Rising Water

There are times when life, like a river, is over your head and you feel like you are drowning. Yet, the water from these very rivers wash away your filth. What the water does not remove, the fire purifies.  Francis Frangipane

Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be the people outside Noah’s Ark when God flooded the earth? That would be scary wouldn’t it? 

When we were kids we lived near the gulf and we would often go down to the Gulf of Mexico to fish.  There was a boat channel that was built for the ships that were bringing in shipments from all over the world.  We would see ships that were as long as a football field and filled with new cars. 

The ship channel was really deep.  This was so the ships could come into port.  There were jetties built alongside the channel.  The jetties were rocks the size of a Smart Car stacked haphazardly in piles that extended away from the shore for what seemed like miles.  The jetties kept the sand on the shallow side from washing out when big ships came into the channel. 

On one side of the jetties the water was shallow but it was deep on the other side.  We would walk along the shallow side in waste deep water and then climb the jetties and fish into the channel. 

For those of you who are not fisherman, we could catch some of the strangest fish.  If you have ever caught a flounder, you know what I am talking about.  This fish is flat and has both eyes on the same side of his head.  It looks kind of like a dinner plate with two eyes on top.  I read where a flounder is born with eyes on both sides of its head but as it grows into an adult its eyes migrate to the same side.  So imagine a dinner plate with eyes on the ocean floor with both eyes topside.  This is one weird fish. 

One summer we went fishing on the jetties and my brother and I were standing next to each other fishing into the channel.  Far out in the channel we saw a ship coming in.  It was so cool watching this huge ship slowly cruise by.  It was also really cool when the ship passed by and the water level dropped about four feet.  What wasn’t so cool was that the water that was sucked out by the passing of the ship had to come back in.  So we are standing on these huge rocks when all of a sudden we see the water start heading toward us.  I’m sure it would have been comical to see our faces at the point where we realized the water was getting ready to overtake us and crash over the rocks.  We survived it although we did get soaked.  My biggest fear was getting washed off the rocks into the deep channel. 

Thinking about it now that must have been what the people on earth felt like when it rained for 40 days and the water started rising.  Can you imagine it raining and not stopping and as the water rises you move to higher ground and it just keeps coming?  Can you also imagine what the people felt like who had made fun of Noah for building a boat where there was no water?  We worship an all-powerful God and He wants our obedience. Many died because they didn’t believe what He said.          

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, Your majesty and power are shown throughout the Bible yet there are still many who don’t believe that there is another disaster coming.  I have experienced the fear of rising water and the next time it won’t be water.  I praise You for allowing me to be saved.     

Scripture:   “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!  Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Jesus Teaches the Fear of God

“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.  And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.  Matthew 10:24-31

Snapshots of God

Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.  Corrie Ten Boom

I love to take pictures.  One of the things that fascinate me is that photos evoke memories of a time past.  As soon as a photo is taken it is part of the past.  I carry my camera everywhere as I never know when I may see something I want to take a picture of to reflect on later.

In my devotional yesterday I spoke of Lee who makes gingerbread houses and ornaments.  On Friday evening when we were preparing to leave Lee had a large rolling bag that she wanted to return to her car.  Since Mom, Dad and I were leaving at the same time we told her we would help her get the bag to her car.  As often happens at these shows, they don’t allow you to park close to the event.  You are normally parked in the “back forty.”  If you have never heard this phrase, back forty means a remote, usually uncultivated acreage at the back of your property.  That is where we had to park our cars.  I was beginning to think our car was parked in Fort Worth.

As we were leaving I had my camera, my purse and a special bag that two very special ladies had given me as a gift.  Patty and Debbie (sisters) gave me a beautiful Vera Wang bag that I carry with me everywhere I go.  They gave me the bag as a thank you for writing the devotionals.  One of my most prized possessions is in this bag.  I have an external hard drive that holds all of my pictures, the devotionals I write and also devotional ideas that I am in the process of writing.  It has photos of my niece and nephew’s graduations, my sisters’ weddings, family photos, my dog, and even Gladys and the Pips.  Needless to say, if I ever lost this bag I would be devastated. 

Back to my story.  We get to the dock and Dad and Mom decide they will walk to the back forty to get the car and Lee and I would stay with the bags. When Dad pulls up we start loading everything in the car.  We jump in, drive Lee to her car and then Mom, Dad and I leave.  We decide to go to dinner.  Three hours later Mom and Dad take me to the house to drop me off and I realize my bag is not in the car.  The only place my bag could be is outside on the dock leaning next to a pole in downtown Dallas at the Convention Center where all kinds of people are wandering around.  The chances of my bag being there after three hours are slim. 

Dad tells me they will take me back to the Convention Center to see if it is there.  So I start praying. We pull up to the Convention Center and head up the ramp and I am praying the whole way.  As we come around the corner Dad slows down and my bag is leaning against the pole exactly where I left it.  There were cars parked everywhere on the dock but my bag was still sitting there untouched. 

This made me think of God and how He must view each of us.  We are a treasure that is lost until we turn to Him and accept his offer of Salvation.  My lost bag is minor compared to God’s people who are created in His image.  How brokenhearted He must feel when we stray away from him.  I got a snapshot this weekend of God and how His heart must break for lost souls.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I was able to get a snapshot of You this weekend.  My lost bag would have devastated me because I have every photo of the people I love here on earth.  The devastation I felt knowing my bag was lost is minor compared to how You must feel for all the lost souls here on earth.  Help me to bring others home to You. 

Scripture:  “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Luke 15:8-10

I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.  Psalm 16:8

Where Two or Three are Gathered Expo

To a true child of God, the invisible bond that unites all believers to Christ is far more tender, and lasting, and precious; and, as we come to recognize and realize that we are all dwelling in one sphere of life in Him, we learn to look on every believer as our brother, in a sense that is infinitely higher than all human relationships. This is the one and only way to bring disciples permanently together. All other plans for promoting the unity of the Church have failed.  A.T. Pierson

Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God's people.  Charles Spurgeon

This weekend my Mom, Dad and I attended a local event in Dallas called the Nursery & Landscape Expo.  It was the most amazing event.  The amazing part wasn’t the full size palm trees or the oak trees that touched the ceiling of this four story building.  The amazing part was the people. 

Have you ever met individuals that you just felt like you had known them for years?  That happened at this event. It gave me a picture of what being joyful in Christ really means.  The amazing thing was many of the people we met are Christians and we were able to share God with each other.  I laughed more than I have in years.  I have many stories to tell so I will tell you a little about some of them.

Lee is the owner of Gingerhaus.  She was across the aisle from us and she designs the most amazing Christmas ornaments.  The ornaments are hand drawn, three dimensional and then laser cut.  You can pick one up and look in the window of churches with steeples and there are carolers inside with Christmas trees.  She has dog house ornaments with a puppy that stands on the front porch with a bone in his mouth.  The intricacy of the ornaments is amazing.   There is a hole in the bottom of each ornament so you can insert a Christmas light through the bottom and you can see all the delicate details when you look through the window.  She also designs gingerbread house kits that are absolutely beautiful.

Then we met Mike who was a rep for Chick Magic.  Chick Magic is an organic chicken fertilizer for plants.  Mike is what I would call a chicken poop expert.  We listened to him tell stories about his 3,000 acre farm in Branson Missouri.  He has a team of 6 foot tall mules that he uses to plant corn and other vegetables.  We learned about his grandkids, children, Bert his oldest mule and mountain lions but the most amazing thing about him was his love for the Lord.  When he talked about the Lord he just choked up and tears would gather in his blue eyes. 

Then we met Barbara.  Barbara owns a tree farm and she was this tiny little lady but she had what I call angel eyes.  Her eyes just twinkled when she talked about God. When she walked into our booth it was like we had known her for years.  We talked and hugged and I learned about her daughter Lisa and her grandson John.  She had been in our booth for about an hour when we told her she needed to go across the aisle and meet Lee. She went over and talked to Lee and then she left.  Lee walked over to us after Barbara left and thanked us for sending Barbara over to see her.  Barbara had actually prayed for Lee’s husband and Lee wanted to know how long we had known Barbara.  We just laughed and told her we had just met her today. 

The thing that touched me the most this weekend was the joy that surrounded our group when we got together.  We normally gathered in the aisle and just laughed and talked and told stories and it was all stories about how God had touched each of our lives in one way or another. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for showing me You through Lee and Mike and Barbara.  The joy and laughter we shared this weekend gave me a small glimpse of what I think Heaven will be like and I can’t wait. You were in our midst as we laughed and talked and the joy was simply amazing.

Scripture:   “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19-21

Pepe Le Pew Sighting

White is not a mere absence of color; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black. God paints in many colors; but He never paints so gorgeously as when He paints in white.  G.K. Chesterton

I’ve come to the conclusion that either I lead an exciting life or trouble follows me everywhere.  I saw Pepe this morning.  I pulled up to our building and reached over to pick up my purse when out of the corner of my eye I saw something running across the parking lot.  It was Pepe Le Pew our resident skunk.  He really doesn’t need to worry about me being a danger to him.  I am more of a danger to myself by the mere fact that I am more likely to break something trying to get away from him.  I am not sure why he was moving so fast unless he saw breakfast in the bushes in front of our building.  He actually ran into the bushes at the entrance to our building. 

I guess it is a good thing that I get to work so early because I don’t have other cars to obstruct the view in case he decides to sneak up on me.  Did you know that skunks have an excellent sense of smell and hearing but poor eyesight?  I’m thinking he probably wishes he had better eyesight and a poor sense of smell.  Right about now I am guessing he heard me park this morning and his sense of hearing made him run.  I am just thankful his eyesight was poor and he didn’t run toward me and go under my car. 

I started thinking, which is a dangerous thing in itself.  What would God be trying to teach me with this incident?  If you think about it, a skunk probably has few friends.  The very thought of his defense mechanism makes me want to run for the hills.  He doesn’t need to carry a sign to advertise it.  The fact that he has a white stripe down his back distinguishes him from every other creature God created.

Then I thought about his color.  He is black and white.  This reminded me of our sin.  We can be washed with the blood of Christ or tainted with the blackness of the sin of Satan.  God allows us the freedom to choose.  If you accept the hope that is found in Christ there is an eternity of freedom waiting for you in heaven.      

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You amaze me with the creatures you placed on earth.  The very characteristics that exist in animals can often be applied to humans.  I see You in everything, even the smallest creatures on earth.  We don’t have to look far in order to see You at work. You provided a way for our sin to be washed clean through the death of Jesus on a cross.  I praise You for Your great love.      

Scripture: Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”  But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.  When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17

Jealousy

Sins such as envy, jealousy, covetousness, and greed very markedly reveal a focus on self. Instead you are to please God and bless others by practicing biblical stewardship which is to care for and give of the physical and spiritual resources that God has provided for you.  John C. Broger

The cure for the sin of envy and jealousy is to find our contentment in God.  Jerry Bridges

I was talking to a good friend recently and we started talking about jealousy and the damage it can do to relationships.  It can destroy marriages, families, careers and friendships. 

If you look at where jealousy began we can see it is an all-consuming sin that destroys everything in its path.  One of the key things about jealousy is that it starts with self.  If you think about it, Eve was jealous that God had knowledge that she and Adam didn’t have and that was the beginning of the fall.  Then Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel and look how that turned out. 

Throughout the Bible there are examples of jealousy.  If you dig deeper into why many of the characters in the Bible failed, you will see a focus on self that expressed itself in jealousy.  There are many prominent people in the Bible who were susceptible to this sin.  Saul was jealous of David throughout his reign.  He was jealous enough to try to kill him over and over again.  Joseph’s brothers were jealous of their father’s favoritism towards him so they sold him into slavery. 

What often happens with jealousy is it starts in your head and then moves to your heart.  Once it takes up residence in your heart it joins forces with envy, suspicion, distrust and selfishness. When jealousy takes up residence in your heart you are fighting the battle of your life.  Satan will take every opportunity to exploit you and we often make it easy for him. 

There are several things we can do to remove jealousy from our heart.  We must first submit to God in everything.  In James 4:7 it says, “Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  The second thing we must do is resist.  In Hosea 4:6 it says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” We must resist Satan and his ploy to use jealousy to destroy us.  If we are not careful and diligent, we can fall just as easily into the trap that Satan sets before us.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, jealousy is a sin that can sneak up and overtake us when we least expect it.  If I don’t submit to You and resist this sin, it can destroy everything. I praise You for providing me the scriptures that tell me exactly how to fight against this all-consuming sin.  

Scripture:  
The Whole Armor of God
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Ephesians 6:10-12

Submit to God, Resist the Devil
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5-6

Finding Joy In Everything

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:2-8

How Do You Learn Wisdom?

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.  Charles Spurgeon

I was thinking about wisdom this morning.  How do you learn wisdom?  One of the best ways to learn is through criticism.  Ouch!  That is not one of my favorite things.  It is very hard to accept criticism from others isn’t it?  Who wants to have their faults laid on the table for all to see? 

One of the things that often happens with criticism is it is not given with love.  The majority of people who criticize others often do so harshly and without any sign of love in sight.  Why is that?  The majority of the time it is handled without love because the person administering the criticism is trying to break the other person down instead of building them up.  God never intended for us to tear each other down.  If we are part of God’s family, we are called by God to minister to each other. Part of ministering to each other lies in confronting each other in love when we see someone else moving away from God.

Another way we learn wisdom is by study and application. If we are to learn how God wants us to live we need to meditate on His Word.  We are not going to get it by never opening our Bible.  The next step we need to take is to apply the wisdom we learn by applying it to our life.  If we don’t do the second step, all the study in the world is never going to get us closer to what God wants us to be and we also will never get any closer to that ever elusive wisdom we seek. 

Another way of learning wisdom is by observation.  This one is tricky because you must first determine what is right from wrong.  When I was little I would watch my siblings or friends.  If they did something that got them in trouble I learned from their mistakes.  I didn’t do the thing they got in trouble for and gradually it became second nature to watch others mistakes and not repeat them. 

Unfortunately, as we learned from Solomon, he was given wisdom personally by God but he didn’t handle it very well.  He is an example of gaining wisdom and then losing it.  Just because we have wisdom doesn’t mean we won’t lose it either.  Sometimes we don’t need Satan’s help to fail; we often handle that very well on our own.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for the blessing of wisdom.  I sometimes fail at wisdom but I continue to try to find it in your Word.  If I study Your Word, meditate on it, use love with others and apply what I learn to my life, and make my request known to you, I too can gain wisdom. “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:4-6

Scripture:  My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; 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 stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.  Proverbs 2:1-9