Obeying God

A Christian is one who recognizes Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, as God manifested in the flesh, loving us and dying for our redemption; and who is so affected by a sense of the love of this incarnate God as to be constrained to make the will of Christ the rule of his obedience, and the glory of Christ the great end for which He lives.  Charles Hodge

When you suffer and lose, that does not mean you are being disobedient to God. In fact, it might mean you're right in the center of His will. The path of obedience is often marked by times of suffering and loss.  Chuck Swindoll

Have you ever felt that God was telling you to do something and ignored it?  I know there have been many times in my life when that happened.  Because God’s ways are not ours, we decide we are going to ignore it because God couldn’t possibly want us to do something that is against everything we understand. 

When you do the God test on something you think God is calling you to do and it passes the God test then you probably should do it even though it doesn’t make worldly sense.  By the God test I mean, you read scripture that tells you it will benefit God’s Kingdom not ours. 

One of the most important things to remember about God is that He doesn’t think like we do.  He is so far beyond our thought processes that we will never understand it.  That is why He is God and we aren’t.

Here is the silly part. Many years ago when I first started working, every job I ever had was selected by me.  I didn’t put any thought into what God might want me to do.  Sometimes I hindered God from blessing my life because I thought I knew what was best for me.  So I didn’t pray about it or ask God what He wanted me to do.  I just took my resume, applied and hoped for the best.  The irony is I often got the job I applied for but it sometimes wasn’t God’s best for me. 

Obedience to God isn’t about our decisions in our life; it is about God’s.  When we let go of our need to control our life and let God take control, we are blessed and other people are too.      

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, so many times in my life I didn’t allow You to lead me.  Pride and disobedience were my companions.  Help me to remember that obedience to You means there will be times when I will not understand what You ask of me.  Help me to step out in faith that You know what is best for me and intend it for my good.  I can then live in joy knowing that You are with me even when it doesn't make sense.

Scripture: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”  Matthew 16:24-28

God’s Perfect Love

You can operate your business without Christ. You can make it run well. You can raise your family without Christ. You can even pastor a church without Christ. But if you do, you will find that there will be no fruit, no Christlikeness, no manifestation of that beautiful character which arrests the attention of others. Instead there will be a sham, a phony imitation of the real thing, which will drive people away from Christ and will produce nothing but a dull, mechanical religiosity.  Ray C. Stedman

Christlikeness is your eventual destination, but your journey will last a lifetime. Rick Warren

Do you struggle with other people’s imperfections?  I know I do.  The more I get to know God the more I understand how imperfect we humans are in this life.  Our expectations of other people can hinder our relationship with God.

There is only one perfect love and that is God’s love.  When we figure that out, we stop expecting perfection from other people. There was a time in my life many years ago, when I expected Christians to be perfect.  If someone claimed to be a Christian; which means Christlike, then they should live up to my expectation and act Christlike.  The problem is other people are human not God.  So we all fail and make mistakes and hurt other people even in the midst of trying to be Christlike. 

When we figure out that there is not another human being on this earth, except Christ, who deserves God’s love, then we can begin to understand God’s perfect love.  I think I am going to start calling myself something different from now on just so other people won’t get the wrong impression that I am Christlike.  My new handle is Sinner.  If I am a Sinner then I am at the bottom and there is nowhere to go but up. 

    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be Christlike but I so often fail at it.  I want to claim the name of Christian but when I fail at it, I am showing others how not to act.  I think I will claim the name Sinner and work towards Christian.  If I claim to be a Sinner it puts me on equal footing with everyone else in the world.  Thank you for loving this Sinner. 

   

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.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.  Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:9-21

Be Different

The Image of Christ that is forming within us--that is life's one charge. Let every project stand aside for that. "Till Christ be formed," no man's work is finished, no religion crowned, no life has fulfilled its end. Is the infinite task begun? When, how, are we to be different? Time cannot change men. Death cannot change men. Christ can. Wherefore PUT ON CHRIST.  Henry Drummond

Is eternity your guide and is God your GPS?  I have GPS on my car and one of the things I noticed last weekend is that when I didn’t listen to her instructions a voice would come on and say “go thirty feet and make a legal u-turn.”  When I ignored that directive, she would tell me “go 1 mile and make a legal u-turn.”  When I ignored her again she told me, “if you are going to just ignore me I am not going to talk to you anymore.” She really didn’t say that but I kind of like the fact that she was warning me to make sure I performed a legal u-turn as opposed to an illegal one. 

Let Go of Regret & Be Different: One of the most important lessons I have learned is that I can choose to be happy and part of that comes from not living in the past.  If I am constantly looking back or turning around and going back to visit all of my regrets and all of the wrong things I have done in my life, I will never be happy like God wants me to be.  I cannot change the things I have already done so it is counterproductive to keep visiting those.  The thing I can do is to be different than I was in the past.

   

I’ve Always Done It That Way:  Have you noticed that life is constantly changing around us every day?  If we know that everything is constantly changing we need to adapt.  Sometimes the very things that are changing around us are for our own good.  If God is doing the changing in us, then we know they are for our own good and we can trust that He knows what is best for us and adapt to those changes.

Forgiveness: Are you holding onto resentment and anger because someone hurt you in the past?  Forgive that person and move on.  Does the other person deserve forgiveness?  No.  But do we deserve what Jesus did for us by dying on a cross for the weight of our sins?  No.  So focus your life on Him, forgive, and move forward and away from the hurt, anger and resentment.  Happiness will be your reward if you forgive and move on. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, when I take my eyes off of You and return to my past regrets I lose.  I don’t deserve what Jesus did for me.  How can I hold something against someone else when I don’t deserve Your forgiveness.  If I keep my focus on an eternal life with You, then the things going on in my life now will become insignificant in comparison to what I have to look forward to.  Help me to be different.   

Scripture: Pressing Toward the Goal

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

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

Maturity in Christ

The process of biblical change, explained in God's Word, begins when you repent of your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has given you everything you need to make the changes in your life that will please Him and will lead to His blessings. As you continue to obey God's Word, biblical change toward maturity will occur in your life until you see Jesus face to face.  John C. Broger

How many times have you listened to a young person talk about how they can’t wait until they are 18 or they can’t wait until they turn 21?  The interesting thing about this is that you never hear anyone say they can’t wait until they turn 50 or "Wow, I can’t wait until I turn 60." 

Why does that happen?  Maturity has a tendency to get our attention and not always in a good way.  When we are in our teens and early 20’s we can’t wait to get our on our own and experience life.  Then we get out there and life experiences us.  We are able to make decisions and choose things that aren’t always good for us.  Maturity sets in.

Too many times we want to rush into maturity.  I think it is extremely ironic that when we are in our teens we don’t want to be like our parents and then later in life we become them. Our parents didn’t get to maturity overnight.  It is an extremely slow, agonizing process.  So in our self-absorbed world, we are young and can’t wait to be an adult and in our old age we look back and long for our youth.  The thing is, the more mature you become the more you wish you had done things differently.  

When I was thinking about maturity it made me think about our Christian journey.  Maturity in Christ doesn’t come overnight and there will be hardship involved.  There will be pain and suffering, disappointment and discouragement. 

In Ephesians 4:14-15 Paul talks about this very thing.  When we mature in Christ we are no longer children. (that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ).  

When we move from childhood to maturity, we should take on the qualities of Christ and imitate what He did during His short time on earth.  If we are not maturing in Christ we are going the wrong direction.  God provides the tools we need to mature but that maturity will take a lifetime. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I still have a long way to go to mature in Christ.  Every day is another step in that direction if I follow You and Your Word.  Keep me moving forward in the right direction and if I get off course, I pray that You will draw me back onto the path that leads to You and maturity in Christ.  

Scripture: And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16

Road Trips & Back Roads

“If we know exactly where we're going, exactly how to get there, and exactly what we'll see along the way, we won't learn anything.” ― M. Scott Peck

I took a road trip this weekend.  One of the things I love to do on a road trip is watch the scenery go by and I enjoy taking the back roads because I think too many times I spend so much time in traffic that it is a joy to just ride and anticipate what is around the next corner. 

So this weekend I traveled to Austin.  So I drove down to Austin on I-35.  For those of you who never go to Austin or maybe have never heard of it, there has been construction on that highway for the past 35 years.  Every town I passed through was under construction.  The thing is it wasn’t just crews repairing potholes.  They are building over passes and adding lanes, removing lanes and all around making a mess of things. I went through Hillsboro, Waco, Temple, Belton, Georgetown, Round Rock and Pflugerville and every one of those towns was under construction.

So on my return trip to Dallas I decided to take the back roads instead.  Interesting things happen on the back roads.  The land outside of Austin is hilly and there are even what I would call small mountains.  If you are from the real mountains you would call them speed bumps, but I live in the flatlands of Texas so these were mountains to me. 

I am driving along watching the scenery and I drive up to one of these mountains where they have cut the road right through it.  There are steep inclines on either side of the road and I see something moving to the right of the road.  I glanced over and there is a deer running down the side of the hill at a good clip.  By the way I forgot to tell you that I bought a new car last week, so I am watching this deer run down the side of this hill toward the road headed for my new car.  This is where I started talking and praying to myself.  Don’t do it!  Don’t do it!   I thought, Lord don’t let that deer run in front of my brand new car.  The interesting thing was the deer stopped at the side of the road and looked straight at me.  It was like we made a connection. 

I’ve never been a deer in headlights but I know what one looks like now.  I was so close to him that I could see his muscles quivering like I scared him as much as he scared me and he was considering running in front of me.  He actually stood there as I passed by.  I was so thankful that he didn’t run in front of me and become my new car hood ornament that I thanked God for His many blessings. 

I later almost hit a buzzard in the middle of the road eating lunch and I also barely missed a chicken.  About now I know you are thinking, “Man I want to take a road trip with her.  She sees all the good stuff.”

What I learned on this road trip was that God was with me all the way.  We are on the road trip of a lifetime to an eternal place.  Sometimes when we take the road less traveled, the stillness and peace of the empty road will often reveal more about God than taking the road everyone travels.   If you are on the road with everyone, get off and take the road less traveled.  You will be amazed at what God will reveal to you.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I saw You yesterday throughout my trip home.  The emptiness of the road and nature revealed a picture of You.  Appreciating what You created is part of our journey home.   If I remember that everything that happens to me is designed for my spiritual growth, I will appreciate everything that happens in my life.  We are on the road trip of a lifetime.  How and where we navigate that trip will make the difference in our eternal life.     

Scripture: A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.  Isaiah 35:8-10

You Know You're Getting Old When…

Preparation for old age should begin not later than one's teens. A life which is empty of purpose until 65 will not suddenly become filled on retirement.  D.L. Moody

George Macdonald said, 'If you knew what God knows about death you would clap your listless hands', but instead I find old people in North America just buying this whole youth obsession. I think growing older is a wonderful privilege. I want to learn to glorify God in every stage of my life.  Elisabeth Elliott

I am getting old.  Instead of receiving emails from Match.com, I started receiving ones from SeniorPeopleMeet.com.   The thing I was trying to figure out is; how do they know I am old.  Last time I checked I wasn’t giving out my birth date. 

The other day I received a notice that I am now eligible for AARP.  Do I really want to become a card carrying member of the American Association of Retired Persons?  I am not even close to retirement and when I get there it probably won’t happen because there will be no social security left since I will be in line with every other Baby Boomer and we are the largest group of senior citizens ever. 

I am kind of starting to understand what it means to be over-the-hill.  It’s kind of like you reach the peak and it’s all downhill from there.  I started realizing this phenomenon when a young person called me Ma’am.  Then I read that the definition of Ma’am is a British term for addressing the queen or a royal princess.  Things started looking up.

The reality is we are all going to grow old.  As soon as we are born we are getting older.  Age became a factor in our lives when Adam and Eve ate the apple in the garden.  They would have lived forever young in the Garden of Eden but for disobedience, a snake and an apple. 

When you stop and think about it, getting old doesn’t have to be a bad thing.  We can gain wisdom in our latter years.  If we are smart we will have spent a great deal of time with God and He will have taught us how to age gracefully and with integrity and character.  We will have learned to love others and to give with our heart.

 

I think I will go ahead and join AARP but I am going to call it Adopt A Reading Program instead.  If my reading program includes the greatest Book ever written, the Bible, then I can age gracefully with integrity.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, getting older in life can sometimes be a challenge.  It gets harder to get up in the morning, my limbs don’t work as well as they did when I was 20 and my memory gets shorter every day.  The one thing I know about aging is that You love me no matter what that number is and You are there when life becomes a challenge.  I praise You for loving me in my old age.  I want to glorify You in this stage of my life. 

Scripture: The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” Psalm 92:12-15

The Circle

If our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot because our charitable expenditure excludes them.  C.S. Lewis

I was thinking this morning about the blessings God has given me over the years.  My husband and I have been through tough times in our lives together as a couple.  He suffered through cancer with me and I suffered through a loss of his job with him.  Over the years God has taught me many things about trials, suffering and blessings. 

He taught me that I have the love of a great man.  Jerry loves me unconditionally.  God also taught me to give to others.  The most joyful time I find in giving to others, is when I can least afford to do it.  If you think about it, when our hands are empty, God often gives us greater blessings than we could ever imagine.

I like to think of giving as a circle.  You give a part of yourself or money or possessions away and God in turn blesses you with more.  You give from what He blesses you with again and He blesses us more.  What I have learned is that the more of these things you give away the more He blesses.  It is a never ending circle.  The thing that breaks this circle is when we become selfish with our possessions, time or money or anything else.  When it becomes all about me our circle with God is broken.

 

We live in a selfish world and it is hard for us to grasp why God wants us to give of our time, resources and selves.  When we are generous with others, God is generous with us so we can then be generous with others again.  When we give away what God gives us, we are giving thanks to God for that blessing. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to give generously of the blessings you have given me.  You have blessed me in too many ways to count and I give thanks to You, for those blessings.  Help me to help others by giving those blessings away in my actions towards others, my time and also the resources You give me.  

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.”

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

God’s Blessing & Joy

When large numbers of people share their joy in common, the happiness of each is greater because each adds fuel to the other's flame.  Augustine

Yesterday and the day before I took off so that I could do several speaking events for Purple Ranch.  My Mom and I normally do these together and they are always amazing.  These events are not amazing in the fact that we are such great speakers, the people we meet are the amazing ones and we get to see God at work. 

Our event yesterday was at Baylor Cancer Center in Dallas and the majority of the people we spoke to are cancer survivors.  We weren’t allowed to sell our products at this particular event so we set up a table with some of the products we make and we also gave away samples.  After we spoke everyone came up to the table where my Mom and I were standing to ask questions and try the products. 

What I have learned in this business is that I receive so much joy from talking to the people.  There were ladies in the group who had no hair, many wore wigs and still others had been through treatment and their hair was just beginning to grow back.  One of the amazing things about this business is that Mom and Dad leave it to my discretion to give away some products when I feel there is a great need for them.

 

I had one lady who came up to me and asked if she could buy one of our new eye masks.  My sister Sherry has started making all of our eye masks and they are just beautiful.  I explained to her that we were not allowed to sell anything at the event.  I then turned to her and in a low voice told her to come back to me after the event and I would give her one of the eye masks.  So after the event she came up and I handed her the eye mask and she asked me about the eczema crème.  I took one of the crèmes and handed it to her. 

This amazing woman started crying and then walked around the table and hugged me and just cried.  I told her that I had prayed before we came to this event that I would touch at least one person’s life that day for the glory of God and she was that person. 

What I have learned working with my Mom and Dad and helping with their business is that God is amazing.  I also learned that people in today’s world don’t understand when they get something for free with no strings attached.  The majority of things in this world have strings attached.  The word “free” is thrown around all the time but there is always fine print that tells you why what you are getting for free isn’t really “free”.  I later learned that my Mom was on the other side of the room giving things away for free too. 

I can’t even begin to explain the amazing joy I receive from the people we meet.  I had another woman who had an allergic reaction to her chemo and several months later she was still itching from the reaction.  I handed her a bottle of oil and explained to her how to use it.  She waited in line to hug me.  I don’t know about you, but that single hug was worth a million dollars to me. 

We didn’t receive payment for speaking, or compensation for the products we gave away, but I walked away from that event with God’s amazing blessing on my life.  Give some part of yourself away and you will get back tenfold. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You are an amazing God and I get such joy from watching You work.  The ladies and gentlemen we spoke to yesterday are each suffering from a horrible disease and if it is in my power to do something to relieve their suffering then I have been blessed beyond measure.  Thank you for showing me what true joy really is.  

    

Scripture: 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

Empty Words & Rotten Fruit

Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.  Blaise Pascal

Have you ever used empty words?  These are words that shouldn’t be said or words that are used to break others down.  We are becoming a society that uses empty words on a daily basis.

I like the analogy of the tree and its fruit found in Matthew 12:33-37.  This passage talks about the tree and the type of fruit it produces.  It also says that a tree is known by its fruit.  This always reminds me of my quince tree.  It produces fruit the size of a large softball but it is hard as a brick.  When the tree is producing fruit it looks like huge green apples.  The problem is you would need a chain saw to cut one open.

We are often like this fruit producing tree.  Sometimes the fruit we produce is rotten in the center.  It is like when you find a worm in the center of the fruit.  It is so lovely on the outside, but the inside is rotten. 

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have said things I have regretted and produced rotten fruit.  To be honest with you, this really scares me.  On the day of judgment, I am going to have to account for every harsh, mean, sarcastic and unloving word I have ever said in my life. 

Picture this.  You are escorted up to the throne of Jesus, and being Jesus He knows every word I have ever said to hurt someone or break them down.  In that moment I will either be justified or condemned.  When it is put in that context, I have a lot of work to do.  Empty words are just that.  They don’t edify or build anyone up and on the day of judgment I will answer for each and every piece of rotten fruit I produce.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there are times when I use empty words as a tool to harm others.  I am not glorifying you when it happens and I will answer for every word.  The tongue is often the most harmful muscle in our body and sometimes it is overused. Help me to use it for your glory.  

Scripture: A Tree Known by Its Fruit

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33-37

Choose to Be Happy

The strength and happiness of a man consists in finding out the way in which God is going, and going that way too. Henry Ward Beecher

What does it take to be happy?  Have you ever asked yourself that question?  Too many times I think we let others decide whether we will be happy or not. If we put our life in the proper perspective, happiness comes from within, not from others.  Too many times I think we depend on other people to make us happy and we always come away disappointed.

One of the reasons I think this happens is because we place our faith in the wrong person or thing.  If I am depending on people on this earth to bring me happiness, then I will often be disappointed.  In life we will run into people every day who are living life for themselves.  When this happens, they are not going to be working on bringing you happiness.  Their main focus is on their own happiness. 

The only place where we should look for happiness is in the Lord.  If we are depending on our human relationships on this earth to bring us happiness we will be disappointed.  We are all sinners and we let others down.  God is the only One who can give us true happiness and to get it we must follow Him.  When we follow Him, we soon learn that how others treat us doesn’t really matter in the long run.  It is God the Father who matters and he can bring us the ultimate happiness in Him. 

Paul was one of the greatest teachers of all time and he found happiness in God.  When others were criticizing, competing and conspiring against his ministry he continued to follow God.  That is where his happiness was found, in God. Paul says it is a privilege to suffer when you’re doing the right thing because you’re most like Jesus when somebody’s nailing you to a cross and trying to get at you. 

If we stop looking for approval from people and start looking for approval from God instead, happiness will follow.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of looking for happiness in those around me.  We are all sinners and fail each other at various times.  The one thing I know for certain is that you will not fail me nor forsake me.  My happiness and hope is found in You.

Scripture: Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.  Psalm 146:5-7

A Big Fish

Love God, and he will dwell with you. Obey God, and he will reveal to you the truth of his deepest teachings.  Frederick W. Robertson

One of my favorite Bible stories is Jonah and the whale.  I have come to think that is because sometimes in my life I have acted exactly like Jonah.  Too many times we become afraid about what God calls us to do and we run the other way.  We start thinking God doesn’t know what he is doing so we tell Him no by running. 

If you read the story we see that Jonah decided to take a trip.  This trip reminds me of Gilligan’s Island.  Remember the song that always played at the beginning. 

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost. 

By George Wyle & Sherwood Schwartz

The story goes that God asked Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh and cry out against the people there because of their wickedness against God.  Jonah had another plan that didn’t agree with God’s.  He decided to run and catch a boat to get away from God.  So Jonah hops on the boat and they set sail.  God decides to change Jonah’s mind about his mission.

So God blows in a storm that tosses the boat around and the passengers fear for their lives.  They decide that this is all happening because of someone on the boat. They determine, after talking to Jonah, that it is his fault so they toss him overboard. 

As soon as Jonah is tossed overboard a big fish swallows him up.  This is about the time I would be rethinking my mission in life.  I’ve never been in the belly of a fish but I can only imagine it can’t be good.  Fish eat other fish and when they sit in the stomach of a whale the smell alone would make me book my trip to Nineveh. 

How many times do we do the exact same thing when God points us in the direction He wants us to go?  We procrastinate and do something else instead of what God wants us to do.  One thing I have learned over the years is that eventually if God decides He wants us to do something, often He will back us into a corner so that the only way out is the direction He wants us to go.  We make it harder than it needs to be.  

If God is calling you to do something, all the running, hiding and procrastinating is not going to do you a bit of good.  God’s plan is meant for your good and others.  How many lives would be saved for eternity if we did what God wants us to?  It is all about eternal life.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I fall into the trap of thinking that I know what is best for me and I often run the other way.  You have a plan for each of us.  If we run we will miss out on the blessing and someone else may miss out on knowing God.  Please give me the courage to step out in faith and follow You.  With your strength and power I can do anything.

    

Scripture: Jonah’s Disobedience

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”  But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.  Jonah 1:1-3

Communication

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

Last Friday I went to the bank.  It was the same day that I lost my ATM card in the ATM machine.  It ate it and wouldn’t give it back.  At lunch I decided to go to the bank and transfer money to my other banking institution so I would have cash available.  I had a check that needed to be deposited so I decided to deposit that as well.  When I get to the bank I realize that I have the wrong checkbook so I can’t make my deposit so I decide to go ahead and deposit the check I had with me. 

The teller at the bank asked me if I needed an ink pen and I told her I did so she sent me hers.  As I finish filling out my deposit slip I look down and the ink pen she loaned me is missing the cap.  So I proceed to start looking for the cap.  I turn to her and tell her I lost her cap.  She responds by saying “Oh No”.  She then tells me, “Did you look between the seats?”  I told her “Yes I did.”  She then says “What about between the door and the seat? She then tells me, “Let me close the teller door so you can open your door to look there.”  I do that but find no pen cap.  By this time I am thinking, this must be her favorite pen because why else would she have me keep looking for it. She then says, “Did you look on the floorboard?”  My next thought is I’ll pay her for the whole pen if she will just make my deposit and let me go.  She then says, “Why don’t you pull up into the parking lot and open both doors and look for it?”  I am now thinking she is taking a pen cap to the extreme.  She then tells me, “Why don’t I send you back your deposit and you can return later when you find it? 

 

It hit me then.  I turn to the window and tell her, “I lost the “Cap” to your pen.  She then says, “I thought you said you lost your Cash.”  Then she says, “I don’t care about the cap.”  Then we both start laughing.  She thought I lost my cash and I thought she knew I lost her pen cap. 

This is how miscommunication starts.  Have you ever had that happen?  This is an extreme example but it happens every day to each of us.  When you think about it, God communicates with us every day too.  How many times do we miss His communication and lose out on His blessing for us?  If we don’t make a conscious effort to listen for His voice we may miss the blessing of a lifetime.  Sometimes his communication comes in the form of a friend telling us something when God has sent the message.  Other times it is a complete stranger delivering the message and we miss it entirely. 

Don’t miss out on God’s communication.  It may come in a whisper, a song or even from a most unlikely source.  Take the time to listen for His voice.  Some of life’s greatest blessings are often missed because we fail to listen for His communication. 

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, sometimes I miss Your communication with me because I am moving too fast or not paying attention.  How many blessings have I missed in my lifetime because I didn’t take the time to listen and slow down?  Thank You for loving me enough to keep trying to communicate with me.  I want to be a better listener for Your voice.  Help me to keep my focus on You so that I won’t miss the blessings you have in store for me.

    

Scripture: The Parable of the Sower

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Luke 8:4-8

The Parable of the Sower Explained

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. Luke 8:11-15

All Things Work Together For Good

Anger and bitterness are two noticeable signs of being focused on self and not trusting God's sovereignty in your life. When you believe that God causes all things to work together for good to those who belong to Him and love Him, you can respond to trials with joy instead of anger or bitterness. John C. Broger

One of my favorite verses is Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” I admit that for years I struggled with this verse.  I would ask myself, “How could God mean it for my good when I suffer or go through trials?” 

On Friday I ran by the bank on my way to work to get cash.  It’s 5:45am and I pull up to the ATM and slip my card into the machine.  I’ve come to think of the ATM machine as All Things in a Minute.  The machine goes blank.  There is nothing on the screen and the only thing flashing is the card slot where you insert your ATM card.  So I press the cancel button and nothing happens.  I did that several times just in case I didn’t press it hard enough.  Nothing.  So here I sit with my ATM card stuck in the machine. 

I will confess here that I didn’t automatically think of God at this point.  So I look over and there is a phone number to call in case of emergencies.  I am thinking that this is an emergency so I call the number.  I get the automated machine and there was no option for an ATM machine eating your card.  So I immediately start thinking that if I drive off with my card still in the machine will it all of a sudden decide to spit my card out to the next person who comes along.  Then my mind jumped to identity theft.  So I had to make the hard decision to drive away and leave my card in the machine. 

As I drove off I finally started thinking about God.  Then I thought of Romans 8:28.  If all things work together for good to those who love God, then why am I worrying.  The Bible doesn’t say a few things work together for good, or some things or a couple of things.  What then came to mind was how could this be good for me?  I mean I am not Bill Gates with more money than I could possibly hope to spend in a lifetime.  Any thief who got my card and tried to steal money from me would be sorely disappointed.  I could just see them putting my card in the machine punching in the code and then saying “Are you kidding me?” 

When I calmed down long enough to really think about the situation and pray about it here is what I decided.  I canceled the card when the bank opened.  The card I used was from another bank and I had been planning on moving the money out of that account to my other bank account.  The card I used is from a small town bank that closed the branch by my house and removed the ATM.  This meant I would have to travel across town to do my banking and they closed too early in the evening for me to be able to get there in time to do my banking anyway. 

The second thing I thought about was this is a great way to save money.  I don’t carry checks with me anymore since I always use my debit card, so if I have no access to my account that is a good thing. 

What is the moral of this story?  If I spent half the time thanking God for the trials that are meant for my good I would be a pretty happy and joyful person. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am sorry I didn’t think of You first.  I went into full out panic mode.  When I finally moved to thinking about You, there was a sort of peace that eventually came over me.  It reminded me that You do mean all things for my good if I love You and if I can always look at it from that perspective, I will spend less time stressing and worrying over things that don’t matter. 

Scripture: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:28-39