A Time for Everything

Trials should not surprise us, or cause us to doubt God's faithfulness. Rather, we should actually be glad for them. God sends trials to strengthen our trust in him so that our faith will not fail. Our trials keep us trusting; they burn away our self-confidence and drive us to our Saviour.  Edmund Clowney

I was reading Ecclesiastes 3 and the verse that stuck with me was in verse one (“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”)  What does that mean?

This is what I think it means.  There is a season for everything.  That means that we are going to have many seasons in our lives and some of those seasons will be good and some will be bad. 

So here is an example from my life of a bad season.  The worst season of my life was cancer. At the time I didn’t think that was purposed for my good. What happened was in time I thanked God for that season.  Why?  In the current season of my life I thank Him for willing that to happen in my life because it drew me closer to Him.  I was going through life not thinking much about God at all and then “cancer”.  If you want something to get your attention that one did it for me. 

Each of us during our lifetime will go through many seasons and every one of us can probably remember the season that was the worst.  It might me the failure of a business, the loss of a spouse, loss of a job, the list is endless.  There is an unlimited supply in this world of bad seasons.  When we are in the bad season is when we should turn to Him and lay it at His feet.  He is the only One who can bring us to the other side of that season and help us to understand the value of it in our life. 

I heard a woman who had survived breast cancer say that she didn’t understand how anyone could consider cancer a blessing.  I have to say I consider it God’s favor on me.  He loved me enough to allow me to suffer so that I could get a true picture of Who He is, but my thankfulness didn’t come until a later season in life where I was not in the midst of chemo, lost hair and illness.  In the proper season His purpose was revealed to me and what a blessing it has been in my life. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You know what is best for me and I give my life to You to do as You will.  Take me and mold me into what You want me to be.  I am nothing without You.  You have blessed me over and over again during the hard seasons of my life.  You have also blessed me with good seasons.  I praise You for the tough times that teach me to love You more. 

Scripture:  Everything Has Its Time

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:  A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;  A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;  A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;  A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;  A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

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 imperfections in myself, I can then more easily see and accept the imperfections 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

Cash Back

It is not your business to succeed, but to do right: when you have done so, the rest lies with God.  C.S. Lewis

Have you ever really thought about cash back?  You know the commercials that advertise you can get cash back on tires, gas, groceries etc….   The commercial is intended to make you spend more but they make it sound so enticing.  It is kind of ironic don’t you think that they sell us on buying more so you can get something back.

In reality they are trying to convince us that the more you spend the more you save.  What kind of thinking is that?  I am currently reading a book about business.  In the book it talks about how every transaction that we do in business should be a win-win-win for everyone involved.  What does that mean?  It means that the business owner is not in it just to make money.  If you run your business with a win-win-win theory, it means that the business owner wins, the supplier for the business wins and the customer wins.  What a concept. 

What normally happens is companies are greedy so they do whatever it takes to win.  This means they will cheat the customer, charge outrageous prices or take advantage of their suppliers.  In this case with credit cards they will charge extremely high interest rates so that they can offer cash back.  They want you to think you are making money by using your credit card. 

Let’s take vehicles for an example.  The average car dealer markup fee is typically between 2-5%. This number represents the amount of money the dealer automatically raises the price to ensure a profit. This is not the final sale price, which is often higher. For example: a car comes in at dealer invoice (what the dealer pays for it) of $20,000. The dealer marks it up 2-5% (this is their listed invoice price) and then assigns an MSRP price on it that is even higher. Should you negotiate the dealer down to invoice, they still make a 2-5% profit on the vehicle anyway. 

I am not trying to pick on the car dealers.  You find the same thing in furniture showrooms, grocery stores, gas stations and all sorts of businesses.  God never intended for us to use greed as a motivator for business.  God intended us to own businesses but our intent should not be to make the most we can make.  God’s perfect plan is for us to charge a reasonable price and in that perfect plan the customer will return because they know you are not cheating them.  If everything I own is God’s, how can I use it to cheat others to get ahead.

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I get frustrated with buying things in today’s world.  Retailers spend extreme amounts of money on advertising that is intended to make us think we are getting a good deal, when the reality greed is the primary motivation.  There are still companies out there that charge a fair amount for whatever they are selling.  I thank You for those companies that strive to be what You call any business to be.  Please help me to use discernment when I am spending Your money so that I may do so wisely.

Scripture: Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  1 Timothy 6:6-10

Cattle Guard  

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

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

You guessed it.  This started me thinking.  We are kind of like the cattle and Satan is the cattle guard when it comes to heaven.  The gate is wide open for any of us to walk through.  The problem is we walk up to the cattle guard (Satan) and decide we don’t want to take a chance or we decide we like the open field better (temptation) than a chance at heaven.

  

The open field in this case would be the things this world has to offer.  There are all the temptations that we can’t resist.  It is so much easier to stay on the other side than to risk crossing over.  If we cross over we might have to change what we are doing or our friends might not like us anymore.  So we decide to stay on the inside of the fence thinking we are safe and happier there. 

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

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

   

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

Glory Only in the Lord

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

Repeat 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

Believing In God

Trials should not surprise us, or cause us to doubt God's faithfulness. Rather, we should actually be glad for them. God sends trials to strengthen our trust in him so that our faith will not fail. Our trials keep us trusting; they burn away our self confidence and drive us to our Saviour.  Edmund Clowney

My husband was reading the paper this weekend and he read an article that he wanted me to read.  It was a very short commentary that you would have missed if you weren’t paying attention. 

There was a gentleman who stated that he was raised to believe in God but after seeing all the tragedies, wars and inhuman things that happen he doesn’t believe in God anymore. 

This was the start of a conversation for us.  We discussed how we couldn’t understand thinking that way about God.  The sad reality is God is not at fault here in the world we live in.  The problem with some of the thinking in today’s society is that many people don’t understand the concept of living in a fallen world.  It is true that we weren’t the ones in the Garden of Eden who ate the apple.  But we are the descendants of Adam and Eve.  We suffer the consequences of living in this fallen world. 

There are consequences for behavior whether it is good behavior or bad.  Too many times we don’t want the consequences from our sinful behavior.  If God didn’t love us he wouldn’t have destroyed the earth by flood, yet he saved Noah and his family. God wouldn’t keep trying to draw us back to Him if he didn’t love us sin and all.  God also would not have created a plan for our redemption.  When Christ died on the cross He gave up His life for us so we could be redeemed.  Our return to the Father is a choice and each of us has the opportunity to choose a life in heaven or a life in hell. 

God didn’t create us to be puppets.  If we consider it from the point of view that God wants us to come to Him of our own free will and that unless we do that we will not truly love Him for who He is, it takes on a different perspective.  The kind of love God wants from us will not come if we are forced into it.  The kind of love God describes in the Bible is a love that through hardship will become stronger on the other side of war, disease and the inhuman things people do to each other.  If our road is paved with no sorrow, pain or loss, how can we possibly love God to the extent that we love Him above anything here on earth? 

Wisdom doesn’t come from the smooth highway.  It comes from being off the beaten path.  It’s the bumps and dips and valleys that will teach us who God is and why He allows us to go through the trials of everyday life.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I was saddened to read the article about the gentleman who had given up on You.  I prayed for him because he doesn’t understand the true meaning of loving You.  You don’t allow me to go through the tragedies of life so that I will be beaten down.  If I understand that each trial is an opportunity for me to grow closer to You, then I have learned the important lesson of loving You, My Heavenly Father.  Thank You for the trials because I would not know You the way I do without them.

Scripture:  My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work,

that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.  James 1:2-8

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.   James 1:12-18

Are You Worth It?

If Christ thought the soul was worth the shedding of His blood, well may we think it worth spending our sweat.  Thomas Watson

In this day and age there is great energy spent on trying to prove our worth to other people.  There are millions spent each year on advertisements telling us that we are not good enough.  I stopped and asked myself what is “good enough”. 

If I look at it from the world’s perspective I am a dismal failure in the worth department. I will never measure up to what the world expects me to be.  I will never be thin enough, pretty enough or have enough.  It is like chasing the wind or holding water in the palm of your hand.  If we understand that in this world we will never measure up to the expectations of the world, we have won part of the battle. 

It’s really ironic.  If I will never measure up to what the world expects of me why do I chase after things of the world.  If we look at it from a God perspective it is easier to understand.  If I know that Christ came to earth for me in my worthlessness to save me from utter destruction, then I must understand that I was not worth dying for, but Christ did the very thing I was not worthy of. 

Why? Because of love.  A love that surpasses our understanding.  Why is it that we can’t understand God’s love for us?  When I thought about this it made me think of times in my life where people have said things that broke me.  I thought of the long ago boss who told me I would never amount to anything.  Those are harsh words to a young college kid.  Some have even had their parents tell them they will never amount to anything.  Your perspective of your worth is shaken when you get a world view of your worth.  Why is it easier to accept an acquaintance’s or family member’s views of our worth than it is God’s?  I think it is because we don’t spend enough time reading those passages in the Bible that tell us how God views our worth.

If we understand that a Man who was God died a horrible death because of His love for us so that we would know how valuable we are, then we have seen a picture of our great worth to God.  What more do we need?

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me enough to show me that even if the world doesn’t know my worth, You do.  You would not have sent Your Son to die on the cross for my sins if I wasn’t worth something to You.  There is no greater love than Yours. 

 

Scripture:  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:30-32

And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.  However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. 1 Timothy 1:14-16