What You See Is What You Get or Is it?   

Imperfection is the prerequisite for grace. Light only gets in through the cracks.  Philip Yancey

Have you ever thought about what people see when they look at you?  In the past people have come up to me and told me what they see when they look at me.  It is not always an accurate picture.  Our outer appearance can be deceiving. 

When I was in college I wanted to be a fashion designer so I went into Fashion Merchandising as my major.  The thing it taught me was how to merchandise.  Go figure!  I have always liked clothes and I love to mix and match plus I love a bargain so when you look at my appearance most of the time I look coordinated and professional. 

The thing is that is just the outer shell of who I am. I am going to tell you some of my fashion secrets.  These are my go to fashion tips when time is short.  Back when I had cancer I lost all my hair and since I had never had short hair it kind of grew on me so now I keep my hair short.  The thing is I don’t like to spend money on a hairdresser so I cut my own hair.  The way this works is if your hair sticks out somewhere you don’t want it to, cut it off.  This seems to work for me so for the past seven years I haven’t been to a hairdresser.

I like to wear open toe shoes in the summer and I also like to have my nails painted.  Here’s the thing.  If I am in a hurry my theory is only paint the toes that show.  This only works with shoes that only show a few toes but it saves a ton of time. 

Another tip is always carry safety pins and packing tape.  Safety pins can make a skirt that’s too big fit and a little packing tape can make your shoe quit sliding off your foot or keep your loose hem in place.  Then there are the magic markers.  You know how you are walking in heels on a sidewalk and your heel goes into the crack in the sidewalk and it scrapes the surface off the heel.  If your heels are black use the black marker or red use the red marker and so on. 

Today I am wearing what I call my Dr. Seuss socks.  It is cold today so I decided to wear boots but I couldn’t find my black socks.  Today I am wearing purple because we have a Purple Ranch meeting this evening so my Dr. Seuss socks don’t really match what I am wearing.  They are turquoise and white stripes.  I mean who is going to see them?  

This brings up my next point.  God doesn’t care what I look like on the outside.  He is more concerned about what is on the inside in my heart.  He wants me to spend more time on my heart than anything else.  My heart’s condition is of utmost importance to Him because that will reflect how we treat everyone around us.  The thing is most of us are a mess on the inside even though we portray something very different on the outside. I admit I am a mess in progress but I don’t want you to think that the outer me is all you get because sometimes the outer me doesn’t look anything like the inner me.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, please help me to remember that the inner me is the most important part that I need to work on.  The older I get the less I care about what people think about the way I look on the outside.  The only way others can see the condition of my heart is to share my imperfections.  Thank you for opening my heart to others and showing them the imperfect me in an imperfect world.        

Scripture:   Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.  Psalm 51:10-13

The Game of Life    

Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering.... The love of God did not protect His own Son.... He will not necessarily protect us - not from anything it takes to make us like His Son. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process.  Elisabeth Elliot

When I was young we used to play the Game of Life.  You would spin the wheel and move forward with your token and land on a square on the board.  Sometimes the square would say you lose a turn, or another one would say you decided to go to college so you had to pay money instead of earning more.  Still other times you would get married and lose a little more money.  Then you would land on the square where you had twins and you had to pay up.  There were also times when you landed a great job and received a raise so the bank paid you.  The thing is this game never dealt with the real challenges of life.  These are the heartbreaking events that can bring you to your knees. 

In the real game of life we have to deal with illness, death and sorrow beyond our comprehension.  I guess that would be a pretty depressing game for kids to play if you landed on a square and it said you are diagnosed with cancer.  Your bills will be astronomical and you will be paying them for the next 10 years.  The thing is, it is not beyond God’s comprehension.  He understands because he didn’t protect His own Son from suffering.

In life we are engaged in battle.  Every day we are challenged to be better and some of the challenges we face are not even close to being easy.  The life we live is a training ground. Everything we face each day is a test to see how we will react.  It is also a refining process. Each trial is meant to purify us and make us more like Jesus.  We can fight it every step of the way or we can face it head on with God leading the way.  If your daily challenges are getting you down, let the Father lift you up.  He wants to end your suffering but sometimes we must go through the fire in order to be purified.  In other words, to be made more like Him.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, many times my ego takes over and I think, God why are you allowing me to suffer.  Why not?  Jesus Christ suffered more than I can even imagine so why not me.  Thank you for your great mercy on my life.  I have not even suffered a fraction of what Jesus Christ suffered.  Please remind me that the trials I face in this life are meant as a training ground.  If I continue to keep my eyes on You, any suffering I face can be used for my good. 

Scripture:  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.   Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.  And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.  2 Corinthians 1:3-7

 

Banking    

If sheep do not have the constant care of a shepherd, they will go the wrong way, unaware of the dangers at hand. They have been known to nibble themselves right off the side of a mountain. And so, because sheep are sheep, they need shepherds to care for them. The welfare of sheep depends solely upon the care they get from their shepherd. Therefore, the better the shepherd, the healthier the sheep.  Kay Arthur

My husband decided he wanted to become technologically savvy so he asked me to help him get set up with online banking so he could pay our credit card bill online.  You all know from my previous devotional what a techie I am so I proceeded to go online and try to set him up.  You notice I said “try”. 

It went kind of like this.  My husband thought he might have tried to set this up previously so I started by trying to log him in.  Of course he didn’t remember his password or login since he hadn’t logged in since 2003, so I clicked on the button that said “Forgot my login ID”.  So it then asks for an email address.  So I enter that and then it asks several questions to try to identify if we are who we say we are.  You know, your social, birthdate, how many children you have, your dog’s name, your wife’s mother’s name, the car you drive, which grocery store you shop at and do you use coupons.  I am joking but it felt like that. 

So we finally get the login ID but then we have to get the password reset.  It then gave us an error message that said they could not reset it and we would have to call them instead.  So after we went through the same questions over the phone again we finally had our password and were ready to go, or so we thought. 

We log into the account and we were actually able to see the credit card statement and it had a little button in the corner that said, “Pay Bill Online”.  Since that was our whole reason for doing this in the first place I clicked on the button.  It took me to another screen that told me all about Bill Pay and when I clicked on the button on that screen it gave me an error message that said Bill Pay is currently not available to you at this time.  We are working on it.  What does that mean?  Are we the only one's that Bill Pay is not available to? My husband, being the comedian in the family, said “by the time I get this paid it will be past due.”

We worked on this for over an hour and finally I told Jerry he would just have to call them and pay over the phone.  When he called the first thing that came up was a survey and it didn’t give him an option to skip the survey so he had to complete that first. I could hear him in the kitchen mumbling about dumb surveys and banks and stupidity.  I only caught snatches of the conversation he had with himself as he completed the survey.

Have you ever wondered what we did before technology?  I am starting to think that being a shepherd has its benefits.   I mean herding sheep is sounding better and better every day.  What better way to spend our time than with God.   If I didn’t have to spend so much time trying to remember logins and passwords and completing surveys I could spend a lot more time with our Heavenly Father.  Money under the mattress is sounding better and better every day.     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, we spent an inordinate amount of time this weekend online and on the phone trying to pay one bill.  I would have preferred to spend it with You. Help me to remember why am here on earth and that so many of the things we do every day are manmade distractions.  Remind me of what is really important.  You.    

Scripture:  Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.  Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.  Psalm 100:1-5

 

Spanish Moss & Tumbleweeds  

By a matchless parable our Lord taught us that all believers are branches of the Living Vine, and that, apart from Him we are nothing and can do nothing because we have in us no life.  A.T. Pierson

If a spring has not been opened in a soul, a spring of living water from God's own Son, no waters can flow and there is no life in you. G.V. Wigram

When I was growing up in Louisiana we had Spanish moss hanging from our oak trees in the woods and in the yard.  This is an odd plant because it is often called an “air plant” due to the fact that it gets its nutrients from the air.   It depends on the host plant or oak tree to hang onto while it absorbs life giving nutrients.  It grows in humid climates because that is how it gets water to grow.   Spanish moss is also a flowering plant although the flowers are too small to see and it can grow to be 20 feet in length.    

Tumbleweeds have also fascinated me.  They are actually dead but they carry seeds that are dispersed as they tumble along.  They are the opposite of the Spanish moss in that they grow in dry arid climates and they depend on movement whereas the Spanish moss attaches itself to a host plant such as trees.  The problem with tumbleweeds is they absorb a good portion of the water that exists in arid climates which can cause soil erosion. 

The reason I bring this up is it reminds me of the relationship we have with God.  Spanish moss clings to its host plant in order to survive whereas the tumbleweed travels along randomly stopping for a short while until the next wind blows and then it goes on its way.  Our Christian life can be one of the two.  We can cling to our Heavenly Father and get strength from Him or we can tumble along dead to the living water of Christ. I have learned to cling to God through all circumstances.  He is the only One who can save me so instead of tumbling along without a plan I think I will continue to cling to Him with everything in me.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, without You I am like the tumbleweed rolling from one place to another until an obstacle comes along.  I depend on You to help me grow so I will cling to You for the Living Water that only You can provide.    

Scripture:   On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.   He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  John 7:37-39

Dreams    

No man who is fit to live need fear to die. To us here, death is the most terrible thing we know. But when we have tasted its reality it will mean to us birth, deliverance, a new creation of ourselves. It will be what health is to the sick man; what home is to the exile; what the loved one given back is to the bereaved. As we draw near to it a solemn gladness should fill our hearts. It is God's great morning lighting up the sky. Our fears are the terror of children in the night. The night with its terrors, its darkness, its feverish dreams, is passing away; and when we awake it will be into the sunlight of God.  Thomas Fuller

I had a weird dream last night.  I dreamed I was working at Home Depot and I couldn’t find a ladder.  That is odd since everyone knows that ladders are plentiful at Home Depot.  I mean they are one of the home improvement capitals of the world. 

In the dream there was a customer who came in and she walked over to an isle and pointed to a baby bed displayed on the wall and told me she needed 90 baby beds like the one on display.  The last time I looked I didn’t see baby beds at Home Depot so I am not sure where it came from but I was a new employee at this store so I immediately went on the hunt for a ladder.  The problem was the guy that hired me didn’t give me a code for the cash register so I wasn’t going to get the commission for this sale because I couldn’t even check the lady out.  I felt like a hamster in a wheel.  I was running up and down the aisles looking for a ladder and getting nowhere.  Plus I didn’t even know if we had 90 baby beds in stock.

Sometimes when I wake up from a dream I think about it and it doesn’t make a lick of sense.  Maybe I was having flashbacks of my conversations with the utility companies but I was wearing myself out trying to help this lady buy 90 baby beds for who knows what purpose at a store that doesn’t sell baby beds.  That’s the great thing about dreams; anything can happen and often does.  I can fly in some of my dreams so I don’t know what that means either.  I do know that in this dream I couldn’t fly otherwise I wouldn’t have needed a ladder.

When I woke up from this nightmare I thought about how God gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams for Pharoah and how it changed Joseph’s life. God was working in Joseph’s life from the time his brothers sold him until the day he interpreted the dream for Pharoah.  It was all the steps that had to happen in order for Joseph to save the children of Israel and all because of dreams. If you think about seven fat cows and seven gaunt cows, only God could explain it through Joseph.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I sometimes dream about strange stuff.  I only have my interpretation of them so if I am supposed to do something with them let me know.  Otherwise, I will continue to dream strange dreams and worship You.  Without Joseph’s interpretation of dreams we would not be where we are today.  Thank you loving us enough to save us.       

Scripture:   Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.  Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.  And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.  He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.  And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.  Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.  Genesis 41:1-8

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do:  The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.  Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land.  So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe.  And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.  Genesis 41:25-32

Changed  

Scripture speaks about God working everything together "for the good" of those who love him (Rom. 8:28). But what is this "good?" It consists of believers being conformed (changed and remade) to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). Thus, all the experiences of life are intended, under the sovereign hand of God, to help us to grow towards the great goal of the Christian life - Christ-likeness.  Sinclair B. Ferguson

I am forever changed.  When you look back on your life do you see a different person than the one who existed before?  It is a slow process and we can be changed for the better or worse depending on how we respond to life’s circumstances.  Depending on what occurs in our lives, we may not realize we are changed.

When I reflect on the past I understand that the only way I could have gotten where I am today is because of God.  There is no other explanation that fits.  It is not because I am wise, smart or talented. 

God created each of us as a work of art in His image.  The best description I know of is we are like a lump of clay to a potter.  We are placed on the potter’s wheel and the shaping begins.  We are molded and shaped by our surroundings, the circumstances that occur in our everyday life and by others around us.

This morning there was a song on the radio called “Changed”.  I love the words because it was how I felt when I rededicated my life to Christ.  When I came up out of the water I was washed clean.  I still make mistakes but I am forever changed.

“I came up out of the water
Raise my hands up to the Father
Gave it all to Him that day
Felt a new wind kiss my face
Walked away, eyes wide open
Could finally see where I was goin'
It didn’t matter where I’ve been
I’m not the same man I was then.

I got off track, I made mistakes
Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost
Lines get crossed
And the pain won’t go away
I hit my knees, now here I stand
There I was, now here I am

I got a lot of “hey I’m sorry's”
The things I’ve done, man that was not me
I wish that I could take it all back
I just want to tell 'em that

I got off track, I made mistakes
Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost
Lines get crossed
And the pain won’t go away
I hit my knees, now here I stand
There I was, now here I am

I’ve changed for the better
More smiles, less bitter
I even started to forgive myself

I hit my knees, I’m here, I stand
There I was, now here I am
I’m changed for the better

Thank God, I'm changed.”   

Song by Rascal Flatts     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You forever changed my life.  You are the one I can depend on through all the mistakes in my life and I praise you for taking me back each time I fail or disappoint.  Thank You for placing in me the need to be changed into someone more like You.             

Scripture: Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”  “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.  1 Corinthians 15:50-58

The Horse & Rider   

Human reason is like a drunken man on horseback; set it up on one side, and it tumbles over on the other.  Martin Luther

When we were growing up we always had horses.  We started out with a pony named Chico.  He was blind in one eye so when you rode him he always kind of listed to one side.  Later we had another pony and he always had a tendency to turn into our driveway when he got near our house.  If you weren’t paying attention he would turn into the driveway and falling off became a distinct possibility. 

Riding horses is very much like our Christian life.  You decide to ride so you put on the saddle, cinch it up, put your foot in the stirrup and swing aboard.  The problem is when you get up there you are at the mercy of the horse.  He can decide to walk sedately along or he can buck you off.  The horse can decide to take off running and if you don’t have a bridle on him you have no way of stopping him.

When you take the step to become a Christian it is often scary isn’t it? You are making the decision to put your life in God’s hands.  Letting go of control is not something we are trained to do.  So you get up there on the horse and you see the world from a different viewpoint.  You can allow God to take the reins on this ride or you can wrestle the reins from him.  We often are an impatient group so we wrestle the reins away and start driving so to speak.  The problem is God knows what is best for us and he wants us to be patient and wait on Him.  This is where we decide we want to gallop instead of trot and we race to whatever we are pursuing.  An obstacle presents itself and the horse gets spooked and slams on the breaks.  You land on your seat in the middle of the road trying to figure out how you got there.   

One of the scariest feelings is to be on a horse that is galloping at full speed.  You really don’t know what they will do.  If something on the road spooks them they can jerk unexpectedly to the right or left and you have no other option but to hang on for dear life or take a spill.  Horses also have a tendency to forget you are up there when they get spooked.  If you are around trees they run under branches and limbs without a thought to your safety. 

The wonderful thing about God is He is always there.  We can depend on Him to be steadfast no matter what obstacles occur in this life.  It always reminds me of riding a horse with no saddle.  You have to cling to the horse with everything in you just to stay on.  God wants us to cling to Him in the same way, with all our might and all our strength. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I place my trust in You.  Remind me that You are my salvation and help me to not depend on things of this world.  They are fleeting but You are eternal and I praise You forever and ever.    

Scripture:   No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength.  A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.  Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.  Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.  Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.  Psalm 33:16-22