Doubting Thomas

Faith is like radar that sees through the fog.  Corrie Ten Boom, Tramp for the Lord

Have you ever felt in the very pit of your stomach that God was asking you to do something?  It is like a never ending thought that just won’t go away and just when you think you have forgotten it, the thought comes to you again. 

Most of the time when this happens it is when you least expect it and whatever it is that God is asking you to do is way outside your comfort level.  That is when we start questioning God to see it he is really serious, because you start thinking about how far outside of your scope of ability this request is and then you start doubting.

When Jesus was crucified and resurrected, he came back and appeared before the disciples.  Thomas was one of the few who did not see Jesus the first time he appeared and he told the others that he would not believe unless he could see the nail marks in Jesus’ hands and put his finger where the nails had been.  Thomas doubted the other disciples and he also doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead. 

Later in this story Jesus said “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  Thomas had the opportunity to see the real thing, Jesus resurrected.  We on the other hand have not seen him in person so we are called to believe even when we can’t see or touch the nail scars in His hands.  It takes faith to see when there is nothing there, and belief when you are not able to touch or talk to the Savior in person. I would like to have the faith of Noah or Abraham who both stepped out in amazing faith at the risk of great loss.      

 

Prayer for the Day: Father, I am guilty of doubting and often will question when you ask me to step out in faith.  Abraham is one of the best examples of faith.  When in his old age you asked him to sacrifice his son, he didn’t wait.  He made preparations to follow You in faith.  I pray that you will help me to build a faith like that so that when You ask me I will not hesitate.  

Scripture:   Now Thomas , one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”  A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them.  Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  Stop doubting and believe.”  Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”  Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  John 20:24-29

Designer Brand Name

Our clothes are too much a part of us for most of us ever to be entirely indifferent to their condition: it is as though the fabric were indeed a natural extension of the body, or even of the soul. ~Quentin Bell

I watch the news every morning before work and as always, I see something on the news that catches my eye.  Did you know there is a designer who has created a paper lunch bag for the bargain price of $290?  I almost choked on my coffee. 

There is nothing special about this bag except that it comes in two colors, black and paper bag brown, it is coated with a wax coating to keep your lunch from leaking through and it comes with a “designer label”. 

This started me thinking about designer labels.  Why do we put so much value in someone’s name on a label?  Sometimes you will see a designer item and it is just downright ugly.  But there will be someone who will buy it for the name alone and it is even better if it has the logo printed where everyone can see it.  Then people will know that you own something from that designer.  The thing is that designer didn’t necessarily make that item.  Some assembly line somewhere in some big factory created thousands more just like it so you are not the only one that has that exact same color, style and size.  If you have enough money you can get one made by the designer personally for you that will be the only one created.  When this happens we have to be ready to shell out the big bucks.

Why is it that the God who created the universe and everything in it doesn’t get top billing in the designer business?  Why are we so willing to spend fortunes on worldly designers when the Heavenly Designer is available for free?  The God who created us into a living breathing, blood pumping, walking, talking human form is not the most sought after designer in town.  What a designer he is?  Every one of us is unique.  There is not a big factory somewhere creating duplicates just like each of us.  So when you walk out today, you can choose to have the most important label known to mankind printed on you.  The thing is you will have to follow God for anyone else to see it. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You created me as a one of a kind.  There will not be a duplicate anywhere in the world that will be exactly like me.  I praise You for Your amazing creation.  How can I ever repay the love You have for me a sinner?  I can’t, but I can learn to follow You.  Help me to wear Your label everywhere I go so that others may see Your Glory too.

Scripture:  So I said: “Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations.  In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.  But you remain the same, and your years will never end. The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.” Psalm 102:24-28

Learning Scripture

Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study.  Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.  ~Henry L. Doherty 

I never thought I could learn scripture.  I don’t have a photographic memory and chemo killed a few of my good brain cells that I think helped with my memory, either that or I am getting old and it is said the memory is the first to go. 

What I have learned over the past few years is that when I spend time studying God’s Word, often I will remember a verse (maybe not word for word) but at least a paraphrased version of it.  The thing about this is that it often comes to me when I need it most. 

What I think is that first God wants us to spend time and meditation in His Holy Word.  When we need His presence most is when the Holy Spirit will bring to mind the exact verse we need to help us when we are faced with the challenges of life.  The thing is we will never remember those verses if we never spend time in the Bible. 

I have always heard the saying “you will not get it through osmosis”.  I am kind of a curious sort of person so I decided to look up osmosis in the dictionary.  Here is the paraphrase for it.

Definition:  1.    the passage of a solvent (Bible verses) through a semipermeable membrane (my brain) from a less concentrated (ignorant) to a more concentrated solution (wise) until both solutions are of the same concentration (equal).

 I am not going to remember verses by holding the Bible up to my head and thinking real hard.  The first step needs to be that I open it and read it.  It is not going to flow through my semipermeable membrane and make me less ignorant if I don’t read it and apply it to my life.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, you gave us the Holy Spirit to help us in this life on earth.  If I don’t open your Word, read and meditate on it and then practice it in my time here on earth, I will never be what you have called me to be.  Thank you for loving me enough to provide one Book that can provide the answers I need for any trial I face in this life. I praise Your Heavenly Name.

Scripture: My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding — indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.  Proverbs 2:1-8

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:12-14

Where did you get your driver’s license?

To the outside world we all grow old.  But not to brothers and sisters.  We know each other as we always were.  We know each other's hearts.  We share private family jokes.  We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.  We live outside the touch of time.  ~Clara Ortega

When we were younger my grandparents had a camp on the river that we would go to in the summer.   At the time I was fairly new to driving and my brother, sister and I decided we were going to leave the camp to go home.  I don’t know or remember how it was decided that I would be the one to drive. 

The car we had at the time was a Toyota station wagon and I must point out here that it was a stick shift.  If you have ever driven a stick shift, it is a little complicated, especially when you are fairly new at driving one.  You know how you have to push in the clutch to change gears, press on the gas slowly as you let out the clutch.  If you let out the clutch too fast the car will lunge jerkily forward.  When you get really good at it you don’t even notice the changing of gears.  I am thinking that I wasn’t very good at it yet, my memory is sort of vague on these details, but I am guessing my gear change wasn’t very smooth.

Immediately following the less than stellar gear change, my brother or sister, don’t remember which, piped up and said, “Where did you get your license, a mail order catalog?” 

I have always been the quiet one in the family and this time was no different.  I pulled to a stop, (I did have that part down), put the car in neutral, pulled the emergency brake, opened the door and started walking down the dirt road back to the camp.  I just left them sitting in the car.

I can only imagine the looks on my brother and sister’s faces.  They started calling at me to get back in the car, but I just kept right on walking never looking back.

My Christian life has followed along this same path.  In 2007 I rededicated my life to Christ.  I finally realized what my purpose on this earth is and I have never looked back.  Since that time I have had someone tell me that my heart was not right with God and until it was, they did not want to receive my devotionals anymore. 

Honestly, I think I am a work in progress just like any other Christian.  I am a sinner, I freely admit it, and I often make mistakes.  The reality is we are all sinners and God placed us here together to help each other.  If we all waited until we were perfect, there would be no one going to heaven and Jesus’ death would have been for nothing.  When one falls the others are there to help lift them up. My prayer for each of you is that something I write will lift you up and help you come to know the Heavenly Father.  Above all let our Heavenly Father be glorified in everything I do. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to know you better each day.  When I spend time with You I feel your strength in my life.  Help me to only write things that will glorify You.  Thank you for blessing me with what I write each day and I pray that it glorifies Your Holy Name.

Scripture:  For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.  For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.  Romans 12:3-8

Consequences

Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.  ~Doug Larson

There are consequences for everything we do in life.  If we speed there is often a consequence and if we are stopped by the police the consequence is an expensive ticket.  If we decide to drink and drive there can also be a consequence in that we may be taken to jail or worse we could hit another person and take a life and there are dire consequences.  If we cheat on an exam in school there are consequences.  If we rob a bank the consequence is jail.  If we lie to someone the consequence is broken trust and the sad reality is that person may never be able to trust again. 

There are even more critical consequences if we decide to disobey and sin.  It is not just a matter of some worldly punishment.  It can mean the difference in where we spend eternity.  The older I get the more I think about the consequences in everything I do in this life.  I think when we are young we have a tendency to think we are invincible.  We think we will live forever and if we have any Bible knowledge at all, we think of eternity as a far off time that we can worry about later.  The problem is, later may some sooner than we think.  It could be today, before lunch or even right now.

I would like the consequences of my life on earth to be that God turns to me and says “welcome home” and “well done good and faithful servant.”     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there are consequences to everything we do in life and they are based on the choices we make on a daily basis.  I pray that you will help me make the right decisions so that my choices are based on what you would have me do. 

Scripture: I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.  Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.  When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.  Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.  Psalm 146:2-5

Running Late

Old Time, in whose banks we deposit our notes
Is a miser who always wants guineas for groats;
He keeps all his customers still in arrears
By lending them minutes and charging them years.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

(Note: I like this saying but Oliver kind of threw me because I didn’t know what a guinea or a groat was so I looked it up.   A groat is worth 4 pennies and after much research and calculations I think a guinea is equal to $20 bucks.   I never said I was the sharpest tool in the shed.)

Have you ever woken up late?  You know the feeling.  You open your bleary eyes or one eye in this instance and glance at the clock and your heart goes into overdrive.  You jump out of bed and think, “What do I do first”.  The odd part about this is that you have a routine that you have followed for years and all of that goes right out the window.

So you are standing there and if you are like me or most women I know, you start asking yourself, “What can I do to shave off a few minutes here and there to save time.”  Can I do without coffee?  Nope.  Can I go without washing my hair?  Then you look in the mirror and the obvious is answered for you immediately.  I can’t go to work looking like a rooster so I can’t cut that out of my routine.  Can I skip feeding the dog?  Not if you have my dog.  He will follow you around and talk to you until you feed him and if you don’t feed him he will go in and wake my husband up by barking real loud.  I can’t skip feeding the dog. 

As you can imagine this is what happened to me this morning.  I felt like I was in a fire drill.  I did cut out several things.  I determined that if I used enough hair spray I could get my hair to lie down, so I skipped the washing of the hair.  I fed the dog and threw some treats at him and I did manage to get out of the house with matching shoes, (I have gone to work with a blue and black shoe before so this is critical). 

I learned two things this morning. Number one is that what I do in the morning to get ready for work is not important and number two is that I waste a lot of time in the morning.  I was able to get up a half hour later and still walk out of the house headed to work at the same time as I do every other day.  Since time is such an expensive commodity in our fast paced hectic world, I think I may just slow down and cut some things out.  So with all this time I am saving, I think I will spend more time with my heavenly Father.  I cannot imagine a better way to spend the extra time I gained by being late.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I come to you often stressed and out of sorts and the reason is because I am wasting time and attention on things that really don’t matter.  Please help me to remember that my most important time is spent with You and the rest is just stuff.  Thank you for opening my eyes every day to the unimportant things that I focus on that could be eliminated that will allow me to spend more time with You.

Scripture: But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him.  For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.  Deuteronomy 4:29-31

Solomon's Mistake

 

Remember this.  When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold.  When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness.  This is also the case when people withdraw from God.  ~Augustine
 

Have you figured out yet that God doesn’t need our help?  He is capable of taking care of each and every one of us without any help from us.  Sometimes it is hard for me to wrap my mind around that thought.  If he clothes the very birds of the air and provides food for them, why do we think he will not provide for us?

Part of the problem is that we want more of what the world has to offer.  The majority of the time God knows that what the world has to offer will not be good for us but we pursue it anyway.  The thing is He is not necessarily going to stop us when we pursue whatever it is we think we can’t live without. 

This always makes me think of Solomon.  Solomon had it all and he started out so well in the beginning.  God told Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted and God would give it to him.  Remember, Solomon didn’t ask for wealth, he asked for discernment in administering justice (the ability to distinguish between right and wrong).   God also told him he would give him what he did not ask for, wealth and honor. 

Solomon had a problem.  He had an eye for the ladies, but God had told him not to intermarry into the other nations because they would turn Solomon’s heart to their gods.  Can you imagine having God come talk to you twice and you still don’t believe what He says?  I guess we can imagine it because it happens to each of us every day.  God may be speaking to us right now and unless we work out our soul muscle we won’t hear what He has to say to us either.   The sad part about the story of Solomon was he lost the very thing he had asked God for, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.

  Prayer for the Day:  Heavenly Father, I am guilty of pursuing the things of this world.  If you know the number of hairs on my head why is it so hard for me to understand that you can and will provide for me?  When my trust and faith in You falter Father, I pray that You will get my attention by whatever means it takes to draw me back to You.

      

Scripture: “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.  So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”  The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.  So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice,  I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.  Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor —so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.  And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 1 Kings 3:7-14