Dependent on Him

God may allow His servant to succeed when He has disciplined him to a point where he does not need to succeed to be happy. The man who is elated by success and is cast down by failure is still a carnal man. At best his fruit will have a worm in it.  A.W. Tozer

A man by the name of Wallace Johnson made this statement: “I am totally dependent on God for help in everything I do.  Otherwise I honestly believe I would start to fall apart in months.”  Wallace Johnson was fired from his job at the sawmill and he had no retirement and no severance package.  When his wife asked him what he planned to do, he stated that he was going to do what he always wanted to do.  He told her he was going to mortgage their home and go into the building business.

In 1952 he and his co-founder formed the motel chain Holiday Inn. They were the first chain to provide a Bible in every room.  He said it was to help people find Jesus and the solution to their problems, no matter who they were. Wallace later went on to say that if he could locate the man who fired him, he would thank him for what he had done.  He then stated, “This was God’s unerring and wondrous plan to get him into the career he was shaped to do.”

Have you had circumstances in your life where you failed at something?  We all have had those moments.  If we look at failure from a worldly perspective, we will buy into the definition that failure means that we have not met a desirable or intended objective.  The world believes that failure is the opposite of success. 

I believe that God allows things to happen to us for a reason. Sometimes it is necessary for us to fail because we are proud and we believe that we are the reason for our success. If we believe that God provides us with everything we have on earth, then our success really doesn’t have anything to do with us.  God created us and He knows what we are capable of in this life.  He also wants us to do what we were shaped to do.  His best is produced in us when we let go of what the world thinks we should do, and instead do what God created us to do. Depend on God for every decision you make in life. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You know what the best is for me.  Too many times I try to make the most important decisions without consulting You first.  Things fall apart when I neglect to depend on You.  I need Your help to guide me in the right direction.  When I fail at something, help me not to get caught up in the failure and instead look for the blessing. 

       

Scripture: Justification by Faith

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?  This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”  So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.  Galatians 3:1-9

Do You Conform or Transform?

Give up the struggle and the fight; relax in the omnipotence of the Lord Jesus; look up into His lovely face and as you behold Him, He will transform you into His likeness. You do the beholding--He does the transforming. There is no short-cut to holiness.  Alan Redpath

I was asked a question recently by a young person seeking answers.  I was asked why people act one way when they are at church, and act totally different when they aren’t at church? 

I decided to look up the definitions of conform and transform.  Conform means to behave according to socially acceptable conventions or standards. Transform means to make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of a person.

The first question I asked myself was, “Do I do this myself?”  Do I conform to the worlds standards or to I transform to be more like Jesus?  Do I transform myself into Jesus likeness only when I am at church or everywhere I go?  I’ll admit I have often conformed to what the world wants to see.  It’s those times when you want to fit in with the crowd so you conform yourself to act like they do.

In Romans 12:1-2 we are told to present our bodies as 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.

These verses tell us that we are to be living sacrifices.  When we transform ourselves into His likeness, we will no longer try to conform to what the world expects us to be.  This is one of the most difficult things to do, because the world has such influence on us and we are taught from a young age that we need to fit in.  We are taught that if we don’t fit in we won’t be successful or people won’t like us. 

The reality is; it shouldn’t matter what the world thinks about us one way or another.  It should matter what God thinks.  If we aren’t the same person at home that we are at church on Sunday; we are conforming instead of transforming.  God wants to transform you.  Let Him do a work in You that no one else can. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there have often been times when I have been conformed to what the world wants to see instead of being transformed into Your likeness.  I pray that you will do whatever it takes to get my attention and to draw me back to Your likeness. Being more like You should be my only goal in life.  Thank You for Your pursuit of a sinner like me.      

Scripture: Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.  2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Do Overs or Second Chances

Quite honestly, most people are quick to "write someone off." But our God is a God of the second chance. Learn from One who is patient with you, and you'll learn to be patient with others. Woodrow Kroll

Several weeks ago I went to the drive thru pharmacy to pick up a prescription.  I hate going to the pharmacy.  It seems like every time I go something is messed up with my prescription.  Then there are those times when I get a text message that my prescription is ready and after waiting in line for 30 minutes I get to the window and they tell me that the prescription is not ready and won’t be for another hour.  Oh, and then there are the times you drive up to the window and they say “What prescription, we don’t have any record of you calling in a prescription.” 

Well, I had a new one occur several weeks ago.  Our pharmacy has two drive-up lanes.  On that day I chose lane number 2.  This is the outside lane with no window.  It just has a pole that the box slides down like at the bank. So I pull up and wait for the cashier to acknowledge my presence and then wait for my prescription to come out.  Did I mention that the box on this lane that delivers your prescription is kind of “rickety”?  You know it kind of wobbles as the box makes its way down the pole.  I guess I didn’t mention that the door to the box has a tendency to pop open rather abruptly.  So as I watch the box wobble down the pole and it gets even with my window, the door flies open and my prescription flies out.  As I watched my prescription fly out it hit the side of my car and landed on the ground next to my car.  Would it have been too much to ask for it to throw it through the open window?  I guess that would have been a hole in one, but that is a whole other story. 

So I try to open my door to get the prescription off the ground.  The problem with this is they built this concrete ledge to hold the pole and my door isn’t high enough to clear it.  I tried lying down across the seat head first to see if I could reach it.  No can do.  Did I also mention there were two lanes of cars behind me watching me?  So I finally had to pull up until I got past the ledge, jump out of the car, run get my prescription,( I guess I was lucky I didn’t run over the prescription in the process), and then back up so I could pay for it.  At least the car behind me was paying attention and didn’t pull into the spot while I was frantically running around like an idiot. 

It was about this time that I wanted a do over.  I wanted to rewind this whole thing and start over.  At the time I also wanted to step over to the wobbly box and rip it off the pole.  But then that would be material for another devotional about anger management. 

We all have those moments when we want a do over.  You know the ones I am talking about.  Those are the days where we speak harshly to another person and say things we wished we hadn’t.  Or the ones where we do something we regret and don’t get a do over.  God doesn’t give us do overs but he does give us second chances.  He gives us the opportunity to redeem ourselves when we are at our worst.  When we are busy beating ourselves up over something we’ve done, (we are sinners after all), God gives us a way back to Him.  God is the master of second chances and He is waiting to hear from you.

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am a sinner.  Thank You for giving me a second chance at everlasting life through Your son Jesus Christ.  I am forever thankful for your mercy on me and for reminding me that I am a sinner in need of a second chance.  I praise You.        

    

Scripture: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.  Ephesians 1:7-12

The Storms of Life

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

In life we are all going to face disappointments.  We will pursue a job and not get it, chase after a dream and lose it or be healthy our whole life and then be brought down by a terminal illness. How we handle the disappointments in life makes a difference in how we end the race of life. What happens in us makes a difference in our character and who we will become as a Christian.   

What do you do when bad things happen to you?  Do you stop paddling and just let the current take you wherever it wills?  Do you get rid of the very things you need to survive the disappointment? Do you give up? 

Too many times I think we do all three.  When something happens in your life whether it be disappointments or tragedies we often just stop doing anything.  

Years ago when I was in college we would go canoeing.  We would get into pairs in a canoe with two oars.  There was always a current in the river, so there was a reason the canoe came with oars.  If you just jumped in and let the water take you wherever it wanted, you would end up in the trees along the bank.  The oars were there so you could guide the canoe where you wanted it to go.  Your life is no different.  Coasting through life is not where character is built.  The turbulent waters of life are where we become the strongest. (Acts 27:15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.)  Don’t let your ship drive.

The next thing we do is we dump things overboard.  (Acts 27:18-19 And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands.)  We get rid of the very things we need most to survive.  When I went through cancer there were many I met who were angry about their cancer.  There were others still who blamed God, their family, or their occupation for their illness.  What these individuals did was they distanced themselves from God and family.  Those are the very people you need the most when you are going through it.   

The third thing we do is we give up.  (Acts 27:20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.) The last thing we need is to give up in the midst of our storm.  Character is not built by giving up.  If you want spiritual strength, don’t give up.  When your life is at its darkest and you don’t give up, you find that you can move one more step forward; and then another and another. 

If we accept the fact that we live in a fallen world where disappointments will occur; it shouldn’t surprise us when they do.  God gives us the comfort, support and strength to persevere through our hardships.  The key is we must keep moving, not give up and depend on Him.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You are an amazing Father who cares for us especially when we are going through the disappointments in life.  If we have the right attitude and have a close relationship with You, we can make lemonade out of lemons in any situation.  Thank You for bringing storms into my life, because it gives me an appreciation for how You can redeem any situation and our attitude plays a big part in showing others who You really are. 

    

      

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

Dear God, I Have A Problem & It’s Me

The supreme test of service is this: For whom am I doing this? Much that we call service to Christ is not such at all....If we are doing this for Christ, we shall not care for human reward or even recognition.  A.T. Pierson

God, harden me against myself!  Amy Carmichael

I was reading a list of wise old sayings and this was one of them.  How many times do we think we have a problem, but we think our problem is someone else?  Too many times the problem in this equation is “me”.     

This is a difficult one for me.  It is so easy to slip into what I like to call the “me syndrome”.  We get this condition most often when we lose sight of God and his principles about living life.  Many years ago I read the book by Rick Warren called “A Purpose Driven Life”.  The very first line in the book is this, “It’s not about you.”

Over the years I have learned that I get in my way more than anyone else does.  I am more of a hindrance to myself than any other individual in my life.  Why does that happen?  I think the reason it happens is because my focus is on the wrong one; “me”.  If I spend all my time thinking about what I want to be, where I want to live, what school I should go to; then I will never get what my true purpose in life is. 

I often try to make sense of what I am doing in life and often come up short.  If I don’t turn to our Creator for guidance, I will always be searching for that illusive thing that will give me happiness. 

The other thing that hinders me is that I don’t believe God can do what He says He can.  So I ask God for help; yet I wrestle the reins back from Him because I lack the faith required to depend on Him and believe that He can handle my messes. 

The world we live in teaches us to look out for #1 (me), and everything we do is in pursuit of that.  There are a few other sayings that cover the “me syndrome that I would like to share with you. 

“He who dies with the most toys is still dead.”  Unknown

“He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.  Ben Franklin

“He is a self-made man and worships his creator.  John Bright

I need to work on me. I need to let go of my selfish ways and grab hold of more selfless ways.  God will bless me if I get out of my way. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, one of the hardest things for me to overcome is “me.”  I need Your help to focus on what is important in this life.  You created me to be used for Your purpose, yet too many times I fail You by focusing back on me.  Give me a heart in service for You.        

      

Scripture: Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.  For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 2 Timothy 1:8-12

Problems We Can’t Handle

What then are we to do about our problems? We must learn to live with them until such time as God delivers us from them. We must pray for grace to endure them without murmuring. Problems patiently endured will work for our spiritual perfecting. They harm us only when we resist them or endure them unwillingly.  A.W. Tozer

Do you ever think about God’s pursuit of you?  God wants every person to be saved so He pursues us continuously.  Some of us are more hard headed than others so it takes a lot more persistence on God’s behalf to get our attention. 

When you think about the problems in your life, do you consider that these are just stepping stones toward God?  God allows us to go through trials to grow our faith in Him and some of us are blessed with worse problems than others.  When we are at our most broken is when God can do the most with us.

There have been times in my life when God was knocking at my door and I just wasn’t listening or I didn’t recognize Him.  Some of us take a lot more than a knock on the door to get our attention.  One of the things I have learned over the years is to prepare for trouble because it will come.  We will have pain, sorrow and tragedy in our lives. If we don’t understand that up front when we become a Christian, we will be disappointed.  I think too many times we misunderstand God because we think that once we become a Christian all our troubles are over.  In reality our troubles are just beginning.

One way to look at this is to picture a vending machine.  They are made with a glass front so that you can see what you are buying when you hit the B7 button.  Now take that same vending machine and replace the cover with an opaque glass so you can’t see what you are buying.  All you can see is the panel that has the item selection letter and number.  When we are baptized the problems in our Christian life become this kind of vending machine.  Through Christ’s blood on the cross we are saved but living the Christian life means when we press G4 we don’t know if we are going to get a Ding Dong or Funyuns.  We can’t choose what problems we will face but we can choose Who we want to help us through them.   

If you expect your life as a Christian to become easier it won’t.  We don’t know the problems we will face in this life, but God does.  He is prepared to see us through them if we trust Him.  Faith in our Heavenly Father will get us through the things we don’t expect in life.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I know that it doesn’t make sense to expect a Ding Dong when I can’t even see what is in the case.  In my Christian life I will face many obstacles.  Some are easier to overcome than others.  I know that if I place my faith and trust in You; You will see me through anything because of who You are.  When I can’t handle my problems You can.  I praise You for growing my faith while I am in the midst of the troubles of this life.      

Scripture: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

Pain & Purpose

How glorious that, when we resist God's purpose and all but wreck ourselves, He will make us His again. Truly we would be a hopeless race but for the fact that we have a mighty God who is able to remake us even when we have rebelled against Him and have thwarted His blessed plans for us.  Clovis G. Chappell

Have you ever thought about the number of times we miss out on God’s blessing on our life because we decide to go against what he tells us to do?  We are often headstrong and want to do things our way and when that happens we lose.  It is kind of like a train wreck looking for a place to happen.  How many times have we wrecked our lives because we think we know better than God what we should do?

When we willfully decide to do something that goes against everything God tells us; we will lose.  God has a purpose for our life and He wants what is best for us.  Sometimes we bring on our own pain and at other times someone else may be the cause of it. 

If we are going to get the blessing out of what God wants us to learn we need to turn to Him and ask “What do you want me to learn from this pain?”  There is a lesson within any trouble we face.  Sometimes it may be that we need to share that lesson learned with another who is struggling with the same pain.  Other times it is to teach us that God is there and we should cling to Him with everything in us.  Still other times it is to teach us to obey Him no matter what occurs. 

How many times do we reject God because we think we know better or we think we are in control of everything in our lives?  Thinking we are in control is one of the biggest mistakes we often make where God is concerned.  Take your mistakes and sorrows and hand them to God.  He can turn your pain into great purpose.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I fail you so many times. When I start believing that I am in control of everything in my life, I am heading into dangerous waters.  Remind me that You want what is best for me and if I depend on You; You can turn my pain into purpose.         

Scripture: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  Romans 8:35,37

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.  Romans 8:28-30

“In” Everything Give Thanks

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Do you give thanks to God in everything?  When you face the daily trials of life, do you give thanks to God for them?  I think this is one of the hardest things to do in life.  Partly I think it is because we sometimes miss the word “in” that is used in this verse.  It says to give thanks “in” everything not “for” everything. 

The definition of “in” is “expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else.”  So as an example I will use a personal experience.  I had cancer.  If I express this situation it would be like drawing a circle within another circle.  The outer circle would be the effects of the cancer.  The inner circle would be what my heart and mind are doing as I am going through it. 

If I restated this verse it would say “For everything give thanks”.  If I thank God for everything I would thank Him for the cancer, the pain of surgery, the loss of weight, losing my hair and eyebrows, nausea and any other number of things that occurred during that time. These are all outer symptoms and signs of the disease.

If I thank God “in” everything here is how it is different.  I thank Him for the opening of my eyes to see Him clearly for the first time in my life.  I thank Him for the clarity that cancer gave me to see what is really important in life and what is not.  I would thank Him for helping me to see another person’s suffering through cancer and to be compassionate and understanding.  At the time I even thanked God for the loss of my hair because it taught me that my outer appearance didn’t matter and wasn’t important.  Thanks would go to Him for helping me survive ovarian cancer for 10 years when the life expectancy of an ovarian cancer survivor is 5 years and only 15% of ovarian cancers are found in an early stage and mine was Stage 1.  I praise God for that early stage.  I thank Him for the experience that led me to where I am today, not the outer symptoms. The best thing of all is that when we give thanks in our circumstances, it shows other people who God really is and what He can do. 

The difference in the two ways of looking at this verse is that one looks at the external and the other looks at the internal.  God is more concerned about my heart and mind than my outer appearance.  Everything outside is superficial, while everything inside is eternal.  If I look at my suffering from an eternal perspective, I will see more of Him and I will not place as much value on the external. 

The most valuable thing in this world is salvation.  It is priceless because someone paid the price for me and stood in my place for my sin.  I will give thanks in all circumstances because someone stood in my place and paid a much higher price than anything I will ever face on this earth.  That in itself is a priceless blessing.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for the trials of this life. When I am in the midst of them it is often hard to sing praises because suffering is a big part of living in this world. I thank You for those very circumstances that taught me more about You and Your love for me.  When I am in the midst of suffering the things of this world, remind me that You are there for me and will never leave me.   

     

Scripture: The Eternal Faithfulness of the Lord

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!  Psalm 105:1-6

Crazy Love

Nothing can separate you from God's love, absolutely nothing. God is enough for time, God is enough for eternity. God is enough! Hannah Whitall Smith

I’ve been thinking about writing this devotional for a while.  There are several definitions to the word “crazy”.  There is the “mentally deranged” definition and the “unusual, bizarre, senseless and impractical” definition.  Then there is the “extremely enthusiastic” and the slang definition; “wonderful; excellent; and perfect”.   

So for today’s devotional I am going with the latter definition. God has a crazy love for human beings.  His love for us goes way beyond what we can really comprehend.  As I was pondering what I would write the following observations came to my mind.

God’s love knows no bounds.  His love for us is boundless.  He wants us to live in eternity with Him forever and in order to make that happen He will pursue us until this world as we know it comes to an end. 1 Timothy 1:14 (And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.)

God’s love isn’t selective.  He doesn’t choose one of us over another.  You are as important to Him as I am.  You are also as important to Him as every other person on earth.  There is no other individual who is more or less important than you are to Him.  2 Timothy (Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.)

God’s love happens whether we deserve it or not.  And we don’t deserve it.  Now that is   crazy love! 1 John 10 (In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved   us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.)

God loves us even when we don’t love Him.  How many times have we disobeyed Him and sinned; yet He still takes us back and offers redemption.  Ephesians 2:4-5 (But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved.)

God’s love sacrifices His only Son for us, so that our sin can be wiped away.  That is  the ultimate expression of crazy love.  1 John 4:9 (In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.)

So, if you are looking for crazy love, you don’t have to look any further.  You’re not going to find a more wonderful; excellent; and perfect love than our Heavenly Father’s.  This world is not going to give you the kind of crazy love God can.  Let go of the pursuit of perfect love in this world, and accept the perfect love of God.  Crazy love like no other!

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, it is often hard for me to comprehend Your crazy love.  In the human sense, it just doesn’t make sense.  I often ask myself, “How can You love a sinner like me?” The answer is crazy love.  Love that doesn’t make sense, is incomprehensible, knows no bounds, given without deserving, sacrificial and loving as if I am the only one.  Thank You for Your crazy love for me.

      

Scripture: God’s Everlasting Love

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 8:31-39

Early Risers & Neighbors

If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in.  Frederick Buechner

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies: probably because they are generally the same people.  G.K. Chesterton

I am an early riser.  One of the things I have learned about being an early riser is that lots of stuff happens early in the morning in the dark.  I was driving out of my neighborhood this morning and three houses down from my house I saw a skunk cross the street and run under a neighbors car.  I don’t know what it is about animals, but when I see one I immediately think about God. Maybe it is because God created them and they can’t talk.  Or maybe it is because I start thinking about what God might want me to learn from the sighting. 

In this instance I thought maybe He wants me to understand how blessed I am that the skunk isn’t under my car.   Then I thought about my neighbor who may come out of their house and not realize there is a skunk under their car and then get sprayed.  Then I selfishly thought, “I’m not getting out of my car at 5:30am in the morning to walk past the neighbor’s car, (which by the way has a skunk under it), to knock on their door and let them know there is a skunk under it.”  Then I thought how sad it is that I don’t even know the neighbor. If I knew them I could probably call them, (and wake them up at 5:30am), to let them know about the skunk, but this could backfire on my good neighborliness if I woke them up.  

  

When I got to work I started looking up verses about neighbors.  God has a lot to say about neighbors; over 142 verses about how we should treat our neighbor.  In Romans 13:9-10 it begins by listing the things that we shall not do.  You shall not murder, steal, bear false witness, covet and these are all summed up by “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  I think it is interesting the way these few verses were written.  The most important part of these verses came at the end.  “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” If you are murdering, stealing, lying, and coveting the neighbors stuff then you aren’t loving your neighbor as yourself.

I think when most of us think about neighbors we think about the people who live next door to us or down the street.  Jesus meant for us to love all mankind; not just the person next door or living in our neighborhood. We are even told to love our enemies. If we love our neighbor as ourselves, we will not say or do anything to harm them and if we apply that to all mankind this becomes the person at work, the individual driving next to us on the freeway, the store clerk, the mechanic and our boss. 

The ending to this story is I finally prayed that God would remove the skunk from under the neighbor’s car and make him go home to his family, but not over to my house.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for helping me to think of You in everything I do or see.  I have learned so many things about You just by observing the things going on around me and then by studying Your Word to see how I can apply it to my life.  Help me to love my neighbors as myself and that means everyone; even my enemies.     

   

Scripture: Love Your Neighbor

For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” You shall not steal,” "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  Romans 13:9-10

The Love of a Mom

Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children. Billy Graham

This weekend is Mother’s Day and I wanted to share a few things with you about my Mom. She sat with me last week when my doctor told me I have a tumor.  I am going to have surgery again and the first words my Mom said to me were; “I will go with you to your doctor appointments”.

This is my second time around for major surgery and she still is the strongest woman I know.  She has many titles that include mom, friend, confidant, protector.  She is compassionate, giving, nurturing, hardworking and selfless.  Above all my mom is priceless.  There is no other like her and I pray that I can be half the woman she is in my lifetime. She raised strong and resilient children and I am forever grateful to God for loaning her to me. 

When I think of my Mom it brings back many memories.  In my mind, there wasn’t anything my Mom couldn’t do.  She was just that type of person.  I don’t think “can’t” was a word in her vocabulary.  She was very creative and when I was a senior in high school, she and my dad created a set for me for the Mardi Gras Ball.  My Dad built the frame and covered it with cardboard and she hand painted it to look like stone on a castle.  It even had a moat. 

She was an excellent seamstress so anytime we needed costumes she could take a newspaper, make a pattern and sew it together.  My Mom saw me through broken hearts and bad dates and she sacrificed her time and energy for her children. 

When I was diagnosed with cancer I saw such strength in this beautiful woman.  She would drive me from her home to downtown Dallas for my chemo treatments.  Since I was in the middle of this cancer fight I didn’t see some of the things that I see looking back now.  She would bring snacks and drinks for me in a bag because she knew I had no appetite, but she also knew that I needed to keep up my strength for the next round.  She would sit for five hours while an IV ran chemicals into my system.  In my first treatment when the medication gave me restless leg syndrome she would patiently replace the blanket around my feet when my legs wouldn’t stop moving. She sat and crocheted scarves for me and my sisters while she waited. 

Thinking back on it now, I see where her heart was probably breaking.  She had no guarantees that her child would survive this disease.  One of the things I remember most is her strength.  She never fell apart or threw up her hands and gave up.  I never saw her break down.  When her mother and my grandmother died in the middle of my treatments, she held it together.  I am sure when she saw me as a pallbearer at my grandmother’s funeral it probably crossed her mind that I might not survive. 

My Mom is the strongest woman I know.  She taught me what it means to press on and not give up.  When she told me stories of when she was a little girl and how she would walk to church for Sunday School, she taught me by example to love the Lord and that prayer is the most important thing in your life because many other things will fail in this life but God is not one of them.  So this is to my Mom who taught me how to live life and to be strong when it knocks you down and to press on.  Thank you Mom and I love you.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, my Mom is such a blessing in my life.  She has been with me through some of the most trying times of my life and I can never thank You enough for her.  I pray that you will bless her life and help me to be a daughter of character and strength and to show her daily how much she means to me.  Thank you for the blessing of my Mom.             

Scripture: Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants. She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come.She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.  Proverbs 31:10-31

Relevant

I have met so many young people who do not see the church as relevant and do not consider the Bible a real book of history that can be trusted.  Ken Ham

I heard a disturbing report this morning on the news.  The American Bible Society takes and annual poll every year related to the Bible.  They found that 1 in 5 Americans are skeptical of the Bible’s relevance.  The ones who are most indifferent in the study are those between the ages of 18-29.   

I grew up in a Christian home where the Bible is truth and it governs how we live our lives. I still have my first Bible that my grandmother gave me.  It has my name engraved on the front in gold letters.  The binding is worn and a little torn but isn’t that the way your Bible should be.  When my Bible shows no wear and tear then I am probably not opening it often enough. In my eyes the relevance of the Bible is best described in John 14:6  - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

I admit there were times in my younger years where I didn’t always follow the way of the Bible. We are sinners and we are susceptible to worldly sin.  I think the problem today lies in how children are being exposed to the Bible if at all.  If we don’t teach them about what the Bible means, how will they ever learn how truly relevant It is.

We are given the opportunity of a lifetime to be saved for eternity and to share it with everyone we come in contact with but too many times we hesitate.  If 1 in 5 Americans don’t believe the Bible is relevant, we as a society are in trouble.  

     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, the Bible is relevant to me.  I praise You for giving me the Book that helps me through any trouble I may face in this life.  It is a love story to Your people.  Help me to value it as a priceless treasure and to share it with a younger generation who may have never heard of its great importance or fully understand the consequences of not appreciating it for what it is. 

  

Faith Triumphs in Trouble

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Christ in Our Place

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5:1-11

Cup of Sorrow

My attitude was and still is like that of David, who was ashamed that the armies of Israel would tremble before Goliath. Without hesitation he stepped forward with complete confidence in the God who had proven Himself to be faithful (1 Sam 17). For David, the size of the giant was irrelevant.  Dave Hunt

Sorrow definition. A feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others.

Do you ever think about godly sorrow?  This is the sorrow that comes from the heart where we feel each other’s pain.  I was listening to a song yesterday by Amos Lee called Cup of Sorrow.  The first verses in the song are “I want to drink from Your cup of sorrow, I wanna wash in Your holy blood, I want to sleep with the promise of tomorrow, I know tomorrow may never come.”  

Jesus knew all there is to know about sorrow.  In Matthew 26:36-38 we see what true godly sorrow is all about.  Jesus was in Gethsemane and had asked the disciples to sit while he went to pray.  First, I can’t imagine knowing what is in store for you, (a painful death on the cross), and knowing that You are the chosen One to save the world through your death.  I don’t know about you but deeply distressed wouldn’t have covered it for me, but I’m a wimp and Jesus wasn’t.  Jesus then prayed to our heavenly Father to let this cup pass from Him; but his closing words were the most poignant: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
One of the differences in Jesus understanding of sorrow was that He knew what His destination was and He continued to walk toward it knowing the outcome would not be good.  That’s godly sorrow.  It’s the sorrow of dying for someone else. 

Don’t you wish it was as easy as drinking from Jesus’ cup of sorrow?  Where you would be filled with godly sorrow to know that the path You were created to follow is where redemption and life everlasting resides. 

Later in the song he sings: I want to sit at Your table of wisdom; So that not one crumb shall go to waste; For if we keep down this pathway to destruction; Well, our children will suffer for our haste. The only remedy for this fallen world is to “drink from His cup of sorrow and sit at His table of wisdom, so that no crumb goes to waste.”

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to drink from your cup of sorrow.  I want what breaks Your heart to break mine.  Godly sorrow means I will suffer.  It may be for others and sometimes it is for myself. Give me a heart like Jesus’ who suffered the ultimate sacrifice so that I might be saved.  I praise Your Son and I praise You.       

      

Scripture: Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.  For observe this very thing; that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.  2 Corinthians 7:9-12

Big Decisions

To wait on God is to live a life of desire toward Him, delight in Him, dependence on Him, and devotedness to Him.  Matthew Henry

If you are like me, there are often times when big decisions come along in your life and you have to make a choice.  The biggest issue I run into is when to move.  Not just forward or backward, but in any direction. 

Several problems present themselves when I am in the midst of making a big decision that will affect my life in numerous ways.  There is always the fear of making the wrong decision.  The thing about this problem is if we believe Isaiah 41:10, (Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’) then this isn’t such a big problem. 

The next problem I often run into is; am I allowing God to help me make the decision or am I taking it out of His hands and trying to control the outcome? There have been times in my life when I didn’t pray about the decisions I needed to make in my life and the majority of the time those decisions didn’t turn out so well in the long run.  I think that is where Proverbs 3:5-6 comes in.  (“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.)

Another problem I have is waiting.  Because we live in a fast paced world, we often have lost the ability to wait.  If we run ahead of God; we may lose or miss the life God wants for us because we are too impatient to wait for Him.  In Habakkuk 2:1-3 he gives us a description of waiting.  (“I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.  Then the Lord answered me and said: ‘Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.  For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.  Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.)

One of the most difficult things I face in making decisions is well, “difficulty”.  Too many times I run into difficulties when I am in the process of making big decisions.  Sometimes those very difficulties are to test us and other times they are to help us determine if this is the right step to take in the decision.  James 1:2-4 best describes how we should handle difficulties in decision making.  (“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.)

The most important part of overcoming the fear, giving Him control, waiting for Him, and persevering through the difficulties is that God will deliver us.  We see this in Psalm 27:13.  (“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”) If I need to move, the most important thing I can do is to wait on God to tell me when.

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You provide the tools we need to make the big decisions in life.  Too many times I circumvent the very blessings You want for me because I fear, try to take control from You, become impatient and admit defeat in difficult circumstances. I want You to be my decision Maker.  If I trust in You in all things, You will make my path straight.  I praise You for your blessings in my life.      

      

Scripture:  For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21

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 account that I have 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

Pearls

I wish, brothers and sisters, that we could all imitate "the pearl oyster"--A hurtful particle intrudes itself into its shell, and this vexes and grieves it. It cannot reject the evil, but what does it do but "cover" it with a precious substance extracted out of its own life, by which it turns the intruder into a pearl! Oh, that we could do so with the provocations we receive from our fellow Christians, so that pearls of patience, gentleness, and forgiveness might be bred within us by that which otherwise would have harmed us.  Charles Spurgeon

I was thinking about pearls and how they are formed.  A pearl begins as an irritant in an oyster.  It can be a grain of sand or a parasite or even a piece of shell that gets lodged into the soft inner body of the oyster.  The oyster’s defensive action against the irritant is it secretes a smooth crystalline substance called nacre.  As long as the irritant is there the oyster will continue to secrete this substance.  It forms layer upon layer and over time the irritant will be covered over and over again with the nacre.  The result of this continuous covering is a completely smooth, lustrous gem.  There is no need to polish its smooth surface.

The nacre is composed of microscopic crystals of calcium carbonate perfectly aligned.  The result when light is passed along the axis of one crystal is it reflects and produces an amazing rainbow of light and color.

God created this amazing creature that can produce something beautiful from something harmful.  We are much like the pearl if you think about it.  We are born sinless into a sinful world.  What happens?  Along come the irritants of life.  What we become from there depends on how we handle the irritant.  We can cover it with love, kindness, patience, gentleness and forgiveness or we can cover it with hatred, anger, impatience, cruelty and unforgiveness.  How we handle the one grain of sand can make the difference in whether we reflect God’s light and illuminate or deflect God’s light and live in darkness. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You give us examples of Your greatness by the very creatures here on earth.  I want to be like a pearl, where I reflect the very nature of You.  I often fail but I will never stop trying to become a person who illuminates and reflects You instead of being covered in darkness.  

   

Scripture:  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:13-16

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 13:45-46