TWO EARS, ONE MOUTH... Sunday

Devotional for July 21, 2013

There was a little girl who loved to talk.  She sometimes would chatter away without even thinking of whether anyone was listening or cared about what she had to say.  She was just bubbling over with stories to tell, things to announce, news to report.  There was excitement in her voice that built with each piece of information she shared.

Sometimes her mother would become exasperated with her daughter's jabber.  When the mom could no longer ignore the incessant clamor, she would stop her daughter by giving her a chore to do or suggest a book to read.  One day she said to her daughter, "Do you know why God gave us two ears and one mouth?  So that we could listen twice as much as we speak."

That message may have gone right over the little girl's head, but I think we know what the mom meant.  There may be times we are like that with others, excited to talk about everything going on in our lives, but not taking into consideration whether our "audience" is listening or interested. More importantly, sometimes we forget to listen to what other people have to say, perhaps because we feel what we have to say is more important, more correct, or more exciting.  Actively listening to what others have to say actually gives us a better chance of being truly heard when we speak.

Perhaps we also treat God that way.  We constantly come to him with requests or complaints, asking in prayer for things to be done the way we think they ought to be done, etc. without stopping to listen to what God has to say.  Praying is when we speak to God; meditation is when we listen to God.  Many don't even know how to meditate or attend to God's messages.  One way is through studying his written word, the Bible.  If we read and truly try to digest what it says, especially with guidance from those who have studied it in depth, we can hear God speak to us.  Sometimes it is reading a Bible verse and then sitting quietly to reflect on it.  Other people choose to play spiritual music and contemplate on God's desire for their lives.  There is no one right way to meditate.  It generally involves clearing our minds of distracting things, and listening to what God has to say.  Maybe we need to remember that God gave us two ears and one mouth, and we can try to listen twice as much as speaking to him this week.  We might find a new perspective on things!

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Psalm 19:14

written by Jan Andersen

Our struggle...Saturday

Devotional...7/20/13


We are the sum total of all that has gone before...all the good times...all the bad times...and everything in between. Sometimes the temptation is to give ourselves excuses for all the choices we have made...believing that we had no choices.  Although there is some believably in this paradigm, the truth is that we do have choices.  Some of us are better able to make good choices than others of us. Why is this? It is a factor of personality and individual strength.


I remember a time when I was blindsided by a temptation that I never expected.  You know if Satan told us to kill someone we would recognize it in a heartbeat.  This was much more obtuse and hidden.  I did not recognize it and fell right into the trap. After almost ten years I am still working on rising above this crashing fall that I experienced.

What about my growing up years made such a fall possible.  I still am not sure, but I do know that it is possible to rise above such temptation. It is necessary to be vigilant and remember that the enemy is one who hates us and plots our downfall. We need to remember...

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, 

against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world 

and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Ephesians 6:12 

NIV

Written by

Corinne Mustafa

Security...Friday

Devotional...7/19/13

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High 

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  

I will say of the Lord, 

"He is my refuge and my fortress, 

my God, in whom I trust." 

Psalm 91:1, 2

     

One of the basic needs of all human beings is a feeling of security.  We see this immediately with babies as they respond to their mothers who supply all of their needs including love.  As growing children we see this in the way they respond to their parents -- holding their hands as toddlers, dashing for a parent to cry in their arms when hurt, rushing home after school to the security of their own home and room.

     Adults seek this same security.  One thing which can be said of the world today is that it offers no one any security.  This is evident by events such as the Boston bombing that happened in a crowd while watching a marathon, or towns flattened by plant explosions and tornadoes.  Even our very private homes and possessions are not safe from theft.  Neither are our personal identities via computer or credit cards.  We live in a very insecure world.

     So where does the Christian find security? -- only in One, and that is our heavenly Father.  He has never promised a trouble free life.  The same thing happens to Christians as all the other people in the world.  God does, however, promise He will be our refuge and fortress in the midst of calamity and hardship.  No matter what happens He is our security and will see us through life until He takes us home.  The Christian feels a special peace in the midst of everything -- which other people only long for.  Just like a mother bird shelters her young under her wings, so God shelters His children.  Trust Him for your true security.

Written by

Carol Steficek

Great Grace

Devotional...7/18/13

Yet we know that a person is made right with God 

by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. 

And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right 

with God because of our faith in Christ, 

not because we have obeyed the law. 

For no one will ever be made right with God 

by obeying the law.”

But suppose we seek to be made right with God

 through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty 

because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ

 has led us into sin? Absolutely not!

Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system 

of law I already tore down. 

For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me.

 So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet 

all its requirements—so that I might live for God.

 My old self has been crucified with Christ. 

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. 

So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, 

who loved me and gave himself for me. 

I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. 

For if keeping the law could make us right with God, 

then there was no need for Christ to die.

GALATIANS 2:16-21

New Living Translation (NLT)

In the book of Galatians Paul asks the Galatians this question that I am about to ask you.  After being set free from slavery why would you ever want to go back?  If believers are justified by grace through Christ why are we insisting on other requirements, either by ourselves or by others?  We know very well that we are not made right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ.  How do I know this I tried it.  No one can please God by self-improvement

The Message says it this way   : I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

We are declared righteous because of what Jesus did for us not what we can do for Jesus. It has been fixed!!

Why do we insist on going back to the Old Covenant? When we have a New and Better Covenant!! Family of believers do you know that we live under a New and Better Covenant?  Do you know we have freedom from the Old Covenant because of Jesus?  We live in exciting times; we live under a New Covenant.  We live in Health, wholeness, prosperity, the King of kings lives in us the one who raised Christ from the dead lives in us, there is nothing we can not do!!!

We have been told or have believed that if we are not holy or follow the law we will not be blessed by God or that He will not move on our behalf, which is just not true.  What is true is that  Christianity encourages Holiness but not for the purpose of justification.  Family, holiness is a by product of fruit from salvation.

We cannot substitute our right actions for trusting in Jesus, it is through Christ alone that we have been saved, it is a commitment to Jesus not to our goodness. We must stop trusting our self for salvation by works.  Works do not save us, only Jesus does.  When we are trusting in our holiness/works we have no joy, no peace, but when we trust in our Jesus- we work in joy, we have peace, the Light of the World pours forth from us.  Burden of performance makes the weight of salvation on our shoulders; it sucks the life right out of you.  Most men and women of God are doing/working at pleasing God because they believe that is the only way to make God accept them.  We cannot enjoy the benefit OF our salvation by working at being accepted.  I am here to tell you Jesus has pleased God for us, He paid the price, and there is nothing more you can do.

Most of the church today is trying to “do to get” They still feel inside like “sinners saved by grace.” So they live by the law or performance lifestyle.  They think, “If I just do this or that I will be more pleasing to God so then God will like me more and then bless me more.”
 

Romans 7:4 

says that we are free from the law

God is not looking for a performance lifestyle in order to gain His approval.  We must realize that we have already been accepted, approved and blessed because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Our lives change because we are approved by God.  It is from grace that worship will spring full of thanksgiving, full of praise and full of glory.  If we want to see the manifested presence of God in our lives and in our churches today, we must realize that only grace will cause God’s presence to be revealed.  Do you know that where you go He goes with you?  Yes He is here right now with us because you and I are here.

Acts 4:33

says “And with great power the apostles gave witness 

to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all.”

The apostles realized that the greatness was not them, but the greatness was of the Lord.  Great Grace is upon us.

James 1:5 

If you want to know what God wants you to do ask Him, 

and He will gladly tell you.

Psalm 145:13 

The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made.

Written by
Kathryn Hanson

"Rich Wisdom From Heaven"...Wednesday

Devotional...6/17/13

I was just thinking how thankful I am that our Heavenly Father does not leave us on this earth to figure things out on our own. If that were the case, I would clearly be in deep trouble. The great news for each of us, is that God has the answer for everything we need.

His word tells us…

 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
and it will be given to him."

James 1:5…

God so graciously and so generously desires to show us His great wisdom in every situation we need an answer to.

As we so specifically bring our prayer requests onto God, asking Him for His great Wisdom, we can expect His strong direction. He wants to reveal to us the solutions to our circumstances when we haven't a clue what to do. If will seek Him and wait and listen by faith, His Wisdom will be unfolded before us.

After all, why would we go to anyone else for answers but Him? His Wisdom has been proven pure and true through the ages. God truly will show us His ways which are always the best ways for each of us.

In His Radical Love, 

Sandy Billingham

And the Winner is -----! (Tuesday)

Devotional...7/16/13

My name is Intrepid.  I’m a reporter. My partner’s name is Spirit. The Holy Spirit.  We walk through God’s Word and find the truth about life.  I like my work. I’m in training.    The Holy Spirit knows what to look for and I follow his directions.  I learn new things, remember something forgotten, or had not understood at the time.

Today we were covering a race.  The participants are anxiously awaiting the call that will send them on the way to the goal.  Cheerleaders consist of family, friends, and strangers. Volunteers space themselves along the route with bottles of water, sweat bands, towels.

The runners are called into position.  Silence settles over the scene.  The starting pistol is fired.  

The race is on!

                            

The voices of the cheerleaders is almost deafening as the surge of runners cross the start line.

The interview with finishing runners revealed some interesting situations. “The man in the lead suddenly fell fast and hard because a bolo rope, like those Australian Gouchos use to capture animals by their legs or wings, had fallen out of his pocket and entangled his feet!  Bruised and bloody he got up, but instead of getting rid of the problem, he kept it!  Not long afterwards it happened again and he dropped out of the race.”   Why did he keep something that was defeating him?

“A lady said she asked God to help her win the race but had good luck items in her pockets. The items didn't necessarily slow her pace, but she continually stopped to pick them up when they fell out.  Weak in body and spirit, she collapsed, clinging to her pockets.”  Why did she insist on carrying useless baggage?

An exhausted young man ignored the encouragement to take water from the sideline cheerleaders. Confident in his own strength, he ran faster. Then he stumbled and laid unconscious.” Will he learn a life’s lesson from this?

“A woman continually wiped sweat off her face and burning eyes, yet wouldn’t take a sweatband or towel to relieve the problem, Because of this, she couldn’t continue to run.”  Why would she reject help from those who had the resource to help her?  

“Discouraging comments were like a heavy weight on their shoulders.  “It doesn’t look like you’re going to make it, pal!”   “Lady, you don’t have a man’s stamina, give it up!”  “The reward isn’t that great, quit while before you end up in the hospital.” 

Listening to the strangers' voices, their ears were deafened to the Voice who had called and was encouraging them to finish the race.

Hebrews 12:1-5

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance 

the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, 

who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down 

at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet
resisted to the point of shedding blood  in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the
exhortation which is addressed to you as sons--- 

(V.7) - it is for discipline that you endure; as God deals with you as sons  

(I’m adding "or daughters" since this applies to all Christians.) 

for what father does not discipline?”  

NASB

The Race for the Swift 

 is recorded in 

1Corinthians 9:24-27 

                  ...different contest, ...same discipline.                   

Seems each contest has its own reward.

Written by

Sandy Schott

Perfectionism...Monday:

Devotional...7/15/13

Is  Perfectionism a disorder, a necessary tool, or a cover for fear?

Did you know that when you take a class about mental illness, most professors introduce their topic with a warning: Do not self-diagnose? In other words, many students from many classes read the definition of a disease, recognize those very same symptoms or conditions within themselves and fear they have that disease.

The professors will then explain that they have taught these subjects for years, each year students will approach them with the concern that they have obsessive-compulsive disorder, or attention deficit disorder or something. When I heard this I thought to myself, sheesh, who would be stupid enough to think they have every disease in the book? That’s just not statistically possible, I continued, smiling and laughing with my neighbors as the professor assured us we were all fine.

You probably see this next part coming. Through the coming months, as we reviewed over 40 mental illnesses and diseases, I proceeded to think I had each and every one. It was only the professors’ words at the beginning of the class that kept me from running to the nearest doctor. I mulled over every symptom, worried over each tendency in myself to behave in even the smallest way like the disease being described. As for being forewarned, I excused it with the thought that “Oh no! What if I am the exception? I think I really have this disease!”

Definition of obsession:

an irrational motive or compulsion to do repetitive actions.

Obsessive-Compulsive disorder is a mental health illness. It is probably not OCD that has you cleaning the house every evening before you go to bed, or doing all your chores before relaxing. That’s perfectionism.

Perfectionism is a nasty little tendency that can choke the life out of us. I discovered the root of perfectionism about 15 years ago. You’ve probably already heard that it’s a control issue. True, but is that all? It’s also a source of vanity. As in, how I appear to others is who I am. Say that out loud (yes, even you messies, you’re just closet perfectionists – you don’t do anything until you can do it right (or should I say, until you can do it perfectly?).

So, if the root of perfectionism is control and vanity, what are their roots? It gets easier now, because these two issues share the same root: pride. I cringe just thinking about it.

Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the LORD will be exalted on that day of judgment. 

Isaiah 2:16-17 (NLT)

 Patience is better than pride. 

Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool. 

Ecclesiastes 7:8b-9 (NLT)

Thanksgiving is around the corner. It’s a time when we are encouraged as a nation to count our blessings and thank God that we are still a free country. I wish that knowing what was important was the same as doing what is important. 

If you’re anything like me, the perfectionism monster has been lurking in the back of your head for at least a month. Nagging you to make a list and get going or you’ll never be ready to share love, joy and laughter with family and friends. Wait, that’s not what your monster says? I know, mine either. It’s all about the house, the food, the shopping, the cleaning, the bills, the weight (on my body), the kids, the bonding and so on. As if that’s not enough of a burden, the pressure to make this Christmas the best Christmas ever (in only 30 days) is laying the ground work for a full-blown emotional and physical work-fest that can melt-down and burnt out the most determined among us.

So, is this just the way we are? Is this what we expect from ourselves? Is it what we think others expect from us? Is this what God wants or expects of us?

Jesus said,

"'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."

Matthew 22:37-40

(MSG)

Dear Lord, we choose to let you show us the way through this frenzied time of celebrations. Be our guide as we pick and choose only those things that we can afford and will add a positive light to our family. Help us to limit ourselves to what we have the time to do while keeping our priorities. Help us to maintain balance. Please help us keep our commitment to give to those less fortunate than ourselves. There’s always someone worse off than we are. Please help us to notice when we are starting to feel sorry for ourselves so that we can remember to be grateful. Thank you, Lord, for faithfully watching over us. Please forgive us for whining and longing for more. Help us to let go of being the perfect anything and instead to focus on what you have provided. In Jesus name, amen.

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. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.

Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.

For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Psalm 23:23-28

(NIV).

I am praying that I will do what’s most important and let go of what that voice in my head keeps nagging me about. I am not my house, I am not the clothes I wear, I am not my kids, I am not my yard, I am not my job, I am not the vehicle I drive. I need to work hard, do my best and trust God for the rest.

Written by

 Mary M. Wilkins