Surprises & The Art of Giving

You can always give without loving, but you can never love without giving.  Amy Carmichael

Have you ever done something for someone that they didn’t expect?  I think one of the things that make doing for others so special is the pleasure on their face when you do a kindness for them that isn’t expected. 

I love surprises.  Let me clarify. I like certain surprises.  I don’t like surprises that scare me or embarrass me.  Snakes aren’t good surprises and neither is being humiliated in front of other people.  I think the embarrassment part comes from being an introvert as a kid.  I will say that the older I get the less I care about being embarrassed.  Maybe that comes from the knowledge that I know God loves me no matter what I do.  You may think I do stupid stuff and I admit it I do.  To see some of my stupid stuff; just read some of my previous devotionals.  My motto is if you can’t laugh at yourself it’s better not to laugh at someone else. 

Another thing I have learned over the years is that I am a sinner just like every other person on this earth.  When you figure that fundamental point out; other people’s opinions of you stop being so important.  Knowing “whose” you are makes all the difference.

As I was thinking about this I realized that there is an art to giving.  I’m not talking about giving money or things.  I am talking about the art of giving of yourself on behalf of another person.  If you ever want to see God at work, help someone else without being asked.  There is a joy in it that is indescribable.  Seeing the other person’s face light up because you did something out of kindness is to me the ultimate God rush.  It’s like joy, happiness and excitement all rolled into one package. 

The secret to the art of giving is that it will cost you something.  It may be your time, it could be money but the bottom line is it must include love.  If love is not the main ingredient then you have not experienced the art of giving.  To love another person enough to sacrifice something important to you is the ultimate act of giving. 

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, help me to be a better giver.  I want to reflect You with my giving.  I pray that You will present opportunities to me that will allow me to practice the art of giving in a special way.  I am filled with joy when I practice it Your way.  Place people in my path that need to see Your love through my giving of myself, my time or any other resource You provide so that I can show others You.

      

Scripture: The Cheerful Giver

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written:

“He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.”  2 Corinthians 9:6-9

New Phones

Our God has boundless resources. The only limit is in us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small. Our expectations are too limited.  A.B. Simpson

Faith in a prayer-hearing God will make a prayer-loving Christian.  Andrew Murray

We have new phones at work.  You’re probably saying “so what”?   Well, the phones were changed out on Friday.  When we came in on Monday we had this nice new phone on our desks that has 22 buttons on it; all for different functions.  Did I mention that this phone is so complicated that we had to have a training class to figure out how it works?  With 22 buttons and multiple user screens, I’m surprised it can’t drive me home. 

  

When I tried to login the first time it asked for a new password.  I entered a new password and a lady came on and told me unacceptable password.  So when all else fails, go to the manual.  Did I aIso mention that the manual is 322 pages long?  Anyway, back to my password.  I tried my old password, made up a new password, tried someone else’s password and I actually got stuck in a continuous loop.  When I was able to get in it kept taking me back to the same message, “invalid password, please try again”.   I finally hung up on her.

The interesting thing was everyone who came in the office stopped by to ask me how to log into their phones.  Like I had time to read 322 pages of instructions and was an expert or something.  There is even a section called the Grand Tour in the manual.  I don’t need a Grand Tour; I need a semester of college to get through the manual. Then there was the whole microphone thing.  When I went to record my name and voice message I would hear the beep and then I would speak into the phone but when I pressed replay to listen to my message there was nothing but silence.  I finally figured out by trial and error that I had to hit the microphone button in order to record my message.

Then there was the Park Orbit button.  That sounds kind of like an oxymoron to me.  How can I park and orbit at the same time?  I stay away from that button.  Another interesting button is the Page All.  This is the one that puts you on the loud speaker so that everyone in the office can hear you.  Another great feature to this multi-talented phone is that now people can call me and since I requested some special feature prior to setup, (what was I thinking), it allows my voice mails to be sent to me by email and it is translated into a wave file that will allow me to listen to my messages from my desktop.  (I read that in the manual so it must work, although I haven’t received a message yet so maybe my messages are in orbit or a black hole). 

When I was thinking about my phone it reminded me that God is always available.  The amazing thing is; I can speak to God by thinking of Him, singing praise to Him and meditating on Him and His Word.  There are no complicated processes to reach Him, no multiple buttons that require a college degree to understand and the Manual is pretty straightforward.  Follow Me. Love Me.  Believe in Me.  Accept Me.  How amazing is it that we can have eternal life and it is easy if we believe. You don’t need a special wave file to be able to communicate with our Heavenly Father.  Trust in Him, believe in Him and talk to Him.  He is there waiting to hear from you.  

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, as I tried to figure out how to operate my telephone, it brought thoughts of You to mind. I praise You for allowing me to communicate with You directly.  Some of my best conversations are those I have with You.  You are my Savior and Redeemer.  Thank you for loving me enough to save me and I praise You for answering my prayers. 

      

Scripture: Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.  Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, for to You I will pray.  My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.  Psalm 5:1-3

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.  For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield. Psalm 5:11-12

I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. Psalm 7:17

 

Behave Like a Christian

“I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Ask yourself “How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?” Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery.” Mother Teresa

Do you have a co-worker who irritates you?  We all do.  It’s that person who always complains, doesn’t have anything good to say about anyone and gossips about everything going on in the office.  Then there is the co-worker who knows everything.  There isn’t a topic you could bring up that they don’t know everything there is to know about it and are willing to share their knowledge. 

The one thing I need to remind myself of is that sometimes I am that irritating co-worker.  If you don’t work alone and are surrounded by people every day, those are people God has placed in your path so that you can make a difference in their life.  What do you do when that person gets in your vicinity? Do you run the other way or lock the door of your office if you have an office, or maybe duck into the restroom?

There are times when I get so distracted by the responsibilities of work that I forget about the people around me who need a Savior.  God didn’t create me to go to work every day, do my job and go home again, only to start all over again the next day.  Our purpose is to show others who He is and point them in His direction.  Work is a part of life that gives us opportunities to share His love. 

I am not always good at this and I fail miserably many times.  There are going to be people in this world who get on our nerves and irritate us.   We are to be kindly and affectionate to one another with brotherly love, fervent in spirit and serve the Lord.  An important part of serving the Lord is to love one another.  We could use a lot more of that in this world we live in.     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I don’t always do a good job of sharing who You are with others in the workplace.  I forget to look at the person and instead focus on the irritation.  There are others who need to see You through me and I can’t do that if I am letting them irritate me or if I avoid them.  Help me to show love to others as You have shown me time and time again. 

      

Scripture: Behave Like a Christian

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Romans 12:9-15

The Witness

What an incredible witness it is to a lost and fearful society when the Christian acts like a child of God, living under the loving sovereignty of the Heavenly Father.  Henry Blackaby

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

So you are going through life and things happen.  When things happen in your life, good or bad, how do you tell others what happened?   You observe or see what happens and then you describe what you saw.

When I was in college I had a friend who worked for a small loan company.  I went to classes in the morning and got out around noon.  I decided to stop by and see her before I went to work. 

We were in her office talking when someone walked in the door.  We both thought it was a customer.  Imagine our surprise and shock when he pulled a gun and demanded money.  He made both of us lie down on the floor as he proceeded to take the money out of the cash drawer then he left.

As soon as he left my friend called the police.  The police showed up and asked some questions and then another officer called to tell the officer we were speaking with that they caught someone nearby.  They wanted us to go see if we could identify the person as the one who committed the crime. 

At the time this occurred I was scared silly, literally.  I don’t think I could have identified my dog, much less a robber.  The police took me in a separate car from the one my friend was in and asked us to look at the guy to see if he was the one who had robbed the office.  My mind was an absolute blank.  I looked at the guy and thought; I can’t say if that was the guy or not.  We then were taken down to the police station to file our statement. In this situation I wasn’t a very good witness.  When someone points a gun at you, you sort of blank out everything but the gun.  I couldn’t even identify the guy’s tennis shoes. 

How do you become a witness for God?  When you are going through struggles in life; the best way to witness to someone else is to tell others what God has done in your life.  If you aren’t paying attention, you will be a poor witness like I was during that robbery.  God wants us to grow in faith during the hard times in life.  He then wants us to tell others how we survived it.  If we hide our light under a bushel no one will ever see who God is and what He can do. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be a better witness of who You are in my life and show others that you exist. Help me to learn from the struggles in my life so that I can show someone else who you are by witnessing what I have seen You do in my life.     

Scripture: 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 1:8

Technology & Relationships

Four of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship to God while the other six deal with our relationships with people. But all ten are about relationships.  Rick Warren

Last week at work I had someone in my office and my phone rang.  I glanced at the display and it said breast cancer.  Once I finished talking to the person who was in my office I listened to my messages but there was not one for the previous phone call.  Later in the day I heard my phone ring and it was the same caller so I answered the phone. 

A woman’s voice came on and started talking about supporting research for breast cancer.  Have you ever had one of those recordings call you where you can’t really tell if it is a person on the other line or a machine?  This was one of those times.  Our phone systems have become so sophisticated that you can almost set them up like a live person is on the other end of the phone.  This woman started talking and then she would ask me a question and then pause.  I asked what organization she was calling from and she immediately responded with some statement that didn’t make sense with the question I asked. I talked to this woman for several minutes before I realized it was a recording.  I am guessing she wasn’t offended when I hung up on her.

We have become a society run by automation.  Our phone can answer for us, we can turn on lights, alarms, and unlock doors in our house from our desk at work.  We can watch a webcam to see what our dog is up to in doggie day care. I even heard Uber is planning on converting their cars to run without drivers.  Children have better relationships with their phones than with live people. 

God created us to be in relationship with others and with Him. We have become so dependent on the devices we have for communication, that we have forgotten how to build relationships with people.  Many children today don’t know how to make lasting relationships. I really think we need to go back to the days of 3 channels on TV and a phone that plugs into the wall for communication.  If we aren’t building relationships with others, we aren’t showing others who God is and the amazing grace available to all who seek Him.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of spending more time on my electronic devises than building lasting relationships with others.  I often forget that the purpose behind relationships is to surround ourselves with others who can lift us up when we fall, encourage us when we need it most and to share Your love for us.  I need to spend more time with the people around me than figuring out what new gadget I can find that will save me time.  You’ve given me all the time I need, help me to take advantage of it.

Scripture: Fellowship with Him and One Another

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7

Potholes

Every Christian will readily allow that sin is insidious, but it is one thing to recognize this in theory and quite another to be regulated by it in practice.  A.W. Pink

If Christ has died for me - ungodly as I am, without strength as I am - then I can no longer live in sin, but must arouse myself to love and serve Him who has redeemed me. I cannot trifle with the evil that killed my best Friend. I must be holy for his sake. How can I live in sin when He has died to save me from it?  Charles Spurgeon

As I was driving to work this morning I started thinking about potholes.  Why was I doing that?  Maybe because I hit the same pothole every day on my way to work.  You would think I would remember that pothole since I drive that way every day and avoid it.  Maybe I am hoping that the city will see that pothole one day and fix it.  Then there is the other pothole on my way home every evening.  The city has repaired it once already but alas that didn’t fix it.  It is back to being a pothole.   

I decided to do a little research and share my research with you.  Did you know there is a state park that has named their pothole?  It is called Archbald Pothole State Park.  This particular pothole is 38 feet deep and 42 feet wide.  It is in Lackawanna County Pennsylvania.  It was discovered by a coal miner in 1884. The park is named for Archbald Pothole which they say was formed during the Wisconsin Glacial Period.  The first potholes were formed by the force of water falling over a long period of time, and here in Texas potholes are formed by ice, water and millions of cars.  I’m not so sure I would want to be famous for the biggest pothole in the U.S., but there are some counties that are famous for the biggest ball of twine and they even have twine-a-thons and you can stay at the Almost Done Inn, so I guess being famous for a pothole isn’t so bad. 

As I was pondering the significance of potholes I started thinking about how our Christian life is often filled with potholes.  Satan is extremely good at wearing us down.  We may be on the right path following God’s Word and living the life He calls us to live and “bam”.  We hit a pothole.  The other thing is we will often return to the same pothole over and over again, repeating the same mistakes over and over again.  If you look at it from a sin perspective, potholes are a fact of life.  Just when you think you have conquered some sin that plagues you; Satan wears us down and we’re right back in the same pothole.

If we want to avoid the potholes of life, we are going to need help.  There are times we are going to need to change lanes.  Other times we are going to need to turn to others for help to get out of our pothole. God is our best resource when it comes to surviving the potholes of life. The beauty of it is that it is never too late.

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am not sure why I keep hitting the same pothole every day.  I think often it is because I am not paying attention and the other is I am weak.  How many times in my life have I hit the same pothole, (sin), over and over again?  Too many times to count.  Help me to realize when I am in one and that I need Your help to get out of it. 

Scripture: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:1-2

Get Smart

God speaks in the silence of the heart.  Listening is the beginning of prayer. Mother Teresa

When I was a kid we used to watch the show Get Smart.   For those of you not as old as me; this was a sitcom based on a secret government agency.  Did you know that it was created by Mel Brooks?  That might explain the absurdity of it.  The show was a cross between James Bond and Inspector Clouseau.  Maxwell Smart was Agent 86 and his partner was Agent 99.  The nemesis in the show was an organization called KAOS.  Instead of the modern day cell phone, Smart had a rotary dial phone in his shoe.  He was really inept at being a spy and his success depended more on luck than anything else.

One of my favorite devices in the show was the Cone of Silence.  Anytime Smart wanted to talk to Chief in private he would request the Cone of Silence.   It was a big plastic cone that would descend from the ceiling over the desk so they could talk in private.  The problem with the Cone of Silence was it never really worked properly. 

Other special agent devices included and olive radio transmitter, French bread triangulation device, coffee and donut radio, bowl of fruit microphone & tape recorder, parking meter telegraph and two of my favorites, fly microphone and the Closet of Silence that was used when the Cone of Silence had been rented out to the CIA.

I think sometimes when it comes to our communication with God, we need to utilize the Cone of Silence but our Cone of Silence doesn’t work properly either. How many times do you rush through your prayers to God and then run on to the next thing?  When it comes to our time with God we often forget that He wants us to listen, not talk.  Sometimes our prayers are short circuited because we aren’t listening for God’s voice.  I am guilty of getting so caught up in what I am saying, that I don’t listen for what God wants me to learn from just being silent in His presence. 

In one episode of Get Smart Max and the Chief enter the Cone of Silence, but so does a bee and the buzzing is so loud that it drowns out the conversation.  How many times have we allowed outside distractions to interfere with our communication with God. 

I think I need to start my quiet time with God in the Cone of Silence.  Find your quiet place and just be still in His presence.  God wants to talk to you but it requires uninterrupted time and attention.  You will be amazed at what God will tell you in the Cone of Silence.

  

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I need to work on my quiet time with You.  I sometimes am so busy thinking about the next thing I need to do or say that I often miss the opportunity to hear you speak to me.  Please help me to slow down my life and concentrate on my time with you.  Speak to me about the things You want me to hear, say and do on Your behalf.  Help me to recognize Your voice and step out in faith on Your behalf.  

      

Scripture:  For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.” Luke 8-17-18

Road Hazards

If we are intended for great ends, we are called to great hazards.  John Henry Newman

Last week I was driving down the freeway and I looked up ahead of me and I saw all red taillights coming on.  As I slowly moved forward I was thinking about what might be up in front of us on the road.  As will often happen, I kept easing up and I glanced ahead to the other side of the freeway and there is a refrigerator on its side in the middle lane.  A Walmart truck was stopped in the middle lane too.  At first I didn’t recognize it as a refrigerator because I think the Walmart truck hit it. The door was in one part of the lane and the body of the refrigerator was on its side further down the road. 

I don’t know if you see stuff like I do on the freeway.  Maybe you don’t drive as far as I do, or maybe you don’t drive on a freeway where people pass you going 80 to 90mph like you’re sitting still. It could also be that I just drive on the roads where people lose stuff.  If you think about it, if your car is going 70mph and the wind is blowing 40mph in the same direction, your refrigerator standing up in the back of the truck is going to have a wind force of a Category 1 hurricane pushing against it.  If your fridge is standing up in the back of your truck and it meets winds with the force of a Category 1 hurricane, is it any wonder your fridge is now road kill?  

Anyway I was thinking about this incident and it reminded me of the road hazards we face every day in life. These are the unexpected events that occur when you least expect it.  We are on a journey traveling a road that will lead us somewhere.  We make choices every day about which direction we will go when the road hazards of life hit us.  How we handle our choices can mean going down the right or wrong path.

In the book “Hazardous: Committing to the Cost of Following Jesus” Derek Cooper states that “being a follower of Jesus is fraught with all kinds of challenges.  In fact, following Jesus means making regular sacrifices, taking financial and vocational risks.” The bottom line is we must trust in God to see us through the hazards of life.  He promises we will have them but we need to learn how to live through them with His help.    

   

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, every day I meet up with the hazards of life.  Teach me to trust in You to see me through the very obstacles that are meant to trip me and make me fall.  Through You I have all the strength I will ever need to conquer any obstacle or hazard I face.  You are my Savior, My God and I praise Your Holy Name.        

      

Scripture: Seeing the Invisible

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Protein Pack

Educators take something simple and make it complicated. Communicators take something complicated and make it simple. John C. Maxwell

Have you ever noticed how companies like to name products so that their product sounds different from everyone else’s and more complicated?    

I have been watching what I eat.  Well, not just watching it, but eating it too; just in a healthy manner.  Anyway, I read that you should eat a piece of rye bread every morning because it tricks your hypothalamus into thinking you are full.  I admit I didn’t really know what the hypothalamus was, although I had heard of it; the only thing I did know was that it wasn’t an animal in Africa.  So if you were wondering like I was, this is what it is and does.

"The hypothalamus is responsible for certain metabolic processes and other activities of the autonomic nervous system. It synthesizes and secretes certain neurohormones, often called releasing hormones or hypothalamic hormones, and these in turn stimulate or inhibit the secretion of pituitary hormones.  The hypothalamus controls body temperature, hunger, important aspects of parenting and attachment behaviors, thirst, fatigue and sleep." So to make this simple it controls if I am hot or cold, hungry, thirsty or sleepy, how to raise my kids and when I "friend someone".   

Anyway, back to my new diet.  I also read that you should eat an egg in the morning.  So I stopped by Starbucks to get my egg.  The problem is they don’t call it an egg.  Their egg comes with a bunch of grapes, a whole grain muffin, a piece of cheese, peanut butter and some apple slices.  When I walked up to the counter they had not put the eggs in the refrigerated case yet.  Since I didn’t know what it was called, I told the lady I wanted the pack with the egg.  I knew I had messed up when she looked at me like a deer in headlights.  So the two clerks behind the counter started discussing what I might be trying to buy.  Maybe I should have said my hypothalamus needed protein.  They finally determined that I was talking about what they call a Protein Pack.

I’ll admit, sometimes Starbucks intimidates me.  If you don’t know what or how to pronounce macchiato, (did you know macchiato is Italian for marked; what that has to do with coffee is beyond me), latte, grande, tall, or a caffe mistro, it’s probably best if you don’t go in.  The first time I ever went into Starbucks I just ordered a tall because I recognized the word.  

What did I learn from this?  I learned that I am a very simple person.  I like things to be straightforward where I don’t have to look it up first before I decide what to buy or do.  The other thing I realized is that the Bible is very straightforward.  It doesn’t pull any punches or beat around the bush.  What’s truth is truth.  There is no grey area and if you search through it you will find everything you need to live this life on earth.  Our God is amazing and He gave us the tools we need to survive and flourish.  To get the benefit of this amazing resource, we must open it first.  Search His Word for the truth and it shall make you free.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am a very simple person.  I love Your Word because it is simple and straightforward.  I want to get everything I can from it.  If I ask, You will help me understand the parts that aren’t as clear.  Thank You for providing the tools we need to survive this life so that we can move toward a much better one with You.   

   

Scripture: The Truth Shall Make You Free

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  John 8:31-36.

Fear

Faith, which is trust, and fear are opposite poles. If a man has the one, he can scarcely have the other in vigorous operation. He that has his trust set upon God does not need to dread anything except the weakening or the paralyzing of that trust.  Alexander MacLaren

I have a young girl who lives next door to us.  Last night I was eating dinner when I heard a knock on the front door.  I looked outside and saw that it was my neighbor.  I opened the door and she was selling cookie dough to raise money for her prom.  I placed my order for cookie dough and then we started talking. 

She is a junior in high school and as we talked she made a statement that caught my attention.  We were discussing if she was going to go to college and she said yes, she wanted to become a doctor.  She said “I am so scared about college”. 

That statement caught my attention.  She is afraid.  I understand being afraid of the unknown because I’ve been there and done that.  Still do sometimes.  What struck me about this conversation was that we adults have a tendency to instill fear in children.  I think it is because we have lived with fear in our own life so we want to make sure that children are prepared for this cruel world we live in.   

Have you ever asked your child what they are afraid of?  What would their answer be?  Younger ones are probably more apt to say they are afraid of the dark or afraid of getting lost.  If you are a teenager what might you be afraid of?  How about afraid of not being accepted by others, or being made fun of in front of others, or as Melissa my 16 year old next door neighbor told me, she is afraid of not getting into college or failing.  I told her that she should never give up.  I also said that every one of us fails at one time or another in life.  The important thing is to learn something from the failure and then get back up and go again. 

Sometimes I think we forget to teach kids how to have faith; faith in a Father who will never leave us or forsake us. Faith that He has a plan for each of us and He is there.  Faith to depend on our Creator to get us through whatever trial we face.  The reality is we live in a world where bad things happen and if our faith isn’t strong enough, fear will overtake us. 

Jesus didn’t have fear.  He was placed here on earth to be about His Father’s business and one of the most fearful things to happen to Him was for Him to die on a cross.  He trusted and had faith that God knew what He was doing.  Fear was not the answer, faith was.  Teach your children to have faith and not fear.  The Bible tells us that the only one we should fear is the Lord.  If we don’t practice faith every day, we will give in to the fears of the world.   

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there are times when fear overtakes me and I react instinctively out of fear.  Help me to strengthen my faith so that when circumstances happen that would normally cause me to be fearful; instead I will turn to You in faith knowing that You know what is best for me and will see me through.  I want to practice the faith of Jesus.  He knew what His life was about and it was all about living for You and saving a sinner like me.

      

Scripture: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.  1 John 4:18-19

Mission Impossible

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

I guess I have been thinking about old sitcoms lately because today I thought about Mission Impossible.  In the series Jim Phelps, (played by Peter Graves), is the head of a super-secret government agency called “Impossible Missions” or IM for short.  The show always started out with a tape recorder giving the super secret assignment then the voice on tape would make this statement: “As always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.  Good luck, Jim.  This tape will self destruct in five seconds.”

I always loved that self-destruct part.  It was cheesy and since I was young it drew me into the drama.  When I started thinking about this old TV show it reminded me of our Christian life.  We are on a mission for God.  It doesn’t matter what you do for a living or how much money you do or don’t make.  It is all about the mission.  The mission should you choose to accept it, is the most important mission you will ever complete in this life.  How you handle your mission can mean eternal life for others.  Think about it.  How we live our life can influence another person’s eternal life.  When I think of eternal some of the words that come to mind are forever, never ending and infinity.  In fact I can’t even comprehend that amount of time even with the words to describe it.

So if we each have a mission, how are we doing in accomplishing that mission?  Every one of us is called to complete our mission.  I guess that would mean we are all missionaries in life.  The beauty of our God mission is that God will not disavow us.  Other people may disavow us but God won’t.  Another beautiful thing about our godly mission is that we have God’s ultimate power in it.  So if we pray to Him for guidance, depend on Him for support and follow through on our mission, we have the ultimate power of our Heavenly Father to help us complete it.  The truly amazing thing is rewards await us in heaven if we complete our mission. 

Are you using your work life, family life and every other aspect of your life to complete the mission God has set before you?  Follow through on your mission in this life and amazing rewards are within reach. God makes an impossible mission possible.

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, my mission in daily life should be to draw others to You.  Every Christian has a responsibility to complete the most important mission; helping others know You.  I pray that I handle my mission well and that You will guide me when the mission becomes difficult.  Remind me that this mission is more important than the everyday things that happen in my life that ultimately have no value in Your Kingdom. 

      

Scripture: Light Bearers

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.  Philippians 2:12-18

Reaping a Rich Harvest

Do not lose yourself in your everyday work and activities. Rather, lose yourself in God. When you are doing work, let your innermost heart be centered on Him. Live in His presence and abide in Him. Then your work will follow you into eternity, and you will reap a rich harvest.  Basilea Schlink

So yesterday I was driving home from work and talking to my husband on the phone.  Most of you have read my devotionals about the issues I have with the drive-thru pharmacy.  I don’t think they should call it the drive-thru; it should really be called the “Stop and Stay Awhile”. 

At the end of our conversation he stopped and said, “Would you do me a favor?”  Before he could even say what the favor was I said, “You need me to go pick up your prescription?” I am not the only one who has had issues with the pharmacy; it is a close race as to which one of us has had the worst experience. Between the text messages we receive from the pharmacy telling us our prescriptions are ready and driving to pick it up and they aren't, to the wobbly prescription delivery box throwing my prescription at me and it landing next to my car on the pavement where I can’t get to it; is it any surprise that I hate picking up prescriptions.  Every time I say something to someone about the issues I have and say I am going to change to another pharmacy; they tell me the one they use is just as bad.  I guess I should just order the 90 day supply and that way I only have to deal with this every three months. I have started taking my Kindle with me so I have something to do while I am sitting in line.

Is it just me or has customer service gone by the wayside?  When you have to choose between bad and worse when dealing with companies; something is definitely wrong. It’s not just customer service either.  We have forgotten how to be kind and helpful.  It is like the never ending cycle we are all in.  It’s like stepping on the merry-go-round and not being able to get off. Our days are so busy and full that we don’t have any quiet time to just sit or spend time with God.  Is it any wonder that we get aggravated with the pharmacy and everyone else in our life.

How do I get out of this cycle?  I need to lose myself in God.  My focus should be on Him every day.  This means I live as Jesus did while he was here.  God always does the unexpected when we follow Him. When we follow Him, He is going to do things in our life that will amaze and astound us and He will help us reap a rich harvest for Him.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of forgetting that You provide for my needs.  I start buying into the worldly view that if I work harder, spend more, give up more of my time to worldly pursuits then I will be successful by the world’s standards.  I know in my heart what I should do. Every person on earth has exactly the same amount of time in their day.  We can’t make more time, find more time or buy more time.  Help me to give up the unimportant things in my life that keep me from doing Your will and follow You.      

      

Scripture: The Workers Are Few

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:35-38

 

Do Not Worry

The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus. Hudson Taylor

Do you have a tendency to fall into worrying?  I know I do.  There are times when I abandon God and worry.  I like to break this word down into two parts when I start worrying.  The first part is “Wo” (i.e. whoa) and the second part is “Rry” (i.e. restart).  When we get buried in worry we have let fear overtake our thoughts.  Fear of the unknown.  If it’s unknown why are we worrying about it in the first place?  When that happens we stop depending on God to know what we need and we don’t let Him take care of it. We need to stop and restart with the knowledge that God will take care of our circumstances.  He doesn’t really need our help.  

Matthew 6:25-34 it is an excellent reminder of how we should live.  Stop worrying about your life, what you will eat or drink, what you will put on each day.  Life is about more than those things.  If God takes care of the birds and they don’t store up stuff to eat later, how much more important are we His children?  If Solomon in all his glory was not clothed as beautifully as the lilies of the field why do we worry about stuff like that? He even compares it to growing taller.  How many of us by worrying can make ourselves taller?  It’s really rather ridiculous. 

My favorite verse in this passage is verse 33.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Worrying doesn’t add one iota to your life.  When you find yourself heading toward worry; stop and turn your focus on God.  He is in control and He will take care of the details.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, remind me that worry is allowing myself to fear something I have no control of in the first place.  You promise me that You will take care of me and that I should not worry about those things but instead depend on You.  My dependence on You releases me from worry.  I praise You for taking care of me.  Remind me that worry doesn’t make me taller and it takes away my faith in You.

        

Scripture: Do Not Worry

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

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

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

Dreaming and Doing

Have you ever realized that you can give things to God that are of value to Him? Or are you just sitting around daydreaming about the greatness of His redemption, while neglecting all the things you could be doing for Him? I'm not referring to works which could be regarded as divine and miraculous, but ordinary, simple human things - things which would be evidence to God that you are totally surrendered to Him.  Oswald Chambers

Do you have a dream?  We all have dreams.  Some are the kind you have at night where you wake up perplexed or just plain scared.  Then there are the ones that are based on following God and doing His will.  There is still another type of dream where you want to do something amazing but feel you lack the skills, knowledge, energy or will to do it.

When we have a dream we need to decide what to do with it.  We have a choice.  We can ignore our dream or pursue it.  The best dreams are the ones that are God based.  If your dream has anything to do with pursuing others for Christ, that dream is worth more than gold. The irony of this kind of dream is that you may not see the value of it in this lifetime.

    

If your dream is inspired by God, you will need faith.  Hebrews 11:1-3 tells us exactly what faith entails.  (“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”)

If we are going to release God’s power in our dream we will need faith.  Peter walked on water until he lost faith.  Too many times I think we allow fear to interfere with our dream.  We let doubt creep in and sometimes we even allow others to deter us from pursuing a God given dream. 

There are several things we should do when we have a God given dream.  We need to share it with someone else.  Why?  Because it makes us accountable to try and move toward making that dream a reality.  Second, sharing it with others attracts other people to the dream who want to help make it happen.  It will even attract some you never dreamed of who will support it along the way.  Third and most important, it releases God’s power to make the dream happen. 

If you have a God dream and are hesitating to move forward, step out in faith and let His power work in it.  God is waiting for you to do something about it so that He can release His power to make it a reality.  Don’t let someone else stop you from pursuing a God given dream.  His kingdom depends on you and me to pursue it with everything in us. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I sometimes feel like Paul in 2 Corinthians when he was faced with the call of God, he asked, “Who is adequate for these things?” In my very inadequacy, if I place my faith in You I will move from dreaming to doing.  Through You I can do all things because You are the One who gives me the strength to carry them out. I praise You Heavenly Father for the strength You give me to pursue a dream. 

   

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

Storms of Life & Valleys

God desires to show His power through your storm, but is your lack of faith keeping Him from doing so? God brings storms into your life to show His strength and to gain glory from His providence.  Paul Chappell

My devotional yesterday talked about how our house was broken into on Saturday.  I also talked about my cancer diagnosis in April, the hail storm that hit just our neighborhood in May, our hot water heater that went out in June and now our house being broken into in August.  I am sure there was something that happened in July but chemo is doing a number on my memory.

Anyway, last night we are sitting in our living room when my husband’s phone rings.  My husband looked at the number and then said I am not answering it since I don’t recognize the number.  Well, a few minutes later the phone rang again; same number.  When Jerry didn’t answer it again he received a text that just said “Hello”.  He decided to call the person back because they were really persistent. 

When he called the number a lady answered and  when Jerry told her who he was she proceeds to tell him that they found his stolen car.  Now the last time I checked we still have both our cars so Jerry responds “What car”.  The rest of the story gets better and folks you can’t make this stuff up.  The lady tells him “We thought we found your stolen car because there is a bag in it that has your name and phone number on it.”  She then explains that they are buying a house in Dallas that has been vacant for a while and they went to check on the house and there is a stolen Lexus parked in the back yard. In the Lexus is Jerry’s duffel bag that we think is the one that had my robe and slipper in it that was stolen on Saturday. 

I know you probably think my husband and I are lunatics, but we started laughing.  Then I told him this has God written all over it.  What are the chances that within a day of being robbed we get a call from someone we don’t know that they may have found some of our stuff in a stolen car that has been hidden in the back yard of a house that is vacant and the people who called haven’t even bought the house yet?  They just stopped by to check on the house. 

I believe that I am on a journey that God has planned for me.  On this journey I have had a whole lot of valleys.  But in those valleys He has helped me touch other people’s lives on His behalf.  I also believe that Satan does his best work when we are in our valleys. If we become discouraged or waiver he is waiting and ready to pounce on us in our vulnerable state.  If I am not focused on God during the storms in my life, I will miss His blessing on the other side of the valley and Satan will gain control. 

The best time to build our faith is when we are being tossed around by life.  If we can weather our storms and have faith that God is there for us in the midst of them, then how much greater will our faith be when we reach the other side.  We are guaranteed storms and it is not a matter of if they will come, it is when.  When you think your storm is too big to handle, turn to the One who is the Master of calming storms.     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, when I started this journey four months ago; I was reminded of Jesus calming the storm that tossed the boat that the disciples were in.  As Jesus slept they were worried about whether they would survive.  You have the power to see us through any storm of life; but we must first turn to You and believe that You are capable of calming the storm.  Thank You for calming my storms and thank You for helping me through them.      

      

Scripture: Wind and Wave Obey Jesus

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”  Matthew 8:23-27

Cast Your Eyes Up to Heaven

We must learn to live on the heavenly side and look at things from above. To contemplate all things as God sees them, as Christ beholds them, overcomes sin, defies Satan, dissolves perplexities, lifts us above trials, separates us from the world and conquers fear of death.  A.B. Simpson

On the way to work today I was listening to a gospel song by Lyle Lovett.  When I first got in the car I was thinking about what I needed to do when I got to work and then there is my whole other to do list of things that need to get done away from work. Needless to say my thoughts weren’t on heaven.   

When the song came on I started listening to the lyrics and it struck me how true they are, so I hit repeat and listened to it again.  There are a lot of hallelujahs but my favorite verse talks about when he was a baby sitting on his mama’s knee.  She told him, “Son, if you cast your eyes up to heaven, Heaven’s what you’ll see.” 

I think that is an amazing lyric.  If we keep our gaze on the Father we’ll see Him.  Our gaze must be focused on Him or we lose sight of Him. There is a lot of sorrow, pain, hate and injustice in this world we live in. 

On Saturday I went to visit my sister and parents.  When my husband got home our back gate was open as well as our back door.  When he walked into the house he realized someone had broken into our house.  When I got home the police were inside dusting for fingerprints.  The thieves kicked in our back door and trashed our house.  They took the drawers out of my nightstand and chest of drawers and dumped all of my clothes on the floor.  They went through each room and pulled things out of the closets and dumped them on the floor. They took our TV, my new laptop, cash, my husband’s high school and college class rings. I had a bag that I had packed for when I go to the hospital for surgery and they dumped some of it on the floor and used it to take the coins my husband had in his office.  I was left with one slipper and no robe.  Our six month old puppy was in his kennel by the back doors when they broke in so he was traumatized.  He wouldn’t eat yesterday or today. I mean you can’t make this stuff up.

My husband and I were sitting on our couch on Sunday looking at the blank space where our TV used to be and I started laughing.  I mean it is a whole lot better than crying.  As my husband put it, “The previous years have been really good to us, so now we’re making up for it in 3 months.”  On the same day I was diagnosed with cancer a hail storm hit our house and vehicles, the next month our hot water heater went out, and now we were burglarized. As we sat there laughing we talked about how much God has blessed us. You don’t have to look far to see someone in a worse situation than yourself.   

  

Some of the ladies at work gave me a t-shirt that says “Not today Satan”.  Have you figured out that the closer you get to God the more Satan attacks you.  He tries to break us just like he tried to break Jesus.  He wants us to give up on God.  It would be so much easier to just give in to Satan and then he would leave us alone.  What I do know is that I believe in an amazing God and I will never give up on Him.  If I keep my eyes on Heaven; Heaven is what I’ll see. 

I love the last verse and stanza. 

Though I walk through
Death's dark valley
On that road of misery
I just keep my eyes on Heaven
Heaven is where I'll be.

Written & performed by Lyle Lovett

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me this song that lifted me up on my way to work.  I was so immersed in my thoughts about what I thought I needed to do, that I lost sight of You.  Help me to keep my eyes on You so that Heaven is what I see.  “Sing Praise the Lord, Sing Hallelujah, I’m going to the place my Father has made.”    

     

Scripture: Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.  John 17:1-5

Distractions

Christ choosing solitude for private prayer, doth not only hint to us the danger of distraction and deviation of thoughts in prayer, but how necessary it is for us to choose the most convenient places we can for private prayer. Our own fickleness and Satan's restlessness call upon us to get into such places where we may freely pour out our soul to God [Mark 1.35].  Thomas Brooks

Do you ever get distracted by daily life?  You may get tired of hearing about the stupid things I do, but these everyday distractions often help remind me of God and they often get me back on track and thinking of Him.

Yesterday I stopped at Starbucks.  There is one on my way to work so I see some of the same cars and people at this one.  There is always this one gentleman who is sitting at a table reading.  I went in and made a purchase.  When I was on my way out I walked out the door and was putting my credit card back in my wallet, (distracted), so I wasn’t really paying attention to the vehicles parked in front of the store.  Since there were only two cars parked in the whole lot it shouldn’t be hard to find mine.

Well, since I was busy putting my credit card in my wallet, I just walked up to the first car I came to and grabbed the handle and opened the door.  I will say that I had already clicked the unlock on my key so being able to open the door wasn’t an issue.  As I went to get in I looked down and the color of the interior was different.  I thought, “Man, I didn’t know my seats were this color.”  I also have a cover on my seat to protect it and the cover was gone. Then I thought, “Man this car sure does sit low.”  

Then it hit me.  This wasn’t my car.  The first thing that crossed my mind was, “who leaves their car unlocked” these days.  I mean, there is always someone out there waiting to steal it.  Then there was the embarrassed part where I wondered if the guy who owns the car sitting in Starbucks realized I was trying to get into his car. 

I admit I started laughing.  Then I thought about God and I really do think He has an amazing sense of humor. He probably sits up there watching us do some really stupid stuff and just shakes His head.  He created us in His image and we often aren’t a good representation of Him.  The amazing thing is, He still cares enough to want us to get back on track and be better.  The distractions of life can either get in the way of our relationship with Him or draw us closer to Him. Jesus is our best example of not being distracted.  His sole purpose on earth was to save us.  He didn’t let distractions get in the way of His purpose.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I was distracted yesterday and almost got into someone else’s car.  When I am distracted I can often miss opportunities to spend time with you.  I want to be more focused on You.  Thank You for loving me enough to keep pursuing me.  When I stray toward doing something stupid, help point me in Your direction.    

Scripture: Preaching in Galilee

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”

And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons. Mark 1:35-39