a picture and when I looked at it, the baby has his head buried inside the fan casing but the rest of his body is poking out of the top.  It’s like he was hiding in plain sight.

One of the things I noticed was that anytime I was outside on the patio, Gladys was nearby.  At one point she was on the roof of the shed in our backyard, another time she was sitting under the patio on one of our chairs.  I would look out the back door and she would be gone but as soon as I stepped out the door she would be back sitting nearby always watching the Pips.  It made me think of Gladys and her watchfulness over her young.  God created in this creature the ability to teach her babies to fly, fend for themselves, find food and to know what to do when danger is near. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You created everything on this earth.  When I watch nature it gives me a glimpse of how You want us to be.  The mother bird on my patio doesn’t go out and stockpile food for her young.  She doesn’t know to fear tomorrow because she doesn’t think about tomorrow, she only lives in the moment.  We on the other hand are constantly looking ahead trying to figure out what will happen tomorrow when today is all that matters.  Help me to stop searching my tomorrows and live in today for You.      

Scripture: Do Not Worry

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  Matthew 6:25-34

As Long as Necessary

Forgiveness is repeating the process as long as necessary.

“Peter came to him and asked, ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’” (Jewish law said you had to forgive a person three times, so Peter doubled it and threw one in for good measure.) “‘No, not seven times,’ Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!’” (Matthew 18:21-22 NLT)

I was thinking about forgiveness as I read the passage in Matthew 18:21-22.  One of the ways that I always fail is when I know what is right but I don’t do it.  It’s self-defeating isn’t it?  I mean God tells us clearly what we should do but we decide not to do what is right. 

The correlation between how God forgives us and how we are to forgive others is directly tied to how God will treat us one day when we stand before Him.  Remember the parable of the unforgiving servant who had his master forgive him of a debt but then he turned around and didn’t forgive someone who owed him. 

I think one of the biggest issues we face is that we think our sin is not the same as the next guys. We pull out a measuring stick and start measuring our sin against our brothers and sisters and we decide that our sin is not as bad as the other guys.  The reality is that in God’s eyes all sin is bad.  There are no degrees of sin.  If I start to look at my sin as equal to that of someone else, that is when I see the true blessing in God’s forgiveness of my sin. 

In this parable the words “over and over” again have new meaning.  When we take the sin that is committed against us and turn it into forgiveness we are becoming more like Christ. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I don’t always do what is right when it comes to forgiveness. Many times I start measuring my sin against someone else’s and I start to think I am not so bad.  The reality of it is I am just as bad as the next guy in my sin.  Help me to forgive as You tell us to in Matthew 18. I want to be more like Christ in my forgiveness of others.

Scripture: Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”  Matthew 18:21-35

The Cloud

Let this encourage those of you who belong to Christ: the storm may be tempestuous, but it is only temporary. The clouds that are temporarily rolling over your head will pass, and then you will have fair weather, an eternal sunshine of glory. Can you not watch with Christ for one hour? William Gurnall

I am now in "the Cloud".  My work computer was recently converted to "the Cloud".  Some days I think it should be that I was converted to walk under a Cloud but I digress.  Several weeks ago when I was converted, I sent out my devotional and some of the email addresses that I had in my distribution list came back with an error.

 

The error message went something like this.  (to protect the innocent or guilty as the case may be, I have changed the message slightly but I think you will still get my drift.)

in28.bjc.kx.trendmicro.com rejected your message to the following email address:

Access denied.  Your message wasn’t delivered due to a permission or security issue.  It may have been rejected by a moderator, (no idea what that is or why I would need one), the address may only accept email from certain senders (I sort of took this personally because some people are accepted and I’m not), or another restriction may be preventing delivery.  For more tips to resolve this issue see (Double 007 agent 5 Code 7 in Exchange in the Cloud and Get Smart)

I am not so sure being in “the Cloud” in this instance is all it’s cracked up to be.  Ever since I moved to “the Cloud” thunder storms have been raining on my parade. I have no way of contacting the people who were eliminated from my list by my computer being added to “the Cloud”. Then there is the whole syncing issue. There are things syncing to my phone that I have no idea where they came from.  Then I started receiving spam advertisements for sunglasses, over and over again.  I’m thinking there is a correlation there somewhere about being in the cloud and needing sunglasses but I can’t figure out what it is.

Technology can be helpful and harmful depending on how you look at it.  After trying all the remedies for fixing my Cloud I gave up and prayed.  I figure if anyone can fix “the Cloud”, God can.  If He wants my message to get somewhere it will and the earthly “Cloud” won’t have anything to do with it and He won’t send me spam for sunglasses while fixing it.

I find it interesting that there are many instances in the Bible where God led His people by a pillar of cloud.  God in all His glory and power could not be seen by His people so he used a cloud to show them that He was with them.  When the pillar of cloud moved His people followed.  Later when the Israelites were disobedient, God removed the cloud so they would know he was no longer with them.  God’s used a cloud to care over His people.  That is it kind of cloud I want, the "Almighty God Cloud".

 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, technology is sometimes a challenge for me. I am so thankful that I don’t need some special gizmo or gadget to communicate with You.  Your line is always open and I don’t have to get in “the Cloud” to reach You.  Thank You for the amazing glory of Your presence in my life. 

       

Scripture: So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.  He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.  Exodus 13:20-22

The Cloud and the Glory

Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.  Exodus 40:34-38

Know It & Admit It

There are two kinds of people in the world; people who are broken and sinful and know it and people who are broken and sinful and won’t admit it.  Rick Warren

Do you know you are broken?  You know what I am talking about.  You can look back on your life and see the places where you are broken but there are two kinds of people in the world.  Those who understand and accept their brokenness and those who pretend that they aren’t broken and will do everything they can to hide what is broken inside.

 

I remember years ago when I was a kid I had this really cool, (at least I thought it was), turquoise bike.  It had a white banana seat with turquoise and white fringe that hung from the handlebars and a bell that you could ring to warn people to get out of the way.  I wasn’t mechanically inclined back then, but every once in a while the chain that operated my super turbo charged bike would come off.  The problem with that is I could never get the chain back on and without it my turbo turned into a no go.  When that happened I would have to go to my Dad and get him to put the chain back on.

If you have ever tried to get anywhere when the chain comes off your bike you know that basically you are literally left spinning your wheels.  Until you fix it you will never get far.  When I thought of this story it started me thinking about how we are often just like that broken bicycle chain. We are a broken people.  Each one of us is plagued with brokenness.  The problem is some of us know it and admit it and others of us know it but won’t admit it.

If you are broken and know it, you will admit and confess the brokenness to someone else.  If may be a close friend or family member that you confess your brokenness to, but you will confess it. What happens when you do this is that you start the healing process.  Just as I went to my Dad all those years ago to fix my broken bike, I must turn to others to fix my broken self. 

What happens when you don’t admit you’re broken?  You get nowhere.  It is like riding a bicycle with no chain.  The pedals will spin but you don’t move forward.  When we are broken and won’t admit it, we are consumed with guilt.  When we don’t share it with someone we trust and who will love us unconditionally, the brokenness of sin will take over our life and turn into guilt.  We pretend that we have it all together even when others can see we don’t.  If you think about it we become a master of disguises.

 

God created us to need others.  We go to Him for forgiveness and we go to others for healing.  If your chain is broken, share it with someone who loves you unconditionally and let the healing begin.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am broken and I admit it.  I need Your forgiveness for my sin and brokenness, but I need others for healing.  Help me to be transparent when it comes to my brokenness.  If I share the broken parts of me it will lead to healing.  You know all of us are broken, yet You love us anyway.  I praise You for continuing to pursue me even when I don’t deserve it.  A love like Yours is priceless. 

     

Scripture: Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.  James 5:16-20

Living for Today

There is no more blessed way of living, than the life of faith based upon a covenant-keeping God - to know that we have no care, for He cares for us; that we need have no fear, except to fear Him; that we need have no troubles, because we have cast our burdens upon the Lord, and are conscience that He will sustain us.  Charles Spurgeon

I had my cancer check-up yesterday.  Once a year I go back to see my oncologist.  When I went into the office there was a long line of people waiting to be checked in.  It never fails to humble me as I walk through those doors.  The waiting area is large and it was full.  After I checked in I turned and saw a young woman waiting to have her blood drawn.  The woman was slightly taller than me but she was extremely thin.  She had a scarf around her head as she didn’t have any hair.

 

As I sat there and glanced at this young woman, it was like catching a glimpse of myself nine years ago.  You know how your mind can be like a movie reel running through scenes.  I remember when I went back to work how my clothes didn’t fit.  The next scene was at my grandmother’s funeral and how I was so thankful when it was over so I could take off my fake hair.

As the reels ran through my mind I remembered the support group meetings that I attended and the many women I met and those who later died from this disease.  As I thought back about that time in my life it struck me that during that time I was living in the moment, on that day each and every day.  I was not looking ahead or looking behind.  My sole focus was on putting one step in front of another and just making it to the end of the day still living. 

I then asked myself this question.  Why don’t I do that every day?  Why do I constantly look behind me at the mistakes I have made in my life, or continuously look ahead to what I think I may or may not accomplish tomorrow, next week or even next year?  If I focus on today, tomorrow will take care of itself if it ever comes at all.

    

I love the words Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20-21.  “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."  If I give myself up to God, I will no longer be worried about the broken body I live in today.

 

Prayer for the Day: Father my citizenship is in heaven with You.  Living for today means my focus is on You, not on what will happen tomorrow.  If I place my trust in You and give my life over to You my goal is always in sight.  When I stop worrying about yesterday and live for today I will eagerly await our Lord Jesus Christ’s return.  

   

Scripture: Pressing Toward the Goal

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. Philippians 3:12-16

Teach Me How to Fail

Success is on the same road as failure; success is just a little further down the road. Jack Hyles

Failing is not a disgrace unless you make it the last chapter of your book. Jack Hyles

I read an article recently in our local newspaper that was written by a senior at a local high school. The statement that caught my attention was this:  “There is still one thing I fear I never learned: how to fail.”  Marisa Charpentier

As I read the article this high school senior talked about how school teaches students how to solve math problems, write essays and formulate experiments based on guidelines given to students by the teacher. Structure prevents students from exploring their own creative abilities and problem-solving skills. Students often ask the teacher what will be covered on the test or what an assignment should look like so that they can achieve a high grade.

When I read this I started thinking about how this was true when I was in school.  We are taught to color inside the lines and if we go outside the lines we fail.  We were taught from the time we entered school that failure was unacceptable and we learned to fear failure. 

I recently read an article about Thomas Edison. Edison attended public school for 12 weeks.  During that time he was perceived as hyperactive and prone to distraction and his teacher deemed him difficult so his mother pulled him out of school and taught him at home.  Most of what he learned came from reading and his interest in various subjects.  At the age of 12 he published his own newspaper that he distributed to passengers riding the train.  He had failures including an electronic voting recorder that would quickly tally votes in the legislature.  The thing he never did was stop trying.  By the end of his life he had invented and patented the light bulb, phonograph and the first motion picture camera and the alkaline battery.  He had over 1000 patents.

If we look at it from a biblical perspective, there were many failures there too.  Peter failed Jesus when he denied Him.  David failed God when he had Uriah killed and committed adultery with Bathsheba. 

What can we learn from failure?  We learn that it doesn’t have to be our final chapter.

      

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I fail over and over again. Sometimes I fail in my job, other times I fail my family and most importantly I fail You.  One of the most important things I have learned is that through my failure I have a choice.  I can decide to sit down and quit or get up again and move forward.  When I fail in life, help me to get back up and pursue You with all my heart.  

   

Scripture: Pressing Toward the Goal

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-13

The Pain of a Savior

Look at Him at Gethsemane, sweating as it were great drops of blood; look at Him on the cross, crucified between two thieves; hear that piercing cry, "Father, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." And as you look into that face, as you look into those wounds on His feet or His hands, will you say He has not the power to save you? Will you say He has not the power to redeem you? D.L. Moody

When I read about the days leading up to the death of Jesus on the cross, I often think about how much courage that took and how lonely that time was for Jesus.  In all my imaginings I am not able to fathom how much pain and sorrow was in His heart for a people who were ungrateful and many times indifferent. 

In my entire life I have had one surgery.  The pain after it was enough to bring me to my knees, but during the process of the surgery I had anesthesia to deaden the pain so that while they were making the foot long incision, at least I couldn’t feel it and wasn’t aware of the pain.

When I think about Jesus that brings me to my knees.  How could it not.  If someone walked up to you on the street and placed a crown of thorns on your head, walked you to a cross and took spikes and nailed them through your hands and feet, then lifted you up into the air so that the weight of your body was pulling at the wounds in your hands and feet, would there ever be a point where you looked up to heaven and said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

I am weak and lowly compared to Jesus.  The courage it took to give up His life for a people who were ungrateful, hateful and cruel is sometimes beyond my understanding and comprehension.  There are people in this world today who do the same thing that happened all those years ago.  They say He isn’t our Savior and He isn’t the Son of God and any other number of untrue statements. 

If I didn’t have a Savior who died a horrible death on a cross and brought me a way back to God, then what hope would I have in this life?  He is risen and His death came at great cost. Jesus is my Savior and no one can take that from me.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for providing a way back to relationship with You through the death of Your Son on a cross.  Jesus is the Lamb of God who died for my sins.  I praise Him for loving me enough to give up His life as the ultimate sacrifice for a sinful person like me.  Thank You Father for giving me a chance to live in eternity with You forever.

 

Scripture: The Prayer in the Garden

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:36-39

Lost In God

They have not been lost in God, else they would be able to take in their stride all things as nothing. Watchman Nee

When I read this quote it struck me how we need to become lost in God.  If we are lost in God, the things of this earthly life will not mean much to us. 

For those of you who don’t know who Watchman Nee is, here is a little history.  Watchman Nee was a Chinese Christian author and church leader.  He was born in 1903 and became a Christian at the age of 17.  He didn’t attend any theological schools or Bible institutes.  Everything he learned was by studying the Bible and reading various Christian books. He traveled throughout China planting churches in rural communities and holding Christian conferences. In 1952 he was imprisoned for his faith and remained there until his death in 1972.

 

Can you imagine spending 20 years in prison because of your faith?  When you put it in this perspective, we don’t really have a hard life do we?  I have the freedom to worship where I choose, practice my faith in whatever way I see fit and the opportunity to share my faith with others without fear of being imprisoned.

This history of Watchman Nee reminded me of Paul and Silas who were beaten and imprisoned for their faith.  The story is that a slave girl was possessed of a spirit and she brought her master profit by fortune-telling.  The young woman followed Paul and would cry out, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” Paul became so annoyed that he turned to her and said to the spirit, ““I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” and the spirit came out of her.  When her masters realized that their money train had some to an end, they took Paul and Silas to the magistrates and were beaten and thrown into prison for their faith.

Today we don’t have to worry about being thrown in prison for our faith, but we don’t know what tomorrow may bring.  As I watch schools and courts fighting over the use of the name of God in everything from state and public buildings and schools to not allowing children to bring anything to school or wear anything that professes their faith, we might see the day when we will be persecuted for our faith.  How strong we are in that faith will make the difference in how we handle imprisonment if it ever happens.

The following is a quote by Watchman Nee that I think sums up what Jesus Christ did for each of us so that we could have everlasting life in Heaven.

“Christ is the Son of God who died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ.”  Watchman Nee

       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be lost in You. I want my life to be punctuated with thoughts of You. Through the process of studying Your Word and meditating on it, your promises of life everlasting will color everything I do.  I love the stories in the Bible that show that every day people accomplished great things for You.  Help me to be one of those people.

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

Security

Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your saviour, your guide? If He is, you don't need to search any further for security.  Elisabeth Elliot

Where does your security lie?  When I thought about this question some of the things that came to mind were, my job, my home, family and friends, the security system on my house.  The problem with this kind of thinking is that it isn’t true.

One of the things I have figured out is that my job can fail.  I can lose it, it can be taken away from me, I can make the decision to leave it.  If you look at it from that perspective, there is not much security there.

How about your home?  I can lose it due to mismanagement of funds (not making the mortgage payment), it can burn down due to faulty wiring, someone setting fire to it or leaving something cooking on the stove can make it go up in flames.

Then there are family and friends.  These can be lost due to mismanagement of relationships, differing values and beliefs or plain old neglect.

What about my security system on my home?  If I forget to turn it on there is no security there, or how about if a mouse gets in and decides to chew the wires and short circuits the system.

 

When we place our trust in worldly security it will fail.  Why does this happen?  Because we are human and the world is filled with fallible things. When we learn that there is no better security than that which is found in God we have found our resting place.  He is the only security that will never fail us.  If we place our trust and faith in Him, He is the only security we will ever need. 

I love this quote by Elisabeth Elliot. “Take the word of the Lord in your darkness. If He died to let us live in his company, is He likely to abandon us just because things look dark?”  That’s the security I want.  If things in your world seem hopeless, rest in Him.

Prayer for the Day: Father, You are my security.  In You I can place my trust and You will never fail me nor forsake me.  Help me to remember that the things of this world are fleeting and not to place my hope in them.  My hope is in You Father and I praise You for your strength and presence when all else fails. 

   

Scripture: For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth.  He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.  Psalm 33:4-5

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.  Psalm 33:18-22

Fulfill Your Mission

The only way the corporate Body of Christ will fulfill the mission Christ has given it is for individual Christians to have a vision for fulfilling that mission personally. David Jeremiah

I haven’t always fulfilled my mission in life.  There are all kinds of things that can get in the way.  The stuff the world throws at me can be a distraction from my real mission and the things I choose to do instead of continue working on my mission in life can lead me further away from my purpose here.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we take on a new role in life and a new mission. 

To many times I think we misunderstand the word mission.  I admit when I think of that word it often brings to mind travel to a foreign country to help others.  I think we sometimes forget that there are missions right where we are and sometimes next door.  God may be calling you to fulfill your mission at your workplace or in your neighborhood or in the grocery store.

 

Last weekend I headed out at 5:30 am to do an event and I stopped at a gas station to get water.  I stepped in line behind another customer.  The man in front of me was angry.  The clerk was taking a few minutes to try to get the cash register to work and the man in front of me started complaining about how they should learn how to teach their employees how to properly work the equipment.  He finally told the clerk to just give him back his card and he would come back when they learned how to train their people. 

As the man walked away I stepped up to the counter and asked the clerk in a kind voice how he was doing.  He wouldn’t meet my eyes but he said he was ok.  I could tell the other man had embarrassed him and he was still flustered.  As he was ringing up my purchases, he rang it up wrong and apologized and said he would need to void and ring it up again.

 

I had a choice to make.  I could get impatient and because I was up at 5:30 am on a Saturday morning and still bleary eyed, I could have been belligerent like the other customer.  I chose not to be.  I told the clerk it was fine and as I turned to leave I told him I hoped he would be blessed today. 

We have times each and every day where we can fulfill our mission on earth.  How many of those do we miss because we are in a hurry or too busy to take the time for a kind word.  That one instance can make a huge difference in another person’s life.  Take the time to fulfill your mission. The glory it brings to God is priceless.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to fulfill my mission on earth.  I want to be the tool You use to show someone else the redeeming grace that You have shown me.  Help me to keep my eyes open for opportunities to share You with others.  I praise You for Your many blessings on my life and for keeping me focused on my purpose.    

Scripture: But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  Acts 20:24

An Army or a Savior

The prevailing idea seems to be, that I come to God and ask Him for something that I want, and that I expect Him to give me that which I have asked. But this is a most dishonouring and degrading conception. The popular belief reduces God to a servant, our servant: doing our bidding, performing our pleasure, granting our desires. No, prayer is a coming to God, telling Him my need, committing my way unto the Lord, and leaving Him to deal with it as seemeth Him best. A.W. Pink

When you pray do you ever think seriously about what it is you are asking for?  This weekend our pastor spoke about the importance of Palm Sunday.  He talked about how many times when we pray we often ask for things that we want versus things that we need.

When the pastor spoke about Palm Sunday he talked about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.  He even sent two of the disciples in ahead of Him to get the donkey.  If you think about it Jesus didn’t have a ride, he had to borrow one.  As Jesus approached the city the people threw down their cloaks and spread branches on the road and shouted “Hosanna”.  The really sad part about this story is that a week later these very same people would be shouting for our Savior’s death on a cross. 

In complete contrast to how Jesus entered the city, Pilate entered in a chariot with horses as if he were going to battle. I think the people of that day really wanted Jesus to enter the city the way Pilate did with great fanfare and a big army.

 

I think the people of that time were no different than us.  They wanted a Savior who would ride in on a great steed with a great army and conquer the Romans and take back their city.  I think they were disappointed in Jesus.  They didn’t really understand what their need was.  They needed a Savior and wanted an army. The very people who had cried “Hosanna” when Jesus entered Jerusalem, now shouted “crucify Him”. 

If you think about it, we would have no chance of salvation if Jesus had not arrived the way He did. This story was already written and Jesus knew the ending.  It would cost Jesus His life to save us. Jesus met our need not our want.  The people in Jerusalem on that day wanted revenge, not redemption.

Prayer for the Day: Jesus, I praise You for meeting my need and dying on the cross for me a lowly sinner.  What an amazing love for an often unloving people.  You died on a cross for my sin so that I would have a chance to live in heaven for eternity.  Thank you for Your amazing sacrifice.  

Scripture: Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.”

But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”

They said, “Barabbas!”

Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”

They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!”

Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?”

But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”

When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”

And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”

Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.  Matthew 27:15-26

Broken Things

God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever. Vance Havner

When I read this quote I started thinking about how true it is in our daily life. We are a broken people living in a broken world.  When I think of Peter denying Christ three times it breaks my heart.  Peter loved Jesus but he was weak like us.  When push came to shove he denied Him.

 

The thing is, we do this every day in our own lives. When we don’t stand up for our Savior we are just like Peter who denied Him over and over again.  One of the hardest things for me is to go against public opinion.  I am a people pleaser by nature and in the past I always wanted people to like me.  The problem is when you stand for Christ there are going to be a lot of people who won’t like what you have to say or appreciate what you believe. 

I read another quote by Vance Havner that put it in perspective for me. “A preacher should have the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child and the hide of a rhinoceros. His biggest problem is how to toughen his hide without hardening his heart.” If we take a stand for God, we will need all the ammunition we can get and tough hides.  It will mean standing up for unpopular opinions and bucking the system.  People will dislike you, ridicule you and talk about you. 

I like to think of it like a race.  When you think you can’t take another step you do it anyway.  Once you take that step you figure out that you survived it, so you take another and another.  We aren’t sprinting to the finish line.  Our life on earth is one long race and it can be the difference in a race well run or the opposite and that would be a race never run. 

     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am broken.  What I do know is that if I place my trust in You and continue, You are there to guide and direct my steps even in the midst of my brokenness.  Without You I am nothing and will get nowhere.  When Jesus died on the cross, it gave me the opportunity to run the race of a lifetime.  Keep me focused on You and remind me to give all the glory to You.  

    

Scripture: Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”

Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”

And so said all the disciples.  Matthew 26:31-35

Relevant

I have met so many young people who do not see the church as relevant and do not consider the Bible a real book of history that can be trusted.  Ken Ham

I heard a disturbing report this morning on the news.  The American Bible Society takes an annual poll every year related to the Bible.  They found that 1 in 5 Americans are skeptical of the Bible’s relevance.  The ones who are most indifferent in the study are those between the ages of 18-29.

    

I grew up in a Christian home where the Bible is truth and it governs how we live our lives. I still have my first Bible that my grandmother gave me.  It has my name engraved on the front in gold letters.  The binding is worn and a little torn but isn’t that the way your Bible should be.  When my Bible shows no wear and tear then I am probably not opening it often enough. In my eyes the relevance of the Bible is best described in John 14:6  - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

I admit there were times in my younger years where I didn’t always follow the way of the Bible. We are sinners and we are susceptible to worldly sin.  I think the problem today lies in how children are being exposed to the Bible if at all.  If we don’t teach them about what the Bible means, how will they ever learn how truly relevant It is.

We are given the opportunity of a lifetime to be saved for eternity and to share it with everyone we come in contact with but too many times we hesitate.  If 1 in 5 Americans don’t believe the Bible is relevant, we as a society are in trouble. 

       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, the Bible is relevant to me.  I praise You for giving me the Book that helps me through any trouble I may face in this life.  It is a love story to Your people.  Help me to value it as a priceless treasure and to share it with a younger generation who may have never heard of its great importance or fully understand the consequences of not appreciating it for what it is. 

Scripture: 

Faith Triumphs in Trouble

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.

Christ in Our Place

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5:1-11