Outside Looking In....Monday

6/1/13

It was almost the end of the school year when Susie brought 2 huge handfuls of invitations to school. Everyone crowded around her as she began passing them out to each of our classmates. I watched anxiously to see my name written on one of the envelopes that would prove my acceptance and worth in the pool of drama known as 8th grade. Finally I saw it! Is that for me? I held my breath a mixture of excitement and relief as she looked up at me for a moment before handing me the invitation. I stepped away to open the gift that felt like gold in my hands. Excitedly all of the girls smiled at each other, an unusual moment of togetherness.

A few girls whispering loudly said they couldn't believe I'd been invited. Relief flooded over me as I thanked God that I had been included. I was a very happy girl and all of my worries had been washed away.

The next day Susie came up to me, and my heart was excited that she would have something even more to say to me. She was quickly becoming my hero. I didn't notice that the girls who were with her stepped away as she got to my table. She quickly explained the purpose of her errand. She had not really invited me. My invitation was for another Mary in our class who had been absent, but when she had seen me looking on, she didn't have the heart to tell me the truth. I could come to her party if I wanted but she wanted me to know that nobody liked me and I hadn't really been invited because she was only friends with nice girls.

I heard a door clang shut in my heart as I nodded my in understanding. 

Anytime we are rejected or hurt, by friends, family, coworkers, or even strangers, there is a natural response to pull inward to protect our hurting hearts. Even when we know that what is being said isn't true - the darts of rejection can slip past our reasoning and sink into our hearts.

Depending on our personality and where we are emotionally our hearts might flare up in anger at the injustice or in pain at the judgement. The next natural self-protective step is to close ourselves off from others. Because quite frankly, if having relationships is going to hurt this much - it just isn't worth it.

When I find myself on the outside looking in these are a few of the things I focus on:

• God chose me, I did not choose Him (John 15:16); He loves me and will not forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6).
•  I can't earn acceptance, but I can give acceptance and choose relationships wisely (Proverbs 15:22). Proving myself to be trustworthy.

A true friend is always loyal, 
and a brother is born to help in time of need.

Proverbs 17:17 TLB

Two can accomplish more than twice as much as one, 
for the results can be much better.

If one falls, the other pulls him up; but if a man falls 
when he is alone, he’s in trouble. 
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 TLB

Dear Lord, Thank You for watching over us and protecting us as we weather all of the emotional storms of relationships. When we find ourselves on the outside looking in, remind us to reach out a hand of friendship so that we will not be alone. Help us to lay down the pain and sorrow that distracts us from doing what is right and walking in peace (see Deuteronomy 6:17-18). In Jesus name, amen.

Written by 
Mary M. Wilkins

BLACK SHEEP... Sunday

Devotional for 5/31/15

The term "black sheep" is an idiom in many languages that means an individual in a family or group that does not fit in and is of ill-repute.  It comes from the fact that the black wool is unable to be dyed like the white wool is, thereby making the black sheep less desirable.  There are generally fewer black than white sheep in a herd, since it is from a recessive gene, which makes them stand out.  Interestingly, in the Old West, black sheep were used to help keep count of how many were in the herd.  Every 100th sheep was a black sheep, so if one counted the black sheep, it was like counting by hundreds. 

Have you ever felt like something you did or said made you the "black sheep" in your family or in a group?  It may have been hard to change that image of you in other people's minds once it was established.  Have you ever felt as if you just didn't quite fit in with the crowd?  Sometimes that is a good thing, if the crowd is undesirable in some way.  So sometimes it is good to be the "black sheep" or the different one, just like the sheep in the Old West helped them keep the flock count. 

From God's perspective we are ALL black sheep.  We have all sinned and fall short of his glory.  But the amazing thing is that God still loves us, lays our sins upon his only Son and sacrifices him on the cross in our place, forgiving us and giving us eternal life with him in heaven.

Isaiah 53:6, 11-12 (The Message)  We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.  We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.  And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him... Out of that terrible travail of soul, he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many "righteous ones," as he himself caries the burden of their sins.  Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly - the best of everything, the highest honors - Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest.  He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

No matter what we have done or not done, said or not said, no matter how bad we feel we have been or how far we have fallen, we are all in the same flock - loved, forgiven and redeemed by Jesus.  We can never become so lost that the Shepherd cannot find us and bring us back.  We are all the beloved little lambs of his flock.

Dear Lord Jesus, our great Shepherd, we thank you for seeing us all as your beloved flock.  When we see ourselves as unforgivable "black sheep," gently remind us that we are no different than anyone else.  We have all gone astray.  As we turn to you for forgiveness, gently lead us back into your fold.  May we be living examples of your love to all the other lambs of this world.  In your name we pray, Amen.

written by Jan Andersen

HEADACHES AND HASSLES...Saturday

5/30/15

"Make every effort to enter 

through the narrow door, 

because many, I tell you, will try 

to enter and will not be able to." 

Luke 13:24

     The Jewish religious establishment had a system of 613 laws which people were to follow.  Talk about a headache. How would a person remember them all let alone keep them?

     Many people today can't even recite the Ten Commandments, yet most of these people would tell you they are good people; in comparison to other people they are a "cut above" most.

     Jesus tells His disciples that there is a narrow door to pleasing God and entrance into it isn't by keeping these laws to the letter.  Unfortunately, "good enough' in comparison with others isn't the answer for a God who is holy and demands absolute perfection.

     So, how do we avoid the hassle of trying to fulfill the laws' demands and be able to enter the kingdom of heaven?

     Jesus is that narrow door.  He fulfilled the law perfectly for all of us sinners.  Then he died on the cross to pay the penalty for all of our sins.  After His resurrection He ascended to the right hand of God the Father where He intercedes for us.  By the power of the Holy Spirit all we need have is faith in Him.

     We can ascend to Mt. Zion, to the throne of the living God as everything has been accomplished for us.  It is a free gift without any personal headaches or hassles.

Written by 

Carol Steficek

    

Rebuild with Jesus...Friday

May 29, 2015 

This morning on my drive to work, I see in one lane a demolition truck and in the other lane a construction truck.  It stuck me at that moment that we as humans are continually doing the same thing….causing destruction and then rebuilding.  Myself, I cause the most destruction to myself with my negative thoughts and self talk.  I am much better than I used to be about it. However, I believe that it is always a very good thing to keep working on and pressing forward to improve by consciously talking to God about it and in the process getting closer to Jesus.  My intention is to not be living in destruction, but, to be living a life of peace and love.  I don’t want to be wallowing in negativity.  Just as the word says….

 “Arise and go,

For this is no place of rest

Because of the uncleanness that brings on destruction,

A painful destruction.Micah 2:10 
 (NASB)

 And so I shall….move away from the destruction and rebuild!! Amen, what a gracious God we have that shows us the glory of renewal.  He sent His only son to save each and every one of us from destruction.  We are never perfect, but He is, and He created us to be constructive in good works, to walk hand in hand with Jesus.

  For we are His workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus for good works, 

which God prepared beforehand

so that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10       

 (NASB)

Along with building myself up by stopping the negative talk, I will be able to share and show the love of Jesus to others.  By keeping my heart filled with the spirit of love, it is going to show on my face and with my actions.  The peaceful construction will then fall into places all over the world.  Some that may have never been able to grow previously due to never knowing the power Jesus has to build.  After all, He was a carpenter!!

Written by 

Kelly Dobyns

When Love Sees You...Thursday

5/28/15

I recently heard about a CD set called "The Story." It has one cd that has songs about people of the Old Testament, and the other is about stories from the New Testament. In every song there are little gems that really touch one's heart. The song I have posted below is entirely heart touching. It is sung by Jesus who tells of events in His life that He sees through the eyes of love.

Music is a very touching way to relate to many topics. The poetry found in songs plus the beauty of melodies can open your mind's eye to a beautiful side of a story that has not been noticed before. To hear Mac Powell sing the song in the words of Jesus filled with so much love...even for Judas. "Blessed are  you with your silver and lies kidding the One who is saving your life." Imagine that. 

I have found that I needed to listen to the songs on these Cd's several times to get all the gems that are found in them. Listen to this song, and I think you will be moved at the "words of Jesus."

We know the stories, but this music brings the story to a new, soft and beautiful side.

Written by 

Corinne Mustafa

"He Is Our Sure Foundation"...Wednesday

5/27/15

 

Recently some good friends of ours had some extensive tornado damage in their town and to their home. Two  people were killed and many literally lost their entire homes. The people that lived across the street from them, in the midst of the storm their home was totally twisted and lifted off its foundation, and  six people came out untouched. 

Our friends had windows blown out and a door that flew off its hinges through the house. They came from it without a scratch as well. Our friend  shared that the structural  engineer and insurance adjuster have  said how well their house was built when they inspected the attic. Their house stood firm and solid in the midst of the tornado.

 

In Isaiah  28:16 the Lord tells us...

"Therefore thus saith the Lord God, 

Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, 

a  precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; 

he that believeth shall not make haste."

 

The Lord God Almighty is our sure foundation, our rock in which we stand steadfast! When we believeth in Him and trust completely in Christ, the storms may come but we shall not be shaken or moved but remain strong on our sure foundation Jesus Christ!

 

I will forever praise the Lord knowing that my foundation in Him will not crumble or be uprooted but will remain intact and untouched forever more!!

 

In His Sure Foundation, 

Sandy Billingham

GOD’S DIAMONDS...Tuesday

5/26/15

Today I drove out to a town in the San Joaquin  Valley about an hour away. It is not the most picturesque location I have been to. Travelling along a busy highway through a string small cities is not a trip through a national park. Still as I was riding home I was thinking about what to write for tomorrow's devotional. The poem below came to mind.  The name of it is "God's Diamonds." I told myself that I could use this poem as a devotional for Tuesday. 

When I was driving home the sun was low in the sky and the light shone in the golden way that it does before sunset. As I turned toward home I went up a hilly area called the Altamont. The afore mentioned golden light shone and made an area of dried grass and wind mills look incredible. The fact is that God shines His light on things that are less than beautiful they become beautiful.They become God's Diamonds, and there is a lot to learn about them and God's work. That works in nature and people (even people from those unremarkable cities ) as well.  Everything takes on an amazing beauty when God shines his light on it.   

Here is the poem... "God's Diamonds"...                                

  

Looking at the leaves

Roses not blooming just yet

Colored rust and green.

Early morning sun

Shining down on the garden

Mottled shade and sun.

Suddenly I see

Diamonds shining everywhere.

Where do they come from.

They’re a gift of God

Delightful and beautiful

Dew drops on each leaf.

And then I notice

The leaves are rimmed with small spikes

Edges scalloped points.

It comes to my mind

That life gives challenge too

Spikes to climb over.

But it’s when we climb

If we will learn His lessons

God’s diamonds are won.

Written by

Corinne Mustafa   

Lessons from the Baptism of Jesus...Sunday

Jan Andersen is away this weekend. I had planned to write a devotional in her place. However, we have a frequent visitor at our church from Nigeria. His name is Brother Thomas Ukwute and the leader of many satellite churches there. He writes wonderful and insightful devotionals, and I thought I would share this one with you....Corinne Mustafa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5/24/15

Thomas Ukwute

Matthew 3:16-17

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

When Jesus was baptized the following occurred... 

1. The heavens opened unto Him.
I pray that the Lord will cause the heavens above you to be opened to release upon you the anointing that will bring freedom and victory to whoever you will meet this weekend in the name of Jesus Christ. May He fill your life with grace and cause the favour of God to follow your life and ministry in Jesus name. Amen. 

2. He saw the Spirit of God descending upon Him.
Lord, I ask that your children will see the work of the Holy Spirit with them this weekend to give the result that they had long desired. May this weekend be an exceptional Weekend at every level in Jesus name. 

3. The voice endorsed Him. "This is my son." 
Oh Lord, may we go in your endorsement to bring down the walls of the enemy. May we go in the strength of the Spirit to dismantle every obstacle and every barriers on our ways in the name of Jesus. I proclaim success into your life and work this weekend and Crown our efforts with success in the name of Jesus. Amen.

WATER OF LIFE...Saturday

 5/23/15

"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'
And let him who hears say, 'Come!'  

whoever is thirsty, let him come, 

and whoever wishes, 

let him take the free gift 

of the water of life." 

Revelation 22:17

    

       Living in a desert region in the southwest United States, I can really appreciate the gift of a glass of water on a hot, dry day.  Human beings can go a long time without food and other necessities, but we all require water.  Our bodies are mainly made up of water.

     Jesus is the gift of the water of life.  To the woman at the well He said that whoever drinks His water will never again be thirsty.  Christians who seek a more intimate relationship with the Lord, thirst for His life-giving Word and His presence.

     God gives freely to drink to all of us on earth who are thirsty for Him.  To all who have come to faith in Jesus as their Savior, someday in heaven we will thirst no more.  We will drink from the water of life that flows from the throne of God.  We will live in God's presence and be refreshed forever more.

     

Are you thirsty?  

Come take the free gift of the water of life.  

Come to Jesus.

Written by 

Carol Steficek

Starting Over...Friday

May 22, 2015 

I am teaching myself to crochet.  I knew how to do it when I was a child, and was never very advanced at it, but, I could make a few pot holders and such.  Since I am not very good at following through on things, or setting goals and meeting them, I recently set a goal for myself to be able to make a blanket for my first grandchild, whenever that may happen.  I thought by making it more of a personal and fun goal I would be more apt to follow through.  

Well, I am having fun with it, and these days of You Tube videos, it is really rather easy to learn something, as long as you can follow the video and work along with it.  The basics came back to me quite quickly.  As I have been practicing and learning just the basics stitches, I have found where I have missed a stitch on a row or added too many, therefore making things uneven.  So, I take it out and continue on from there again.  A couple of times I have taken out the whole thing and started over.  One day as I was doing so I thought about how we do that in life.  Wouldn’t life be so much easier if when we see an uneven spot we could just pull it all out and start all over from where the little bump was or the uncomfortable stitch was bugging us?  Or just say, I don’t like the way this is turning out, I am just going to start all over completely!

 The thing we need to remember about life is that God is always right there with us through every stitch and loop, even the bumpy and uneven ones.  He is there for us when we need to stop and start over.  When our life has become unraveled, all we need to do is face Him and ask.  He will gladly be there with open arms for us always!

 “Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God 

so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing
to refresh you, and send you the Messiah He prepared for you,
namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight
in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old,
said it would be. Moses, for instance, said,
‘Your God will raise up for you a prophet just like m
e from your family. Listen to every word he speaks to you.
Every last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet
will be wiped out from the people.’

Acts 3:19-23

 (MSG)

If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves.
A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand,
 if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—
He won’t let us down; He’ll be true to Himself.
He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.
If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God
—make a liar out of Him. A claim like that only
shows off our ignorance of God.

1 John 1:9
(MSG) 

Lord, I am ready to change, to start fresh, I realize that I have made a mess of things and I need you to sort out and be by my side so that I can carry on with a clean and happy heart.  Thank you so much for always keeping me with you, for always forgiving me of my sins and imperfections.  The things that I do in this world that cause me to be so uneven and create bumps in my path.  I am so blessed that you help me to straighten all of it out.  In your sons gorgeous name, Amen!

Written by
Kelly Dobyns

  

Hearing Small Voice...Thursday

^5/21/15

 ^{And they heard the sound of the LORD God}

^{walking in the garden in the cool of the day,} 

^{and Adam and his wife hid themselves} 

^{from the presence of the LORD God} 

^{among the trees of the garden}  

^{Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him,} 

^{“Where are you?”  So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid….}

^{Genesis 3:8-10}

     ^{Lately I have been thinking about the things I don’t want to let go of, or deal with, or feel, or let God into, or listen to HIS voice speak into and these have been things I want to handle, figure out and pretty much do Myself and My way..and as Dr. Phil would say, “how’s that working for you?”.  It’s not.  I really haven’t been able to find the answers in most of these areas.  So, I asked God to start speaking to me about my issue, and have found; sometimes I want to hear, sometimes I don’t, sometimes I go ahead fast so I don’t have to think about it and can do it my way…None of this is working.  I am pretty much hiding in the garden!}

     ^{I am taking it moment by moment, trusting God to guide my day, and asking HIM to speak in the area that I have walled off for myself …First I had to see the area I haven’t let HIM into, asking forgiveness for not wanting to hear His voice in this area, giving HIM permission to have this area of my life, and HE has been faithful to allow me to hear, “small voice” ..I am still choosing, at times, to do things my way and not listen; but am finding out the hard way, I would rather do things HIS way.}

     

I don’t want to hide, and I don’t want to be hidden…I want to talk to my best friend and enjoy HIS fellowship and walk in step with HIM . I guess that makes me a “daddy’s girl”.            

  ^{May today be a day
of} 

^{HEARING
SMALL VOICE….}

Written by

^{Kathy Bireley}

"Heavenly Laughter"...Wednesday

5/20/15

Jesus is the author of joy and with that joy comes laughter!! And when laughter comes the results are always tremendous. Your heart becomes lighter and life seems so much brighter! 

This past weekend a friend of mine and myself attended what is called a "Color Run." It is a 3 mile run or walk with several different stations on the trail. Each station has a specific color and as you walk through that station you are blasted with brilliant color from top to bottom. At the end you have walked through about 8 stations and are literally a walking rainbow. Each time Cindy and I entered the stations we would run through with exhilarating laughter from the blasts of color. We felt like little kids just lapping up all the fun around us! We laughed and smiled and had such an exuberating time together amongst the mammoth crowd!

Isn't that just like our God to give us an abundance and overflow of "Heavenly Laughter"? He loves to watch His children laugh with sheer delight. 

In fact in His Word it says in Job 8:21...

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughing , 

And your lips with rejoicing." 

I can just imagine Jesus as He watches us laugh and enjoy our self that He laughs with us!! 

We are getting a sweet taste of what Heaven will be like as the Lord fills our mouth with delightful laughter!! 

In His Laughter, 

Sandy Billingham

The Presence of God...Tuesday

5/19/15

His presence within us is God’s guarantee that
He really will give us all that He promised;
and the Spirit’s seal upon us means that God
has already purchased us and that He guarantees
to bring us to Himself. This is just one more reason
for us to praise our glorious God.
Ephesians 1:14

Sunday our pastor's message was about the presence of God. As a child I had learned that God is everywhere. I believed it as I do now, but I was not quite aware of what it meant. I thought that He was somehow floating out in the universe keeping an eye on His creation. I knew that He would hear me if I prayed or talked to Him.  I did not think that He could or would talk to me. I believed that He would answer prayers that were prayed if they were His will. I also knew that our bodies are the Temples of the Holy Spirit. Still I did not process it to the obvious conclusion that this meant that He was as close to me as my heart. His presence is up close and personal.

One night, a short time after I had accepted Jesus formally as my Lord and Savior, I was talking on the phone with a friend. I began to feel different...as if I was in a different kind of air both inside and out. My friend on the phone knew it as well. She said, "Corinne, I need to hang up. God is with you." I told her that I could feel Him, too. We hung up, and I was in His presence for more than a half hour. It was so beautiful. I really began to understand how close His presence is.

Am I the only one who is awed by these facts? The God of the universe and Creator of all that there is stays this close to us. We do not see Him as Adam and Eve when they took sunset walks with Him in the garden. He wanted fellowship then with people then, and He wants fellowship with us now. Keep reminding yourself of His presence and it will become a habit to always be aware of it.

Written by 
Corinne Mustafa

The word topography that I have posted below
gives a great explanation of how close He is.
It is called "He is Here"
It is performed by Amena Brown