STUMBLE OR FALL?... Sunday

Devotional for 3/1/15

We've all stumbled now and then.  Sometimes when we are walking, there isn't even anything on the floor and our toes catch just enough to make us trip.  If our balance reactions are good enough, we are able to prevent a full out face plant.  We know it isn't the fall that hurts - it's the sudden stop at the bottom of the fall!  There are ways to avoid falls.  We can wear the right kind of shoes, walk on more level surfaces instead of rocky or unstable ones, and we can even turn on a light to see better.

In life we consider some things little slips and others major falls.  When it comes to keeping God's commandments, we may look at improper thoughts as just a little trip up, but inappropriate actions as a tumble to the ground.  But a complete nose dive into a pit with a head-splitting stop at the bottom would be like being separated from God permanently.  There are ways to avoid falls in these instances also.  We can prepare ourselves by wearing appropriate protective gear - staying connected to God, feeding our faith through gathering with other Christians, putting on the full armor of God. We can walk on safer surfaces by not going to places that tempt us to sin.  And we can turn a light on - by studying God's Word to shed light on our path.  God will steady our steps when we remain faithful.

Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV)  "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand."

Dear God, thank you for giving me the gift of faith through your Holy Spirit, for forgiving me when I stumble, and for holding my hand to keep me from falling away.  Help guide my steps as I navigate this world.  Keep me on the narrow path.  Help me to help others along the way to also see your light of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray.  Amen.

written by Jan Andersen

NOISE...Saturday

 2/28/15

"After leaving them,
he went up on the mountainside to pray."
Mark 6:46

    

Does it ever register with you, as it has me at times, what a noisy world it is in which we live?  Even when I sit on the patio the first thing early in the morning, there are background noises already to compete with the first songs of the birds.

     We are bombarded with noise constantly during the day -- construction, traffic, planes flying overhead, people talking, dogs barking, music playing, televisions blaring, and the list goes on.     

       No wonder Jesus had to withdraw sometimes to a quiet place to pray.  We need to do the same.  We need to spend quiet time with God daily for renewal.  We need to get away from all of the noise and clamor of the day's activities.  We need to have an atmosphere in which we can think clearly and commune with God and ourselves.

     

     Set aside a time and place regularly where you can spend some quiet time free from all of life's distracting noises.  Spend time with yourself and God.  His guidance comes quietly through His Word and presence and prayer.  You won't be able to hear His whisper unless you are prepared to listen.

Written by
Carol Steficek

                                                                          

Broken Eyeglasses...Friday

February 27, 2015

First thing that happens to me yesterday when I get to work is that I break my eyeglasses.  Of course, I do my humanly best by complaining, being frustrated and upset.  I don’t want to go to the eye doctor, I don’t want the expense of having to purchase new glasses…that is why I skipped my annual appointment last year and this year.  I do have an older pair of glasses in my desk drawer so I am able to wear those, but they are giving me a headache….so more complaining and whining, more frustration and delaying my productivity at work.  I then realize that I being incredibly over dramatic about this little inconvenience.  I should have already turned to God to solve my problem.  Not meaning that He is going to magically mend my eyeglasses or fix my eyes, however, what will happen is that I am going to be focusing on Him instead of my problem.  Yes, I will need to make an appointment for an eye exam and then put out a bit of money to purchase new eyeglasses; ones that are actually my correct prescription and will help me to see much better. 

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world
—your mind and heart—put right.
Then you can see God in the outside world.Matthew 5:8

 (MSG)

I love this scripture and it is just as stated.  I get my mind and heart in the right place and I am able to see all things so much clearer.  The world that I am living in now will be so much brighter and filled with so much more beauty, as my own personal world remains focused on my heavenly Father, adding to that my own ability to see it all as He created it.  My main focus needs to remain on His true love of us all, which in turn brings such great joy, and then  in me produces a much happier mind and heart.  Praise you Father, for allowing me to see the world with your heart and eyes as you have it all in your hands. Amen!!

Written by 

Kelly Dobyns

The battle to see...Thursday

2/24/15

This picture  says many different things to me, but I will share just a couple of them.

When I look at this picture I think about all the choices we must make in life. Some of our choices make us better people, offer a more peaceful way of life, and help us grow in a way that is pleasing to our Creator. 

Unfortunately, some of the choices we make are harmful to our well being, lead us down a dangerous path, and prevent us from reaching our full potential.

When I look at this picture I think about the fact that we are spiritual people who live in a physical body, and there is a constant spiritual battle going on around us. The Creator and the enemy both long for us for different reasons. We must choose what side to follow.

When we look at both sides with human eyes, we do not see how dark and lonely it really is on the enemy's side. Instead, we only see things that bring us temporary pleasure....drugs, alcohol, sex, possessions, etc.

However, if we look at both sides with spiritual eyes, we see them for what they really are.

We need to look with our spiritual eyes more often.

Written by
Storm Hendrickson

"Full Of His Holy Spirit"...Wednesday

2/25/15

I was reminded today by a good friend that only when we are surrendered to the Lord and full of the Holy Spirit is when God can really move in hearts around us. We can do nothing without Him. No real fruit can be produced when we are operating in our own flesh.

His word says in Luke 4:1 

"And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, 

returned from the Jordan 

and was led by the Spirit
in the wilderness." 

Because Jesus was so full of the Holy Spirit He was obedient to the things of the Spirit. And we all know when Jesus began to minster, lives were turned upside down forever!

That is how Jesus wants us to live out our life each day. He wants us so surrendered to Him, so immersed and saturated and full of His Spirit that we naturally would only do what He wants us to do. And as a result, we would see Jesus touching lives through us all around us!

As daughter's of the King, we should be astonished of who Jesus is and all that He desires to do through us!

I never want to live my life as "status quo" but want to be a World Changer for Christ!! My heart's cry today is that the Lord would totally baptize me completely in His Spirit, and use me for His Kingdom purposes forever more!!

In the Fullness of the Holy Spirit, 

Sandy Billingham 

Draught...Tuesday

2/24/15

We are in the middle of a drought here in California. In the Midwest there is a polar freezing bringing unusually cold weather. In New York through to Maine there have been snowstorm after snowstorm such has not been seen in years.The earth provides us with challenges in all season. Our inner environment also provides challenges and times when things are not well with us. The fires of pain and the cold storms of anguish come and go in our lives as we travel our path.

Yes, we do face pain and challenges, but the Bible gives us salve from God for these things that happen in life. In Psalm 91 Scripture tells us...

1 "God is our reference and strength

A very present help in trouble"

8-9 "Come and see what the Lord has done,
the amazing things He has done on earth. 

In the midst of all that we face and endure. God has given us a way to hear Him and to learn things that will help us thrive.

10 Be still and know that I am God
I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exulted in the earth!

Here is the promise that gives us courage to face all kinds of difficulties.

11 The Lord All-Powerful is with us;
the God of Jacob our defender.

Other Bible references to read:

• Deut. 33:13
• Psalms 23:2, 62:5
• Isaiah 30:15
• Zep. 3:17
  
  In the process He makes all things beautiful even those things that start off from very hideous things...things that torment us and make us fear that we will ever be okay again. Out of all the chaos that is the earth and the things God gives us to teach us and triumph with His guidance. 
  
  
  Written byCorinne Mustafa

Death Leads to Forever...Monday

2/23/15

Mary Wilkins is the devotional writer for Mondays in Women's Focus Ministries. This weekend her Dad passed away. Please pray for her family as they travel through this difficult time.

Death. People have studied it, feared it and eventually have reached the point of their own death. Men have written about it with varied thoughts as to whether they welcome it or run from it.

One of my favorite poems about death was written by John Donne in the 17th century. I even had it read at my mother's memorial. There is a metaphysical as well as philosophical side to this poem...DEATH BE NOT PROUD. Please read the poem...

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

This is not a Christian consideration of death...or is it?" The bottom line is that when death triumphs at the end of a life in reality it actually looses. In truth that life death is trying to destroy is transferred into eternity. The result is the death causes its own defeat.

It seems that we have spent this entire weekend considering death and how to deal with it. Andrew, a  young man I know passed away a couple of weeks ago in a catastrophic car crash. His memorial was yesterday.  When I opened my email and found out I was heartbroken ...not only for his personal loss of his life and future but also for his parents. You know the thoughts you have...such a loss...so young...had so  much to offer to the world...etc...etc...etc. These  are all true on a temporal level. However for those of us who KNOW where we are headed these losses pale by comparison to what we are gaining...not just for the moment but for eternity.

In the midst of this back and forth of pain and joy a picture of this 19 year old emerged with words that we can only hope will be said when our dash is honored on our memorial day. I spoke to Doug and complimented him on the things he and his wife accomplished in their son's nineteen year life.

Doug told me, "I used to think of him as someone who had been raised by the CIA. He was not all that communicative." Then he told me that  without the last couple of weeks of learning about his son's life from friends he would not have known the marvels of his life and the effects it had on others.
I marveled at the fact that Andrew was so unassuming that he did not brag about the things he just did naturally.

Andrew had accepted Jesus as his savior and Lord of his life at the age of five. He knew where he was going to spend eternity. We all knew as well...about Andrew and about ourselves. Think about it, and, if you are not sure, ask someone how you can be sure. Let your life be a dash into heaven for eternity.

Written by
Corinne Mustafa

RECOGNIZE, REPENT, REBORN!... Sunday

Devotional for 2/22/15

We are beginning the season of Lent.  It is a time to recognize that we are sinners and that we need a Savior, a time to repent of our sinful ways and to remember our rebirth in the Spirit.  It is a time to recommit to doing all that we can to make our own little corner of the world better through good works, not to earn God's favor but to thank him for already showing us his favor in sending his one and only Son to earth to die in our place.  At the end of the 6 week season of Lent we will celebrate that Jesus not only died for us but that he also rose again and now reigns in heaven, awaiting our reunion with him.

2 Corinthians 5:20b-21 (NIV) "We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Even when we fail to do all that we can to recognize our sin, repent of it and live as reborn followers of Christ, we are loved by God and forgiven.  He continues to give us the strength to carry on, the power to witness to others, and the faith to remain his redeemed children.

How does one observe Lent?  By the power of God we recognize that we are sinners, surrender our self-will in order to repent and turn from our lost ways, die to our sinful humanness and remember that we are reborn through the gift of the Spirit, giving us faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and witnessing to others through our words and actions!  Help us to do all these things, Dear Lord.

written by Jan Andersen

HAND-IN-HAND...Saturday

   2/22/15

"...even there your hand will guide me, 

your right hand will hold me fast." 

Psalm 139:10

     In Psalm 139 the psalmist is talking about the presence of God.  He has created us, knows us, and is with us everywhere.  There is no place we can flee from His presence, nowhere we can go without His hand to guide us.

   
  I think that is a marvelous thought.  When talking about being with God, we definitely cannot go by our feelings.  Some days we feel far from God, or at least apart from Him.  Some days when we're experiencing meaningful fellowship with Him, it seems He is right with us.

Ultimately, His presence with us doesn't change at all depending on our feelings or thoughts.  He is the same and has promised to NEVER leave us.

    You can count on the fact that whatever your day brings, all you have to do is reach out your hand and you'll find GOD is walking right there beside you.

Written by 
Carol Steficek

Love One Another...Friday

February 20, 2015

 John 13:34-35 

 (ESV)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: 

just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 

 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, 

if you have love for one another.”

A seemingly simple command, “Love One Another”, I know my life feels more peaceful when I am feeling loved, which in turn makes me want to give it back.  The reality of life on earth is that we are not always in a position to feel love because the people we must sometimes share our days with are not always the loving type.  This has effected me greatly over the years, being hurt by someone and holding a grudge or holding back my love because, after all, why would I show you love when you don’t even give me a glimpse of kindness.

The true reality is to love one another as Christ has loved us.  He didn't hold back because someone was not on the best terms with Him, or because someone was going through their own personal crisis and didn't feel loving towards anyone.  All He did was show the love of his heart to all He came in contact with and prayed for everyone!  He loves me more than any human ever can and that is all that needs to be known.  There is no greater love.

I have been practicing intentional love, just as Christ as commanded, as I go throughout my day with everyone that I encounter.  I don’t have to go overboard with gushes of hugs and statements of love and how we are to love one other always.  A simple smile, a kind response, showing respect, listening to someone’s troubles; there are oh so many ways that we can simply love on one another.  Living a much more peaceful day to day life is the result of me loving all, as well as seeing the love given back to me.  I am so grateful for Christ’s commandment and commitment of love.  We truly have nothing if we don’t have love.  It is the greatest of great, along with that is a much warmer heart for us all.

1 Corinthians 13 

(ESV)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,
 but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; 
but the greatest of these is love.

Written by
Kelly Dobyns

THE FAITHFULNESS OF OUR GOD...Thursday

February 18, 2015

I just returned from mailing a belated birthday card. I have been faithful for years in sending this person a birthday card on time. However, this year the date slipped passed me and I sent the celebratory message well after the fact. Oooops!

As I picked up the card to send it on it's way, I was reminded that our Lord is never late in his responses to our prayers. His solutions to our problems and the help He grants us is always in His perfect timing. Our cares and concerns never "slip His mind." 

Isaiah 49:14-17 states 

"Yet Jerusalem says, 'The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us. Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on my hand. (NLT) 

Our Heavenly Father assures us that the love He has for us is stronger than that of a nursing mother for her baby and that we will never escape His memory. 

Furthermore, in Hebrews 13:5 the Lord says, 

"I will never leave you nor forsake you." (ESV) 

These are powerful declarations of the faithfulness of God. 

I recently heard the testimony of a recovering drug addict. She had survived a childhood filled with abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Early in her spiritual journey the Lord spoke these words to her: "I will be there for you tomorrow." This solidified her commitment to Jesus and gave her the hope and security she needed to continue in her Christian walk. Whether we are overcoming great emotional trauma or just in need of a word of encouragement in our daily routine, we can rely on the enduring promises of God. The lovely song by Robert Davidson says it best.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

His mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning.

New every morning

Great is thy faithfulness Oh Lord.

Great is Thy faithfulness."

Written by 

Cathy F.

"In His Presence Is Where I Want To Be"...Wednesday

2/18/15                     

 

Hanging out with Jesus has got to be the best place to spend my time! It is so amazing when I am experiencing the Lord's presence that nothing seems to matter except Him!  All my cares and worries and major concerns just melt away! He is my utmost focus and I feel so safe with Him!

 

His Word tells us in Psalm 23:3 

"But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel."

The word enthroned meaning: give or ascribe a position of authority. Because of the power of our God and His powerful position and intense love for us, He literally shows up in the praises of His people.

 

I don't know about you but that takes my breath away to be able to be in the very presence of our Most High King as I enter into His throne room with my praises. There is nothing like it and will never be anything like it.

 

My goal is to spend more and more time with Jesus to the point where the things on the earth do not matter. He is my everything, and in His presence is fully where I want to be all the days of my life.

 

In His Loving Presence, 

Sandy Billingham

Summer Seeker...Tuesday

2/16/15

Dear Lord, I am in summer seeking you. It is so very hot and I am so very dry. With all of my being I cry out for water. My throat is parched and I can not speak. I have no words to express my heart’s cry of yearning.

Jesus in you is life. You are the living water. In you I quench my thirst. I would drink of you. I would soak in your presence. Lord Jesus, rain down on me and saturate me, fill me. You bring healing to me and refresh my very being. In you I will find answers. In you I will find peace.

It is in the air. I smell it. It is a sweet fragrance. My spirit quickens and I start to run. Into the arms of Jesus I run. He holds me tight and whispers to me, “ It is beginning to rain.”

Shared by

     Corinne Mustafa

When Life Has Painful Surprises...Monday

2/10/15

One Saturday my husband did our usual ritual of going to Starbucks which we usually do after we have gone to the gym. It was rodeo weekend in our town that weekend, and cowboyness was everywhere. The cowboys were soon to arrive, and the whole town was revving up to be consummate westerners.

There were two children sitting at a table, and their mom was nearby. They were about three and four. The oldest one was a girl and she was all decked out. She had a pink cowgirl hat on and a pink vest with fringe on the chest and at the bottom of it. Her boots were also pink and she had a denim skirt on to complete her ensemble. The younger child was a boy. He also was wearing western garb…a bit less fancy than his sister. She was a professional. The boy had on a straw cowboy hat. He had on blue jeans and a plaid shirt.

Mom had bought each of them one of those frosted cake lollypops that Starbucks carries and a carton of chocolate milk. They shone with a happiness to be alive. Two other little girls were out in the patio, and though separated by the window, they were making friends and laughing and playing together. I just could take my eyes off them. They were adorable.

I had walked down to wait for my coffee when all of a sudden I heard a shrill shriek from up in front where the children’s table was. When I looked I saw the little boy had fallen off his chair and was on the floor. His lollypop was mashed into crumbs and his carton of milk had spilled all over the floor. As I listened to his loud crying I realized that it was filled with hurt that was not only physical. It was sounding like the cry of a broken heart. It was as if he was lamenting the surprise and disastrous end to his perfect morning. Something terrible and unexpected had happened, and the little tyke was beyond sad. He just did not seem to understand how such a thing could have happened.

 His mother picked him up and tried to comfort him. She held him for a long time kissing his wet face and rubbing his head. Finally he calmed down a bit. Then she put him back on his chair where he sat hiccupping from the cry. Then Mom started to clean up the mess. I watched the scene with sympathy for the family that this had happened to tarnish their perfect outing. By then we had finished our coffee and left the store. I never did see if she bought him a new snack. However, even though you can salvage jaunt it may be impossible to restore the original bliss of it.

Sometimes things like this happen to us adults as well. We may not end up down on the floor in the middle of a mess. I often think of it as a moment in time that you could go backwards to minutes before the tragedy happened. In one of the Superman movies there is a terrible earthquake and Lois Lane’s car is swallowed into a crack in the earth. In this accident Lois Lane died. Superman was flying above the earth, and he saw what had happened to his friend Lois. He loved Lois, and he started to cry. Then he went towards the earth and made it spin backwards in the opposite direction until it was to a point in time before the earthquake. Lois had not died yet. He grabbed her out of her car, and flew up in the sky. The horrible happening had been avoided by this time reversal. It would be really great if this could happen.

In real life we cannot go back in time to change things that have happened that in an adult could compare to the heartbreaking thing that had happened to the little boy. Your husband decides to leave. You hear of fires that not only destroy a forest but also burn down lots of houses. You make an investment that does not bring the financial results that you expected, and you are basically ruined. As you look back you see how innocent you had been about the possibilities of such a thing happening. It feels as if this incident is life changing and that we are aware of how great things were before in in the days of ignorance of such pitfalls.

The good news is that we have our

Divine Superman  

who comes down to comfort us. 

He is able to turn bad experiences to good. He works to help us gain new wisdom and understanding. Sometimes he sends something into our lives that will help us to get over our heartbreak. In all of it He is holding us in the palm of His mighty hand. His love and attention is what we have throughout our lives. We need to remember this beautiful scripture when we are overwhelmed by challenges.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “
plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

Dear Lord…
Thank you that you will not leave us or forsake us. This means that in good times or bad times we know that we have a Comforter who never lets go of us...no matter what. What a great and amazing God you are. You are our Jehovah Jirah forever.
Amen.

Written by

Corinne Mustafa

TRANSFORMED... Sunday

Devotional for 2/15/15

Apart from God we are nothing.  We are unable to do anything to please Him on our own.  Some people are separated from God out of ignorance - not knowing about his saving grace.  Others know about it but refuse to believe it, choosing instead religious belief in nothing or in some other false god such as "nature" or "spirituality" apart from God, etc.  Still others believe in the true God but have fallen away out of lack of a close relationship, or their faith growing dim until the once glowing flame becomes such a tiny spark that it is at risk of forever being extinguished and becoming a cold ash.  Those who are separated from God for whatever reason are lost souls.  Some of those lives even turn to evil ways, or reveling in sinful actions.

But once we are given the Spirit through baptism, we have received the gift of faith - that glowing ember within our hearts.  If we continue by God's power to fan the flame of faith through conscious contact with Him in prayer, meditation, praise and worship, we will desire to thank him with our good works and witness to the world.  We are set free from the bondage of sin.  Our lives become transformed as we reflect to the world the love of Jesus Christ who died and rose again for all.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NIV)  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 

Dear Lord in heaven, I praise your holy name for all that you have done for me.  My life is nothing without you.  But by your loving and merciful forgiveness I have been transformed.  By your mighty power make me a light to the world, reflecting your glory to others in all that I say and do.  Help me when I falter or stray from your side, bringing me back into the fold.  Keep me strong in faith so that through my witness others can be brought into a loving relationship with you.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

written by Jan Andersen