Pray Without Ceasing   

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finally one day I made up my mind that I had watched how it was done long enough and I felt like I knew I could do it, so I got on and my Dad didn’t have to run alongside me at all.  I just took off.  It was like I was flying. That is how I picture God and prayer.  When you finally understand how prayer works it is like flying.  There is no feeling like it in the world when you see prayer at work because it is supernatural.  God just wants the conversation with you.  He already knows what your needs are, he just wants your time and the results are a true relationship with Him.  Pray without ceasing.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, prayer is my way of communicating with You.  There is nothing that can compare to my time spent with You.  The quiet time I spend in talking to You throughout my day gives me more strength to make it through a fallen world filled with tragedy.  I praise You for giving me the communication of prayer. Without it I would be lost.      

Scripture:  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

Reboot

Kind thoughts are rarer than either kind words or deeds. They imply a great deal of thinking about others. This in itself is rare. But they also imply a great deal of thinking about others without the thoughts being criticisms. This is rarer still.  Frederick W. Faber

I may not be technologically savvy, but there is one thing I have learned about computers in all these years of using one.  I have learned the “reboot” feature.

You know how it goes.  You are on your computer in the middle of creating a spreadsheet and your computer locks up.  So you wait and watch thinking that just maybe it will come back on and start operating again.  No can do!! 

So you have to do the dreaded “reboot”.  This is also about the time that you realize you didn’t save the spreadsheet that you have been working on for hours.  “Reboot” starts to take on a whole new meaning. 

I learned many years ago when I worked for large companies that had an IT department, the first thing an IT person will ask you is “Did you reboot your computer?”  The first time someone asked me that I thought it meant did I kick it twice. I finally learned that this was their way of telling me that they didn’t want to come look at my computer so if they told me to “reboot” it just might fix whatever I had done to mess it up.

The thing I don’t understand is with all the keys on the keyboard, why didn’t they put a “reboot” button.  If there is one available I haven’t figured out where it is located.  I mean seriously, there are buttons on the keyboard that I don’t know what they are used for and I am afraid to press them.  You know there might be a button that causes the thing to self-destruct.  There is a button that says “SysRq”.  What is that for? I am thinking it is something pretty drastic because you have to hit the shift key to use it.  I have also learned that any time you are required to use several buttons at one time and they are not close to each other on the keyboard, nothing good can come out of that, otherwise they would have stuck those keys close together.

I think in life there should also be a “Reboot” button.  You know those times when you open your mouth and say something mean or harsh to someone else.  These are the times when “reboot” would come in handy.  God created us as amazing human beings but the one thing that can be our biggest downfall is when we open our mouth. Sometimes what comes out isn’t what God ever intended.  We often engage it before we think about what is going to come out.     

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I think about the times I have spoken when it would have been wiser to not say anything.  Please remind me that the words I say can have lasting consequences.  Help me to think before I speak or in other words “reboot”.

Scripture: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

 Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.  In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little.  Proverbs 10:18-20

Near Misses

The best moment of a Christian's life is his last one, because it is the one that is nearest heaven. And then it is that he begins to strike the keynote of the song which he shall sing to all eternity.  Charles Spurgeon

Have you ever looked back over your life and thought about your near misses?  What I mean by that is the times you missed getting hit by a car, or getting into an accident or you happened to move one way or another and disaster didn’t happen.

I started thinking about some of the near misses in my life where God saved me.  There was the time I was driving down the freeway to church and there was a car in front of me.  I was watching the driver in front of me and all of a sudden he swerved to the right.  I looked ahead of me and there was a tarp in the middle of the road.  It wasn’t just any tarp; it was one that an eighteen wheeler uses to covers its cargo. The problem was it wasn’t flat but was folded and stood about 3 feet high in the middle of my lane.  I swerved to the left and missed it by inches. 

There are red lights and stop signs I have run by not paying attention.  There was the hospital stay where the dose of medicine was too large and I passed out and the emergency medical team had to come in and revive me.

My husband told me about one he had many years ago.  He was at a golf tournament and a storm blew in.  He had been standing under a large oak tree but had moved away from it.  Soon after he moved lightning struck the tree and there was a man standing under it and a large limb fell on him and it killed him instantly.  Jerry had been standing in that spot just 10 minutes earlier.

God has a purpose for each of us.  We can either live up to what God’s plan is for us or we can squander it on things that don’t matter to our eternal life.  It is a scary thing to think that our last breath could be tomorrow, today or in the next few moments. 

I want my life to have meaning.  Not just meaning in the sense that I was successful or powerful or beautiful.  When I think of my last day on earth, I want it to mean something to God’s kingdom.  If the last thing someone says of me when I am laid in the ground is that she loved God and lived her life for Him, then every near miss was worth it.  I still have time, whatever God allows, and what I make of it is up to me.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for giving me this time.  Only You know when my last breath will be on this earth.  Help me to use it to tell others about You. If You can be glorified by something I do, I praise you for the opportunity.  

                 

Scripture: But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches.  Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

Mobile Devices

You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary? What was I thinking? Why did I waste so much time, energy and concern on what wasn't going to last? Rick Warren

Those who know me personally or read my blog, know that I am not technologically savvy in some areas.  When it comes to my mobile device, (i.e. iPhone), I am literally behind the times.  There is a whole different language when you talk about mobile devices.  Let me explain.

I have a mobile device called a Smart Phone.  Go figure.  A Smart Phone for someone who doesn’t know how to use it.  How ironic.  I had an Android, (another word for a Smart Phone), but this year I decided to move up to the iPhone.  This is dangerous territory for a novice like me.  It has taken me three months to figure out how to listen to my messages.  The problem with picking up my messages came when it didn’t give me the option to listen to the message before I called the person back.  Since I didn’t read the manual before I became fully operational on my iPhone, I didn’t know where the listen button was. 

Then there was the volume button on the side of the phone.  I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t hear my phone ringing.  I knew where the button was to turn the volume up but for some reason all it would do was vibrate.  It took me two months to figure out that there was a button on the side that turned off the ringer.

Yesterday I finally was able to get “Siri” to call my husband for me.  At the rate this is going maybe I should just have her talk to him instead of me.  She seems to be a lot smarter than I am when it comes to the device. 

Then there is the whole mobile app thing.  This one really confuses me.  I was looking at apps, not because I plan on using any, but because I was curious what all the fuss was about apps.  Did you know Starbucks even has apps?  You can get “Square Wallet” so that you can pay for your coffee with your phone.  I think they should be politically correct and call the women’s version “Square Purse”. 

There is a “Zlitter” app that is a real-time location sharing only with people you care about: Zlitter’s location-awareness technology virtually eliminates privacy concerns by allowing you to control your own visibility. 

My all time favorite for absurdity though is the “Inner Balance App”. This is an app that offers both monitoring and training to effectively manage stress and rebalance the mind and emotions.   You can actually purchase a sensor to attach to your earlobe that measures your heart rate and rhythms and reflect emotional fluctuations.  Supposedly you can gain inner balance and happiness just by using this app. The app is free but the sensor is going to set you back about $99. 

There are so many apps out there that I can’t cover all of them.  The thing that struck me most about apps is how much time they take to use, download and cost in some cases.  Call me an old fashioned Baby Boomer, but I can get all the happiness and inner peace I need by spending time with God. Don’t misunderstand me when I say that I think there are apps that are helpful and can be beneficial.  But, last time I checked, God wants us to love others so where does this happen when you are using an app to only communicate with the people you care about. 

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I admit I am not the smartest person when it comes to certain technology.  I love the conveniences of some technology because it makes it easier for me to carry my Bible and search scripture.  I think there are times where technology can be detrimental to us by taking away from our time with You.  Help me to not get so caught up in the newest technology, that I sacrifice my time with You. I love the simplicity of just holding my Bible.  I can feel your presence in the pages. 

Scripture:  Be Steadfast

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.  2 Peter 3:14-18

Mayhaws & Chainsaws

Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.  Chuck Swindoll

When my siblings and I were kids we did a lot of outdoors stuff.  Why?  Because we only had 3 TV channels and back then when the clock struck midnight the national anthem came on and immediately following that the TV went blank.

During the summer we spent most of our time outdoors.  We had horses, chickens, ducks, dogs and cows.  With that much going on there was always something to do.  We had 20 acres of wooded land behind our barn that we leased for our horses.  There were two memories that always stuck with me about those long ago summers. 

The first was that we had a big fireplace in our den so we always needed firewood.  Every summer my Dad would get out the chainsaw and go into the woods to cut down a tree for firewood or if one had fallen down during the winter we would cut it up and use it for firewood.  So we would go out to the woods with Dad to haul firewood.  It always amazed me how my Dad could cut a notch in the tree and make it fall where he wanted it to.  If it had been up to me to cut the tree it would have landed on the truck that we hauled the wood in. 

The second thing we always did was my Mom would get plastic and we would head out to the back of the property where there were huge mayhaw trees.  If you have never seen a mayhaw tree I will describe it for you.  They are fairly large trees with small trunks.  We would take a sheet of plastic and lay it under the tree and then shake the tree.  Mayhaws resemble tiny apples or cherries.  When they are ripe they turn red.  We would sit out there for hours picking mayhaws and then Mom would take them back to the house to make mayhaw jelly. 

The thing I learned and remembered about those long ago summer days was the time we spent together as a family.  Video games and laptops didn’t exist and no one had ever heard of Dish or cable TV.  We made our own entertainment.  I learned more about life in those moments of time than I ever did living in a large city and my parents taught us about God.  There is no greater legacy a parent can leave their children than to teach them about God through everyday living.    

          

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for my parents.  They spent many hours with us as children.  They were not perfect parents and we were not perfect children, but they taught us how to live.  I praise You for giving them the wisdom to teach us about You.  Many of the things they taught us carried over into my adulthood.  I praise you for giving me godly parents that understood how important those lessons of childhood were in our growing up years.  

        

Scripture:  Children and Parents

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.  Ephesians 6:1-4

Internet   

Faith is this extraordinary principle which links man to God; faith is this thing that keeps a man from hell and puts him in heaven; it is the connection between this world and the world to come; faith is this astounding thing that can take a man dead in trespasses and sins and make him live as a new being, a new man in Christ Jesus. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Have you ever tried to get internet service in a remote location? Did you know there is a company that adds you to their “beam”?  I guess that means satellite beam.  I am glad you asked how this works because I am full of useless information after this process. 

I called to get internet service to a remote location in Texas.  I was told by one representative that I no longer qualify for the “beam”.  The satellite can only handle so many web surfers at a time and if too many farmers get on their internet beam it slows down so they aren’t adding anymore.  Since they are no longer accepting new “beam” users, the woman told me I could continue to call her back periodically and she would check each time I called to see if one of the existing “beamers” had canceled service.  She could only add me if someone else jumped ship.  She said if I keep trying they might decide to add a new satellite.  Wouldn’t that be cool.  A satellite in my honor. 

I kind of thought it was interesting that they were called Customer Service.  I mean if I am calling her to see if an open “beamer” spot comes up, that doesn’t seem much like customer service to me.  

The other catch is they don’t bill or invoice you.  They only accept credit cards and they automatically deduct it from your credit card each month. I am thinking it is because you are out in the middle of nowhere where no man has gone before.  It’s really just you and the “eye in the sky”.   

I am so thankful that I don’t need an internet connection to get connected with God.  Can you imagine the number of dropped prayers, emails and instant messages that would never make it to their destination if we depended on the internet to connect us to our Heavenly Father?

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I know technology is here to stay but I am so thankful we are not required to go through an internet connection to reach you.  If that were the case I might never have the opportunity to have a relationship with You.  I praise You for giving us a heavenly connection.      

    

Scripture:    On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  John 7:36-38

Incompetence   

Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart-so you will be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.  Andrew Murray

I started thinking about the people God decided to use in the Bible.  Did he pick the best, the most athletic, the best looking, strongest or the smartest?  Not often. No the majority of the time he chose the incompetent.  We often use incompetence as a derogatory term but really incompetence simply means lacking qualification or ability to do something. 

If you break down the traits of some of the most important people God used in the Bible we find a pretty incompetent group of folks.  Look at Noah.  Did he know anything about rain?  Nope.  What about building boats?  Notta.  First of all, he had never seen rain and if he had never seen rain, he certainly didn’t have a need for a boat.   God literally had to tell Noah how to build the boat.  He couldn’t run down to Home Depot and take a class on boat building. 

One of the things I love so much about God is he often uses the weakest and the least.  Why?  Because those are often the ones who have nothing to lose.  They are those individuals who cling to God instead of what the world has to offer.  The second thing is by choosing the weakest instead of the strongest, it becomes more believable that it is God at work and not us in our human capacity.

Then you have David a shepherd.  Have you ever wondered why David wasn’t presented to Samuel as a potential king?  I kind of think David was considered by Jesse to be the runt of the litter.  You know the weakest link.  Why would Jesse not present him to Samuel with all of the other brothers when it came time to pick a king?  I think it was because he didn’t look like what the world pictured a king to look like.  The difference was David loved God and had a repentant heart.  He messed up frequently, but he always came back to God with a contrite heart.

When we start thinking that we can’t be used by God, think again.  He can and will use the weakest to show the world who is the Strongest.    

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am incompetent just like the people You used in the Bible.  I don’t have great strength, I mean I was always the last to be picked for any athletic competition.  Please remind me that you can use me too. If I keep my eyes on You, I believe I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.    

Scripture:    For You will light my lamp; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.  For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall.  As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.  For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.  He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places.  He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.  You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip.  Psalm 18:28-36

Gifts

Your spiritual gifts were not given for your own benefit but for the benefit of others, just as other people were given gifts for your benefit.  Rick Warren

God created each of us with certain gifts. Have you ever taken one of those tests to determine what you are gifted at in life or where your interests lie?  Many years ago when I was in high school I took a test to determine my interests.  This particular test was used to help you determine what you wanted to be when you went to college.  It was intended to try to guide you to a more meaningful career.  I guess the theory is that if you enjoy what you do as your occupation, you will have a tendency to stick with it. 

The majority of my classmates that I graduated with didn’t go on to become what they studied in school.  I think the issue is that too many times the focus is on how much money can be made in any given occupation. We are taught from a young age that you need to support yourself and work.  I used to wonder why all of the experts would say that the average person would change jobs multiple times in their lifetime. 

God created each of us with talents that He wants us to use for His glory, but I as many others I know, drifted away from my true purpose on earth because I was influenced by what the world was doing.  God is the true expert on everything including our purpose in life.  Each of us was created with spiritual gifts.  How we use those gifts is up to us, but God gave them to us for a purpose.   If I am not growing closer to God in every aspect of my life, and using the spiritual gifts He gave me for His kingdom, then I am not fulfilling His purpose.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I often fail at the very things You created me to be and do.  I am sorry Father, for not focusing on the purpose You have for my life.  Draw me closer to You so that I can be all You created me to be.

Scripture:  For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.  For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.  Romans 12:3-8

Dreams    

No man who is fit to live need fear to die. To us here, death is the most terrible thing we know. But when we have tasted its reality it will mean to us birth, deliverance, a new creation of ourselves. It will be what health is to the sick man; what home is to the exile; what the loved one given back is to the bereaved. As we draw near to it a solemn gladness should fill our hearts. It is God's great morning lighting up the sky. Our fears are the terror of children in the night. The night with its terrors, its darkness, its feverish dreams, is passing away; and when we awake it will be into the sunlight of God.  Thomas Fuller

I had a weird dream last night.  I dreamed I was working at Home Depot and I couldn’t find a ladder.  That is odd since everyone knows that ladders are plentiful at Home Depot.  I mean they are one of the home improvement capitals of the world. 

In the dream there was a customer who came in and she walked over to an isle and pointed to a baby bed displayed on the wall and told me she needed 90 baby beds like the one on display.  The last time I looked I didn’t see baby beds at Home Depot so I am not sure where it came from but I was a new employee at this store so I immediately went on the hunt for a ladder.  The problem was the guy that hired me didn’t give me a code for the cash register so I wasn’t going to get the commission for this sale because I couldn’t even check the lady out.  I felt like a hamster in a wheel.  I was running up and down the aisles looking for a ladder and getting nowhere.  Plus I didn’t even know if we had 90 baby beds in stock.

Sometimes when I wake up from a dream I think about it and it doesn’t make a lick of sense.  All I know is that I was wearing myself out trying to help this lady buy 90 baby beds for who knows what purpose at a store that doesn’t sell baby beds.  That’s the great thing about dreams; anything can happen and often does.  I can fly in some of my dreams so I don’t know what that means either.  I do know that in this dream I couldn’t fly otherwise I wouldn’t have needed a ladder.

When I woke up from this nightmare I thought about how God gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams for Pharoah and how it changed Joseph’s life. God was working in Joseph’s life from the time his brothers sold him until the day he interpreted the dream for Pharoah.  It was all the steps that had to happen in order for Joseph to save the children of Israel and all because of dreams. If you think about seven fat cows and seven gaunt cows, only God could explain it through Joseph.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I sometimes dream about strange stuff.  I only have my interpretation of them so if I am supposed to do something with them let me know.  Otherwise, I will continue to dream strange dreams and worship You.  Without Joseph’s interpretation of dreams we would not be where we are today.  Thank you loving us enough to save us.      

Scripture:   Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.  Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.  And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.  He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.  And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.  Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.  Genesis 41:1-8

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do:  The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.  Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land.  So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.  Genesis 41:25-32

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

Does Someone Want What You Have?

We are indeed the light of the world--but only if our switch is turned on.  John Hagee

As you know I love to play golf.  Many years ago my husband and I took a trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  This was a favorite place for us to go because it was not as commercialized as some of the resorts. 

On this trip we decided to take our golf clubs and stay at an all-inclusive golf resort. Some of the most beautiful golf courses are in the tropics.  So we lug our golf clubs to the airport and then to our resort.  We had never played golf at a resort like this.  We didn’t see another golfer on this course.  It was like we had the course to ourselves.  It was just us and the iguanas.  When you hit a shot out of the fairway, which in my case happened a lot, there was nothing but woods, iguanas and you.  I left a lot of golf balls on the course that day. 

So we are out there enjoying the beautiful day and the awesome scenery.  We came up to a fairway and I kid you not, I hit the best shot I had hit all day.  The fairway ran next to beautiful condominiums and private homes.  So as I said, I hit the best shot and it landed on the green.  My husband and I were both amazed.  I felt like Arnold Palmer or what Arnold Palmer must have felt like when he hit an awesome shot. 

So we are walking along the fairway when all of a sudden a dog ran out of one of the condominiums and started running across the fairway.  There was another dog hot on his heels.  The first dog runs onto the green, picks up my golf ball and takes off running. These two dogs start chasing each other around the green with my golf ball in the first dog’s mouth.  The one shot of the day where I might have had an extremely rare opportunity to beat my husband’s score, (on this one hole), a dog takes off with my golf ball.   

When I thought of this long ago incident, it reminded me of how this dog ran out with single minded purpose.  All he saw was the ball.  My husband and I are running up to the green telling him to drop it and he paid no attention to us.  When you think about how we can apply this to our lives, shouldn’t we be a light to others.  Our purpose on earth is to be a light to the lost.  People should be so drawn to us as this dog was drawn to my golf ball.  Others should be so drawn to the way we live so much so that they would want to know what we have that they don’t.  It’s kind of hard to be a light to the world when we are so often pursuing things of the world. 

The verse that struck me today is we are to take heed what we hear.  With the same measure we use, it will be measured to you. To you who hear, more will be given.  Notice it doesn’t say to you who buy or make more, more will be given.  How many of us are deaf to God’s calling.  Jesus spoke in parables.  I think the main reason was so that it would intrigue us enough that we would dig deeper and search harder for truth.  If your light is hidden under a basket, no one will seek what you have.  People won’t search for something they can’t see. 

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I still have a long way to go in hearing all the things You want to teach me.  Help me to be a light to others.  If my light is hidden under a bushel, I will never reach others on your behalf.  Please fill me with the Holy Spirit so that others can see You through me and then You will be glorified.  I want my light to shine brightly in a dark world. 

Scripture: Light Under a Basket

Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If  anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”  Mark 4:21-25

Jesus Use of Parables

And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. Mark 4:33-34

Faith

O that unbelievers would learn of faithful Abraham, and believe whatever is revealed from God, though they cannot fully comprehend it! Abraham knew God commanded him to offer up his son, and therefore believed.  George Whitefield

If you have children, the story of Abraham and Isaac is an amazing one.  I was asked a question that I really didn’t have the answer to, so I decided to turn to the best source, the Bible. 

Here is the question.  “Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?  What would you do if God came to you and asked you to sacrifice one of your children?  Would you have faith enough in God to go through with it? I think my biggest problem with understanding the Bible is that I often rush through it like I do everything else in life.  If we believe that God means and does what he says, then digging deeper in His Word is the most important thing we can do to understand Him and the way He works in our life. 

    

In Genesis 17:19 God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

In the above verse God told Abraham that his wife Sarah would bear a son and call him Isaac.  An important part of the verse is “with his seed after him.”  God was telling Abraham that He would establish a covenant with Isaac and also Isaac’s children.  If God said he was making a covenant with Isaac and his seed after him then Isaac was not destined to die on an altar.  

In Hebrews 11:17-19 says that “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”  So if Abraham had faith in God to allow Abraham to kill his only son, then he also had faith that God could raise him from the dead if Abraham killed him. 

I think the biggest struggle I have is the understanding that I am human and God is not.  I keep trying to put God, a square peg so to speak, into a round hole.  The thing is God just doesn’t fit what I in my limited perspective and capacity can understand.  I also believe that God knew what was to come, Jesus dying on the cross to save us, and this was a foreshadowing of God sacrificing His only Son just as Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac. 

Abraham had more than 100 years of time with God and he was faithful.  I believe the reason God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac was because he wanted to teach us what faith really is and give us a picture of what our life should be like.  If we ever get that amount of faith we won’t question why God does anything. If we understand that he does all things for our good then we can be at peace knowing that He is a Great God who wants what is best for His children. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, my faith is small compared to Abraham’s.  I think Abraham’s faith was to be used as an example so that we could see a picture of what faith is in action.  I often question Your hand in my life when what I need most is to let go and let You lead.  Faith takes a step at a time and for a human like me, I am sometimes scared to take a step out in faith.  It is choosing to step to the edge of a cliff and jump.  Too many times we want a safety net.  We want absolutes. If I take that step of faith I want guarantees that You will be there to catch me.  Help me to understand that You mean “everything” for my good.  If I can grasp that one thing then I have received the blessing of wisdom.  I praise You for opening my eyes to your Scriptures and for giving me wisdom when I least expect it. 

Scripture: By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.  Hebrews 11:17-19

Hammocks    

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

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

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

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

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

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

  

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

   

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

Concierge Service

The first step toward a daily following of Christ is the denying of self. A.W. Pink

The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.  Albert Schweitzer

I was watching the news the other day and found out that college students can now have concierge service.  This particular company offers all types of concierge services to college students such as laundry service, dorm cleaning and decorating, party organizing, and grocery shopping to name a few. The founder of one of these companies’ states that his service offers a seamless transition to college life, and it is not considered an indulgence by the parents of the students but a need. The student with enough money can have everything done for them at a price. 

The thing I found interesting about the concierge service at college is the lesson it is teaching young adults.  One of the things mentioned as a benefit is that it gives the student more time to study and they even suggested that they mentor the students since their parents aren’t there.  So a parent choosing a concierge service is like picking a stranger to teach your kids how to live.

I grew up with three siblings and we all went to college.  We stood in line with everyone else to purchase books, parking stickers, and when I was a freshman I had to park at the stadium and walk a half mile across to the other side of the campus.

 

The things I learned by not having a concierge service were life lessons.  Money can buy a lot of things and a concierge service is one of them.  But what does it teach young adults about life?  Many times it teaches them to be self-centered.  How will a young adult learn what God’s plan is for their life if they are not able to let go of self? 

Call me weird, but I learned some of the best life lessons through doing the very things that these students are taught they don’t have to do.  I learned to be independent and that there are some things like standing in line to purchase books that I will have to do later in life.   I learned to do my own laundry and that my parents were not going to be there to pick up after me or to hand out money when I needed it.    If I received a parking ticket for parking in the wrong lot, it was my responsibility to take care of it.  Money comes and goes but life lessons last forever.  We can’t teach young adults to love others if all they ever focus on is self.

 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for the life lessons I learned during my college days.  These lessons taught me how to survive in a tough world. Tough times come for everyone eventually.  I praise my parents for preparing me for the long journey ahead and You for standing by me on the tough road of life.   

                       

Scripture: Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.  For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  James 3:13-18