It's a Boy!!!!

The card was baby blue with one plain announcement on the cover. "It's a Boy!!!", it read. What kind of Christmas card is this, I wondered as I took the card from my dad. Inside it stated Isaiah 9:6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given..." Then it all made sense, Christmas is about the baby boy Jesus born so long ago. That one statement puts the focus back where it should be. Maybe we should be holding baby showers instead candlelight services. Christmas is about the King of Kings coming to earth to live among us. Emmanuel, God with us.
About a year ago, I remember hearing about a family who had a Christmas tradition that I found interesting. Every Christmas after the manger scene was put out the Mother would take one of the characters in the scene and hide them around the house. The kids would get up each morning to see which piece of the scene was missing and then go looking for it. Once it was found they could discuss that particular character of the Christmas story. When I opened the Christmas card, it made me think of this because the morning of Christmas the character that was missing was the baby Jesus. What a better way to celebrate Christmas than to have the whole house looking for Jesus. What are you looking for this Christmas? Find time to search for Jesus, it is His birthday after all.
Luke 2:6-7- "And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger...."
Matt. 1:23- "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

Assembly Line

We had an assembly line, my family and I. The little holiday gift bags had been stuffed with hot cocoa, candy canes, stickers and gum. We were on a mission to finish these gifts from our Church to be taken down to the 75 teachers and staff at our local elementary school. Everyone was called upon to do their part. The four-year old demonstrated his new found talent of using scissors to cut the ribbon. Mom was tying the ribbon to the bags to secure them closed. The seven-year old found her gift in attaching cards that thanked the recipient for all they do. The last stop in the line was the nine-year old whose job was to curl the ribbon and put the bag into the box that would be used for delivery. A family project that ran smoothly for a time until the youngest got board and decided that it would be more fun to do something else with the ribbon he had been given. The seven year old demonstrated her ability to beat every one else at their job and became inpatient, and the nine year old just knew nobody was doing their job correctly or at least the way she would have done it.
It came to me as I was reflecting on this wonderful family moment that this is the way the Church works sometimes. God has called us out to minister to a lost and dying world. He has given us each a special job, also known as our spiritual gift, in order to fulfill this mission. We come together as a family and begin to minister and then somehow in our worthy goal self inters the picture. One may get bored at doing his seemingly uninteresting or under appreciated job. Another decides that their job is more important than all the rest and yet another may decide that no one knows how to do anything and therefore begins to take over every job for themselves or at the very least tells someone else how to do it. Does your church look like this? Is there people not doing what God has called them to and yet others that are trying to pick up the slack and overdoing it? How about you? Where do you find yourself in the assembly line? Are you doing your part? I tend to be the one that does too much. I see something that needs to be done so I step in and do it causing someone else who has the gift to miss out on the blessing of service.
We are called as Christians to be one body with many members with Christ as our leader, each doing the function he has been called to do. I encourage you to find out what your part is and do it.
Ephesians 4:11-12 "And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Read I Corinthians 12

More Than Words

A couple of weeks a ago, my husband was just beginning his sermon with a little story about a dad who was having a discussion with his children. He sat them down and asked them which one of them was the most obedient? He prodded a little further and asked, "Who always does everything their mother tells them to?" Immediately my four year old stands up and raises his hand in the air and exclaims "I do! I do!" Of course, this ruined my husbands joke but got plenty of laughs from the congregation. The most humorous part of the story to me is that shortly thereafter; in the heart of the sermon, I could be seen repeatedly telling my son to get up in his chair because he was on the floor trying to crawl under the pew. It was then that I just had to smile as I remembered his "stand up and be counted" declaration of just a few minutes ago. I began to wonder if my heavenly Father views me like this sometimes. I know there have been times that I have responded to him immediately stating adamantly my allegiance to a certain conviction or thought. I have even committed to something in front of others fully expecting to follow through. I desired to do His will and follow after Him but then I would get distracted and stop thinking of my commitment or get discouraged in face of defeat. I am then caught in the very thing I had promised not to do. This is an age old deli ma. Peter struggled with this when he denied Christ three times after declaring he would not be the one to do such a thing a short time before. Did he just get caught up like we do, in life's hardships and struggles and before he knew it, let the guard down and sin was commited? I want to be genuine in my answers and actions for the cause of Christ. As true followers of Christ, may we be doers of the word and not just hearers only. May we realize when we have stood up to be counted and then failed to follow through. May we not fool ourselves into thinking we are more than what we are. The next time you find yourself in Church nodding your head in agreement to something being said, stop a minute, and truly analyze whether this is an issue you have been obedient in with your actions and not just with your declarations.

Matthew 26:35,75- "Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. (V.75)And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out and wept bitterly."KJV
James 1:22-"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."KJV

Dog Licking Devotion

"Why do you worship?" During study for my Sunday school lesson this week, this question was asked. I began researching what the meaning of the word worship is and found an interesting illustration I would like to share with you. "The New Strong's Dictionary of Bible Words" says that worship means "to prostrate oneself, to bow down, to fall down flat, to put religion into practice." I went a little further and looked at the Greek and Hebrew words and definitions, when I found this analogy. An example of true worship is like a dog licking his master's hand. What!?! As a non-dog slobber lover all I can say is this picture is not appealing to me in the least, but as I let it sink in, what a great word picture! Dogs lick their Master's hand in complete happiness and contentment, happy for any provision given them. They know their place in relation to their owner. They follow their master with total devotion going everywhere he leads, now THAT IS WORSHIP! Oh, that we would follow Christ with this same sense of devotion, to be totally convinced of His love and provision for our good. To live in happiness and contentment for our God-ordained place in the world so that others would take notice of our complete devotion to our master. I want my worship to be one that puts my selfish will under His divine one. I want to put my religion into practice.
Psalm 95:6-7 "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand."

Are you a consumer or an owner?

I heard this question on a Christian radio station in our area the other day and it keeps invading my thoughts. In my Church and community, am I a consumer or an owner? I began contemplating several questions. What is the difference and responsibilities of being an owner verses being a consumer? What position do I want to be in? Consumer or owner of what exactly? The first step in trying to get a grasp on this concept was to get a proper definition of both, consumer and owner. A consumer is a person who uses goods or services for personal gain. These goods or services are not to be resold to someone else. An owner is designed to provide goods or services to consumers. The owner is the person that is invested. So what do these definitions look like in the Church or community? In the Church, the consumer is the individual who comes to worship service and consumes the service. They take what the Church offers them and give nothing in return; whereas, the owner is invested in the Church, they spend time and money there. The owner may consume the worship service but they then "resale" or give it away to someone else during the week in the form of ministry. Our community has these two types of services as well. We can be involved in our community as just a consumer or choose to become an owner. We can go places and enjoy activities or we can take time to invest something in them. For example, we can go to the little league game and "consume" the activity or we can get involved in serving the team in some way. We as Christians can complain about the way our community has excepted evil but unless we share the love of Christ in it we can not move from being a consumer in it to one that owns and is invested in it.
I believe God wants us to be owners in our Church and community. He does not desire for us to meet with Him so we can keep it all to ourselves. He desires to meet with us so we can in turn minister to others. When our cup is full of Him our joy and love will overflow on to others. Are you a consumer or an owner? It is your choice. Will you move from just receiving to giving in your Church and community?

Matthew 20:28 -"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Acts 20:35-"Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said,'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Thankful for Walmart

Thankfulness.....I have come to realize lately by watching my four year old son how this Biblical trait is put into action. He is thankful about everything. Last night, as we were walking out of our local Walmart, he yells out as we pass the greeter, "Thank you for the store. I got new shoes." What!?! I can not remember the last time I even thought about being thankful for Walmart! I may be found questioning why they have so many registers if they are not even going to use half of them? I am also prone to comment (while shopping in the evening) about how I feel as though I am constantly in the way of the next pallet of stock rolling through, but, thankful? NO. If I really gave myself a moment to think about it, I should be grateful. I have everything I want at my fingertips and at one place thanks to Walmart and stores like them. I can not even imagine life on the frontier of early America when pre-planning was a must, and everything was ordered and came in on trains. I am thankful that God gave me Trenton for a daily reminder to be thankful. He sees things to thank people for all the time. He is grateful when I roll the window in the car up or if I roll it down. He is thankful when I ask him to take his clothes to his room after I have washed and folded them. We need to all live in this constant state of mind of thankfulness. After all, even when times are bad, we as Christians have an eternal home given to us not through our own merit. We have a God who listens to us even when we consistently do the same offences. We have the Holy Spirit that guides and comforts. We have hope that when we go through tough times God is there with us, and He has a plan for our good. These are only a few of the things that we enjoy as the children of God. God has been good to me. Why can't I let it show a little more?

Psalm 100:4-5-"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 126:3 -"The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad"

Revival, What is it?

What is revival? How would you describe it? Has it ever touched you personally or your church corporately? The basic definition that comes to my mind is to say revival happens when God shows up. Our Church is preparing for revival services to be held in April so the word revival has come up a lot lately. I have begun thinking along these lines and wanted to have a deeper meaning of the word and all it stands for. Our Church leadership, as well as myself, want to see something God-sent happen in our Church and our community. The dictionary defines revival as a restoration to use, acceptance, or activity. To impart new health, vigor or spirit or, my personal favorite, to bring back to life or consciousness. I ran across this scripture today in my devotions and it is a scripture that I like to post on the refrigerator door when I am longing to see God move. In Joshua 3, Israel is getting ready to wage war against the people occupying their promise land. Joshua tells the people before they go to war and see God show up on their behalf they must "Sanctify themselves". Sanctify means to be clean or to make clean. If we want God to show up we have to be made clean. I found a couple of quotes about what revival is that have helped to give me a better grasp of what I am praying God will do through a revival.

Revival is....
"The awakening or quickening of God's people to their true nature and purpose."
Robert Coleman
"The sovereign act of God, in which he restores His own backsliding people to repentance, faith, and obedience." Stephen Olford
"An extraordinary movement of the Holy Spirit producing extraordinary results."
Richard Owen Roberts

The word revival is not found in the scripture but the concept is there as early as the children of Israel when they were called to observe three feasts each year. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a seven day event where no leaven was to be found anywhere. Getting rid of the leaven in the bread became symbolic of getting rid of the sin in their lives and returning back to a right relationship with God.
Do you have any leaven that needs to be taken out? Do you need restoration back to use or activity? Perhaps, your spiritual life right now is non-existent and you need to be brought back to life. Our relationship with God is the place to start. Before we can have a true revival we must wage war on Satan and get right with God. We must sanctify ourselves or make ourselves clean and obedient so that God can do something great and awesome among us. I do not want to be the one who stands in the way of seeing God move. Do you?

Joshua 3:5 -"And Joshua said to the people, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.'"
I Corinthians 5:6b-8 -"Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." NKJV

Running into Clothing Racks

My son Trenton, who is four years old, has been described by many as "All Boy". Up and running from morning to night, he goes and goes like the energizer bunny. Yesterday, I took him into a clothing store to look at a few things. In this environment, I have learned to continually hold his hand because otherwise he tries to run off. Needless to say, he was not happy with me and began telling me all about it. It is then when we pass a rack of clothes he lunged forward throwing himself into them. He looks up at me and says as loud as he can, "Mom, why did you do that to me?" I immediately reply in disbelief, "I did not do that, you did!" We did this routine one more time before I realized exactly what he was doing. He wanted everyone in that store to think I was intentionally running him into racks of clothes because he did not like the circumstances he found himself in. We left the store shortly thereafter in order to deal with this rebellious activity. During the drive home, I was reflecting on this whole thing when I realized as ridiculous as this scene had been, I had done the exact same thing to my heavenly Father. Sometimes I rebelliously go the wrong way. I make the wrong decision to throw myself into the fire of selfish disobedience. I then want to immediately turn and blame God for the circumstances I find myself in. It is not His fault. It is mine. I choose not to be lead by His all knowing hand. Instead of acknowledging this, I want to cry out so that others may know God has let me down even when He has not. I wonder if His response is like mine to my son. One of disbelief, wondering how we could blame Him for something we choose for ourselves. Just food for thought today. Are you living out the consequences of a sinful choice and blaming God for the hardships you are now enduring? Believe me, when we see ourselves in this picture, it is a hard pill to swallow. Rebellion is not something to be taken lightly. If we do not deal with it, I assure you God will. Make sure to adjust your attitude and actions today to show an obedient child holding tight to the Father's loving hand.
I Samuel 15:23- "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king."
Psalm 78:7-8- "That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright and whose spirit was not faithful to God."
Jeremiah 5:23-25 "But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed. They do not say in their heart, 'Let us now fear the Lord our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of harvest.' Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you."

Strength For The Pilgrimage

In our Ladies Bible study this week, we read the following verses and I felt God wanted me to pass them on to you. I hope they begin to mean something to you as you mediate on them this week.
Psalm 84:5-7
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing throught the valley of Bacca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." (KJV)
The NKJV translates the phrase "In whose heart are the ways of them" to say "Whose heart is set on pilgrimage." When we truly realize we are just temporarily walking through this earthly journey, we get a whole different perspective on our daily trouble. Not only that, but the the word "Bacca" means weeping. Have you ever felt like you are in the valley of weeping? It is pretty dark down there. Isn't it? But God promises enough strength for every day, including when we find ourselves in the pools of water from our own tears. These verses end by saying those who find their strength in the Lord during their valleys will end in victory when we appear before our God. I can't wait to have my own personal time with my Father in heaven face to face where He can tell me exactly what my valleys of despair have done in my life and the lives of others here on earth.
II Corinthians 12:9b- " My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (NKJV)

Complaining, A serious offense

Complaining.....I rarely go through a day without it. We hear it everywhere we go and from almost everyone we know. I am afraid I do it far more than I care to admit. We are not the first generation to complain about everything. It goes all the way back to the children of Israel and before. In Numbers 11, God supplies a story of a nation complaining and the consequences their complaining brought them. Verse 1 says, the people complained and the Lord's angered was kindled. God sent fire among the camp to engulf the ones who were murmuring against him. Israel cried out to Moses and Moses prayed to God to stop the fire. He did. Fast forward just one verse and the congregation began to desire to have meat to eat. They did not want the manna God had supplied but dreamed of the fish they ate while they were in bondage. Verse 10 says, there was great complaining among the people. Throughout their families they were so displeased with their situation that they were weeping among themselves about how they desired something besides what God had given them. Again God's anger was provoked. The children of Israel complained among themselves so much, God took notice and decided to do something about it. He sent quail, so much quail that it encircled the camp on all sides, a days journey in all directions and three foot high. That is a lot of fish! The first thing Israel did was not fall on their knees in thanksgiving that God had supplied. They went to hoard as much fish as possible. Verse 32 says, they gathered all day, all night, and all the next day. This was just another example of how ungrateful their hearts had become. I can just imagine God standing there shaking his head in unbelief that they could not trust his provisions enough to just gather what they needed. After all, he had been supplying manna every day for years at this point. God again grew angry and sent a plague to smite the people before they could even swallow the thing they desired so much. God wants us to desire him above all. When we show little restraint in our pursuit of material things, always looking to the next thing, continually complaining about what we don't have, His wrath is kindled toward us. Can't we just trust him to take care of us? He has for years why would he stop now? Complaining is a hard habit to break. We must take notice of what God has done and develop a thankful heart through reflection on His previous love and care. In this chapter of Numbers, Moses was also found making a complaint, but I believe the difference was that His requests were made to God directly and not everyone else. Israel made their agony known to each other and not to God. Dear friend this chapter hit me hard, God takes our complaining seriously. Death by fire and plagues are serious consequences. Take notice of your murmurings today and notice that you are truly blessed. He is our Father, His job is to see to our needs. Trust Him fully so you can reflect a thankful heart.
Read Numbers 11
Philippians 2:14-15 "Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world."
Psalm 142:1-3a "I cried unto the Lord with my voice, with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before Him: I shewed before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knew est my path."

Record Books

Record Books. Have you ever noticed our society is full of them? Our schools have them. Our sports teams have them. Our Churches have them. The government has them in several different forms, financial and criminal. If they are good we use them, if they are bad we hate them. We try to keep track of everything. Records tell a story of our life, good or bad. We can never really get away from our past here on earth. For the people close to us, we keep records {even though they are not written down on paper} of past hurts and disappointments. Our responses to people are based on what our record of them tells us. We can never be completely unbiased to that person again. If we personally let someone down, it also effects our reaction to them.
This week I became so overwhelmed with how great our God is when I sat and meditated on some verses about God's record books. There is the Lamb's book of life that records our names when we accept Christ as Savior. This book gets us into Heaven, but the book I want to look at is the one God chooses not to keep. Psalm 130:3 says, "If you Lord should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" Praise God in several different languages that when we mess up and seek His forgiveness, He forgives. He changes the permanent record against us. If He did not pay for our sin and continue to give us a new slate who could stand? Not me, the guilt alone would kill me. Thank God, we can go to His throne and leave it there! He has forgiven me for so much, I cannot help but worship Him. I stand in awe of Him and that makes me want to serve Him more. Who else can or will take our wrongs and remove them as far as the east is from the west? Only our God can completely remove them and give us a fresh start. Our permanent record, whatever it may be here on earth, can be changed forever with God's forgiveness. Turn to Him today and start fresh. He is faithful to forgive(I John 1:9) and dear sister, if He has forgiven you of so much already, fall on your face today and worship Him with me in complete awe. "He has not dealt with me according to my sin." I can stand! He is the lifter of my head. Praise be His name!!!
Psalm 130:3,4- "If you Lord should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared."
Psalm 103:10-12- "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Soaking in the Word

I love baths! You know the hot water, scented bubbly ones that you can lay and soak in until your skin wrinkles. There is just something about immersing yourself in warm water that relaxes. A true Calgon take me away moment. Add some chocolate and candles to the mix and it just might be heaven on earth, at least for this mother of three. It is my sanctuary away from kids, troubles, and aggravations.
God's Word should be like a warm water bath. We should be immersing ourselves in it, letting the Word soak through everything in us, changing us. So many times our exposure to the Word is more like a shower we get once a week in Sunday morning service. We move on and never look back, never changing a thing. God's Word was made to permeate us to the very core, changing everything. God promises that His Word will change us if we meditate on it and memorize it. It will take root down deep. Immersion in it causes us to grow in spiritual maturity. It helps us show fruit. It makes us react differently in similar circumstances. It shows us our dirt and helps us get rid of it. God's Word can be our sanctuary from life's storms.
Don't just get a shower of God's Word today, spend some time soaking in it. It will give comfort for the journey and when change comes you will be refreshed.

Psalm 119:9,11- "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy Word. Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."
Psalm 119:92,97,133-"Unless thy law had been my delights, I should have then perished in mine affliction. O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
Order my steps in the Word; and let not any iniquity have dominion over me."
Joshua 1:8- "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

A Very Present Savior

Last night my son woke up in the middle of the night moaning and crying. As a Mom, of course, I was awakened and immediately went to see what was wrong. I got to his bedside just in time to hold him while he vomited all over the bed. I picked him up and carried him to the bathroom to clean him up. After waking his dad up for help, I took him to the living room and held him to calm him down. Eventually, we again settled down for the night. He, on the couch and mom on the floor beside him. I dosed off a little here and there, but did not get much rest due to the raspy, coughing spells and an occasional bout with vomiting again. While laying there on the floor listening for what need may come up next, I realized, when I am going through an especially hard time in life, all I have to do is call out to Him from my darkness and He promises to come to my aid.
During the long night just before the light shines through, I can picture my wonderful Savior laying beside the bed stroking my head telling me the same things I was repeating to my son last night. "It is okay, I know it is hard and you are miserable. I love you. I am here. It will be over soon. We will get through this together." If you are going through something difficult, please call on Him. Visualize Him sitting beside you comforting and assuring you of His unconditional love. He is there beside you completely anticipating your every need. All we have to do is ask. He wants to deliver us. He is waiting to deliver us. He is our place of refuge. He is our strength, He will sustain us. Praise the Lord otherwise where else would we turn? With Him beside you, you can make it.

Psalm 46: 1 -"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
Psalm 55:22 -"Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you."

Plans and Purposes

Did you know that God has a plan and purpose for your life? Something He has been preparing you for from the day of your birth. Your parents, Your school life, your upbringing were put in place by Him to give you the experiences you need to fulfill His calling on your life.
While reading God's Word, I came across the familiar story of Joseph. Remember, He was the boy who received the special coat of many colors from his father, and his brothers resented him for it. They hated him because he was a dreamer whose dreams told of his greatness over his brothers. Joseph's brothers hated him enough that they came up with an evil plan to kill him but seized the opportunity to sell him into slavery instead. His dreams as a young boy led him away from his mother and father into a foreign land. Joseph arrived in Egypt and God exalted his faithfulness to Him. Even at the low points in Joseph's life, God's divine plan was at work. Eventually, it was the interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams of famine that exalted Joseph over the land of Egypt. Joseph's dreams he had as a boy came true, when his brothers came to Egypt searching for food. Joseph had the power to give it to them; therefore, they found themselves bowing before Joseph with their request.
If God can use the childhood that Joseph had to fulfill His plan, He can use yours no matter how horrific it may be. He has been giving you the tools you need to minister to others and fulfill your calling.
Who knew that a teenage girl who wrote words on paper as an outlet during a rough patch in her life, but who generally did not enjoy writing at all, would be led of God to write this blog every week. A girl, who would rather do anything than stand and speak in front of her peers, would grow up to want to do just that.
Can you look back and see how God has brought you to this moment in His perfect plan? What has He been preparing you for? If you do not know, seek Him today. Tell Him you want to live out His plans for your life. He will give you a purpose beyond your dreams. Only He knows how He can use it all for your good and His glory.
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." NKJV
Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." NKJV
Joseph's story - Genesis 37, 39-45

A New Perspective

God gave me a word picture this week, I wanted to share with you. I had decided to do some weeding in a pretty big flower bed. After a while of bending and kneeling, my back and legs began to ache. I would look back at the seemingly little progress that I had made and felt overwhelmed at the large task set before me. I began saying to myself, "One weed at a time...just think of this little section. Don't concentrate on the flowerbed as a whole, but only one section, one weed at a time." My gaze then fell on the trash bag by my side. That is where I saw progress. The bag of newly pulled weeds was getting full enough to stand on its own. I was again hopeful that the time I had spent and the sore muscles endured had not been in vain.
Sometimes in our Christian walk, we become overwhelmed when we focus on the troubles or temptations we are currently facing. We begin to question, how can I ever get through this? Today, take a moment and reflect on the progress you have made on your spiritual journey by looking for the trash bag of stuff God has helped you remove. God wants us to pursue spiritual maturity. We do that by developing a relationship with Him through Bible study and prayer. He is our Father. He longs to see steps, no matter how small, of progress.
As I look back on my life, I can see areas in my life where I respond differently today when put in the same situation. I still have a ways to go, of course, but progress has been made. Praise God, there has been progress and there will be progress again. Even if the process is painful and overwhelming, God will use it, if we let him, to remove another trash bag of weeds from our lives. Make the effort and get in the flowerbed. Spend the time and pull the weeds. His Word will not return void. There will be a bag of trash taken away!

Isaiah 55:10-11 - "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." NKJV
Philippians 1:6 - "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." NKJV

A Trip to the Chocolate Factory

Last Saturday, I took my kids out to do a couple of errands. I promised them if they would behave themselves we would go someplace special afterwards. I had heard about a chocolate factory here in our area and thought it would be a wonderful treat for them to go in and pick any piece of chocolate they wanted from the freshly prepared treats in the glass case. This sounded like fun to me. After several hours of getting things here and there, we finally made our walk down the street lined with shops to the factory. As we entered the store, I could hear one of them say this is not someplace fun. I replied, "Sure it is, you can pick any piece of chocolate you want. You can have peanut-butter filled chocolate, cherries or peanuts covered in chocolate, or maybe just plain white or dark chocolate." My kids looked around a minute but were not drawn to the glass case of delicious treats but to the freezer style container in the corner with frozen treats like they carry on the local ice cream truck. We left the store with a bag of peanut M & M's for the three year old, a packet of gum for the six year old, and an ice cream cone with chocolate and nuts on it for the oldest. WHAT? Yes, items they could have picked out at the local grocery store. So much for doing something special! They were not willing to step out of their comfort zone and get something different. They wanted something they knew to be good, not willing to try something that might not be good at all. After eating my two chocolate pieces, I assure you they missed a good thing. How we are like that, we love routine. We find security in sameness. Sometimes God challenges our thinking and asks us to move to a deeper place with Him. A place that we would enjoy so much more if we would just give it a try. I challenge you this week, step up to the plate, fear in hand, and do something different in your walk with the Lord. Try getting out a worship CD and sing along. Pray in a different position or at a quiet garden spot. Purchase a new Bible Study by an author you don't know. Serve at a mission or at your local Church. Jesus led His disciples on an adventure. They never quite grew comfortable with what God, in human form, could or would do. Don't grow comfortable or stagnate in your walk with Him either. Something new and different, go ahead pick something from the glass case, I promise, you will enjoy it more than you thought you would.

Psalm 73:28 -"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works."
Jeremiah 33:3 -"Call unto me, and I will answer thee and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

Twas a day like any other....

As I was reflecting on this old Christmas poem today, God gave me this version instead. I hope it touches your heart as it has mine.

Twas a day like any other, when all through the house,
Not a child was sleeping, not even her spouse.
The clothes were all folded, sitting in the way,
In hopes that someone else would put them away.
The dishes were clean and put up with care,
She was standing there wishing to be elsewhere.
There was a never ending list of chores to dread,
While dreams of purpose danced in her head.
She would give anything to do something that mattered,
and with that her thoughts would start to scatter,
When what to her wondering eyes should appear,
But verses from the Word that made her doubt disappear,
Strength, confidence, love, and joy were all written there,
Forgiveness, peace, dreams, and passion she would wear.
Purpose! Yes, Purpose, it all became clear,
God wants to use her in those she holds dear.
She made a decision at that point in time,
God's word is what she needed her heart to bind.
If Jesus she petitioned to help her through,
Her heart, He could do nothing but woo.
Listen closely, she can hear Him say,
Hold tight to me, and I will lead the way.
Renewed passion and life is what I give,
Something you will rejoice in and be proud to live.

I am so grateful that God uses me, a sinner in the trenches with you, to pour His words out on you. May He get all the glory.
Katrina

"Chalkboard Hearts"

I love having devotions with my oldest daughter. We will read a devotional story with scripture and pray usually before we go to bed. This time with her gives me insight into what she is thinking. It was during this precious time about two years ago, when she was just six, that she prayed that Jesus would use her heart like a chalkboard and erase all the bad things she had done and make it new again. What a word picture of confession and forgiveness! When we realize that our chalkboard of life is filled, all we need to do is ask his forgiveness and He will wipe the slate clean. Praise the Lord! Have you ever noticed how many things in our daily life give us this spiritual truth. We take a shower to renew and refresh. We wash clothes, dishes and cars to make them clean...to make them useful once again for their designed purpose. We are the same way, we must have clean hearts before God, so we can be useful to his purposes. As we begin a brand new year, let us make sure our chalkboard hearts are clean. Let go of the mistakes of last year and start out fresh and new. Pray with me. "Lord Jesus, I want to be used of you this year. Please help me to continually be seeking a clean heart by asking your forgiveness. Renew my heart for your purpose. Thank you, that your mercies are new every morning, that your forgiveness is sure, and that we can start over every day, hour, minute, if necessary. You have promised to be faithful to forgive, and cleanse! Amen."

I John 1:9- "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Psalm 51:7,10- "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."