Devotional 1/25/13

The Will of My Father…Building Your House Upon a Rock
 

Yesterday morning even before I got out of bed, I started praying….praying specifically for people I had on my heart. It was early in the morning as I had to get ready to go to work, but as I was addressing all that goes with getting out the door in the morning, I felt the presence of the Lord very strongly to the point that I felt engulfed with the spirit of God. I had something on my mind that I had been dealing with all week, and it was heavy on my soul. And so it was that even when I got to work, this heaviness of mind was still there upon me…but also the prompting of the Holy Ghost to look up a certain scripture. The scripture is in Matthew 7:21-24 which says:
 

Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;

but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?

and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,

I will liken him unto a wise man,

which built his house upon a rock.

 

I have known of these scriptures for many years, hearing it preached across the pulpit, but sometimes the scripture has to come to you, and so these words burned in my heart. These particular verses were persuasive and hot off the coals to my eyes and heart yesterday. I really thought on each verse and what stuck out to me the most was verse 21 that says: 
 

“Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;

but he that doeth the will of my Father which is heaven.”
 

What heavy deepness of thought this brought to my thinking as “I don’t want to stand before the Lord someday saying to Him….”Lord, didn’t I speak in your name, didn’t I do many works in thy name?” I had to search my own heart and ask, what is Gods will?
 

I thought of the scripture that states in 2^nd Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” Another verse found in the Bible says “Be not conformed to this world, neither the things in it”. But what was burning on my heart the most is “What is not of God is sin.” With all of this may we say “Search my heart oh God and know my ways and help me to build my house upon you Jesus, you are the rock”. 

 

 

                       Matthew7:24-27 

 

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

Written by: Glenna Williamson

Devotional for 1/24/13

A Nail Biter

I don’t know when I started biting my nails. My mother says it was practically from the beginning. If any nail had a chance to grow a little white edge, it was soon nibbled off. Any pressure, positive or negative, would soon have me searching my fingertips for something to chew on.

Fast forward more than 20 years and I did stop biting my nails (mostly). But another decade or two later I have found that when something is “Worrying me” I start to nibble again. Of course, I have a little psychological trick I play. I just nibble an uneven nail, or a broken nail, or the hang nails that develop on my thumbs. It is so ingrained in me, that I rarely notice what I am doing.

When my husband asks me what is bothering me, and I quickly reassure him “Nothing.” I am startled when he then asks, “Why are you chewing on the sides of your thumbs?” Huh, it’s like I’ve been exposed. Even I can’t deny that something must be up or I wouldn’t be chewing away on every bit of skin or uneven nail available to me.

So, when I sat down to write this devotional my husband suggested I share what I am worried about as he glanced significantly at my red and tattered thumbs.  I knew he was on to something. I am worried about many things, just like Martha! (see Luke 10:41) Children, young and grown; finances; my relationship with my husband; friendships; spirituality, am I growing in the knowledge of His Word? Am I being faithful to Him? Ha! I just caught myself, “trimming another nail with my teeth!” This is so real it’s funny!

 

What is my issue, after all? I am afraid. I am afraid that God, the same God who has watched over me and covered me and preserved me in the past will all of a sudden decide He will only do so much for me. It sounds silly as I write it, but truly what is the root of my fear?  It is doubt that I deserve for God to handle this.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7 Amplified

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Philippians 4:67 The Message

Dear Lord, thank You for Your patience in reminding me I can let go and I can trust You. I truly do want to lay down my fears and accept with confidence Your promises. So be it.

Written by Mary M. Wilkins

Devotional for 1/23/13

"Running Over"

 

Over these last few months we have had several friends in need financially and gladly wanted to help them out. They are our loving brothers and sisters in the Lord and they are there for us as well. The exciting part was that around Christmas time we received a check in the mail for $500.00 that came from our church. We asked our church secretary where the check came from and she said the person wanted to be anonymous in their giving to us. We were thrilled and super blessed!

The Lord reminded me shortly after how very true His Word is. The scripture out of Luke 6:38 says, "Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

 

God's word does not lie. He accomplishes exactly what He says He will do. He is and always will be faithful to His people. What a joy it is to be His kid!

In His Radical Love,

Sandy Billingham

Devotional for 1/22/13

Just a Dog Gone Moment

It is the last day of house-dog sitting for friends and I am anxious to get back to my own space and my own bed.

It has been successful because now I have my own little “Abby” and “Bosley is a Lab-mix and rather aggressive toward other dogs. However he has been tolerant of Abby even though, being a puppy, she wants to play and he is a “grumpy old man”.

Back to my last day; I have backed my car up to the garage door and am in the process of taking load after load to the car. (It is much more work now because I have to move Abby also.)

As I take the loads to the car I leave the doors open and each time there is Abby at the house door with Bosley behind her. Finally I am all packed and ready to leave but I want to give Bosley a treat before I go. And where is Bosley? Not in the house and not in the back yard. Bosley has escaped to freedom.

Here is where I “Trust the Lord with all my heart” NOT! In my mind I think, "He's been taken to the pound!", or the possibility of him attacking another dog, or me paying to have him rescued, and all sorts of worst case scenarios. Panicked, I grab Abby and drive around the neighborhood but Bosley is nowhere to be found. Then I take Abby out on her leash, thinking I guess, that my little blood-hound (all seven pounds of her) would sniff Bosley out.

There is a young man who comes to walk Bosley every night so as a last resort I call him to find out what he usually takes. When I tell him what has happened, he says “I’ll be right over.”

I want you to know I am praying and I do know that God is in control but I am still thinking the worst. Tyler, the young man, calls me and tells me that he has found Bosley on his way to the house and is bringing him home. Thank You, Jesus!!

So what did I learn from all of this:

First, Bosley had gained his freedom being outside of his master’s control, but he had no idea that the leash that restrained him and the house that kept him were for his own safety. While he roamed around free and loose, he had left his source of protection. He created his own danger.

Second, that is what we sometimes do, we think we want our freedom and to be free of the constraints that hold us back. When we finally realize that the restraints keep us safe and protect us from dangers we can’t even see, then we find that is where the true freedom is.

Finally, trusting God is an ongoing discipline, it is not just something to say, it is something to live. The Lord knew the outcome. He knew where Bosley was and He knew where I was. He was and is in control.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will keep your path straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Lord, help me to keep my feet on the ground and my eyes on You. Help me to trust You for everything, even the small daily mishaps. Thank You for caring about all of Your creation and taking care of us all. Amen

Written by Jacquelin Gilmer

Devotional for 1/21/2013

Do You Need A Miracle?

At one time or another we all need a miracle. Do we ask God for something that will bring a phenomenal happening in our lives? I was thinking about it today as I rushed around doing last minute errands for my trip to Bangladesh.

Through the years I have seen many miracles that I may not have recognized as such. I had fertility issues and after five heartbreaking years our first baby was born. A MIRACLE!

I still had fertility issues so we adopted and within two months I was pregnant with my daughter. A MIRACLE!

I had cancer just recently and my whole church family was praying for me. The doctor was sure that she had seen calcification and cancer in my lymph nodes. She was shocked when the lab results came back negative. She had the lab rerun the tests…negative again. This is a cancer surgeon who has seen lots of cancer and should know if it is present. She found out that my lymph nodes were healthy. ANOTHER MIRACLE!

God has blessed us all with many miracles. Some of them we recognize. I surely recognized that the lack of cancer in my results was due to the fact that many, many people were praying for me and God agreed. I had A MIRACLE!

It is important to actually ask for what you want when a miracle desired. In the Bible it says that if you pray and God is in agreement your prayer will be answered.

Miracles are beyond what we can do for ourselves. They are as the will of God makes them.

Here is a song by Third Day about people just like you and me who needed miracles and received them. Hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmhNZkyGloc

Ask and you shall receive! Seek and you will find!

Written by Corinne Mustafa

 

LIFE

Sunday devotional, 1/20/13

How important is my life?  That might depend upon the perspective.  To those close to me who love me, my life means a lot to them.  But to those who have never even met or heard of me, what is my life to them?  There might be some indirect or remote connection that could have an effect on them, but my life may be inconsequential to them.  What about those who do not like me or even hate me?  Perhaps they feel they would be happier if I were not alive or had never even been born.  

God's perspective however is that every life is important to him.  He loves every single person the same, whether alive now or in the past.  He desires the best for all of them and wants all to be saved.  He even loves those not yet born, forms them inside the womb and makes plans for them.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  Psalm 139:13-16 NIV  

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 NIV

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. Isaiah 49:1 NIV

This understanding of the form inside the womb already being a person as described in the Bible has been distorted and denied by many in our world today.  But we cannot deny what God's word says.  Understanding the conceived egg to be a person makes it clear whether it is right to have an abortion or not - if we see it as a human being in process, the same as you and me, then ending that life is murder.  Many people today argue that it is a woman's choice whether to have an abortion.  But if it is a life, a person, then there is no choice whether to end that life or not.  Others say that it would be better not to bring that child into the world if it is unwanted - but what about all the people waiting to adopt an infant?  It is also argued that some people are unable to bring themselves to allow someone else to adopt their baby - so it is more acceptable to murder that baby?  If it is not OK to murder it after it passes out of the womb, it is not OK to murder it before it is born if we see it as a person the moment of conception.  What about the mother who feels she will be unable to provide appropriate food and shelter?  God promises to provide all that is needed, maybe not all that is wanted, but all that is necessary:

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Matthew 6:25-26 

God did this for Hagar when she was kicked out, homeless, wandering, and ran out of even water.  She left the baby and walked away, sobbing, because she did not want to see her son die.  But God provided what was needed and they survived. (Genesis 21:8-21)

This sanctity of life applies to all people, even the old, the suffering, the impaired, those clinging to life on artificial support, the handicapped, everyone.  We are not to decide whose life is important and whose is not.  God has deemed all to be important.  He never singles anyone out as being not worthy of life, nor should we. This brings about many difficult decisions.  Remembering that every life is important helps, but we still must come to God in prayer at times as life and death situations come up for us.  Even if in the past we have made these decisions differently than we would today, we can come to God for forgiveness.  He still loves us, no matter what, as long as we do not reject him.

Today is Sanctity of Life Sunday.  May we be a positive witness to the world as to the importance of every life.

written by Jan Andersen

Devotioanl for 1/19/12

The Story of Mike

 

Some people just rub you the wrong way and we call them sandpaper people.  Some, on the other hand, go beyond sandpaper.  They're more like a thorn in your side, or worse, an intruder in your life.  Of course, we're to be Jesus to the world, but some places in our lives are sacred. 

 

Mike was a good man, but due to circumstances, he did not have a family to call his own.  So, he made his best friend's family his.  They loved and cared for him, but what Mike did not realize was that he was tresspassing on sacred ground, his friend's marriage. 

 

Mike's friend enjoyed his company.  The two of them mean't no harm to the family and definitely not to Linda, the woman of the house.  Good manners calls for the door to be open to friends at all times.  It's just expected that the friend will not overstay his welcome.  Years and years of Mike encroaching on this couple's time caused much animosity.  Linda did her best to not allow her feelings to turn to hate despite the raging battle inside of her.  It was a miracle the marriage did not end.

 

Over time, and after many heartbreaking fights, enough people interceded and Mike finally got the message.  No one's heart would ever be the same over the matter.  The marriage never ended, the family stayed intact, but the three would forever look back on those years with regret, always wondering how they could have handled it differently. 

 

Only one of these three was a Christian, Linda.  Though she knew it was wrong for someone to intrude, and she knew it was wrong for a man to allow it, she never quite felt sure of what God expected of her. Was she just supposed to sit back and allow it happen for the sake of being a witness?  In a situation like this, what exactly does it look like to be Jesus to the other person?  Her intense questioning would grow inside of her until it reached its peak when Mike was diagnosed with brain cancer a few years later and passed from this life. 

 

The truth is, regardless of any mistakes the three of them made, Mike did have a serrogate family before he got sick. Many people had prayed for Mike durng those years for his salvation.  God's hand truly covered the situation.  He showed Mike His love through the love in the marriage that he witnessed and in the love that this family had for him.  Though on his deathbed, Mike never received the Lord, God did not leave him without a witness.  This may have a sad ending, but the lessons learned are priceless.  They are as priceless as a pearl. 

 

 

The Irritant

 

The irritant slipped somehow into the shell.

It came uninvited.

The oyster began its work almost immediately

the wrong to be righted.

 

The irritant was enveloped day after day,

the new shape taking place.

The oyster did not hurry its task,

it was not in a race.

 

The end result

was a wonder to behold.

The pearl gleamed white when it was found,

the price was high when sold.

 

The irritant came to my house one day...

my inclination, to run away.

I was checked at once to stay.

 

 

God's love began to envelop the irritant

each time that it came by.

The cost was great, death to self,

again the price was high.

 

 

We will never forget Mike, nor the lessons this family learned.  I praise God that we had the opportunity to know him, to love him, and to be a witness to him. My mother, Linda, was an example to us all.  In our humaness, we'll battle with anger and frustration over injustices in our lives, like an invader in our marriage.  Some situations are just too complicated to handle on our own.  God always has a plan, and we can always go to Him when it's beyond our ability to handle.  He'll give us the strength and power to envelop the irritant with His love.

 

Amie Spruiell 1-19-12

poem "The Irritant" written by Linda Garrett