What Are You Saying...by Mary

Devotional for August 18, 2011


Repost from October 21,2010

Do you ever forward emails? You know the ones with the cute pictures of puppies and kittens, or babies and dogs. Or do you read the warnings concerning our health, the government or even our computers? Be honest, how many emails do you forward? How many forwards do you read? I was just reading some of these forwards and I noticed two things about myself. One, I am lazy. Two, it is so easy for me to believe what I read when it’s on the computer.


The lazy factor comes as no surprise to me. I read an email subject line that said even lazy people can lose weight. Even though my brain knows that it’s a trick or play on words, my heart starts beating hopefully as I click the link to read the article to see what lazy thing I might do to lose my unwanted pounds. I am laughing at myself as I read how important it is to get the proper amount of sleep each night (6-8 hours for most people) and that in the case of sleep, more is not better. Sigh, isn’t that always the way?


As for believing what I read it is a two-edged sword. We have all been taught that something is only as reliable as its source. It is already time-consuming to read something. To then take more time to double check the truth of every item by reading yet another article makes me start to wonder if it is worth reading anything in the first place. I will keep reading. When I read a forward that offers advice, before swallowing it, I check one of the research sites that checks into the truth of emails that currently circulate through our inboxes. But even in those instances, each site can only be as unbiased and balanced as their research.


Fortunately, or rather, amazingly, there is a plenty of reading available that does not need to be double-checked. The bible is full of history, drama, warnings and even humor in the midst of crisis. The pictures are word pictures. The humor can be ironic, embarrassing or sad. Really, how stubborn was Jonah that he hung out for three days in the stomach of the great fish before he prayed to God? How about a mom mortification moment to liven up an event? The scene is the last supper; the disciples know it is a special time. It is the Passover meal, Jesus has been washing each of their feet as they recline at the table and teaching them about leadership and what is to come. In a classic show of mankind’s self-focus, there is a sidebar discussion at the table about which of them is the greatest. All I am going to say is that I think it was a good thing that no parents were present at the meal! Of course, I know if I had been there, I would have been just as puffed up and prideful as others.


Reliable reading/information is available to us. It is His Word. Open it up and see what word picture is waiting for you today. No need to wonder if you can believe it. He is faithful and true. He loves you. His Word is the map that will lead you to the right path, encourage you to persevere when you are going the correct way, and warn you when you are on the wrong path or near a slippery slope.


What did you say? You already know that and believe it, too. That is excellent. Then I will ask you what I have been asked for the last few weeks in my bible study: are you living like you believe God’s word is true? Actions speak louder than words. What do your actions say about you?


Proverbs 23:7: For as he thinks within himself, so he is. (NASB)


James 1:26: If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. (NLT)


1 John 1:8-10: If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. (NLT)


I am taking an honest look at what my actions say about what I believe and it is humbling. Thankfully God is willing to help anyone who will ask Him. Are you ready to ask?


Written by Mary M. Wilkins

God is Far Greater...Sandy

There have been times in my life when I have allowed different situations and circumstances to appear much bigger than my God. To make matters worse the more I would dwell on that problem, my God would continue to become smaller and smaller.  

That is quite the contrary. God's word says in 1 John 4:4… 

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them,

 because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 

Our God who lives in us, is far greater than any problem we could ever face in our life. He is well aware of what is going on in our life and highly capable of taking care of His children. He is our "Abba Daddy" and loves to help His children. 

Our God knows exactly what it takes to handle our situation and if we will but trust Him, He will walk with us through our problem every step of the way to victory!

His word also says that through Him we are "more than conquerors" and more than overcomers." By surrendering my full trust in Christ and full focus on Him, I can have great confidence in getting through every circumstance I face victoriously! 

Written by Sandy B.

Squeezing Into the World's Molds...Annie

And be not conformed to this world:

but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,

and perfect, will of God.

ROMANS 12:2

___________________________________________________________________________

The Phillips translation says, "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould," a vivid picture and excellent interpretation of what Paul really meant. If one is not alert and resisting its temptations, the world has the power to form and shape a person. It must be resisted!

In the previous verse, Paul says we need to sacrifice ourselves and strongly implies that such sacrifice involves pain. Babylon avoids suffering at all costs (Revelation 18:7)! If we fail to sacrifice ourselves, the world will have free sway and squeeze us into its mold. The world has an influence on the mind (called "the heart" in the Bible), on our emotions, and on our attitudes, and this influence ultimately shows in our conduct. Conduct begins with our attitudes, with our points of view, with our values, standards, and ideals. If those values, standards, and ideals contradict the way of God, we cannot resist the world's constant pressure to squeeze us into its mold.

submitted by: Annie

Psalm Twenty Three

I just wanted to share one of my favorite psalms with you today. It is precious to me because it is a beautiful picture of God's provision, protection, guidance, healing and a glimpse into our eternal future with Him.

Repost from October 3, 2910

A Psalm of David

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

3 He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

(NIV)

-Shared by Cathy F.

OXYMORONS

Devotional for Sunday August 13, 2011

An oxymoron is when two seemingly opposite words are put together as a phrase, such as "deafening silence".  Even the word "oxymoron" itself is an oxymoron, being from Greek meaning "sharp dull".  Some are just sarcastic, such as "cafeteria food" for those who dislike cafeteria food.  Or politically satirical such as "military intelligence".  How many can you think of?   Here are some other examples: jumbo shrimp, responsible government, new antiques, wide Narrows, awfully good, pretty ugly, found missing, seriously funny, definite maybe, and same difference.

There are even some things in the Bible that seem to be oxymorons.  In one set of passages we read about living stones:

 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

 I Peter 2:4-5 NIV

Living means having life, breathing, growing, not dead, capable of reproducing another life.  Stone means a solid mineral material, a firm hard mass, which is normally thought of as non-living.  But in this passage, speaking of God, living means he has life, in human form among us, tangible, personal, compassionate, a real presence, able to give life, and stone refers to a firm foundation on which to build the church body of all believers, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.  He is our rock and our salvation.  

Another oxymoronic passage in the Bible is about our foolish God:

 

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved it is the power of God...  

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, 

God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.  

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: 

a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 

but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks,

Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, 

and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 

I Corinthians 1:18, 21-25 NIV

God is certainly not foolish, but he may seem to be a fool to those considered "wise" by earthly standards.  It may seem foolish to them that a god would let himself die in order to give others new life, but we Christians know how profoundly merciful that action is and that he rose again and lives forever.

Let's not be oxymorons ourselves in life - universalist Christians, wandering followers, or lost faithful.  As Christians let us boldly proclaim Christ as the one and only Savior of all, be shining examples in our actions, and be faithful until the very end!

written by Jan A.,

faithful Christian follower

LIFE

Devotional for August 13, 2011

Repost from 9/14/2010
 
After studying Job chapters 1-3, I meditated on chapter 3 and Job’s lament. Here we have Job not only cursing the day he was born, but even the day he was conceived. I've never been in such deep depression in my own life, but, after all that he'd been through, I can't say that I blame him for expressing such extremes. I really can't fathom the amount of pain he was in. However, verses 16 and 17 speak of his desire to have died before he even left the womb and how much better he felt it would've been to never have been born in order to avoid such pain.

My mind went to the issue of miscarriages, abortions, and still births...lives coming to an end before they've even had the chance to begin. It seems to me that one of the typical phrases used to consul someone when they've lost a loved one is "They're in a better place." I know that these are typical words even in the case of a life that was ended before it was born. It seems that worldly wisdom would have us believe that the reason for the life to have ended was God's way of allowing the child to avoid something in life. The usual reasons would be, "...painful medical challenges...," and, "...traumatic family life...." But after reading Job's wish to have perished in the womb himself, my gut feeling told me that there are no justifiable reasons to explain the loss of a life, especially a life that never even had a chance to begin.

Such a tragedy is exactly just that...a tragedy; the type of occurrences that have no explanation to them because we don't have the mind of God. If we're right in explaining away a life because they would avoid suffering, then what does that say about those who survive in spite of the suffering they have in store for them? I guess my question is this, do we not value life the way we should? Shouldn't we value just being alive far beyond the suffering that's experienced? I really think that there's more to this "being alive thing" that we just don't fully grasp. After all, I can't think of a single person who could tell me what it's like to never have been given a chance. Can you?


Why is it that even in the greatest physical suffering when the mind is telling the body to give up and wishing that its life was over, the body is still going through all the survival mechanisms programmed into it (by God Himself) to keep the body alive? It's not as easy as the mind telling the body to die. The body just keeps on fighting to live.


Could it be that all the miscarried, aborted and stillborn babies who are with Jesus right now are, dare I say, envious that they never made it past the womb alive and experienced the breath of life that God desires for all of us to have? Is there something about having that breath, even just once, that we just don't get? It's a gift, isn't it? I don't think we understand how great of a gift it truly is...so great that it's worth all the suffering that comes along with it.


Now technically, I do believe that life begins at conception, not birth. (That makes it all the more significant that Job not only cursed the day he was born, but the day he was conceived. He must have been a believer in life beginning at conception as well.) Although the lungs aren't fully expanded and filled with air until birth, I believe that God's breath of life fills us the moment we're conceived...that moment that two cells come together and a living being is created...that moment that cannot be explained by science as to why and how it happens but just that it happens is the moment that God steps in and does what science cannot do. After all, the first breath of life was breathed into man by God Himself.


So maybe I’m wrong in thinking that they (the unborn babies) had no chance to live since they lived right from conception. You can’t die if you didn’t live, and a life ended before birth is still a life ended. The point is that life is so precious. There's just no "reason" for it ever to be ended except that we live in a fallen world, for living in a fallen world is the only answer to why…why do such tragedies occur? And if it is such a tragedy, why wish for it? You can’t remedy one tragic situation by wishing for another.


O.K., I will concede that in one sense, death is a blessing. The moment that sin entered the world, death came along with it and most of the time death is viewed as a curse, but there is mercy in it. For if God was not merciful enough to allow for death, we would all be living forever in a cursed world. But God is just. He has our days numbered and decides when He’ll allow for death to come. Since, as I said before, we don’t have the mind of God, we can never do justice to the reasons why death comes at the times that it does. We can be sorry for it, we can thank God for His wisdom in it, but we just should never wish for it. Let's not forget that although God did not necessarily step in and prevent Job's suffering, He was not willing for Job to lose his life.

Genesis 2:7

 The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground

and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,

and the man became a living being.

Amie Spruiell 9/14/2010

The Lord’s Table

The Lord’s Table 

Devotional for Friday, August 12
Repost from October, 2010

I am reminded this morning of growing up with my Grandma and eating meals at her table. There were certain behaviors that were acceptable, and expected. Most importantly, I remember that her table was a place of privilege.

Even at a very young age, I understood that I had a “place” there. No matter how many others were present at the time, my “place” was never filled by anyone else. It was “reserved” just for me, and that reservation was never in question of being cancelled. It did not matter if it was day or night, sunshine or clouds, a season of harvest or famine. I knew I belonged there, because I was loved and accepted by my Grandma.


So it is with the Lord’s Table. No matter how young or old, how rich or poor, how successful or lacking we are, we all have a “place” reserved just for us. It is a place that cannot be filled by any other. This place is ours, and that never changes. Whether we choose to accept this place or not is up to us, our decision does not determine its availability.



In Psalm 23:5, David speaks of the Lord “preparing a table” before him in the presence of his enemies. So it was for him, and so it is with us. One thing that I was always sure of was that my Grandma was always for me, she was never against me. She was always on my side. No person or circumstance could ever sway her from that position. When everything else in my life seemed to be going wrong, I could always come to my Grandma’s table and find not only nourishment for my body, but encouragement for my spirit, as well.

You see, she had “prepared” beforehand. Actually, I believe that she lives in a state of “preparedness.” Every day she reads God’s Word, and she prays. She brings her heart and her petitions for her family before the Lord. She gives Him her concerns, and He gives her His peace, and wisdom. She knows His voice, because she has taken the time to become closely acquainted with Him throughout the many years and challenges of her life.



So it is with the Lord, also. He has “prepared” a place for each one of us. Although the enemy of our souls would come only to kill, steal and destroy us, our Lord came that we might not only have life, but life in abundance, till it overflows (John 10:10). What an amazing truth this is. Even before we understood our need to be reconciled with His Father, Jesus was making a way for us. He was “setting the table” so to speak. He was waiting for us to come. He still is.

Whether I came as a child or as a full grown woman with children of my own, and now even three precious grandchildren, my Grandma’s welcome has never ceased. Her warm smile and loving embrace are always there to greet me. It is something that I have learned to depend on. Her love and faith have helped me throughout the many changing seasons of my life. She has remained constant in her love, and true in her devotion to the Lord. She is someone that I not only admire, but that I deeply respect. Because of her, I have learned how to “set” my own table, and to “prepare” for those that the Lord would bring me.



I am thankful for the loving example of my Grandmother, and for the amazing devotion of her Lord and Savior. How loved we are, that we can call Him our own. How precious it is that He would sit and dine with us, in a place the He had prepared for us, and then teach us to do the same… for others.



Written by Beverley A. Napier