Achievements

Achievement - something accomplished, especially by superior ability, special effort, great courage, etc.; a great or heroic deed.

There are basically only two kinds of religion in the world: those based on human achievement and those based on divine accomplishment. One says you can earn your way to heaven; the other says you must trust in Jesus Christ alone.  John MacArthur

Have you ever looked back on your life and wondered what you achieved in your lifetime?  Have you thought about what you would like to achieve in the future.  I was thinking about jobs from my past and I thought about when I worked in retail. 

I was fresh out of college and God was not a priority in my life.  In my mind I thought it was important to have a great title.  So I applied for two very different retail positions.  One position was for a Manager in a women’s suit department.  The other position was for a major department store who was hiring a Display Coordinator. I was not so impressed with the Display Coordinator position because I didn’t really like the title. On the other hand the other position “Manager” made a statement.  It said that I had arrived.  I was going to take on the retail industry with my new title.

I was a newbie in the business world.  I thought it was all about the title.  I naively thought that if I didn’t have a title then my having a degree wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.  So you guessed it, I took the Manager position.  It was not one of my better moments or decisions.  I lasted about a year.  I had no passion for the job. It was hard for me to justify trying to sell a $400 suit when I didn’t think it was worth $400. 

The thing about the other job was that I had a passion for design and I loved creating retail displays.  I had extensive training in that when I was in college.  I was an expert at dressing a mannequin.  I knew how to take them apart and put them back together and they looked stylish when I was finished.  So the job I had the passion for, I passed up because of a title. 

I am not saying that everything you have a passion for is the thing you should be doing.  The thing is too many times we accept a position in life because of the prestige it will give us, not because it is what God would call us to do.  If our main focus is on the title or the money then we will probably not like the job.

Years have passed and I have since changed my view of life, work and God.  My achievements in my job don’t matter as much anymore.  I still enjoy work but it doesn’t define who I am.  I don’t really care what my title is and money is not my main motivator.  I now have a passion for God and people in that order.  It doesn’t matter what the job is there will always be people who need a Savior and I am passionate about that and the One who saved us. 

       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for helping me to see wisdom from my past.  I can look back on my life and see the mistakes I made but each one was a lesson leading me back to You. The achievements that are most important all deal with eternity.  If I am not trying to reach another person for You exactly where I am, then I am not using the skills and talents You gave me.  Help me to understand that it is not important to be first, it is important to be last and servant of all.  The world teaches us to strive to be more important than others when we should be just the opposite.  The ladder to success and achievement often leads to nowhere. 

Scripture: Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.” Mark 9:33-37

Milestone

One often sees a call only in retrospect. This too is God's design. God often reinforces our faith after we trust him, not before.  Ravi Zacharias

God is the shaper of your heart. God does not display his work in abstract terms. He prefers the concrete, and this means that at the end of your life one of three things will happen to your heart: it will grow hard, it will be broken, or it will be tender. Nobody escapes.  Ravi Zacharias

I thought I would share a little tidbit of trivia with you.  Today marks the 365^th devotional I’ve written with God’s help.  It only took me 1 year and 8 months to reach this major milestone.  I know about now you are thinking “she’s not really that good at this is she?”  Well it is a major milestone for me because I never thought I would write anything, much less blog it.   I was thinking it was kind of momentous that it landed on Christmas Eve.  What better day to remind me of what the purpose of the devotional is in the first place and in and for Whose glory it is intended?

You now know more about me than you probably ever wanted to but you have stuck with me through all the stories of everyday life.  To recap some of the highlights of this journey, you were with me when I rebuilt Gladys Knight and the Pips condo, caught Lou the lizard red-handed taking a bite out of my tomatoes and then there was fishing and catching poison ivy.  We talked about aging gracefully, mayhaws & chainsaws and Pepe Le Pew.  We discussed deregulation, how exclusions apply and fine print. You were there when I took a tumble off my front porch and also when I fell in the parking lot.

  

You’ve taken a trip down memory lane and visited Green Acres, the Blue Light Special and a trip to the Diamond Mines.  We’ve talked about squirrels, horses, pandas, pigs and a car driving dog.  You were with me through a chair snafu, a blowout and trading cars. You were there when boxes got stuck to the front of my car and again when I asked the guy to mow my grass. 

  

I have had more people tell me I’m funny and they love my perspective on things and life in general, but I just don’t see it.  When I was growing up I was quiet, shy and reserved and no one laughed much at anything I said.  My grandfather used to sit with us around a campfire and tell stories.  Maybe I got my story telling ability from him. 

Over the past year and a half I have learned some things too.  Each one of you is special because you have a thirst for God. Some of you are at the beginning of your journey, others in the middle and many near the end. It doesn’t matter where in your journey you are; the most important thing is you are not alone.  I thank God for each of you because it reinforces my faith in humanity.  There are good people in the world who love and care about each other.  We are part of the family of God and no one can take that from us. 

I will close with this.  God can and does use anyone for His purposes if we let Him.  It took a great leap of faith for me to stick my neck out and write something that others could read. Many times my fear of rejection would almost stop me from writing.  During those times I would pray to the Father for strength and courage.  Many of you have encouraged me and continued to follow me daily just to see what I will say next. I thank each of you for continuing to read and I pray that God will bless you in your journey.

P.S.  I have more stories where these came from so stay tuned.  Until God tells me to stop, I will continue to throw out thoughts to ponder.  

         

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, without You I wouldn’t have reached this milestone.  I praise You for my brothers and sisters in Christ.  In a world where violence, cruelty and hate have become the norm; there are still Christians who thirst for Your Word and who love and care for each other.  You are an amazing God who offered an amazing Son as a sacrifice to save us.  Thank you for this unbelievable gift.   

            

Scripture: Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38

Fishing

Our Lord said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." It is evident, then, that a true disciple is a soul-winner. It is possible to sit on the shore discussing the signs of the times when we ought to be driven by the signs of the times to launch out into the deep and let down our nets for a draught. Vance Havner

Last weekend it was early afternoon and my husband and I were sitting in the living room talking about what we could do for the afternoon.  I’m sure I surprised my husband because I told him I wanted to go fishing.  He looked at me funny and then I said, “I want to take a rod and reel and stand on the bank of the lake and fish.”  I asked him if he knew of a place where we could do that. 

For those of you who don’t know my husband, he makes fishing an art.  He has all these terms for the lures that he uses.  My husband is creative in the area of fishing.  There are Carolina rigs, spinner baits, twitch baits, then there are poppers and triggers, finesse baits, jig heads and drop shots, Crazy leg jigs and Dark Star swimmers, Scum frogs and the Frog Brigade.  

I’m a live bait kind of fisher-gal.  Give me a worm, minnow, shrimp or cricket and I’m good to go.  A bobber or cork with a hook and rod and reel and I’m there.  All those bass fishermen out there would be appalled at my idea of fishing.  Have you ever gone to Bass Pro?  There are aisles and aisles of different kinds of fake baits in a rainbow of colors. 

As I thought about the variety of fishing gizmos and gadgets that are available it made me think of our purpose. God created us to be fishers of men. Fishing for men requires ingenuity. Every person you interact with is not going to respond to the same kind of lure.  The reason they make so many different kinds of lures is because there are so many different kinds of fish.  What works for one fish won’t work for another.  I think too many times we keep using the same bait.

To become fishers of men we need to fill our tackle box with different tools.  If I don’t know and understand scripture it’s like using a waterlogged worm to catch fish.  You will never get a bite. Also, if I don’t understand that each individual is different, the approach I choose may turn that person further away from God instead of drawing them nearer. Jesus chose four fishermen to further the gospel. God doesn’t want any of us to perish but it will take each of us taking up our cross and following Him to become fishers of men. 

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, you call each of us to be fishers of men.  You blessed each of us with talents that others don’t have. Help me to use the talents you gave me to become a fisher of men.  With Your Word, the Holy Spirit and perseverance, I too can be what You created me to be. A soul winner.    

   

Scripture: And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  Matthew 4:18-22

Just Do It

Perhaps you began to question God's love or His wisdom. Maybe you were afraid to say that He was wrong, but you sort of said, "God, you deceived me in letting me believe that this was the right thing to do. Why didn't you stop me?" A whole lot of wrong things can happen if you try to look at God from the middle of circumstances.  Henry Blackaby

Most companies use tag lines in advertising to draw attention to their products.  One of the most famous tag lines is for Nike.  In essence it says “Just Do It”.  So the advertisement will show athletes running faster, jumping higher, and basically doing everything better when they have on a pair of Nike running shoes. 

This started me thinking about tag lines as a Christian.  If we are advertising what it means to be a Christian what should our tag line be?  We want others to want what we have so what could we say as our advertisement that would draw others to us. 

I came up with my very own tag line for what it should mean to be a Christian for our Heavenly Father.  My tag line would be “Just Do the Right Thing and Run the Race”. 

The majority of the time we all know what the right thing would be, but the problem comes in when we try to live up to the right thing.  Sometimes the right thing means we will be required to stand up for someone else and that often means facing ridicule from others.  Other times we might need to stand up to someone close to us and often that means they won’t appreciate our efforts.  Doing the right thing often means it will not be a popular choice and sometimes the very person you are trying to help will not appreciate it and will walk away. 

If we are to live a Christian life the way God wants us to, we will be called to make some tough decisions.  There are going to be tough times when you choose to be a Christian.  We are in the race of a lifetime and too many times we are just sitting on the sidelines instead of running the race. 

Our Christian life is a team sport.  Many years ago when I was in junior high we had what they called field day.  It was the one day near the end of the school year when we did team activities.  I was selected to run the 4x100 relay.  It was the only race where you got to carry something (the baton) and pass it to someone else.  The thing is there is no relay race if you don’t have 3 other people running with you.  When we understand that God intends us to run with others we have won half the battle.  The others in the race of life with us are going to be the ones who help us “Do the Right Thing” and “Run the Race” with excellence.  

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to run the race of life doing the right thing.  I praise you for bringing other Christians alongside me who have stood by me when I felt like giving up and who encouraged me to keep running.  This is the race of a lifetime and I want to run it well.  Thank You for Your many blessings and for keeping my eyes fixed on You.  

          

Scripture: Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.  Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.  But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

A Lizard & A Tomato

God dwells in His creation and is everywhere indivisibly present in all His works. He is transcendent above all His works even while He is immanent within them.  A.W. Tozer

My husband and I were sitting on our patio last night after work enjoying the sounds of nature and catching up on each other’s day.  We have two tomato plants on our patio.  We both enjoy tomatoes so we decided to try to grow our own. 

A couple of weeks ago Jerry was watering the tomato plants and he saw small tomatoes on the plants.  The problem is the bottom of each tomato was missing.  Something was eating our tomatoes before they ripened. 

We discussed what we thought could be eating them.  You know the usual caterpillars or some other bug. Well Jerry was watering the tomato plants again and as soon as he started watering a big green lizard came running out.  You notice I say big, because he was pleasantly plump on our home grown tomatoes. 

Last night we are sitting on the patio and the lizard boldly runs in front of us across the patio to our tomato plant.  Well, he might get away with that when I am not sitting there but he wasn’t going to make off with my tomatoes without a fight. I mean fresh tomatoes are one of my favorite things about summer.  I couldn’t let the green bandit make off with mine. 

God created some amazing creatures.  I am watching this lizard run and his front legs are shorter than his back legs but he is really fast.  Well, Lou (that is the name of my tomato stealing lizard) was able to get away so my tomatoes are still in danger.  I decided in order to save my tomatoes from Lou, I would have to pick them.  I had five green tomatoes but unfortunately when I picked them Lou had already beat me to two of the larger ones.  In reality, Lou was really coming back for the second course. 

My husband and I started talking about the amazing things God created.  He created lizards that can lose their tail when in danger and grow a new one of a different color.  Many can change colors to blend in with their environment. Then I thought of the Komoto Dragon that is really a lizard.  I mean those things have been known to grow up to 10 feet long and sometimes track humans.  I am thinking Lou will never get that big but then I am feeding my tomato plants Miracle Grow so who knows, maybe I’ll leave a few tomatoes for Lou.   

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, it never ceases to amaze me about Your creation.  I watch nature and see You in everything.  When I see the animals you created, I can’t help but be in awe of You and praise You for creating me in Your likeness.

 

Scripture:  Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”  So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”  So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:20-25

Deregulation   

Definition: To remove government regulatory controls from an industry, a commodity, etc.

Christianity is a world that is a great sculptor's shop. We are the statues and there a rumor going around the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life.  C.S. Lewis

An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.  A.W. Tozer

Have you ever tried to get electricity? I was doing that recently and I was amazed at how much time this took. In layman terms this is how it works.  You call company XYZ to get the ESI number for your meter.  You then call the Retail Electricity Provider, but to make this simple we’ll call them REC for short.  They will ask you all kinds of questions about your first born, what country you come from, where you ate last week, who you spoke to yesterday, and they may even call the FBI to check you out.  I’m just kidding but it sure felt like that at the time.  Then even if you already have electricity with this company they will check your credit and payment history to make sure you are worthy of their service. 

Then they will send you to company LMNOP because these are the guys who actually go out and hook up your meter or set up a pole and they are also the ones who regulate your kilowatts or kWh.  

 

So as I am setting this up, since I was on the phone with them for an hour and a half, I decided to ask some questions in order to get a better understanding of deregulation.  When I asked company LMNOP what exactly they have to do in the process, the representative told me “think of us as the biller”.  

So after you are warned you are being recorded, for training purposes of course, then they read you your TOS or “terms of service”.  They start out with the PURA or Public Utility Regulatory Act, (this is to help you understand what all this means), then if you live in Texas you get the YRAC, the PUCT and the REP.  These stand for Your Rights As a Customer, Public Utility Commission of Texas and your Retail Electric Provider.

This is what I figured out.  I don’t know beans about my kWh and my REP really didn’t explain my YRAC well enough for me to understand the PURA. This whole process is used to wear you down so that you won’t question how much the REP is going to charge you for your ELEC. I also started thinking; maybe it’s time for me to get a Pedal-A-Watt Bicycle Generator.  I won’t have to read the fine print and I can stay in shape at the same time.  What a concept!!

This is what I learned about God from this process.  I praise God that he is not this complicated.  He doesn’t send us to someone else for clarification or explanation.  We are able to go directly to the Source.  When Jesus died on the cross the veil was torn and we were allowed direct access to our Savior.  What a comfort it is to know we can talk to our Heavenly Father any time or any place.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, sometimes we humans like to complicate things.  I praise You for making salvation available to everyone who seeks You.  Thank you for sending your Son to die on the cross for my sins so that I could live.  

       

Scripture: And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  Matthew 27:50-53

Be Good at Being You

God is preparing His heroes. And when the opportunity comes, He can fit them into their places in a moment. And the world will wonder where they came from.  A.B. Simpson

Have you ever tried to be like someone else?  Maybe you decided you wanted to look like another person or dress like someone else.  We decide that we like the way someone dresses or an outfit they wear and so we go out and buy something similar.  Have you noticed that when you do that the outfit or whatever it is doesn’t look the same on you as it does on the other person?  Part of the problem is that God didn’t create us to be just like another person.  The very characteristics that God created in us to make us different from every other human being we decide we want to change.  We may be shorter, taller, thinner so we will never look like another person and that is exactly why God created us the way He did.

One of the things that advertisers do is they make commercials that cater to what we don’t like about ourselves.  They tell you that if you buy whatever they are selling, you can look just like the person on TV.  I saw a commercial yesterday where there was a close up shot of a man and a woman.  The woman was attractive but the guy had long sideburns, bushy eyebrows and a long scraggly beard.  I didn’t even have the sound turned on and I could tell what the commercial was about.  All of a sudden the guy pulls out this little shaving gadget and runs it over his beard and then they flash to the next picture and the guy is clean shaven and the woman is looking at him adoringly and running her hand across his smooth face.

We are bombarded daily with things that can make us look better to the world.  We can have brighter, whiter teeth, long flowing locks, fewer wrinkles and just about anything that man can create to make money.  The problem is we begin to forget that we are God’s creation.  Each person on earth was uniquely created by God for His purpose. If we are always trying so hard to look or be like someone else, we will never become the person God created us to be.  Be good at being you.  God created you especially for His purpose and trying to be something other than what He created will hold you back from being everything he meant you to be.   

          

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of the very thing I talk about in this devotional.  You created me in Your likeness yet I try to change the things you created in me that make me special and different.  Help me to be good at being me.  If I understand that You created me as a unique individual created for Your purpose, then I will understand that the only thing I can be great at is being me.

Scripture: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28

Is Your Home Monitoring You?

Prayer is the way and means God has appointed for the communication of the blessings of His goodness to His people.  A.W. Pink

Am I the only person who sometimes finds technology intrusive and dehumanizing?  Here is an example.  My husband and I went to dinner last week and we were talking and we looked over and there was a couple at the table next to us who were both on their phones.  By that I mean they were reading text messages and scanning the web or friending or linking someone.    My husband made the comment that they were probably texting each other across the table.  Dinner table conversation has disappeared.

Since we’re on the subject of technology I read about these new sensors that you can place in each room of your house that will determine certain factors related to your health and well-being.  There are seven different sensors that measure temperature, humidity, noise, light, air quality, weather pressure and accelerometer.

So my first question is; what is an accelerometer?  Glad you asked.  It is an electromagnetic device that measures acceleration forces.  Sounds kind of like Star Trek lingo. So my next question was what would I ever use this for? The information I found said you can measure the tilt of or direction something is going with respect to gravity.  So I guess if you are tilting too far one way a sensor will go off and then laugh when you fall.  It can tell if your dog is barking non-stop while you are at work and it can tell if your house is emitting too much CO2.  I do see some useful aspects of this gizmo.  It is used in our cars to determine when to release the airbag in a crash.  Good information to know.

All of these things sound great until they are put into practice.  I am all for advancement in technology, although I may not know how to work it when I get it.  So you have a sensor that is notifying you when your spouse is snoring. So I would like to know what the fix is for a snoring spouse.  Do you kick them to the curb?  And what is it with the glow.  I can’t sleep as it is with my husband’s alarm clock that has 3 inch numbers that glow. How will I ever sleep with a sensor that glows different colors depending on the issue.

I have a solution for all of the things that are affecting our health and well-being at home.  We need to all move out to the country where all you ever see are the moon and stars.  We could sit on the back porch and actually converse with each other.  If we sell our cars we won’t have to worry about smog or CO2 emissions and if the hubby or wife snores you can move them to the hammock on the back porch.  If you are living in the middle of nowhere you won’t have to worry about the dog barking or keeping the neighbors awake.  You won’t have any neighbors near enough to hear your dog.  When you need a little entertainment you just have a barn raising and invite all the far away neighbors over for BBQ. Instead of sitting around watching TV we could take a walk around the property.  Imagine that, getting exercise and cutting down on the noise pollution all at the same time.    

  

Too many times I think we make things more complicated than they need to be.  We are gradually eliminating the need for relationships with technology.  If we spent half as much time spending quiet time with God we would get better reception from Him and live happier and healthier lives. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, each time I read about some new technological invention I wonder about how it will affect the way we build relationships.  Will we even have any relationships at all when technology does everything for us?  I praise you for giving me relationships that aren’t associated with my phone and the internet.  I enjoy the ease of communicating with those who live far away, but I think we are sacrificing relationships with others by depending too much on our gizmos and gadgets.  Thank you for the opportunities I have to physically talk to others in person and for allowing me to speak directly to You without having to resort to a communication device. 

             

Scripture: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  Romans 12:1-5

Compensation

Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid.  Albert Schweitzer

I read this quote and I started thinking about how this one statement could change a person’s life for eternity.  What would happen if each one of us did something for somebody each day and didn’t get paid for it? 

In a world where money has become an obsession, we are always asking ourselves, “What’s in it for me?”  “If I do this what will I get in return?” 

If you look at this from a heavenly perspective, Jesus is the best example of someone doing for others and getting death on a cross in return.  This was the worst return on investment that ever occurred in the world.  In His time on earth what did He really get out of doing things for others without getting paid for it? 

So if I list the things he received for his investment of love what would it look like?

1.     He was spit on

2.     Ridiculed

3.     His character was defamed

4.     Beaten

5.     Mocked

6.     Condemned

7.     Nailed to a cross

So if the Son of God gave His all for us and this is what he received in return, it is kind of discouraging; or is it?  In the short time Jesus was on the earth He saved, and not money but lives for eternity.  By giving of himself without getting paid, He offered you and me the opportunity of a lifetime; to spend eternity with our Heavenly Father.  Today Jesus sits at the right hand of God.  That is better than any paycheck as far as I am concerned. 

We come from the ultimate broken family, Adam and Eve.  We can blame them and say that it is their fault for our circumstances, but in reality we play just as big a part in the way this world will turn out for eternity.  Do you want to be compensated now or in heaven?  We each have the freedom to choose.  When we choose to help others we are storing up treasure in heaven.  Money can be taken away but heaven’s treasure is eternal and everlasting.  Which will you choose?

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of depending on money more than I should.  My time on earth is not meant to be spent acquiring.  If I do for others without expecting something in return, my life will reflect why Jesus died on the cross.  He gave His all for an ungrateful people so that we could have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him.  Help me to focus on the sacrifice that was made for me and not what I can get out of this world.  It is temporary at best and I want eternal.  

Scripture: Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.  Mark 16:19-20

Finding Joy In Everything

When the heart is full of joy, it always allows its joy to escape. It is like the fountain in the marketplace; whenever it is full it runs away in streams, and as soon as it ceases to overflow, you may be quite sure that it has ceased to be full. The only full heart is the overflowing heart.  Charles Spurgeon

I am having a little problem with joy this morning.  Why this morning you ask?  Well, here is another story in the life of a struggling Christian. 

Yesterday I pull onto our street after work and I drive in front of my house.  We live on a corner lot so we have a parkway that runs beside our house.  I pass in front of our house and there is a big stack of boxes piled on the sidewalk in the corner of our yard.  The boxes are folded flat and scattered haphazardly on the corner of our lawn.   So the first thought that runs through my mind is, did Jerry stack those there.  I’m thinking that is not the case because we didn’t have that many boxes in the house and we stack our trash in the alley.

When Jerry gets home shortly after I do, he walks into the house and asks me where those boxes in the front yard came from.  I told him I was going to ask him the same thing.  Since we are at work all day we have no idea where the boxes came from, who put them there or even why they are there.  Needless to say, after both of us worked all day and didn’t get home until 6:00pm, neither of us wanted to go out to our front yard and pick up boxes that weren’t even ours.  So this morning when I left the house in the dark, there are the boxes piled in the corner of our yard.  It frustrated me all over again.  I should have picked them up the night before.

Some of my frustration comes from the fact that when we mow our alley we first have to clean out all the soda cans, food wrappers and trash that people throw into our bushes behind our fence.  I was raised that you don’t throw trash out of the car.  My thoughts on this are that God provided us a place to live and we should care enough about it to not junk it up.   

I admit my first reaction was to take them and stack them on the corner next to us.  That was not very Christian-like of me because what if the neighbor didn’t put them there and I certainly am not showing my neighbor what it means to be filled with joy. 

 

So all the way to work I am thinking about what God would like me to learn from this.  What would reflect God the most to others in this circumstance?  That started me thinking about how they might have gotten there in the first place.  What if someone stacked boxes into their truck so they could move and didn’t tie them down and the boxes slid off the bed of the truck onto our yard and they never knew the boxes fell off. Then there could also be a neighbor who doesn’t like us so they are simply providing the tools for us to move.  When you look at it that way it’s kind of sweet.

Most of the time what happens in circumstances like this is we jump to conclusions.  We think we already know the answer so we make a fool of ourselves.   I admit I have done the jumping to conclusions thing many times in my life.

So this evening I will get out and pick up the boxes in my yard. For all I know the person who lost the boxes may decide to come by today and retrieve them.  The thing is if any of my neighbors look out the window and see me picking up the boxes and taking them to the trash they will get a much better picture of God than if I walked across the street and put them on another neighbor’s lawn.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I often struggle with finding joy in everything.  I get frustrated with the things around me and it is often then reflected in how I treat other people.  This is not Your plan for me and I know it.  I need Your help to find joy in everything I do, so that others can see You in me.  

   

Scripture:  I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. Isaiah 61:10-11

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

The Witness

God desires for you to be involved in drawing people to His Word through a dedicated life to Him and an active witness for Him.  Paul Chappell

What does it mean to witness to others?  Have you had struggles in your life?  If you have ever lost a job, had an illness, lost a loved one, had an addiction, been hurt by someone else then you qualify as a witness.  Too many times I think we start thinking that to be a witness we must have a theological background, be able to quote scripture or we must be able to explain why Jesus died on the cross. 

If in your lifetime you have struggled with anything you are meant to be a witness to fulfill God’s purpose in your life.  Being a witness doesn’t mean we brag about how we survived the struggle.  The only reason any of us survive a hardship is because of God.  It is not our abilities, a surgeon’s hands or medical miracles.  It is by God’s hand that we survive the struggles of life.

When we face the struggles of life we can choose to do several things.  We can blame God, the environment, other people and even those around us who try to help.  We also have another option.  We can praise God.  In James 1:2-4 he tells us to count it all joy when you fall into various trials, because knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  He tells us to let patience have its perfect work, so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

One of the biggest struggles I have is patience when it comes to God.  We live in an impatient society where patience is not considered a virtue.  God has perfect timing. Did you catch the last part of the verse?  If we let patience have its perfect work the result is so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 

If you are struggling with something in your life, turn it over to God.  God can make each of us a perfect witness for His kingdom.  Take your struggle and use it to help others to know God.  You don’t have to be a missionary in another country to witness to others. There are people in your daily life that need a witness.  It’s not your job to convince people to accept Christ. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job.  If we forget the Holy Spirit’s job, we will not be effective.  Witness and let God take it from there.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be a witness for Your Kingdom.  Too many times I want to be in control and direct the outcome.  That is not my job on earth.  When hardships and trials come my way, I can take them and turn them into blessings.  Remind me to witness for the purpose of showing others You, and then let the Holy Spirit handle the rest. 

Scripture: And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8

If the Shoe Fits Wear It

We are sinners simply because we choose to sin or live selfishly. We are never held accountable for what we are not the author of. Ability is always the measure of responsibility. God has given us the ability to direct our lives, either according to intelligence in recognition of our obligation to God and our fellowmen, or according to selfishness and unintelligence in the supreme seeking of our own happiness.  Gordon Olson

This morning I went to find my black pumps to wear to work.  So I go into my closet and pull out a pair of black pumps and went to slip them on.  They were about 3 inches too short.  You are probably thinking; why would she buy a pair of shoes 3 inches too short?  Well, I didn’t.  When I pulled my toes out of these tiny shoes it dawned on me that these were either my sister’s shoes or my nieces.  I wear a size 8 and whoever these shoes belong to wears a size 5.  I felt like I was in the Cinderella fairy tale where the ugly stepsisters had big feet but wanted the Prince so they tried to squeeze their too large feet into too small shoes.

As often happens I started thinking about God at this point.  The first thing that popped into my head was the old saying; “If the shoe fits, wear it.”  This made me think about how many times in my life I wasn’t willing to wear the shoe that fit me.  How many times do we go through life not taking responsibility for our actions?  It happens every day and many times we all know someone who is not willing to wear the shoes that fit them.  If I am irresponsible then I should accept responsibility for my actions.  If I am wrong I should be willing to accept that I am wrong and own it. 

Instead too often we play the blame game.  We place the blame on someone else.  It is much easier to do that than accept the shoe we need to wear which is the one that fits.  So we point the finger at another and blame them for our shortcomings or lies. 

We have to look no further than the story of Cain & Abel.  Remember the story of how Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and Cain brought an offering of fruit of the ground.  Abel’s offering was pleasing to God but Cain’s was not.  If you look at the wording of these verses it referenced that Abel brought the “firstborn” of his flock but Cain brought “an offering”.  Cain’s offering was not the best for God.  Remember what God tells him when he gets angry.   Genesis 4:6-7 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”  

If sin lies at our door we need to accept it and own up to it.  We must remember that the very sin we are denying can bring us down.  So if the shoe fits wear it. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I have been guilty in the past of not owning up to my responsibility for my actions.  You know what my actions are just as you knew that Cain had killed his brother.  You wanted Cain to own up to his responsibility but he didn’t. He didn’t accept the shoe that fit him.  I pray for strength to accept and take responsibility and not place blame on another.   

Scripture: And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.  When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”  Genesis 4:3-12

Decrepitude

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 Meremiah

de·crep·i·tude – decrepit condition; dilapidated state; feebleness, especially from old age.

I must admit I really like this word.  It really sounds great rolling off my tongue.  The problem is I am getting closer and closer to being in this state.  The state of decrepitude.  You know how they used to say you needed an attitude adjustment.  I may soon need a decrepitude adjustment.

The world offers me all kinds of things to fix my “decrepitudeness” (I don’t think this word is in the dictionary so maybe it will be added next year).  I can get Botox, fillers, new teeth in two days or pull out all the old ones if I prefer, then there are collagen injections to give me smooth skin and a permanent surprised look on my face.  I can get gel nails, hair extensions and hair removal. The interesting thing is; that is not going to change the fact that I will eventually fall into decrepitudeness.  

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden decrepitudeness didn’t exist; until a snake in the grass offered them an apple they couldn’t refuse.  When that happened we started the downhill slide into decrepitudeness.  They could have lived in a perfect garden forever walking with God.  

One of the most amazing things to me is that it doesn’t matter how decrepit we get, we can still be used by God to further his kingdom.  God didn’t give up on a fallen world.  He still gives each of us the opportunity to be redeemed.  There will come a day when the sorrows, pain and suffering of this world will come to an end.  I look forward to that day, but until then I think I will let nature take its course and let decrepitudeness in.  It is an inevitable fact of life and all the chemicals of today that are used to make me look younger will eventually move somewhere I don’t want them to, so I will refrain from denying my decrepitudeness and press on.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, as I get older and my body sometimes fails me it reminds me that I am still useful to You.  As long as there is another person on earth that needs a Savior, there will always be a need for me to pursue them for You.  I am Your feet and hands and even though they may get slower with time, I can still be used for Your purpose.

Scripture: The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.  Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.  They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Psalm 92:12-15