Devotions for the Journey

Prosperity is Fleeting

2012-02-07T17:16:00.001-06:00

Published by christiandevotions.us
All rights reserved

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 NIV

I have heard it said history tends to repeat itself. Amazingly, our nation and our lives are very similar to the people Isaiah wrote these words to. They are written to the house of Judah in a time when the nation was very wealthy and had a form of godliness, but lacked a true relationship with the Lord. In short, they were self-reliant.

Even in the midst of a recession, our nation is prosperous. But, what does prosperity lead to? Does it lead to thankfulness toward God and sacrificial giving to others? Sometimes it does, but many times it leads to self-reliance and an abandonment of faith in God. The cycle can look like this: Prosperity – self-reliance – moral decay – judgment.

If I have learned anything during this time of economic downfall, it is that prosperity is fleeting, but God is eternal. When I put my trust in anything other than the Lord my God, it will fail. When I trust in my wallet, the 401K, or even the value of my home, it can and many times will fail. But God will never fail.

The person who has a steadfast mind is one that has a single focus on God Himself. Their focus is moved from themselves to God alone. Only then will they be able to focus on what is truly important in this life because they understand it has been taken care of.

Let us have “perfect peace” in the area of finance and every other area of our lives by fixing our minds on God. When we ask God to make His Word true for us, He always says yes. Ask Him to keep your mind fixed on Him today as you trust in Him completely.

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-31T23:32:00.001-06:00

As 2011 comes to a close, B.J. and I started to review our year after dinner tonight. We discussed our year for awhile and then decided we should write it down to help us remember our successes, failures, the overwhelming joy and sadness, and most importantly what the Lord has been so gracious to teach us this year through His Word and the experiences He used in our lives to bring us closer to Him. So, this may take some perseverance on the part of the reader (and the writer), but here goes…

January brought snow and ice! After several days of sledding, snowboarding, hot chocolate, and all the cookies we should have ever eaten in our entire lives, I was over it. My lack of patience “urged” B.J. to clear the driveway. Unfortunately, he slipped on the ice and broke his ankle. Clayton Speed and Bobby Erwin had to carry us (literally) to an Urgent Care where B.J. was fitted for the boot he would wear the next six weeks. “No weight bearing” for six weeks will teach one a great deal about patience! I knew I had a wonderful husband who helped with everything, but when I had to do everything alone and help B.J. – whew, now that was a test! Lance Pate came and cleared our driveway later that week which was very much appreciated because I had to go to work on Friday. Not just because I was supposed to, but because I had to get out of the house for goodness sakes! The accident did open the door for B.J. to enjoy our garden tub and take more baths than he says he ever wanted to! But, the time in the bath gave him the opportunity to memorize most of the Book of Phillipians.

February 5^th was Joel’s 7^th physical birthday and the 20^th was his first spiritual birthday!! He made his decision public in the Venue at FBC Trussville on February 27^th. We are so thankful God has called Joel to Himself and saw much spiritual growth in Joel throughout the year. Joel also raised over $500 for the Margaret Elementary Fun Run, running an amazing 37 laps!

In March, we celebrated our first Spring Break “Stay-cation”. We went bowling, to the park, and to the carnival. We finished off the week with what should have been our best camping trip ever, but on the last night I got the stomach virus. I had to abandon the boys on the camp site and drive to the Jameson Inn in Alex City! It was a nightmare, but turned out to be a very funny story to my wonderful girl-friends! This was David’s first camping trip and he had a wonderful time. Maybe we will get take him again and stay the whole time!

On April 17^th, B.J. had the honor of baptizing our oldest son Joel. It was a wonderful day filled with the joy of the Lord. Joel requested that we have our entire family come to our house and eat lunch after the service. This was such a compliment to me and I hope that he will always feel like our home is a wonderful place to be. I will always enjoy and count it a privilege to open any home the Lord gives us to family and friends. The same evening, Caleb and Joel performed in the Children’s musical CAMP ABC at FBC Trussville. 10 days later on April 27^th, our state experienced one of the saddest days that I can remember. Tornadoes wreaked havoc on much of our state, but it was as if they totally missed our lives. We had no damage to our home or our church, but the pain and suffering was all around us. These storms changed us forever. We had the opportunity to give in real, tangible ways to our own community and B.J. had the opportunity to help with the clean-up efforts. The boys and I had the opportunity to pray for our neighbors like we never have before. Caleb prayed for the people hurt in the tornadoes for months and even now, he often remembers them and asks God to help them and keep them safe.

May was filled with excitement! Caleb graduated from 4K, and Joel finished 1^st grade. I finished my 30 week study on the Book of Isaiah through BSF. I could never articulate in words all that the Lord taught me through this study. His Word is true and it is the only source of truth. Everything we think, feel, and experience must be compared to His Word. One of the things He taught us was on discipline – how He disciplines and how we were disciplining. He is the perfect parent and His motives are never prideful or selfish, yet many of ours were. We read a great book called 1-2-3 Magic for Christian Parents at the suggestion of Terry Mashburn. It was a wonderful book and God used it to bring full-circle what He was teaching us about parenting and discipline through Isaiah. We finished off May with our family vacation to the beach. While we had a fabulous time, we learned that we are too big of a family to stay in a 1 bedroom condo for a week! However, we probably had the best time ever on the beach because we carried a large canopy, zero-gravity chairs, and tons of beach toys. Even though B.J. did not want to cart all that stuff 100s of miles, we were able to spend hours on the beach and truly enjoy God creation and each other. So he had to admit that I was right… again! J

June was filled with VBS, Fine Arts Camp, “Click, Clack, Moo” ACTA Drama Camp, and lots of fun on our new water slide! Cars 2 was also a hit with the James’ Family who are our favorite friends to go to the movies with! David moved into a “big-boy bed” because he decided it was time to climb out of his crib and onto his changing table during nap time. Half of the year is over and amazingly, I am caught up with my photobooking!! Who-hoo!

July brought home my brother and his new wife Cara. They were married in Africa and we had a family reception for them on July 4^th at my Aunt Vallie’s house. God changed my life that day in a way that I certainly was not expecting. My Daddy gave me a book that day. Although it was probably not expensive and I think he found it at a used book store, it is priceless to me. It is priceless because by giving it to me I know that he “hears” me. He knows what I believe in and the causes that I am passionate about. I will never spend another second wanting him to be someone he is not, but will spend every possible moment enjoying him for who he is.

Caleb turned 5 on July 10^th and David turned 2 on July 30^th. They had a double party at Trussville Play Place on the 20^th and our sweet David had to wear a little boot similar to the one B.J. wore when he broke his ankle. He had a soft-tissue injury and had to wear it for 2 weeks. He was so cute in it! Unfortunately, he hurt it the day I was scheduled to have my painful varicose veins fixed. I went ahead with the procedure, so B.J. had 2 crippled people to wait on for several days!

August ushered in the beginning of many, many changes in our lives. We had prayed that God would provide a buyer for our home in Margaret and provide a home for us in Trussville so we could be closer to our church and so Joel could attend Paine Primary with his friends from church. On August 15^th when Joel started school at Margaret, it appeared that Jehovah-Jirah (God Our Provider) had said “NO” to this prayer – and He is big enough to do that! We recommitted ourselves to ministering to the school, teachers, and neighbors God had given us in Margaret. At peace with God’s decision, we moved on. Our entire family started Bible Study Fellowship and we were able to study God’s Word together during our Family Worship Time each day. This has been a tremendous blessing to our family as God’s Word will never return void and the Book of Acts has been right on time.

The Contemporary Service moved into the Sanctuary at FBC Trussville in August. This was a huge milestone, an exciting transition, and an amazing opportunity. We will never cease to be humbled and amazed by the fact that the Living God who created the universe has chosen to use us for His purposes.

August 29^th, God brought a buyer for our home. And, not just a buyer – He answered our specific prayer for our home to be a blessing to the next people who would live there. We prayed He would bring someone who would love and enjoy it as much as we had. The sweet couple who bought our home in Margaret told us it was “absolutely perfect” – everything they wanted and in the exact place they wanted to live. God is SO ABLE!

September was a whirlwind of trying to find a house in Trussville and make it to Disney World by the 17^th. After looking at almost every house in Trussville and driving our agent Shay Shellnutt crazy, we put an offer on our new house in Sherman Oaks on September 11^th. It was accepted and we planned to close on September 28^th. We went to Disney as planned and had an amazing time! So magical for the boys and such a wonderful memory as a family. My amazing mother-in-law packed up most of our house while we were gone. My mom came over and helped us pack up the rest when we returned home. But, then we hit a road-block. Our closing had been delayed. First a couple of days and then almost a week. I definitely identified with the Israelites living in tents for 40 years! We didn’t know whether we should unpack or not and we really didn’t know if possibly the whole thing might fall through! It was a very stressful time and I was seriously almost to go through the roof. I was praying, I was trusting, but my anxiety level was really high! My BSF group leader, Deanna, made the comment that I was really demonstrating the “peace of God”. I said, “Thanks Deanna, but I did take a Xanax!” God really does use medicine sometimes!!

We closed on our new home and Joel started Paine Primary School on October 5^th. God used His Word in an amazing way that day. We had been studying about Stephen and how God comforted him as he was being stoned. Joel’s first day of school at Paine Primary, he was nervous. But, at 7 he trusted in Christ enough to know that if God was strong enough to comfort Stephen, He was big enough to comfort him if he was afraid at his new school. When I picked Joel up from school he said it was the “best day ever!” Glory to God!

After weeks of praying, we finally knew Joel’s teacher’s name – Sabrina Johnson. He did not know anyone in his class, but made fast friends. We believed that God was Sovereign over Joel’s new class, but throughout the rest of the year, He has made that even clearer. Joel’s speech continues to be an issue and we had fought for him to have speech services at the previous schools he attended. He was denied 3 times and we continued to do private therapy at intervals. We trust that we will continue to see God’s Hand at work in this area over the next few months. For now, we know that Joel is exactly where he is supposed to be and we are thankful.

Our life took on many new changes as we moved into Trussville. We cut our gas in half, had a laundry room, a fenced in back yard, threw away tons of “stuff” when we moved, made over $1000 at Kids Market/Craigslist , got a new playground from our awesome neighbors – The Stovall’s, and last but not least – we finally get to recycle!! We made some wonderful new friends – Brian and Laura Stanley who live next door and Tyler and Jennifer Eiland (missionaries living in the mission house). So thankful that God continues to bring new friends into our lives!

In November, we hosted Thanksgiving for our families and dedicated our new home to the Lord. This was my first opportunity to fix the “big food”. Thank goodness for Honey Baked Ham!! Our families had a wonderful time and we were thankful to be able to open our home to give thanks to God for all His blessings and this great nation. Since my family is used to celebrating in the wide open space of North Alabama, I obligated B.J. to take everyone on a hike to the Mighty Cahaba River. I think they should have carried some bottled water! Last but not least, B.J. and I endured the crowds at Wal-mart on Thanksgiving Night and got a new Television. So now my Daddy can stop making fun of my “fat –T.V”!

December is always extremely busy, but it is also the season of Advent. A little book called Looking Forward to the Nativity is what God used to spark our passion for family worship several years ago. We went through this devotional again this year and saw our children learn more about Christ’s incarnation. Joel read the devotion several days, Caleb memorized almost the entire second chapter of Luke, and David learned Isaiah 9:6 and all the Christmas songs. B.J had the privilege of leading one of the most worshipful services we have ever been a part of on December 18^th. Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God is an amazing contemporary Christmas musical the Contemporary Worship Team led at FBC Trussville. I also had the opportunity to write and arrange the narration. This year I have been published in The Alabama Baptist, Christian Devotions.us, and The Christian Literary Journal, but when B.J. asked me to write narration for this anointed music – it was an honor beyond words.

Christmas was wonderful! The boys wanted to give Jesus a lamb because as Caleb said “Jesus is the Lamb of God”. We were so thankful to be able to give gifts to Christ on His birthday.

It is difficult to wrap this year up. God has taught us so much. We have learned what it means to be opposed and rejected for the Gospel of Christ and even though it brought us sorrow, we rejoice in joining with Christ in His sufferings. We have learned the importance on encouraging one another in the faith. We have had the privilege of growing new and old friendships. God has allowed us to encourage and counsel other believers with His Word which is the highest honor we could ever attain. His Word is our life and our hope. As we close 2011, we hope that in 2012 we will speak more of His Words than of our own. It is a privilege to be His child and His servant. Two verses surround this year that I want to close with:

“Here I am, send me!” Isaiah 6:8

“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed , but of those who believe and are saved.” Hebrews 10:39

No Money for Milk

2011-09-27T20:41:00.002-05:00

Published by www.christiandevotions.us
All rights reserved

…a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (ESV)

I knew I’d failed. I had failed my husband, my children, and my God. It was one day till pay day. My two young boys had no milk to drink and the van was on empty. Unless I used a credit card, we’d have to wait and I wasn’t even sure if I could make it home. Conviction started to flood my soul over what I’d spent money on for the past two weeks. I hadn’t meant to waste it, but God reminded me of things I’d bought that I certainly didn’t need.

I stopped right there and prayed. God, I am so sorry I have not been a good steward of what You have provided. If you will help us, we will change. I realized in that moment, just like every other area of our lives, finances were too big for us to handle alone. They were also too big for us to handle as a couple. We must have a “threefold cord.”

When we look to God for help in this area of our lives, He doesn’t turn His head away. He swoops in and starts to change this area, beginning with our hearts. I went home that night and told my husband what happened. We began right then making changes by using some Christian budgeting tools. As we sought God’s help and turned this area over to Him, things started to change.

Over the next 18 months we paid off over $26,000 in debt and built our savings. He truly worked miracles in this area when we submitted to Him and sought His wisdom.

In this tough economy, money is on everyone’s mind. Join me in allowing God to guide in this area so the world can see how followers of Christ deal with money. Will you submit your finances to Him? Regardless of whether you make $20,000 a year or $200,000 a year, He stands ready to help. Include Him in your financial planning team today.

My BSF Testimony

2011-05-13T12:16:00.008-05:00

For those of you who do not know, I attend a weekly Bible Study called Bible Study Fellowship. I have just completed a 30 week study on Isaiah! It was so AWESOME and God taught me so many things. The following is what I shared with my class on Tuesday.

Note to the reader: Isaiah went around completely naked for several years of his ministry as a symbol of Israel's shame. This will make sense as you keep reading! And Juanita is my BSF teaching leader.

Hope you enjoy hearing what God has done in my life lately!

Last week before our last class, I asked my family if they thought God had changed anything in me during this study. My husband, without missing a beat, said absolutely! He went on to say that I had definitely become a “more radical extremist” about the end of the world, but that I hadn’t started running around naked yet! Thanks for that!

Seriously, God has taught me so much this year. It has just been an amazing study, but there is one particular circumstance that I want to share with you this morning.

My husband and I have 3 boys – 7, 4, and 1. Our oldest son’s name is Joel and he has a speech disorder – he stutters. We have been in and out of therapy for years and the general consensus of all the therapists now is that he will most likely not grow out of it, but with therapy will be able to control it. This journey has had its ups and downs. There are times he does great and other times where he literally cannot communicate with us. I know that stuttering is not life threatening, but anytime there is something wrong with your child – it is hard. God has taught me so much thru the years that we have been going through this. But, this year He came through for me in a way like never before.

Joel was really struggling right before Christmas. Nothing we had learned in therapy was working or helping him. His frustration level and ours was through the roof. He was to the point where he really couldn’t even get out an entire sentence. It was terrible. I was sinking deeper and deeper into despair over it. God has taught me in the past through His word that my feelings are not always reality. Even though I felt hopeless, I did know that I had hope in Him. I had been studying Isaiah 25-27 all week and praying for a breakthrough, but my feelings had not changed.

I came to BSF literally a wreck on the inside. Peace and hope definitely did not describe me that day. On top of all that, I felt so weak. God has brought me through so much and I know that other women look to me as a leader in my church and here I was in a pit of despair over my fears for my child’s life. I felt like such a failure to Him and to all the people He had placed in my life.

But, during the lecture, Juanita said that “If we belong to Christ, we have perfect salvation, through a perfect Savior. We can have perfect peace and we do have perfect hope.” She went on to tell the story of when her house burned down and how she had lived with a lady for a few weeks while she tried to put her life back together. Only later did Juanita find out that during that time the lady she was staying with had lost almost everything herself in the oil crisis. That strong Christian woman was truly living out Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.”

While Juanita was telling that story, tears started running down my face. I want to share with you what I wrote in my notes: “This is a person who has a single focus on God himself – freedom from self. We can focus on others because we know that God has us taken care of. This is not me! God help me!”

I began praying that God would make that verse true in my life, confessing to Him that I knew it wasn’t true of me now. I asked Him to turn my focus away from myself and my child’s problems and to HIM!

Juanita closed the lecture that day by quoting the words to Because He Lives. I don’t know any other way to describe my experience other than to say that while she was quoting that hymn, the Lord Jesus Christ literally came and got me out of that pit I was in. Life is worth the living just because He lives. He picked me up and I am so thankful. This was literally a turning point for me in my relationship with Him. I am convinced that when we ask Him to make His word true about our lives – He will.

I left BSF different than I came in. When I got home, Joel's speech had not changed, but God had changed me! My outlook was totally different. Even if Joel stutters the rest of his life, I know that God holds him in the palm of His hand.

I want to give God all glory and honor for everything He has done in my life this year. He truly is a perfect Savior and a perfect friend.

Has God Forgotten Me?

2011-05-12T11:54:00.000-05:00

“But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” Isaiah 49:15-16.

There have definitely been times in my life where I have felt forgotten by God. Times where I felt He had abandoned me. But, my feelings are not always reality. However, His word is always reality. And it says that He will not forget me because my name is engraved on His hand.

In this passage, the writer asks us if a mother can forget her own child. Even though we would like to say ‘no’, we can look around our society and know that they do. Mothers and fathers walk away from their children every day. Even though that seems unthinkable, it is happening more and more.

Even so, God will never walk away from His child. If you have accepted Him through faith in His Son Jesus, you can have the assurance that no matter what happens in life, God is with you. He has vowed not to forget you and your name is written on the palm of His hand. What an amazing fact this is! How close He holds me to heart!

That’s one big hand! I’m glad He holds me in it. Will you choose to believe His Word today and know that God is with you no matter how you feel?

Why Israel?

2011-05-11T12:20:00.001-05:00

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6

I have known people who have stumbled over the fact that Israel is God’s chosen people. Why them? God chose Israel to be the people that He revealed Himself through the same way that He chose Italy to reveal art and America to reveal democracy. These are His choices to make.

Thankfully and wonderfully, however, His salvation is too great to be kept to one people group! In this prophetic passage in Isaiah, God is talking to His Son. He is telling Jesus it will be “too small a thing” for His salvation to only be for the Israelites. He will make His salvation available to all nations in order to bring glory to Himself.

Let us thank God for the nation of Israel. From them we received the Bible and our Savior! Let us continue to pray for them to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ – as God has not forgotten them. And let us never forget that He has made salvation available to all through His Son. Will you share that with someone today?

Feed My Lambs...

2010-05-11T22:16:00.004-05:00

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-17)

There are a tremendous amount of spiritual truths to be learned in this passage of scripture, some of which I am just beginning to understand for the first time. However, I want to focus on the first thing Jesus tells Peter to do after Peter says that he does love Jesus. Jesus tells Peter to "feed [His] Lambs". Many times we see Jesus compare humanity to a flock of sheep, but this may be the only place that he talks specifically about lambs. So, what does Jesus mean?

Is there a difference between a lamb and a sheep - spiritually speaking? Obviously there is because the last thing Jesus asks Peter to do is feed His sheep. Therefore, Jesus must be talking about children and His specific command to Peter and to all Christians to make sure that we are "feeding" our children His Word.

This is so profound to me because in our Lord's 40 days on Earth after His resurrection we only have limited information about what He did and said, yet He took the time to include children in His last conversations with His beloved disciples.

We know from other passages of scripture that children are uniquely special to Jesus (see Matthew 19:13-14). But, here we see a unique command to "feed" them the spiritual truths of God's Word. So, what does this mean for you?

Do you have or have you had children living under your roof? Or do you teach, lead, or care for children in your church? Or has God given you the responsibility of teaching children that are not you own, but are your "spiritual" children? Then you have the privilege and responsibility of "feeding" them the very words of God!

Be encouraged to continue serving in the area of children's ministry, knowing that it was close to the Lord's heart. He sees your service and it brings joy to the heart of God. Every time you serve in the nursery, teach Sunday school, lead children's choir, help in VBS, or serve in any area to help "feed [His] lambs" you are fulfilling this command of our Lord. I pray that we will continue to be faithful to His Word and to our children.

Delay Doesn't Always Mean Denial

2010-01-20T21:02:00.004-06:00

John 11:1-6

¹Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." ⁵Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

I don't know about you, but I like immediate answers. I like to have things on my time-table. I guess a good way to describe myself and most of humanity is that "I want what I want, when I want it!" Of course, we all have to grow up and out of this toddler-like mindset, but every once and a while it surfaces.

Most likely, when the messenger went back to Mary and Martha with the message that "this sickness will not end in death", Lazarus was already dead. Therefore this message had to have been hard for them to understand and could have possibly even caused them to doubt who they believed Jesus was. Most likely, they would have believed that Jesus and therefore, God had denied their request to save their brother's life. However, they were wrong.

A lesson that God has taught me in the last week is that delay doesn't always mean denial. Sometimes we have to wait for God, but we can rest assured that God hears us and always has our best in mind. But, even more than our best, He has His Glory in mind. Everything He does is for His Glory. He allowed Lazarus to die so that He could raise him from the dead and bring glory to God. Sometimes He allows us to wait because there are eternal things at stake that will ultimately bring Him glory.

This week, we got some of the tests results on our son Caleb. All of his tests results have come back normal so far, but we had to wait an extra 36 hours to get those results!! The nurse was looking at them yesterday morning and would not tell me what they were because the doctor had not seen them. I obviously thought the results were bad and waited for his phone call all day. At 6 pm last night, the nurse called to tell me the results were normal. The first thing out of my mouth was "Praise the Lord!" I spent the entire day praying and relying on God. If I had found the results out earlier, I might not have spent the day with Him. He is teaching me daily that He is my refuge no matter what happens.

Next time you are waiting on God, number one, please know you are not alone. And number two, know that just because He doesn't respond on your time table does not mean that He is denying your request. Continue to seek Him, His will, and ultimately His glory.

Bold and Courageous

2010-01-14T20:32:00.002-06:00

"But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it." Numbers 14:24

When we found out that our second child was going to be a boy, we were thrilled. We truly wanted our first son to have a brother, and we continue to hope and pray that they will remain close as they grow. The name that I believed the Lord was giving us for this child was 'Caleb'. 'Caleb' means "bold and courageous" and that is exactly where I was in my walk with the Lord. He had brought me through a time of trial, and I came through knowing that no matter what might come my way in this life, He was never going to leave me therefore I could face tomorrow with courage.

Although I believed this was the name for our son, I did have some doubts because some of our family members did not like his name. Imagine that! But, I continued to seek God and look for our new son's life verse. Numbers 14:24 was the verse the Lord gave me, and it became our prayer for Caleb.

God did not have to give me any further confirmation that this was truly the name He had for our son, but because He is good and does more for us than we ask or seek, He did. As I was preparing Caleb's birth announcements I realized that he was born at exactly 2:24 pm. In military time that is 14:24. So on his birth certificate and several other documents it is recorded as 14:24 which is the reference of his life verse - Numbers 14:24.

This week I saw the boldness and courage that the Lord is building in Caleb. Because of some health issues, he is having to have some tests run. One of the tests required blood being drawn from his arm. Of course, this is no big deal for an adult, but for a 3 year old, that can be pretty traumatic. But, Caleb sat in my lap, held out his arm, watched the tech the entire time, and breathed in and out. He never jerked, cried, yelled, or anything. Afterward, he said, "I was very brave". I said, "yes, you were very brave." Praise God for giving us what we need exactly when we need it.

I pray that we can face the coming days with the boldness and courage I have seen in our son. God tells us "do not be afraid" many, many times in the Bible. Whatever you are facing today, be bold and courageous, knowing that God is with you.

"Undressed Stones"

2009-05-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Deuteronomy 27:5-6

These two short verses have come to be so dear to me along with every other verse where God commanded His people to make an altar of field stones or “undressed stones” in the King James. What on earth does that even mean? It means that the people were to make an altar of stones that they had done nothing to except just pick up off the ground. They had not used any tools on them to make them beautiful or carved any image into them. They were just rocks. They had added nothing to them.

The significance is that they could not impress God into forgiving them by how beautiful their altar was. They had nothing to offer God that would make Him forgive them. He was forgiving them because He wanted to. It pleased Him to do it.

When we come to the cross there is absolutely nothing we can bring with us that will impress God into forgiving us. He is forgiving us because of Jesus’ sacrifice – not because of anything we have to offer Him. We can add nothing to salvation. We can do nothing to earn salvation. It is offered as a gift to those who will accept it.

Have you accepted His ultimate gift today or are you still trying to impress God with you talents and good works? None of those will work, but you can come with a humble heart and He will not turn you away. Come to Christ today with the "undressed stones" of your life. He is ready to accept anyone who will trust in Him.

Visual Reminders

2009-05-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Deuteronomy 27:1-4

Before Moses dies, he reminds the people again to keep all the commandments that the Lord had given to them. He also tells them to write the law on stones covered with plaster and set them up on Mt. Ebal. This was to be a visual reminder to them of what was right and what was wrong. Without them, they would be prone to live very differently.

There is power in the spoken word and there is power in the written word. We have the same visual reminder only it is in the form of a book – the Bible. Without the Bible, we would all live very differently. Loving our enemies, forgiving others, and blessing those that persecute us are not things that come natural to us. However, with the Word of God before us, we know that these are things that God commands us to do. Therefore, we are to do them whether we “feel” like it or not!

If we ever have a question about how we should live, all we must do is open and read our Bibles. “But what about the “gray” areas?” you may ask. There is far more black and white than gray. I have found in my life that if I concentrate on obeying the black and white, the “gray” areas I used to worry about tend to disappear.

Seeking God's Word First

2009-05-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Deuteronomy 13:1-5

We might think that our hearts are completely guarded from following after a false prophet, but we might be wrong. Usually we identify someone as a false prophet if their prophecies do not come true. However, this passage tells us that a pagan’s prophesies might come true. Then how are we to judge? The Word clearly tells us that if anyone or any prophesy tries to lead us away from God to worship anything or anyone else - even if they are telling us to worship this person along with God – that person is a false prophet and is ultimately worthy of death.

What does this mean for us today? It is actually very applicable to our daily lives. We must put priority on the written Word of God over anyone else’s word. We must also put God’s Word over supposed signs, wonders, or miracles, or our own feelings. This passage teaches us that we are to be taught and guided by God’s Word. The Bible is truly all we need to discern God’s will therefore it is necessary for us to know what it says.

Ask God to help you listen to His Word first today. Ask Him to drown out all the other voices and to lead you to the passages in His Word that will help you make any and every decision. After you have sought His Word, then ask Him to confirm it through other sources. We must make the commitment to seek Him and His Word first.

Greatest Priviledges

2009-05-05T06:00:00.001-05:00

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

This passage contains the two greatest privileges and responsibilities that we have as Christians.

1. To love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (verse 5)
2. To teach the ways of the Lord to our children (verse 7-9)

To know and love God is the greatest duty, but also the greatest privilege of any person that has ever or will ever live. But, this does not always come easy. The type of love that God requires us to have of Him is an unconditional, supernatural love that only truly flows from Him. However, He will freely give us this type of love if we will only ask. Ask Him today to give you a heart to love Him. This is a request He will not deny.

To teach the ways of the Lord to our children is one of my greatest joys in life. Moses commanded the people to talk about God’s ways all the time and to bind them to their hands and write them on the posts of their homes. They took this literally and made little boxes called phylacteries that contained Bible verses. They actually fastened them to their foreheads and forearms as constant reminders. They took this command literal, yet we who know the love of God literally through Jesus Christ tend to be forgetful of God’s Word and commands. We also tend to remain silent about the truth that we do know.

Call me old-fashioned, but I think it’s still alright to write down the verses your memorizing or clinging to and carry them around with you. I also think we are to live by the Bible and teach it to our children – DAILY.

We have all failed in these areas. A missed opportunity with a friend, co-worker, or our children does not have to be the end of our witness with them. Will you join me in asking God for forgiveness in these areas and for help in loving Him unconditionally and teaching His ways to our children.

Good Enough?

2009-05-04T14:13:00.003-05:00

Numbers 32:1-33

You may have never read this short story before about the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was unfamiliar to me as well; however there is something to be learned from the behaviors of these tribes.

Just before the children of Israel were about to enter into the Promised Land, the leaders of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh started looking around. They decided that where they were was good enough for them and their families. It was a great land for their cattle and they just really wanted to stay there. So they went to Moses to ask permission. Moses was angry and asked them, “Why should your brothers go to war while you stay here?” Reuben and Gad promised to go to war with their brothers, but as soon as the land was conquered they wanted to come back to the land they had chosen.

Reuben and Gad chose what they wanted over what God had chosen for them. They settled for less than God’s best and missed out on what God really had for them. Not only did their decision affect them, it also affected their families. Sometimes the decisions we make keep others from experiencing God’s blessings.

My Bible Study teaching leader said recently when discussing this story that “half-hearted obedience results in half-hearted blessings.” I don’t know about you, but I want God’s best. Where are you settling for less than God’s best? Let’s not live our lives at the edge of what God has for us. Let us be obedient to Him today and experience the fullness of His blessing.

Sacrifice

2009-04-29T07:54:00.003-05:00

Numbers 28:1-8

Sometimes it is hard for us to see that the God of the Old Testament is the same God that we serve today. However, if I have learned anything from studying the Old Testament, it is that God is. He has not changed.

I wanted us to read this passage to see the enormity of just the daily offerings the Israelites were to bring to the Tabernacle. The rest of this chapter covers the Sabbath offerings, monthly offerings, and the offerings that were to be brought during the three feasts each year. All of these offerings were in addition to the daily offerings. Obviously, sacrifices were a major part of their lives. But, what does sacrifice mean for us?

First of all, the sacrifices were fulfilled in Christ's shed blood on the cross. There is no longer a need for animals to be sacrificed for our sins. Jesus' blood covers all sin from now until forever. Secondly, the Israelites could not function without a priest. Jesus is our High Priest. He lives to make intercession for us. We cannot truly live without him. But, the most important thing I want us to learn from this passage is that sacrifice is expensive. The Israelites' daily, Sabbath, and monthly sacrifices would have cost them a lot of money. Jesus' sacrifice cost Him His life. What does your sacrifice cost you?

We should be willing to give of ourselves and our spirtual sacrifices. A spiritual sacrifice can be our bodies, money, matieral gifts, worship, praise, prayer, and/or a broken and contrite heart over sin. All of these are acceptable to God as our sacrifice.

King David says in Samuel 24:24,

"But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them."

Sacrifice is not sacrifice if it doesn't cost you something. Jesus gave His very life for you. What will you offer to him in return?

Present Suffering

2009-04-27T04:44:00.002-05:00

Romans 8:18

Yesterday in church we were singing an awesome song called "Your Grace is Enough". It basically proclaims that whatever I might be going through, God's is bigger and His grace is enough.

As we were singing, I started thinking about several people around me. Close to me was a woman who is grieving over a lost relationship. One row up was a mother who in the last two years has completely lost the ability to speak. She was signing every word. Two rows up was a woman who has a difficult time forming relationships, but now is having trouble with her health. She is suffering almost alone. Just a few rows back was a couple who have a severely handicapped child whose medical bills alone are stressful, not to mention just the day to day routine that must be carried out in their home.

The amazing thing was that all of them were proclaiming, "Your Grace is Enough". It was an amazing moment in worship as hearts that were breaking cried out to God that their present suffering could not even compare with greatness of God or with the grace He had bestowed upon them.

We are all going to struggle and suffer. This is as much a part of life as the sun coming up in the morning. However, this life is but a vapor. And eternity is unfathomable. When we reach eternity with Christ, there will not be one moment of suffering ever again. In light of that, "our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

Therefore, let us suffer with faithfulness. Whatever we are going through, let us be faithful to God - even when we don't feel like it. Express those feelings to God today. He is big enough to handle them. And His grace is enough... even for you.

Are You Growing?

2009-04-23T08:59:00.002-05:00

Numbers 26:1-4, 51

This may seem like passage that is just strictly factual for the sake of knowing how many people were about to enter into the promised land, but I believe it actually shows us a quite vivid picture.

This is the second census that Moses had been commanded to take. The first one was before the 38 years of wandering in the desert. Now everyone that had believed the spies report over God's promises had died, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. Here they are about to enter and there are about 2000 less people than there were 38 years ago. Why?

Yes, the conditions were severe, but the Israelites had been through severe conditions before. They spent 400 years in slavery and flourished. They grew from a family of 12 brothers to almost 3 million people! So why in these 38 years have they declined?

I believe God is showing us a vivid, physical picture of what it looks like to live in disobedience. The 38 years that the Israelites spent wandering in the desert were completely wasted. You can count the number of verses that have to do with that 38 years on your fingers because there is just nothing to say about them. They were wasted in disobedience, therefore the people did not grow.

If we are not growing spiritually, we are living in disobedience to God in one or more areas. If you feel distant from God or if you feel He hasn't taught you anything in quite some time, ask Him to show you where you are being disobedient so that you may confess and repent today. Don't wander in the desert any longer.

The Snare

2009-04-22T08:19:00.002-05:00

Numbers 25:1-3, Numbers 31:16, Revelation 2:14

The scriptures may not make much sense to you today unless you know the story of Balaam and Balak, so let me fill in the gaps...

Balaam could not curse Israel the way Balak wanted him to so according to scripture, Balaam gave Balak advice on how he could defeat the Israelites. He advised Balak to get the Moabite and Midianite women to seduce the Israelite men into worshipping their God, Baal, and indulging in sexual immorality with them.

Baal, was a fertility god and the worship of him involved ritual prostitution in the temple of Baal. This was detestable to God and the Israelites knew it. God acted swiftly in the punishment of this sin. All the men who took part in this idolatry were killed, but the damage was done.

How many times throughout the rest of the Old Testament do we hear about the Israelites falling into the snare of idol worship to the false god Baal? Too many times to count. This was their first encounter and it became a snare to them the rest of their ancient history.

The Israelites did not even see this snare coming, but the decision they made took them, their children, their grandchildren , and the rest of their decendants much further than they ever wanted to go with sin. It is amazing to me that sin sometimes seems to come from no where and one decision can sometimes change the course of our lives and possibly the lives of our entire family.

We must be aware of this warning in scripture: Evil wants to destroy us and our desire for God.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8. Don't let one foolish decision change your entire history.

God Can Even Use a Donkey!

2009-04-21T08:42:00.002-05:00

Numbers 22:1-35

The Israelites are on the border of the promised land, but no doubt the surrounding nations have heard of all that had happened to them. Now they were so close, the other nations could see this enormous people group moving toward them. And they were afraid! Balak, the king of Moab, decided to take matters spiritually. Unfortunately, he went to the wrong source. Instead of consulting God, he consulted the sorcerer, Balaam.

Balaam may come across to you as a true believer in God. There are many that feel that he was and just made some mistakes along the way. However, based on other scriptures such as 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11, and Revelation 2:14, I do not believe that he was. However, God used him. This may seem puzzeling to us, but God can use anyone He desires to speak to us. He can use unbelievers to encourage us or to discipline us.

Balaam seeks God's approval in going with the messengers sent from Moab and God says no. Then the messengers come back and Balaam asks God again. God will not be manipulated. Have you ever continued to ask God for something over and over that He has shown you is NOT for you?

God allows Balaam to go, but He did not want him to. Therefore, God sends an angel of the Lord to block his path. The interesting thing in this story is that the "seer" did not see, but the donkey did!! Balaam, although regarded as a spiritual man, did not have spiritual eyes. The donkey tried to help him, but he just beat the donkey, forcing his way through.

Is there something in your life that God is trying to stop you from doing but you just keep forcing your way through? Ask God to show you if He is Sovereignly trying to stop you from making a mistake. Listen to His voice and be aware of the voices around you - including the donkey!

The Poisonous Bite of Sin

2009-04-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Numbers 21:4-9

New generation, same attitude. Complaining. One of the Israelites' snares into sin time after time. God did not and will not put up with the same sin over and over again. He punishes them with deadly, venomous snakes. But this time, Moses does not fall face down and petition God to forgive them and remove the plague. Interestingly, when Moses did not plead for them, they turned to God for forgiveness. This is the first time they have confessed and repented of their sin.

God tells Moses to do something that seems very strange. God told Moses to make a bronze snake, put in on a pole and lift it up. Anyone who looked at it would be healed from the poisonous bite. This would have seemed strange for at least three reasons:

It takes time to make a bronze snake so the people had time to truly feel the effects of their sin.
According to Exodus 20:4, they were not to make any images.
Snakes are cursed, associated with Satan, and are considered repulsive by many.

However, Moses did what God said even though it seemed bizarre and even repulsive.

The people had to believe what God said and look to the snake in order to be healed from the poisonous bite. And this was the only way they could be healed. Any human remedy would only result in death. This may seem like "foolishness", but "the cross is foolishess to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Jesus hung on a tree and we know from scripture, that makes Him cursed. However, the only way to be saved from the poison of sin is to look in faith to Jesus.

The snake, as strange as it may seem, is a picture of the Son of Man being lifted up. Jesus himself even refers to this story in John 3. To look to the cross where a cursed Man hung may seem foolish or even repulsive, but it is the only way to come to God, because it is the way He says were are to come.

Have you looked to Jesus for salvation? Saving faith is believing what God says and acting on it. This is a committment that each individual must make for herself. Will you look to the cross today and believe? I can think of no better time that right now. He is the only cure for the poisonous bite of sin.

Baby Steps of Faith

2009-04-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

Numbers 21:1-3

This passage of scripture may seem insignificant, but it is actually the first baby step of faith that the Israelites took since their journey to the promised land began. The Israelites were victims of an unprovoked attack by the Canaanites. I don't know about you, but I would have expected their response to be something like, "if only we had died in the desert!". But, they show a shocking amount of faith and turn to God. Yeah Israelites!!

The Israelites believed that God was able to do what He said He could do. They acted in faith, but their faith had two very important components that true faith always has. First, their faith had content. They were basing their faith on God's promise to bring them into the promised land. Their faith also had action. Their action was making a vow to the Lord and following through. The Lord brought them to victory based on their faith.

What makes this short victory even more important is that this was the very place that 38 years before they had been defeated when they chose not to believe God. God truly is the God of second chances! God can use our former places of defeat for victory.

Is there somewhere in your life that God is offering you a second chance? Don't miss out on His second chance! Make a vow to the Lord today that if He will give you the victory, you will be obedient.

The Submitted Servant

2009-04-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Numbers 20:22-29

We have traveled many days with Aaron. We have watched his life and his faith mature. Was he perfect? Far from it. Aaron helped build the golden calf, he, along with his sister Miriam, opposed Moses, and he also disobeyed God when he and Moses were commanded to speak to the rock to bring water from it. However, in spite of all his failures, he ended his life a completely submitted servant of the Lord.

God tells Moses to get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up the mountain because Aaron is going to die. We see nothing in scripture to make us believe that Aaron argued or complained about God's choice for his life. He just obeyed. God blessed him for his obedience by allowing him to see the priesthood passed on to his son. Aaron died knowing that his son was going to be greatly used by God. He was also allowed to tell his family goodbye, and Aaron knew exactly where he was going. He was going to be "gathered to his people".

We can see through Aaron's life that God is much more concerned with our current faith than He is with our past failures. We can also see that submission to the Lord is the greatest mark of maturity.

How about you? Is your life submitted to the Lord? Are you to the point in your relationship with Him that you can truly say, "Lord, whatever you choose for me, I submit myself to it". Or do you spend much of your time complaining over what the Lord has chosen for you?

Today, ask God to grow you into a totally submitted servant. There is truly no greater mark on a believer's life.

"He had not, in the highest degree, the qualities of insight, promptitude, energy, and firmness for which Moses was pre-eminent: but he excelled his brother in the passive virtues of patience and endurance. Under the stunning blow which deprived him of two of his sons in a moment, no word of reproach escaped his lips; while on the occasion of the Korahitic rebellion he waited, with a quiet and becoming dignity, until his pre-emenence had been established, and then he used his priesthood in making intercession for the plague-stricken multitudes... His character shines most brightly at 'the evening time'; and to him we may apply the poet's words, 'Nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it.' We forget his faults as we see him ascending so quietly the hill on which he is to be gathered to his people."
William M. Taylor, Moses: The Law-Giver

Disobedience Brings Consequence

2009-04-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Numbers 20:2-13

This is probably one of the best known stories of the Old Testament. Moses' failure. It is so disheartening. However, after studying it, I believe that there may be as much for us to learn in Moses' failure as there was in his successes.

First of all, it seems unfair that after all Moses had been through with the grumbling, complaining Israelites, that he would not get to see the promised land. We can easily sympathize with his anger toward the people. We can easily sympathize with the way he spoke to them. Unfortunately, human emotion is not an excuse for sin. And God's leaders do not have the luxury of losing their tempers with others.

Moses' sin is actually multifaceted. First and foremost, he disobeyed God. He didn't follow God's instructions. Moses did not believe God in this circumstance. Moses had seen the very glory of God, yet here he did not believe Him. Secondly, Moses took some of the glory for the miracle for himself and for Aaron. Moses says, "must we" bring water out of this rock making it seem as if they were responsible for the miracle as opposed to God. Thirdly, Moses spoke to the people harshly instead of speaking too the rock. And last but not least, Moses struck the rock twice instead of doing what God had said. Any of these points are sinful, but add them all up and they equal a significant failure on Moses' part.

It is important to see through this example that a whole lifetime of service can be ruined by one sinful act. If it does not ruin a life, it is not because it shouldn't, but only because of God's grace. The fact that Moses had to suffer the consequences of his actions should serve as a warning for us.

Is there an area in your life where you are disobeying God, yet you believe that you deserve a pass because of all the other things you are doing right? This is not how God works. He does not weigh the good against the bad. Ask God to help you totally submit to Him and His ways today.

At the Threshold of the Promised Land - Part 5

2009-03-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Numbers 14:21-44

This is a long narrative, however, I feel that this passage has some important lessons that are applicable to our daily lives.

God forgives the Israelites for their unbelief, lack of trust, and ultimately their contempt. But, the consequences are still theirs to live with. No one that had treated with Him contempt would ever see the promised land. The saddest part is that even the children had to suffer for their parents sin. Not because God was punishing them directly, but because sin even affects the innocent.

When a husband or wife chooses to be unfaithful, their entire family is effected. What consequences are my children suffering because of my rebellion? Are they rebellious because I have allowed them to be? Do they have a complaining attitude because I do?

The last part of the story is the most tragic. The people realize they have sinned and decide they will go into the promised land. Moses tried to tell them that the Lord was not with them, but they would not listen. Sometimes we cannot go back. Sometimes the opportunity for obedience is forever lost and we must live with the consequences. Persistent failure to trust God and obey Him is always disastrous.

Not all sin has to end in disastrous consequences. The time to believe and repent through our actions is now. The Israelites never got to see their promised land. I pray we don't miss ours. Don't just stand on the threshold - GO IN!!

At the Threshold of the Promised Lard - Part 4

2009-03-12T20:47:00.002-05:00

Numbers 14:13-20

Again, we see the wonderful character traits of Moses. Moses was more concerned about the reputation of the Lord than he was his own purposes. Moses reasons with God to forgive them for His namesake. Moses wants the nations to know that God is The LORD and that the one, true God keeps His promises.

We should be ever mindful of the Lord's reputation as we live our lives. During this time and even today, the world is looking for the one, true God. The world is looking for a god who keeps his promises. We can show them this God, the only God through our lives.

One important thing to point out about this passage is that Moses appeals to God's love and His mercy - not His justice. To appeal to God's justice would have meant certain death. We do not want God's justice. If God treated us justly, we would surely be destroyed.

As we pray for our country, let us confess our sins and plead for God to be merciful to us and to our country. Let us ask God to show the world again that He is the One, True God and that He keeps His promises!

At the Threshold of the Promised Land - Part 3

2009-03-11T21:26:00.002-05:00

Number 14: 1-12

I must tell you that reading this vivid passage in the Bible literally brings me to tears. These people had seen the wonders of God, the provision of God, the blessings of God, and the literal glory of God yet they still do not believe. It is hard to comprehend.

Deuteronomy 1:27 tells us that the people literally grumbled in their tents saying, "the LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us".

What makes this so heartbreaking to me is that I know that I have felt that way. I know that when I have been faced with opposition I have wondered, "why are You doing this to me?" Oh, how I have distrusted my loving God! It breaks my heart that the Israelites did it, but it breaks my heart even more that I did not learn from their example.

Moses and Aaron hit the dirt out of shame, but also probably because they were afraid God might justifiably wipe the people off the face of the Earth! Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and tried to reason with these unbelieving people. But, then God shows up and speaks with Moses. God asks Moses how long would these people, His people, treat Him with contempt!

When we fail to trust God and believe His promises, we are treating the Lord with contempt. It is rebellion and it is sin. Is that really how we want to treat the God that gave His only Son so that we might have a relationship with Him? Do we really want to treat Him with contempt? Do you really believe God? Not do you believe in God, but do you believe Him?

He is worthy of our trust. Ask Him to reveal any area of unbelief to you today and then ask Him to "Help your unbelief". An honest cry for help He will not deny.

At the Threshold of the Promised Land - Part 2

2009-03-10T22:03:00.004-05:00

Numbers 13:26-33

This passage starts out so encouraging! Can't you just hear the people saying "Ohh" and "Ahh" as the spies give their report! Unfortunately, one little word changes everything. "But". The spies begin to tell the people why they can never take possession of the land. But this, and but that! Then Caleb steps up and becomes the voice of faith in a God that had seen them through and proven Himself faithful.

Caleb says "we can certainly do it", but the other 10 basically say, "no we can't!". They compare themselves to grasshoppers! However, with God, grasshoppers can overcome giants! Let me give you an example...

George Mueller, an ordinary man that lived in the 1800s, felt God calling him to care for orphans in Bristol, England. He did not have the means to do this on his own, yet he trusted God and made a covenant with God that he would never ask anyone for financial assistance. He would only ask God for the provisions needed to care for orphaned children and himself. God proved Himself faithful as George Mueller provided for over 10,000 children during the course of his ministry! George Mueller was just a grasshopper, but he overcame a giant by trusting in a giant God!

What giant in your life is holding you back from entering the promised land? God does great things with grasshoppers who trust Him. How will you trust Him today?

By the way, if you have an extra minute, click on George Mueller and read his story. It is quite amazing!

At the Threshold of the Promised Land - Part 1

2009-03-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Numbers 13:1-3, 17-25

The Israelites were finally there!! They made it to the promised land! In this passage, we see the Lord instructing Moses to send spies into the land to check it out. However, based on Deuteronomy 1:19-23 we see that this was a concession made by God to allow them to explore the land. But, the decision had already been made. They were to inhabit the land.

The Israelites knew that they were to take possession of this land. They didn't have to question whether this was the right place or the right time. They had all known since childhood that one day God would deliver them to this land. Yet, here they stand on the edge of it and doubt.

Although we might think that we might just walk right in, let's stop and think for a moment... Do we do everything that we know God has commanded us to do? When God gives us instructions to do something, we are to do it. We are not to see if it is "do-able". We are to do it! The decision has been made and we are to do it. Specifically, this means that instructions that are given in His Word are to be carried out.

As we will see later this week, failure to trust God and follow Him in obedience can be disasterous. Where do you need to be obedient? What has God told you to do in His Word that you are not doing? Can you confess that you aren't doing it either because you don't want to or because you don't trust Him enough to follow Him? Ask God to change any area of disobedience in your life today. Let's not miss out on the promised land.

Judgement, Repentance, Intercession, & Restoration

2009-03-06T06:00:00.001-06:00

Numbers 12:10-16

God's judgment falls on Miriam and it is severe. Leprosy. At this time, there is no cure for leprosy aside from divine healing from God. Aaron looks at her and as high priest knows that he will have to pronounce her unclean and send her out of the camp forever. Knowing that he has sinned as well, Aaron humbly confesses and repents of this sin they so "foolishly committed". Aaron begs Moses to intercede for their sister.

Moses, who had been so deeply hurt by them, cries out in intercession for his sister. This is exactly what Jesus Christ does for you everyday of your life. He is the offended and we are the offenders. Yet, He cries out to the Father on our behalf and pleads for our forgiveness. Thank Jesus for doing that right now.

One lesson we can learn from Numbers 12 is that jealousy hurts everyone. Moses was hurt, Aaron was hurt, and Miriam was hurt. Jealousy enslaves us and the root of it is dissatisfaction with what God has blessed us with.

There is hope in this story as well. First of all, God comes to the defense of His faithful servants. He defended Moses against his family, and God will defend us as well. Lastly, Miriam and Aaron were restored. Yes, they were humbled - especially Miriam - but God forgave them and restored them. Aaron and Miriam continued to serve the Lord. Even when we fail, God can still use us if we will turn from our sin and turn back to Him.

It's a Boy!

2009-03-05T14:59:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to let all of you know that we found out today that we are having a boy! We are all very excited, but I think Joel, our 5 year old, is the most excited. He said, "that's great! Just like Noah!" Ha! We have so enjoyed our 2 boys, why not have 3! I will try to get a sonogram picture on here soon. Please continue to pray for us when you think of us!

Thanks and Praise be to God!

Too Close to Home - Part 2

2009-03-05T06:00:00.002-06:00

Numbers 12:4-9

Talk about accountability! We know that God hears and sees everything we say and do, but here we see God Himself coming to hold Miriam and Aaron accountable for what they were saying about His servant Moses. God basically says to them "How dare you!" This is an extremely important lesson so I don't want you to miss it:

God is not pleased when we criticize those He has placed in leadership.

Who does this include? No, our pastor and other ministers at our churches are not the same as Moses. But, they have been placed as overseers of God's church. We must heed the question God asks in verse 8 very seriously. "Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" Will we respect those that God has placed over us or will we belittle them? Will we pray for them as God leads through them or will we demean their efforts to serve God?

I'm sure that everyone reading this has had "fried pastor" or "fried worship leader" for lunch on Sunday at least once. However, God has convicted me over this so severely that I do not want to fall into this sin ever again. And I don't want you to either. If you know that you have talked poorly about the leadership of your church, confess and repent right now. God will forgive and restore you. Begin praying right now for God to move in the leadership of your church and commit to support them in whatever way God leads you to.

Too Close to Home

2009-03-04T15:00:00.003-06:00

Numbers 12: 1-3

The problems that Moses faced in chapter 11, unfortunately were only the beginning. Only this time, it is a little too close to home. His own family is personally attacking him and his leadership. Why? Many believe it was because of Moses' wife threatening Miriam's position, but usually an attack of this magnitude would be something deeper than that. Moses' wife was probably just a smokescreen. Miriam and Aaron had become envious of their younger brother.

God had just anointed 70 new leaders. Possibly Miriam and Aaron felt that their position was threatened. Or maybe they were just jealous of Moses' special relationship with God. What we need to realize is that God has the right to choose whomever He desires. Have you ever been offended or jealous when God chose someone else to do a job that you wanted to do?

We see in verse 3 that Moses was "the most humble man on the face of the earth". (Just in case you are wondering if Moses wrote this about himself, the answer is - probably not!! This verse was probably added by Joshua since if Moses said that about himself, he wouldn't be very humble!) Moses stood silent in the face of his attackers. How could he do this? Moses could let this attack go, no matter how much it hurt him, because he was secure in God and God's love for him. He believed what God said about him more than what his family said about him. Wow!

What can you do today to help you not be so defensive in the face of criticism? Ask God to show you who He says you are and to help you silence all the other voices.

True Leader of God

2009-03-03T06:30:00.000-06:00

Numbers 11:16-30

I realize we have skipped around a lot in the 11th chapter of Numbers, but there are so many lessons to be learned that I don't want us to miss any of them! Today, I want us to look deep into the heart of Moses. I know we will see Jesus, but I hope we will see ourselves. If we don't, I hope we will want to change...

Moses was at a point in his ministry where he truly needed help. He took his requests to God and God gave him help. God gave Moses 70 leaders to help him share the burden of leading His people. When God put His Spirit on the 70 new leaders, they temporarily prophesied. 68 of the men were around the Tent, but for some reason, possibly because of ceremonially uncleanness, Eldad and Medad were not present. They were chosen to be part of the leadership, but they were in the camp. So, when God's Spirit came down they prophesied as well, and Joshua heard them.

Joshua had been Moses right-hand man since he was a boy. He was extremely loyal to Moses. When he heard these other men prophesying, he was afraid that Moses' authority might be threatened. Joshua even told Moses to "stop them"! This is when we see the true heart of a leader come forth. Moses tells Joshua that he wishes that God would put His Spirit on all of the people.

We must remember that during this time, the Holy Spirit came and went as He pleased. When we accept Christ, the Spirit indwells us always, but this was not the case for the children of Israel. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam had been the only ones that God had put His Spirit on thus far. Now God was giving His Spirit to 70 others. But, was Moses jealous? No.

Moses had no personal ambition of his own. He only had the ambition of the Father. Moses did not want to get in the way of God's work. How do you feel when someone else is used powerfully by God? Are you thrilled that God's work is being done or are you envious that He didn't use you or your church? Maybe the bigger question is: Are we about building God's kingdom or our own?

These are hard questions. We see the heart of Moses was to serve God's purposes. What are ours?

Their Fearless Leader?

2009-03-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

Numbers 11:10-17

In this passage we see none other than Moses, the Israelites fearless leader, complaining! Oh no! Is he falling into the same sin that the people were committing? Actually, he isn't. We can see from God's response that Moses is not sinning against God by complaining. But why?

Their is a subtle difference that makes what Moses was doing not a sin. The Israelites were complaining about their circumstances and therefore complaining about God. Moses was not complaining about God. He was complaining to God.

God does not rebuke Moses for bringing his complaints to Him. He realized that Moses had a very heavy burden and that he was just a man. But, Moses had forgotten that God had made him a promise that He would be with him and would give him rest. God recognized that Moses felt like he was failing the people, himself, and ultimately God. God gave him others to come along beside him and help carry the load. God heard Moses and answered his prayer.

The lesson for us today is to remember to "carry our complaints to the throne instead of to the phone"!

More Complaining...

2009-02-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

Numbers 11:4-6, 18-20, 31-35

Even after being punished with the fire, the people are still wailing about their circumstances. This time, it's about the food. We may be sympathetic to the Israelites because we have an abundance of different foods everyday. God was moving them into a new land that would be "flowing with milk and honey". However, they could not be thankful for their "daily bread". They desired different and more. This must be understood as ingratitude and ultimately sin.

Their issue was not really about the food. It was really about their dissatisfaction with their circumstances and with God. They were rejecting God Himself. This lesson that they learned is so applicable to us today. In our society, it is the norm to be dissatisfied with our current lifestyle. To always want more or different is acceptable. Unfortunately, when we reject what God has given us we are rejecting God.

We must ask ourselves: Am I rejecting God because I don't like what He has given me? Am I dissatisfied with my spouse, my job, my house, or anything else in my life because I want different or I want more?

Unfortunately, the end of the story is tragic. The people got their meat, but they did not even get to enjoy it. The old saying rings true: Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.

The Reteaching of God

2009-02-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

"Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them." Numbers 11:1-3

Have you ever had to learn a lesson more than once? I know that I certainly have! Way back in Exodus 15, the Israelites had grumbled and complained against the Lord. He did not punish them or strike out against them at that point in time. However, this passage is two years later! Two years that God had shown his faithfulness to them over and over. He had supplied all of their needs. He was even dwelling among them, leading them, and guiding them, yet they still complained.

As they learned earlier and as we have learned, complaining about anything is truly to complain about God. God is Sovereign, therefore, anything that comes into our lives is ultimately from Him and is for our good. To complain about it, even if it is undesirable, is to complain about God.

Complaining reveals a lack of trust and a lack of gratitude to God. Complaining is accepted in society, but it is sin before God. The Israelites had a habit of complaining. They complained about their conditions in Egypt. Then they complained about their conditions when God freed them. They had a complaining attitude. It was contagious and it angered God.

We must ask ourselves: Am I a complainer? If so, will I ask God to change this attitude in my life? One way to begin, is when you find yourself tempted to complain about a circumstance or condition, praise God instead. Praise Him for who He is - He is Sovereign, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, forgiving, holy, etc. Then thank Him for the blessings in your life.

The old song, Count your blessings, really is true. When you are struggling, count your blessings and "it will surprise you what the Lord has done".

Do I Count?

2009-02-18T13:23:00.002-06:00

"The LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said: "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one...These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel's army were counted according to their families. The total number was 603,550." Numbers 1:1-2 & 44-46

Many of you know that I am personally studying the life of Moses. Last week I started studying Numbers. Numbers is not a book that you pick up to leisurely read on the beach or to really "feel" moved, but it is scripture and therefore I know that God has something to teach us through it. But, what is it? I asked myself that question all week and today God is beginning to bring at least one lesson together for me.

Numbers begins with God commanding Moses to do a census of the people. God knew exactly how many people there were, so why did He have Moses do a census? For one, they needed to know. The Israelites had been slaves and now had to form an army. They needed to know how many men they had. But, I also think that it is recorded in scripture for another reason.

Scripture could have recorded that there were "approximately 600,000 men", but God did not choose for it to be that way. Scripture records that there were exactly "603,550" men that were able to fight in the army and that they represented each family. Later in Numbers, there is another census done for the Levites. What this says to me is that everyone matters. Everyone counts, and God wanted them to know it. These were God's people and they all mattered to Him. By counting them and recording it, He was showing them that they all had a place in His work.
We can look at God's relationship with them and apply it to our lives daily because we too are God's chosen people if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord.

Have you ever wondered if you mattered to God? Have you ever wondered if He sees you? Knows that you're there? Have you ever wondered if your life counts for anything? Through the little read book of Numbers, you can know that it does. You do count, and you matter to Him. You have a role in His kingdom and are ultimately a member of His army.

God's Provision

2009-02-13T06:00:00.001-06:00

Matthew 6:25-34

I love the way that the Old and New Testament work together absolutely perfectly. This passage of scripture reminds me of one of God's promises that He made to the Israelites in Leviticus 25. To summarize, He commanded them to observe the sabbath, but to also observe a sabbath year every seven years. That meant that every seven years they were not to sow or reap to allow the land to rest. He promised them that He would so increase their harvest in the sixth year that they would be able to live off of it for three years! That's quite a promise!

However, there is no scriptural evidence that the Israelites ever followed this command. We know that they didn't follow this command because they were punished for it. In 2 Chronicles 36:21, all the Israelites had been carried off into captivity and the land was able to rest.

If they never followed this command, they totally missed the blessing of God's provision in their lives. Jesus tells us not to worry about what we will eat or wear, but yet I find myself worrying about those types of things often. Am I missing the blessing of God's provision by trying to jump ahead of Him instead of waiting on how He will provide?

I have never really believed that God will show us all the blessings we missed out on. I just never thought that would be very "heavenly"! But, I do wonder what I am missing out on because of my own lack of faith and disobedience. Ask God to show you if there is any area that you are controlling that He wants to provide for you in. I certainly don't want to miss any of His blessings and I don't want you to either.

"The earth is the Lord's..."

2009-02-11T08:02:00.003-06:00

"The earth is the LORD's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."
Psalm 24:1

Greed: Maybe it started with the American dream or maybe it started way before America was even thought of. Either way, it is rampant in our society today. The Bible has much to say about the accumulation of wealth (Proverbs 21:20, Proverbs 28:20), which is not evil or bad in and of itself. The Bible also has much to say about how to be good stewards of what God has given us (Matthew 25:14-30). In light of what God says, what are we to do with all the events swirling around us that deal with our personal, national, and global economy?

I have come to one conclusion over this recently and it is that we may be able to politically change policies, but only God can change the heart of men. We live in a society that greed, materialism, and the accumulation of "stuff" has become more important than families and the protection of the poor. It is easy to point the finger at "big executives", but are we any less guilty? At some point, the church stopped taking care of the poor in the community and the government had to step in. At some point, Christians began to decide that a bigger house, a more expensive car, and the best of everything was more important than whether or not their neighbor had food on the table. I am just as guilty as anyone.

So what are we to do? We must pray that the Lord will change hearts and that He will start with ours. I am not suggesting that we go and sell everything we own and give to the poor - unless God directs us to do that - but I am suggesting that we take a good look at what it means to be a sacrificial giver. Everything we have belongs to the Lord. Everything. Knowing that, we must be good stewards and ready to give whatever He asks of us.

Doing God's Work

2009-02-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

We can all agree that we are to be the hands and feet of Christ and do His work. However, there always seems to be much debate about how that work is to be done. Or maybe there is no debate and sometimes we just do what we want to do and then say that we are doing it for the Lord.

As I have been studying the Old Testament, several themes ring loud and clear. One of them is this:

God's work must be done God's way.

In the story of Cain and Able, Cain was sincere in his offering to the Lord, but it wasn't God's way therefore it was unacceptable. In Leviticus 10, Aaron's son's offered "unauthorized fire" to the Lord and they were consumed by the presence of the Lord. I am sure that their offering was sincere, but it was not what God had told them to do. In 1 Chronicles 13, David sincerely wanted to bring the ark to Jerusalem, but he did not do it God's way and the consequences were quite severe.

God is serious about us doing what He asks us to do, but He is also serious about us doing it His way. I believe this is something we should not take lightly when it comes to our work in the church as well as outside the church. If we want God to bless our work for Him, we must start by asking Him how He wants it accomplished.

As we were leaving Gatlinburg last week, our 5 year old, Joel, prayed for us as we started our trip home. He prayed for God to keep us safe on the road, but then he said "and God, if you need us to do anything today for you, use us." Wow! Can we all be that open to His will? Not just that we will do it, but use us to do it the way You want it done.

"Like Little Children..."

2009-01-27T10:15:00.002-06:00

"He called a little child and had him stand among them. and he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." Matthew 18:2-6

There are many important lessons to be learned from this passage. I want to focus on two that stand out to me. The first brings me as a mother much comfort. We teach our children and grandchildren that God loves them and that He is with them. But, then at some point they begin learning that until they trust in Christ to forgive them for their sins that Jesus does not live in their heart. This has always been hard for me to reconcile because both are true. However, I believe that this passage, as well as others in which Jesus deals with children, teach us that Jesus is uniquely with children. I believe that He is with all children whether they realize it or not. My children believe that God is with them because that is what they have been taught, however, I am thankful that He is even with the Buddhist child in Indonesia right now. May he come to believe in Christ as well.

The second lesson is that we as a culture need a good dose of humility. I have heard it said many times that "we are the most powerful nation in the world" and "nothing can come up against America". Hmmm, are we so sure anymore? We are and have been the most powerful nation in the world because God has ordained that we would be at this point in history. Not because of any of our own doing. It is only by His grace and His mercy bestowed upon us day after day after day. And yet, we continue to take credit for it. May we thank Him today the way a little child thanks their parents for doing something they could never do themselves.

"Be Holy"

2009-01-26T06:56:00.004-06:00

"Be holy, because I am holy" Leviticus 11:45

We have all heard this verse quoted many times I am sure. But what exactly does it mean to "be holy"? Holy means to be "set apart, consecrated for the Lord". Simply put, holy means to be different from the world. If we are not different from the world in our actions and our attitudes, we are not holy.

The entire book of Leviticus instructs the Israelites on how to be holy. I am not suggesting that we are to live by the entire Levitical code, however it is a good book to read to begin to grasp the holiness of God. An interesting fact about that book is that all the laws that are given to them regarding holiness were not given so that the Israelites could have a relationship with God. They were already in relationship with God because He had chosen them to be His people. The laws were given to them so that they could maintain their relationship with God.

The same is true for us today. When we accept Christ, we are in relationship with God. Through God's mercy, the righteousness of Christ is given to us, but holiness must be acquired. Holiness is something that we must work at daily by seeking God and His will. We do this not to have a relationship with God, but in order to maintain it. I have heard it said that we will never "drift into holiness". And this is true.

A holy life will always be characterized by obedience. Let's all ask ourselves, "Where do I fall short?"

Our Greatest Reward

2009-01-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Exodus 40:34-35

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—John 14:16

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 1 Corinthians 6:19

Sometimes we might think that the Israelites had it easy. They knew exactly where to go and when because the "cloud of God" led them through the desert. I know I have thought that it would be easy to follow God if I had that clear of a direction. They even had God's presence come and live in their church! They really seem to have the advantage until we take a closer look at what God has given us through Christ.

Now, Believers don't follow a cloud or a pillar of fire. Nor do we build a temple for the presence of God to come and dwell inside. When we accept Christ, we are the temple. He literally comes and dwells inside of us! The presence of the Living God that Moses could not come near as He was filling the temple, fills you and I when we trust in Christ's sacrifice for our sins.

Of all the blessings or rewards we could ever hope for, this is by far the greatest. Thank God today for the gift of His promised Holy Spirit in you life. Ask Him to help you "hear" His leadership. Yield yourself to Him today so that you can be completely filled with His presence.

Finding Wisdom

2009-01-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. James 1:5-8

Wisdom is something that we all desire, but seem to have the hardest time finding. I love these verses and have quoted them quite frequently to myself, to others, and to God in prayer. It is important that we ask for wisdom and the Bible tells us plainly that when we do, it will be given to us. But, sometimes I still have a hard time figuring out what to do in a situation. Why? I have prayed for wisdom so why doesn't the Lord give it to me like He says He will?

The Bible tells us that if we doubt we will not receive anything from the Lord because we are like "a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind". I don't think this necessarily just means if we are having trouble believing that God can give us wisdom, but more that we are doubting that His wisdom is the right choice for us. God is not going to give us wisdom in a situation just so we can throw it into our "suggestion" pile. He is only going to give us His wisdom if we are willing to obey.

Chris Tiegreen says, " If we are only requesting His advice, He will not give it. He only gives solutions to be implemented, not suggestions to consider."

God is not an advice column. He is Almighty God, full of wisdom and understanding. When we ask for His wisdom on an issue, we must be willing to obey what He says. Otherwise, we will continue to be tossed about from one suggestion to the next.

Ask God to give you wisdom today in your daily decisions and commit to obey what He says.

Expecting Excellence

2009-01-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

So all the work on the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses. Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses... The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them. Exodus 39:32-33a, 42-43

We expect excellence from everyone we are around. If we are an employer, we expect our employees to work with excellence. If we lead a ministry, we expect our ministry team to minister with excellence. And for heaven's sake, we all expect our children to do everything with excellence! But, what gives us the right to expect this excellence? Is is because we have taught or encouraged others with our words to do everything with excellence? Or is it because we have mirrored excellence in our own lives?

Moses could expect excellence from the Israelites because he had live a life of excellence. He could expect the Israelites to do everything "just as the LORD had commanded" because he had done everything "just as the LORD had commanded".

We cannot expect things to be any different in our lives. If we are not behaving with excellence, those we lead will not either. For example, we cannot expect our employees, ministry team, or our children to be punctual if we are always five minutes behind. We cannot expect our children to talk respectful to us and others if they hear us talking disrespectful to or about our spouse.
Those who are led by us, tend to take on many of our characteristics - good or bad.

We see from scripture that the Israelites truly cared about what Moses thought of their work. They brought all of their work to Moses to be inspected, and Moses blessed them. Because Moses had displayed excellence in his own life, the people truly valued his opinion. I know that when my children are grown, I want them to value my opinion. I do not want to run their lives or tell them what to do as adults, but I hope that they will have seen consistent excellence in my life and in my walk with Christ and therefore value what I say.

Today, ask God to help you serve Him with excellence in whatever area of service He has placed you. Whether you are the head of a company or ministry or just the CEO of your household and children, God desires that we serve Him with excellence. And others are looking for it in their leaders.

"Stop Giving!"

2009-01-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

Exodus 35:4-9, 36:2-6

The Israelites are getting ready to build the first tabernacle that God has instructed them to build. The materials were all given to God as free-will offerings. No one was forced to give, and God gave no percentage of goods that had to be given per person. The people just gave as there hearts led them to. And what they gave were not old clothes or can goods from the back shelf. They were giving gold, silver, and true finery.

An amazing thing takes place in the beginning of chapter 26. The men that God had chosen to do the work received all the offerings to begin the work, but the people continued to bring more and more every morning. Finally they had so much it began to overwhelm them and Moses had to "restrain" the people from giving anything else!

Now I know the Israelites blew it a lot of the time, but this time they got it right! They truly gave from their hearts and when they did, their offerings were more than enough. Can you imagine going to your church this Sunday and your pastor saying to the congregation, "We have already met budget for the year and have no idea what to do with all this extra money, so please, stop giving!" That sound absurd, doesn't it? But, literally, that is what happened in this passage.

What this teaches me, it that God has provided enough resources to support His Church. So why are so many churches and parachurch organizations suffering financially? Because we are failing to give from our hearts.

Today, ask God what He would have you give to His Church this year. If you have never given on a regular basis, ask God to help you start. If you do give a certain percentage of your income regularly, ask God to show you if that is the amount He would have you continue to give. And, ask Him to help you not only give financially this year, but also of yourself.

"If your Presence does not go with us..."

2009-01-13T06:00:00.001-06:00

Exodus 33:15-18

This passage of scripture has deeply impacted my life recently. Moses was truly someone that understood what it means to follow God. And is still a great example for us to follow today.

The Israelites had rebelled against God, therefore God told Moses that He would no longer go with them, but would send His angel to lead them into the promised land. This was just not good enough for Moses. He would have rather stayed in the desert than take one step without God.

As we begin this New Year, I pray that God will make that the attitude of my heart. This year, I don't want to do anything without knowing that He is with me. Like Moses, we ought to be afraid to take one step without the assurance of God presence. However, when we know He is with us, we can move forward with boldness. This type of assurance does not just happen. It is only going to happen when we spend time seeking God through prayer and bible study.

My favorite part of this passage is verse 18 that says,

Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

After Moses had been assured of God's presence going with them, then and only then does He ask God to show him His glory. Quite a bold request, don't you think? But, I know that I personally ask God to let His glory fall on my life, my family, my church, etc all the time. I want to see His glory, but I seem to miss the part about not taking one step without Him. If I truly want to see Him work, I must make sure that my life is aligned with His will.

Spend some time praying today and ask God to assure you of His presence. Ask Him to show you if you are doing what He would have you do. Commit your year to Him if you haven't already and then get ready to see His glory.

On a personal note, I am glad to be back! My children start back to preschool today and I am very thankful because I have been so tired and not just "morning sick", but all day sick. Oh yeah, for those of you who do not know - I am 9 weeks pregnant! We are very excited about this gift that the Lord has blessed us with and we do ask for your prayers. I have missed writing and I hope God will continue to use me in this way during 2009. God bless you and thanks so much for reading!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-19T06:29:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and let you know that I will be taking some time off until after the first of the New Year. I will be praying for you and for your families over the holidays. May we all remember why we celebrate and keep Jesus at the center of everything we do over the next week.

I also want to thank each of you for all of the encouragement you have given me over the past few months. If you have been blessed, challenged, or encouraged by anything on this blog, please know that it is from the Holy Spirit and has nothing to do with me. For those of you that have encouraged me to submit writings to publishers, thank you so much and I am praying about that. But, thank you for showing that much faith in me.

May all honor, praise, and glory go to Jesus Christ our Lord! Again, Merry Christmas!

Elaine

The Lampstand

2008-12-12T06:00:00.001-06:00

Exodus 25:31-40

I realize that these may not be the most exciting scripture references you have ever read, but I hope when you read the significance of the lampstand you will have a new appreciation for what we now call the menorah.

The lampstand had seven lamps that were supplied with oil and were trimmed by the priest every morning and evening. The light was never to be extinguished. Obviously, this piece of the tabernacle points us to Jesus being the light of the world. The reason that it points to Jesus is because the lampstand was positioned in the Holy Place outside the Most Holy Place God would meet with the priest. It was the only light in the area. Without this light it would have been impossible to see because both areas were surrounded by very thick curtains. The lampstand provided the only light for the priest as he worked in the Holy Place and led him to the Most Holy Place and into the presence of God.

In the same way, Jesus is the light that ushers us into the very presence of God. He shows us the way and no one can come to God except by following the Light of Jesus. In the same way, Jesus said that "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). We are to reflect the light of Christ and lead others to God.

Thank Jesus for lighting the way for you to come to God. Also, ask Him to reflect His light through your life today that you might lead someone to Him.

The Table

2008-12-11T06:00:00.001-06:00

Exodus 25: 23-30

I'm sure it will come as no surprise that the table that held the Bread of the Presence is my absolute favorite aspect of the Tabernacle. It points us directly to Jesus in many different ways. The first way is that it was set on the right from God's perspective. Just as Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father, the table was set on the right. There were 12 loaves placed on the table and they were replaced every Sabbath. The 12 loaves were to remind the Israelites of God's sustenance of the 12 tribes. The main way that it points us to Christ, however is the fact that later Jesus would call Himself the Bread of Life. Eating the Bread He offers satisfies the very soul.

So many times the Bible talks about Christ being the only one that can truly satisfy. Isaiah 55:1-3 might say it best:

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.

He is the only one that can satisfy our soul. Jesus satisfies and sustains us in our lives as we seek after Him. A unfulfilled soul is a stronghold waiting to happen. Ask Him today to be the Bread of Life for you. Ask Him to satisfy your very soul so that you do not look to anyone or anything else to do it for you.

The Atonement Cover

2008-12-10T06:00:00.001-06:00

Exodus 25:17-22

The atonement cover was part of the Ark, but I wanted us to look at it separately today. It was made of pure gold and had two cherubim on top (one on each side) with their wings pointing up to signify God's symbolic dwelling place. This is where God would meet with Moses and with the priests for generations to come. The atonement cover literally covered the "testimony" that was inside the Ark.

The word "atonement" means to "make restitution for or to cover over". Sacrifices had to be made and the blood of the animal had to be put on the atonement cover when the priest would go to meet with God once a year in the Most Holy Place. The picture here is of God dwelling between the cherubim looking down on the Ark. Inside He would see the testimony or the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. He would also see the fact that His law had been broken by the people. But, because the priest had put the blood of the sacrifice on the atonement cover, God saw all of this through the blood and His wrath was turned away.

Jesus is now our Atonement Cover. He entered the Most Holy Place in heaven with His own blood. When we accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins, God no longer just sees you and I and our sin. He sees us through the atoning sacrifice of His perfect son Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

We were discussing this the other morning in our family devotion and discovered that even a four year old can understand atonement. We explained it by taking two pieces of white paper. We left one of them white and put all kinds of black scribbles all over the other. We explained to Joel that the white one was the holiness of God and that the one with scribbles represented us when we do things that are wrong. Then we told him that when we trust Jesus He covers our sin with His holiness. I took the white paper and put it over the other one and asked him what he saw. He said, "Clean and white". Exactly. That is what Jesus does for us. No matter what sin we have in our lives, He makes us "clean and white".

Have you allowed Jesus to be your Atonement cover for your life? If you have not, I cannot think of a better Christmas gift you could give yourself and your family. Ask Him to forgive your sins today. Trust in His atoning sacrifice. Enter into the life He always wanted for you. Not the perfect life, but the forgiven life.

The Ark

2008-12-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

Exodus 25:10-16

The first piece for the Tabernacle that God instructs Moses to make was the Ark of the Covenant. This was undoubtedly the most important piece in the Tabernacle. Amazingly, every aspect of it points directly to our Savior. Let's break it down...

The Ark was to be constructed of wood and covered with pure gold. This is symbolic of Jesus being 100% man and 100% God. The wood symbolizes the humanity of Jesus and the gold the deity of Jesus.

In this passage, we learn that the "Testimony" was to be placed in the Ark. The Testimony was the Ten Commandments. Later, God tells Moses to place two other objects into the Ark. They are a gold jar of manna and Aaron's rod that budded (Hebrews 9:4). The Testimony points us to Jesus because He completely fulfilled the Law. The manna reminds us that Jesus is truly the Bread of Life and our Satisfier and Sustainer. The rod points directly to the resurrection of Christ. The rod was a dead piece of wood that came to life. I hope we never forget that our Savior was as dead as that stick, but rose from the dead to give us new life.

I have always had a deep reverence for the Ark of God, but from studying the past few weeks I have been amazed at how it points directly to Jesus and what He did for us. Thank Him today for fulfilling the Law because we never could have. Thank Him for being our Bread of Life. Lastly, thank Him for coming back from the dead so that we might live.

Offerings for the Tabernacle

2008-12-08T06:00:00.001-06:00

Exodus 25:1-8

We have skipped a few chapters in Exodus, because this time of year I really want to focus on Jesus. Now you may be asking what do Exodus and Jesus have in common? Well, we may be surprised to find out that there is actually a lot of information about Jesus in Exodus. The Tabernacle that God told Moses to construct for Him is actually a picture of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Every piece and every piece's placement point us directly to Jesus. We are going to spend some time looking at that this week.

Today I want us to focus on the first eight verses of chapter 25. The Israelites were to bring offerings to God in order to build the Tabernacle. The things that they were to bring were of great value and God was very specific about the types of offerings that would be acceptable and why they would be acceptable.

The only offerings that would be acceptable were ones that were offered from someone whose "heart [prompted] him to give". Have you ever been prompted to give to something or someone? When we are prompted to give, we must not ignore this. Many times it is truly the Holy Spirit and if we are obedient, we will be taking part in His work. God only wanted offerings from people who truly wanted to give. To me, even the offerings point to Christ because Christ freely came to Earth and gave His life for us. (See John 10:18)

The offerings also had to be the best of what the Israelites possessed. Now, let's remember that these people just came out of slavery. Where did they get all of these costly possessions? The Egyptians gave them to them as they were leaving Egypt. The Egyptians were prompted by God to give these costly items to the Israelites. Therefore, the very things that God was asking for as an offering had been really been given to them by Him in the first place.

Isn't that how it is with us as well? Everything we have has been given is from God. We are merely a steward of it. With that in mind, do we willingly give off the top of what He has given us or do we just give whatever we have left? Do we give God our best? Do we give Him the things that are hard to let go of like our families knowing that they belong to Him more than they will ever belong to us?

This Christmas season, I pray that we will give our best of what God has given us. He gave His life. What will you give in return?

The Ten Commandments - 9&10

2008-12-02T06:58:00.001-06:00

Exodus 20:1-17

We have reached the end. The last two commandments in the moral law of God. I hope you have enjoyed studying this with me and have gained some insight into how God would have us to live. These commandments are not for God's benefit. They are for ours. His ways are always best in our lives. When we follow what He says, we will always be happier. And yes, I think God wants us to be happy!

The Ninth Commandment: "You shall not give false testimony."

This command has two indications. First, "testimony" is a legal term, therefore it is wrong to perjur oneself in a court of law. But, we know that God desires "truth in the inner parts" (Psalm 51:6) and therefore this command also tells us to be truthful in every aspect of our lives. This is extremely difficult. What about in circumstances where telling the truth would hurt someone or in situation where we are unsure what the truth is? Again, as with all the commands, there is no way to keep this commandment aside from the Holy Spirit truly living in us and through us. We must fill ourselves with truth and the only real truth is God's Word. Let's allow this commandment to serve as a reminder to stay in the truth's of God's Word and to meditate on it. Only then will we be able to speak the truth in love.

The Tenth Commandment: "You shall not covet."

This commandment is probably the most convicting and revealing for anyone living in the materialistic culture that we live in. Millions of dollars are spent daily on marketing to convince us that what we have is not good enough and that if we have more, we will be satisfied. This is a big lie that I'm sure we have all bought into in one way or another. While it is not wrong to want to better our lives, (such as a child that grew up poor, but as adult worked extremely hard to provide a better life for himself and his family), it is wrong to want things or a certain life just because another person has it. This sin also leads to other sins, such as adultery or stealing.

If you have not enjoyed taking a deep look at these commandments, you are not alone. It is hard to truly look at God's standard and then look in the mirror and see how far we fall short. The Israelites heard these commandments and were terrified. They did not even want to hear the voice of God and asked Moses to speak to them instead. It is difficult to listen to the voice of God at times, but what has God revealed to you about yourself? And more importantly, what will you do about it?

Before we end, I want to encourage you that the law cannot save us and was never meant to. It shows us how much we fall short in order to drive us to a Savior. Will you approach Him today in humility and ask Him for forgiveness? Fall on your knees before Him. He is already waiting for you.

The Ten Commandments - 7&8

2008-12-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and "Black Friday"! We definitely had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family. We have so much to be thankful for! I also wanted to let you know that on "Black Friday" I got in line at Office Depot at about 3:45 a.m. to get the doorbuster computer - you know we have been needing a new computer! And I got it!! They had seven and I was seventh in line! Okay, with that let's get on with it!

Exodus 20:1-17

The Seventh Commandment: "You shall not commit adultery."

As we try to teach these commandments to our boys, Joel is at the age where he wants to know what everything means. So he immediately asked "what is adultery"? While we do not feel that four is an appropriate age to explain everything there is to know about sex, we do not want to avoid his questions. The way we explained it was to say that adultery is when you pretend either in real life or in your mind that you are married to someone else. That has satisfied him for now, but as he gets older, we truly want to teach what this commandment means to the best of our ability.

So what does it mean? Jesus clarified what the godly standard is in Matthew 5:27-28 which says,

You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

This means that if we even look at someone and think about being with them sexually or even intimately, we have broken this commandment. Why is this so important to God? If sex is a gift, why can't we do it with just anyone? The reason is because sexual intimacy is truly a representation of Christ and the church. Sexual intimacy with one's spouse is holy in the same way that one's intimacy with Christ is holy. The standard is holiness. But, who is holy among man? None of us are and have no hope without Christ. The standards of this commandment are unattainable without Christ and the sooner that the Church admits that and admits that Christians struggle with it as well, the sooner I believe we will see a difference in our society in this area. As long as the Church continues to be silent on sex and sweep sexual matters under the rug, Satan will be able to continue to deceive others into believing that they are the only ones that struggle with sexual sins. Shame and isolation is his game and how he keeps believers in chains.

The Eighth Commandment: "You shall not steal"

Unfortunately, I wish this one was going to be an easy one, but I recently read some statistics that said that a large percentage of people in many countries would steal from someone if they knew the other person would not miss it. That probably does not characterize you and me, but the other statistic was that most employees spend about one work day in five doing absolutely nothing productive. That one might hit a little closer to home.

Another way that we break this commandment is by stealing others time. I know this may sound legalistic, but if we are continuously late for everything and everyone always has to wait on us, we are stealing. We also break this commandment by talking excessively on the phone with others, especially if they are busy and have told us so! So many times I will spend 20-30 minutes on the phone letting my other responsibilities go and then miss out on time with my family. I have stolen precious time from my family when I make that choice. The phone does not have to rule our lives!! I am not saying we should never talk on the phone, but I am saying that we must be mindful of our time and others time as well.

Pray about these two commandments today asking God to show you again if there is anywhere He wants you to change. Ask Him to bring to mind any habitual ways you are breaking these commandments. If He shows you any sin, confess and repent and ask Him to change your heart today.

The Ten Commandments - 5&6

2008-11-26T15:56:00.003-06:00

Exodus 20:1-17

Since I am tremendously late posting today, let's dive right into commandments 5 and 6. This marks the end of God's commandments that have to do with our relationship to Him and now focus on our relationships with others.

The Fifth Commandment: "Honor you father and your mother."

This commandment is probably the most quoted commandment of them all by Christian (and even non-Christian) parents! Hands down, it wins!! But, it is also the "first commandment with a promise" (Ephesians 6:2). To "honor" has four different meanings in this verse.

Prize highly
Care for
Show respect for
Obey

If you were like me, by the time you were 10 or 11 years old and had gotten your bottom spanked about a million times, you got the respect and obey part. But, we are also to prize our parents and to care for them. Notice that God does not say that "if you have good parents, then honor them". And He does not say "honor your parents to their face, but talk about them however you want behind their backs". If we are to ever teach our children to honor, respect, obey, prize, and care for us, we must watch our own attitudes and mouths toward our own parents AND our parents-in-law.

This command can also relate to other types of "fathers". We are to honor those in authority such as spritual fathers or even political fathers. God has placed these people over us and as an act of obedience to God, we are to respect and honor them.

The Sixth Commandment: "You shall not murder"

I think it is important to point out that the word "murder" has been mistranslated to the word "kill" in many translations. This is very important because the Hebrews were instructed by God to kill animals, kill in battle, and practice capital punishment. God was not going against His Word when He instructed His people to "kill" in those ways. It has been correctly translated to "murder" by the NIV and several other translations. However, this commandment goes far deeper than what we would generally consider murder.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment. But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell."

These are difficult words to read. From Jesus' words, we can see that murder is thinking about hurting someone else, either physically or mentally, even if it never happens. This means that we break this commandment when we gossip, bear a grudge, slander, or lose our temper with someone. So many times those sins I just listed are looked over, even laughed about in church while we condemn other sins like homosexuality. This should not be. God takes them seriously and to Him, they are murder of another individual. Even if I did not believe this to be true from God's word, I have seen it so vividly portrayed in the lives of others. The times I have sat with young women as they have cried over the words that were spoken to them in anger have helped me to see that part of their life was taken from them by the other person. I have personally felt this way, yet I too, have spoken words of anger to others and therefore broken the sixth commandment.

Let us ask God today to help us to honor our parents, parent's-in-law, and those in authority. Let us also judge ourselves over the sixth commandment and confess and repent of any sin we find in that area.

The Ten Commandments - 3&4

2008-11-25T06:00:00.001-06:00

Exodus 20:1-17

I hope that you took a second and read the scripture passage today even though it was the same as yesterday! Guess what? It will be the same tomorrow! The reason I want us to read the Ten Commandments everyday this week is because most people do not really know what the Ten Commandments are and certainly do not have them memorized. Let's begin changing that with ourselves this week.

Today we will continue our study of the Ten Commandments focusing on commandment 3 and 4.

The Third Commandment: "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God."

This commandment is, yet again, pretty obvious. Saying things such as "Oh my God!" or "Oh Lord!" are wrong and demeaning to a Most Holy God. The reason is because the names of God represent who He and His many praiseworthy attributes. Jehovah, Jehovah-Nissi, Adonai, El Elyon, the Ancient of Days, Immanuel, Our Advocate - these are all names of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. To honor these names is to honor God. Using His name as an everyday word almost like profanity is to dishonor God. For many, this is simply a habit that we must begin breaking right this minute. We must also think about what we are putting into our minds, especially for our children's sake. As they grow up and we teach them this commandment, they will not only be listening to our speech, but also of the speech of others, including what WE watch on television.

The Fourth Commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy."

This commandment might be the least understood in the culture that we live in. I have recently been studying the Sabbath and seeking the counsel of other Christians on this matter. This commandment is very lengthy and we cannot take it lightly. God gave us the Sabbath. It is a gift from Him, but do we despise it? Do we thank Him for His gift of rest or do we reject it? While we want to honor God through the Sabbath, we do not want to become legalistic like the Pharisees. Where is the line? I believe that is something we must settle in our own hearts.

Many believe we are to observe the Sabbath on Saturday, but most Christian Churches believe we are to observe it on Sunday. However, what are we doing to observe it? Do we do anything different on Sunday that we do not do the rest of the week? While I cannot tell you whether washing a load of clothes is okay on Sunday, I can tell you that that we must take this requirement seriously. A couple of ways we could do this is by either ceasing all work or by spending this day serving the Church and our Lord Jesus Christ. I am a nurse and for many years had to work Sunday's. While I did not enjoy missing church, I did take comfort in knowing that I was taking care of the sick and that is what God had called me to do. If you have to work some Sunday's, do not allow this commandment to offend you. Seek God as to how He would have you observe the Sabbath in your own life. Whatever we do, let's ask God to settle this issue in our hearts that we may honor Him and thank Him for His gift of the Sabbath.

The Ten Commandments - 1 & 2

2008-11-24T14:33:00.002-06:00

Exodus 20:1-17

We are going to spend this week studying the Ten Commandments in detail. I hope you will join me each day as we look at God's moral law for our lives. These commandments are truly already written on our hearts. As we study each of them, I think we will all find that we know that these guidelines are true and right, and are how we should live our lives.

In studying this recently, I found something very interesting. In the pictures we see of Moses carrying the Ten Commandments, there are always two tablets. Scholars have said that the commandments were divided different ways, either five and five or four and six. Now the view is that each tablet contained the entire Ten Commandments, one copy belonging to the people and the other belonging to God Himself. God was entering into a covenant with His people. He took it very serious. He kept a copy for Himself.

Today we will look closely at the first two commandments...

The First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me."

The first commandment begins exactly where we would expect. God is outlining our relationship with Him first and the fact that we are to have no other gods. Obviously idol worship, such as the worship of Zeus, Rameses, Baal or any other pagan deity was forbidden. Before you check this one off as a no brainer, let me give you something to think about. We break this commandment when we look to other sources, such as astrology, for direction. We break this commandment when we give anyone or anything first place in our lives. We must look at our priorities and see if we have made anything else a god in our lives. Lastly, we also break this commandment when we substitute ourselves for God by making up our own moral code. Our society teaches us that as long as someone is sincere in their beliefs that is okay. No, that is wrong. We do not set the standard, God does.

The Second Commandment: "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below."

At first glance, this commandment seems to just be a continuation of the first. But, the first commandment deals with the object of our worship - which is to be God and God alone. This commandment deals with the manner of our worship. We are not to worship even God Almighty in an unworthy manner. An unworthy manner would be by forming an image that is supposed to be Him and bowing down to it. Why? J.I. Packer goes into great detail as to why this is wrong in his book Knowing God. To paraphrase what he says, there are two reasons:

1. "Images dishonor God". There is nothing in all creation to compare God to. He is incomparable in greatness, beauty and splendor. To try to do so, belittles Him. Isaiah 40:18 asks us, "To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to?" The question itself demands our silence.

2. "Images mislead men". When an image is made to represent the Almighty, men get confused. We may begin to think that whatever the image is, is God or represents all the power, might, and wisdom that He has. This just simply is not true.

A hard question to ask ourselves in dealing with the second commandment, is how do I see God? Do I accept the modern church culture that pictures God as a grandfather that is so happy when I stop by, or as an indulgent parent that does not know what to do with his rebellious children? If we have allowed ourselves to picture God in this way, we are in danger of breaking this commandment. He is a Holy God who cannot and will not be compared with anyone or anything.

Ask God today to show you how and where you may be breaking these first two commandments. Let me tell you that this week of study may be difficult as we truly look into God's law, but I believe it is so important to know what God expects of us. Seek God, confess and repent if you need to. And remember, I would not be writing any of this if God had not already broken my heart over it.

We Must Be Prepared

2008-11-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

Exodus 19

Sometimes when I read the Old Testament I feel like God has changed, but I know that is not true. Therefore, I have to ask God to show me how all the characteristics of God fit together. He is love. He is merciful and compassionate. He is a Father to the fatherless. But, our God is also HOLY and a consuming fire. He is The Judge of all nations and peoples. And He is just.

In this passage, we see the Israelites being prepared to receive the Law from God Himself. They had to consecrate themselves. Consecrate means to "set apart, declare holy". The people were to also wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations for three days to prepare themselves to meet with God. The mountain where God was going to descend was also off limits to them. Why was this? If God wanted to meet with them, why would He make it so difficult for them?

The reason is that God is holy, holy, holy and holy, holy, holy is His Name. It is because of His grace, mercy, compassion, and love that He warned them not to get to close to the mountain and instructed them to consecrate themselves. God is approachable, but only on His terms.

I feel that we as a society and even as the Church have tried to put God on our terms. Could it be that we think we can just pop in every now and again with God and that He will show up and do what we want Him to do? Do we prepare ourselves to meet with Him? Do we ask Him for cleansing before we attempt to come into His presence? Let us make no mistake, He is a Holy God. We cannot and will not ever be able to approach Him except on His terms. For us, His terms are a relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. Are you approaching Him on those terms or are you trying to go to Him on your own?

As we prepare to take a close look at the Ten Commandments next week, I pray that we will prepare ourselves to hear from God. Ask Him to prepare your heart in a new way to hear what He says.

Have a great weekend!

Taking the Advice of Others

2008-11-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

Exodus 18:24-27

I promise this is our last day in Exodus 18. Probably! Seriously, there is at least one more lesson that I believe we can all learn from this text.

Jethro offered Moses advice on how to run his country. Jethro was older than Moses, but I think it is safe to say he was not as experienced. As far as we know, Jethro had never led a nation as large as the nation of Israel. One might almost expect Moses to say, "Hey! Who are you to tell me how to do my job?" or even "Thanks, but I'll do it my way." Yet, we see from scripture that Moses "listened" and "did everything" his father-in-law said. Although Moses had been highly honored by God to lead His people, he was not too proud to take advice from his father-in-law.

Do you know anyone that it seems like if you give them a suggestion you can almost guarantee that they are not going to do what you suggested? Or can you see some of those aspects in yourself? We must not be too proud to take advice or suggestions after we listen and weigh our options. To do so is truly a pride issue and sin before God. Ask God today if you are having trouble taking suggestions from other people. If so, ask Him to cleanse your heart of that attitude and help you to accept the advice from others.

My Bible study teacher said this week that "the mark of a leader is to not only give good advice, but be able to receive it". Wise counsel indeed.

Delegating Authority

2008-11-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

Exodus 18:13-27

I have been trying to wait until next week to post this devotion, but God has so helped me through what He has taught me in this passage, I just have to share it with you!

After you read the scripture passage for the day, I want you do get out a big piece of paper and a Sharpie. Write in the biggest letters you can fit on the page:

JUST BECAUSE I AM THE MOTHER DOES NOT MEAN THAT I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING!

Now, you may replace the word "mother" with "woman" or "boss" or "Sunday school teacher" or whatever you want to, but I want you to remember that you are not able (and never will be) to do everything. And the best part is - God never meant for you to!

Jethro saw first hand what was going on in the camp and he realized that Moses would never be able to stand the stress of leading this nation alone for very long. He offered him some wise counsel. He also told him that if he would "do this and God so commands", Moses would be able to stand the strain of his position.

We can take so much from this passage, but mostly I want you to realize that God never meant for the strain of running a home and family to be on one person. Just as we share the celebrations and struggles of life, we are also to share the work. To try to do everything ourselves instead of teaching others to do them is foolish because we will completely wear ourselves out and risk resenting our own family members for not helping us.

I am realizing that those of us with small children have to take responsiblity for teaching our children how to do things. We have the huge responsibility of teaching them the Word of God, but we must also teach them how to do things in the home as well.

The last thing I want to point out is that this passage does not say that if we delegate authority in our jobs or homes that we will be stress free. Responsibility always has pressure and strains. But, if we are all working together, we will be able to "stand the strain".

I hope this word encourages you as you enter the holidays. As we are all sharing the celebration, let's delegate some of the work as well. That is truly how God meant for the family to operate.

Building Family Relationships

2008-11-18T06:00:00.001-06:00

Exodus 18

We are going to camp out in Exodus 18 for the next few days because there is so much to learn from this chapter in the Bible. God has used it in my life recently and the things He has taught me are so timely for this time of year. For today, I want us to turn our attention to verses 1-12.

1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of
everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD
had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have become an alien in a foreign land"; 4 and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh." 5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, together with Moses' sons and wife, came to him in the desert, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons." 7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and
kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told
his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the
Egyptians for Israel's sake and about all the hardships they had met along the
way and how the LORD had saved them. 9 Jethro was delighted to hear
about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the
hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, "Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from
the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the
hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other
gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly." 12 Then
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to
God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses'
father-in-law in the presence of God.

Family relationships can often be hard. As a matter of fact, some people truly dread the holidays because of having to be around difficult family members. There is so much we can learn from this passage about family.

First of all, Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, sets the tone for this story. Moses' wife and sons had been under his care and he is bringing them back to Moses. Jethro could have sent them with messengers, but we see that he truly cared about Moses. He wanted to see and hear all that God was doing through Moses for himself. Jethro was a great man among his people. Moses had become a great man, but Jethro still had so much respect for him that he sent messengers ahead to let Moses know he was on his way with his family. We then see Moses going out to meet his father-in-law. He bows and kisses him which are other signs of respect. Moses was the leader of a nation of over 2 million people, yet he humbled himself in respect of his father-in-law. All relationships can be improved by mutual respect.

Next, the two great men talk face to face in Moses' tent. I can imagine that Moses' could not wait to tell Jethro all that had happened since they had last seen each other! I would love to know what all Moses included in the "everything" that he told Jethro. These men were sharing their lives with each other, not just the struggles, but also the joys. Jethro's response was truly amazing! He praised God for all that he had heard and makes a statement that I cannot pass over: "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods..."

Theologians have debated about whether or not Jethro was a Believer in the Living God. He was a priest of Midian, but that does not necessarily mean he was a Believer. The word "priest" can also mean that he was the head or patriarch of a clan. However, he was a Midianite. Midianites were descendants of Abraham from his second wife. It is likely that Jethro had a knowledge of God from his ancestors. Either way, he now proclaims his belief in God from hearing what God has done for the Israelites.

If you have family members that are not Believers, I hope you will allow this story to bring you great comfort. We can show our family the wonderful things about God without being confrontational. Moses started the day by showing respect for his father-in-law and ended it by sharing a meal with him in the very presence of God. How I pray our holidays could be this blessed. Begin praying this week for opportunities to show your family that you love and respect them. Look for ways to share what God is doing in your life. Then allow the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts. We could spend our holidays celebrating in the very presence of God.

Prayer and Action Go Hand in Hand

2008-11-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

Exodus 17:8-16

Here we see a beautiful picture of James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective". Prayer is so important to our physical, mental, and spiritual lives. Prayerlessness forms a huge barrier between us and God. I think we will all agree that there is no substitute for prayer. However, there is usually action to be taken as well.

If we look closely at the story we see that as long as Moses hands were up toward God, Joshua's army was winning. But they still had to fight. Moses' prayer would not have been effective without Joshua's fighting. And Joshua's fighting would not have been effective without Moses' prayer. God called Moses to pray and Joshua's army to do the necessary work.

What we can take from this story and apply to our lives is to never be judgemental of someones calling or service. Prayer is most important, but we can not use it as a substitution for action. I also love the fact that Moses' two friends helped hold his arms up. God could have given Moses' supernatural strength to hold his arms up all day, but He did not. He gave Aaron and Hur the responsibility of lifting their brother up. God has given us that same responsibility.

Today, ask God where He wants you to take action. Maybe you have prayed about something for a long time and know that now is the time for action. Also ask God to show you a brother or a sister that needs someone to help hold them up. If He shows you someone, pray for that person and then do whatever you can to help them.

Manna from Heaven

2008-11-11T15:09:00.002-06:00

First of all, please let me offer my apology for not posting anything Monday or Tuesday morning. We are having computer problems at my house! We are desperately in need of a new computer because the one I am on right now has less memory than my cell phone!! We were trying to get our laptop fixed, but it looks like that is not possible. So please forgive me! With that said...

Exodus 16:11-21

I am sure you all know the story about God providing for the children of Isreal through quail and manna. But, what exactly is manna? The very word itself comes from the Hebrew "man hu" which literally means "what is it?" because the Hebrew's did not know what it was. God explained to them through Moses that the manna was their daily provision of food from the LORD. This was truly miraculous and although scholars have tried to explain it away, there is no other explanation than a true miracle.

In looking closely at this story, I believe that God can use manna to teach us about Himself and about His word. Some characteristics of manna are: 1. Manna was a supernatural gift. 2. Manna had to be gathered by each person/family. 3. Manna had to be gathered daily. 4. The manna had to be eaten daily.

In looking closely at these characteristics, I believe that we can draw spiritual symbolism between manna and the Bible. 1.The Bible is truly a supernatural gift. There is no possible way that one book could have been written over hundreds of years with over 40 different authors and still have one theme and one purpose - redemption. It is truly God's words and not man's. 2. We each have to "gather" the Word for ourselves. We have to choose to read His Word. God could have miraculously put the manna in the Isrealites tents or even in their mouths, but He did not. He expected them to go and get it. He expects the same from us today. 3. We have to be in His Word daily. God has something for each of us in His Word everyday. This one is a hard one, but if we do not take in His Word daily we will be spiritually hungry, just like we are physically hungry when we do not take in food. 4. We have to use what we learn. The Israelites had to eat what they gathered or it would spoil. We also have to do something with what God teaches us through His Word. We must obey and apply what we learn to our lives, otherwise it is just sitting inside of us and will eventually spoil.

God's Word is truly manna from heaven. Let's gather His Words today, take them in, and allow the Holy Spirit to use them in our lives to feed our very souls.

No Whining!

2008-11-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Exodus15:22-27

The children of Israel have so much to teach us. Sometimes I think God allowed them to go through tests just so we could see what they did and not do it! They had to learn everything on "field trips" with God. We have the opportunity to learn from the "book" as opposed to going on the "field trip". Unfortunately, many times I have chosen the field trip instead. Funny, they were not as fun as I thought they would be.

We find the Israelites in the desert searching for water. They had walked for three days without water so they were very thirsty. They did have the right to voice their need, but the Bible says they "grumbled against Moses". "Grumbling" is not the same as just saying "I'm thirsty". Grumbling is when we voice our need as a complaint against someone else. We are blaming them for what is happening in our lives. This is what the Israelites were doing. They were blaming Moses for their lack of water.

In this passage, we see that God supplies all there needs and so we would think that a few days later when they were in this position again that they would react differently. Let see. Read Exodus 17:1-7.

Almost the same test as before and the Israelites failed again. They again grumbled against Moses again or so they thought. What they did not realize was that God is sovreign over all circumstances. He had brought them there. There was no water there (yet) because that was His choice for them. Their complaint was really not with Moses, but with God. Moses had not brought them out of Egypt, God had. The same is true for us. When we complain about an aspect of our lives, we are complaining about God's ordering of our lives whether we can admit that or not.

We must recognize from this passage that God is not pleased or honored in complaining. Complaining and whining is in fact a sin. Do you see any of these aspects in your own life today? Can you accept that your circumstances are from God and can be used by God for His glory? If God shows us that we have a "grumbling" spirit, let us confess that as sin and repent today. Then ask Him to help us see when this is rising up in us again so we can turn from it immediately.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
Philippians 2:13-15

Fi nal Election Prayer Guide

2008-11-05T06:26:00.002-06:00

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

The Bible always has a word for us. This passage is like balm to my soul today. Pray that Christians can live a life peace and faithfulness. Let us pray for our new president. Let us pray that God will break his heart for the things that break God's. And, let us pray the same thing for ourselves.

Who Does Not Lift Up His Soul...

2008-11-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

Psalm 24

Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.
He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

Selah

Psalm 24:3-6

We cannot know right now how God feels about our generation. In scripture, God speaks of generations past as righteous or unrighteous. So how He is judging our present generation is yet to be known. Are we a generation that seek Him and seek after the things of God? Or are we a generation that lifts up our souls to idols? Do we put others, material possessions, or other activities before our relationship with God?

We all want the blessings of God and "vindication" from God, but we see in this passage that their are some requirements we must meet in order to receive them. If we want to stand in His holy place, receive blessings from God and vindication from Him, we must have clean hands and a pure heart. We must not lift up our souls to an idol or swear by what is false. This is the type of generation God is pleased with. This is the type of generation that seeks Him.

May we ask ourselves today in all of our decisions, am I seeking God and the heart of God in this decision? The book is still being written on our generation. We can be a generation that God looks down on and says "that generation is seeking after Me".

Election Prayer Guide 11/4

2008-11-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

Genesis 45

So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Genesis 45:8

Pray that the one elected today will realize their place is not appointed by men, but by God.

Election Prayer Guide 11/3 and "He is able to Humble"

2008-11-03T06:06:00.003-06:00

Daniel 4

I pray you read the entire 4th chapter of Daniel. It was exactly what I needed to read today. Three times this chapter tells us that "the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes" (Daniel 4:17). God is in control. He is in control of today, tomorrow, and the next day. There is nothing that happens that surprises the Most High. And, He will work all of it, good or bad, into His perfect will. .

God is able to humble those who walk in pride (Daniel 4:37). God did all of this in the life of Nebuchadnezzar so that he would be humbled and would honor God. America is walking in pride today believing that we are the most powerful nation on earth and that we achieved that on our own. We did not. Everything we have is only by the grace and mercy of God. Let us acknowledge that today and humble ourselves before the Almighty God. Let us pray that others will recognize where our "power" has come from.

Let us also pray that the Church will recognize that God's kingdom is an everlasting one which rules from age to age and dominion to dominion. (Daniel 4:3)

Election Prayer Guide 11/2

2008-11-02T06:33:00.004-06:00

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Romans 13:1-7

Pray that regardless of the outcome of this election that God's people would submit to the governmental authorities (as long as they do not ask us to sin against God) and commit to pray for our authorities.

Election Prayer Guide 11/1

2008-11-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Let not the foundation of our hope rest upon man's wisdom. It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble, acknowledged dependence upon God and His over ruling Providence. - President Franklin Pierce

Psalm 102

Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the LORD... Psalm 102:18

Pray for the kingdoms of the Earth to worship the One, True God.

Who can tame the tongue?

2008-10-31T07:16:00.002-05:00

James 3

"All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" James 3:7-12

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15

There are many things that should be said, but there are many things that should not be said. And there are many things that should be said privately and in love and respect for the other person, especially if what you are saying is your opinion and not based on scripture. Who can discern all of that? Who can always have their tongue and the attitude behind their tongue constantly in check? The Bible tells us that no man can. Do we have any hope?

Let's look a little closer at the verses:

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. James 3:7 (emphasis mine)

No man can tame their own tongue. We cannot and will not ever be able to do this in our own strength. We must rely on the Holy Spirit of God to tame this smallest and strongest muscle in our body.

The power of words are truly amazing. I'm sure even as you are reading this you can remember a time that someone's encouragement truly made a difference in your life. I am also sure you can remember when someone harsh words cut you to the heart. As a general rule, words are very important to women. We also tend to use more of them. Let us be mindful of what we are saying, how we are saying it, and who we are saying it to.

But, what if a rebuke is necessary? If we have truly prayed and sought the heart of God and know that He wants us to talk to someone about an area in their lives, then we must go in love. Anything else is judgment, will be seen that way, and ultimately will not be received. The only thing we will have accomplished is wounding another soul with words that cannot be taken back.

Today, spend some time in prayer about your mouth and what comes out of it. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of what you are saying and how it is being perceived. Most of all, ask Him to help you speak everything in love.

Election Prayer Guide 10/31

2008-10-31T06:00:00.001-05:00

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Pray that the Lord would empower and enable His man in any area of weakness.

Election Prayer Guide 10/30

2008-10-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

Psalm 147

Pray that God's people will return to God's ways and know them. Thank Him for what He has done for our nation; the blessings He has poured out on America that He has not done for other nations. May we honor Him with our lives today.

Election Prayer Guide 10/29

2008-10-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. Acts 14:23

Begin fasting for the elections during the week leading up to November 4th. You can do a traditional fast or modify it however the Holy Spirit leads you. Choose to "fast" from something this week. When you find the desire to eat that particular thing or do that particular thing, use that desire as a cue to pray for the elections.

Come and Listen to What He Has Done...

2008-10-28T06:28:00.002-05:00

Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf. He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him. Psalm 66:5-6

Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. Psalm 66:16

All through the Old Testament we find examples of the Children of Israel proclaiming what God has done for them. The crossing of the Red Sea was a pretty big deal! There are several references to them reminding each other and reminding God of what He had done for them there. (See Nehemiah 9:11, Joshua 4:23, and Hebrews 11:29).

We also see the Israelites setting up "stones" or memorials to remind themselves of what God had done for them. They did this so when they came upon the stones or their children came upon them, they could tell them what the Lord God had done for them.

It is so important for us to do the same thing. I did not see God part the Red Sea and I did not walk across on dry ground, but He has done miracles in my life. The very fact that I am writing this today is a miracle - and I know I have said that before, but I am going to keep saying it! Although I know I am forgiven, I never want to forget what God brought me out of. I never want to forget the blessings He has bestowed upon us in ministry. I never want to forget the divine appointments He has given me that later on I have stopped and realized that I was being pursued by the Living God. I do not want to forget the times He has showed up and taught me something amazing from His Word. And, because I remember bondage, I never want to forget that He has set me free.

The Israelites talked about what God had done for them so that on days when they felt like saying, "God where are you?" they would remember where He was. He is on His throne and He is watching over us. But, He is also acting in our behalf.

Today, tell someone about a time when God showed up in your life. Proclaim what the Lord has done for you. And, if you find yourself really wondering where God is, remind Him of what He has done for you and humbly ask Him to do it again.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.
1 Corinthians 15:10

Election Prayer Guide 10/28

2008-10-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

Pray that the Lord's choice for President will have supernatural strength and ability from God.

Taste and See

2008-10-27T15:30:00.002-05:00

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

This has been a favorite verse of mine for a couple of years. Mostly because it was the first verse Joel memorized when he was two. But, I heard this entire Psalm preached on last night and God spoke so clearly to me through this verse. What does it really mean to "taste" the Lord? The Hebrew word used here for "taste" is "ta'am". This word is not used but a handful of times in the entire Bible. It truly means to "taste, indeed taste, discern".

In order to "indeed taste" something or discern what it tastes like we would have to get enough of it to know. When I cook something new for Joel and Caleb so many times they take a bite that is about as big as an English pea! There is no way they are able to "discern" or "indeed taste" if the bite they get is that small.

I believe this is true in our relationship with God as well. If all we are getting of God is church on Sunday and a 5 minute devotional a day, we do not know what God tastes like!! There are so many reasons why we do not spend more time with God, but I believe there is one underlying issue for all of our excuses. We are afraid He will not be enough. As long as we keep our relationship with God at an arm's distance we will never know if He is enough or not. And sometimes we would rather not know than be disappointed.

Oh dear sister, if we could ever stop believing that God is not a man! We are created in His image. He is not created in ours. Let's get in there and truly lay it all down before God and see what happens. Get a good mouthful and then we will all be able to say that "the Lord is Good."

Election Prayer Guide 10/27

2008-10-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

"O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth." Isaiah 37:16

Pray that the one elected will see that God is over all kingdoms.

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. -Thomas Paine

Election Prayer Guide 10/26

2008-10-26T06:34:00.000-05:00

Psalm 46

1God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields ^[b] with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

Pray that if our nation falls into an uproar that God uses it to reveal His power and might.

Election Prayer Guide 10/25

2008-10-25T06:32:00.001-05:00

"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." Proverbs 21:1

Pray that God would direct the president's heart - and ours.

Shut Up and Jump!

2008-10-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

"If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:23-24

I have heard a story several times about a man that works at the top of a bungee jump. When people get up to the top, out of their nervousness, they are apparently very chatty. So to save time the man just points to his shirt that reads "Shut up and Jump!".

I can relate this to my relationship with God. Sometimes we know what He wants us to do or at least we know He wants us to do something, but we cannot take the first step. For me, I think it is because I am just not sure that I am tied on tight enough. If I jump, does the Lord really have me? Is He really going to catch me or am I going to fall on my face?

We can claim this verse as a promise over our lives. If we are truly seeking God, I believe He is delighted in us. Even if we stumble, He will reel us back in and not let us fall.

Today, let's seek to trust Him in all of our decisions. If you feel the Spirit prompting you to say or do something that you think "I just can't" or you come up with a million excuses - just "Shut up and Jump"!

Election Prayer Guide 10/24

2008-10-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

"Take the bow in your hands," he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. 2 Kings 13:16

Pray that the Lord would put His hands on the man of His choice for president (and his team) and guide them in this election.

"Whom Shall I Fear?"

2008-10-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

Psalm 27

Never in my life have I felt like I am surrounded by such fear. If I watch the news or listen to the radio to much, I end up scared to death. Our country is facing dark days. How dark they get could possibly be determined by whether or not the body of Christ stands up for the things of God in this next election. Will we sit by and allow our nation to be taken off into captivity or will we stand up and ask God to have mercy on His remnant of righteous people?

Whatever happens, I have to remind myself that God is in control. He is not surprised by the wickedness that seems to be increasing almost daily in our country. And He has also not left us. His promises are still true. He is still my light, my salvation, the stronghold of my life. He will still keep me safe in the day of trouble. And one day we will be exalted with Him over the enemies of God.

I heard David Nasser say recently that "we are not electing a king. We already have a King".
Let us not forget that.

Today, if you find yourself feeling fear over the coming days, open your Bible and pray Psalm 27 over your life and our country.

Election Prayer Guide 10/23

2008-10-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

5Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. ^[a]
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Proverbs 3:5-10

Pray that our nation would recognize from Whom our wealth comes.

Election Prayer Guide 10/22

2008-10-22T08:58:00.002-05:00

"Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants" - William Penn

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Pray that we would recognize Jesus as the One (the only One) who will carry us and save us.

God Calls You Beautiful

2008-10-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

"Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house. The king is enthralled by your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:10-11

I just finished the Bible study Do You Think I'm Beautiful? by Angela Thomas. It was a wonderful study that I highly recommend. I know that God will continue to use what He has taught me in it and I'm sure it will overflow into my writing. One of the greatest things He has taught me in the past 6 weeks is in this verse. Let's read it again:

"Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house. The king is enthralled by your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:10-11

There are two things that I want us to consider in the verses:
nmj
1. Forget your people and your father's house. This point speaks volumes to me. I realize that many of you came from a very godly heritage. Your parents were Christians, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. That is wonderful! I do not want to dishonor my family in any way in saying this, but I do not bring with me a godly heritage. My mother's side of the family is very godly, but my father's side is not. In a way, I have always carried this around with me feeling like I was unworthy in some way. I found myself always being very envious of people that had their entire family following after Christ.

Even if your family is in church and following Christ, every family has problems. This verse speaks to me and tells me that I do not have to live in defeat. I do not have to make the same mistakes that my family has made. Through Christ, we can change our family tree. I'm not saying we are to forget our earthly families, but our heritage is from God. Our eternal father is God Himself.

2. The king is enthralled by your beauty. Wow! This verse I love. Can we accept this as truth today? Depending on your own personal experiences, it may be easy for you to believe that God sees you beautiful on the inside, but not on the outside. Or it may be exactly the opposite. Can we accept the truth of this verse that God sees us as beautiful on the inside and outside? He truly does! We are his children. When we look at our own children, do we see them as beautiful. They are beautiful to us because of our love for them. Our love on our best day is still frail and selfish in ways. God's love is perfect at all times. He loves us more than we can even imagine and we are beautiful to him through and through.

This may take some time to believe. I am still working on it myself, but I am asking God daily to apply this truth to my heart. What would our lives look like if we really believed this 100% and lived like it? I think we would be amazing women! I think we would be the women God intended us to be.

The God of Heaven calls you beautiful... and its true. - Angela Thomas

Election Prayer Guide 10/21

2008-10-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

"Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." Exodus 18:19-23

Pray that we would select able,honest, God-fearing people to rule over us.

God Sings Lullabies

2008-10-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

I absolutely love to decorate for holidays. The minute it looked like fall might be in the air, I got out all of my fall decor. Now since Halloween is just around the corner, we have several Halloween decorations around the house and in the yard. Even though we do not encourage the scary part of Halloween, Joel and Caleb really wanted to hang some "ghosts" in our trees. So we got some trash bags and stuffed them with news paper and hung them up. Unfortunately, Caleb (who is 2 years old) got a little scared of the "ghosts". We have told him they are just trash bags, but all the same every night this past week he has cried saying that he is scared.

A couple of nights ago when he was afraid, I told him that he did not have anything to be afraid. Mama and Daddy were right outside the door and that God was right there in the room with him. I told him the Bible says that we do not have to be afraid because He is always with us. He calmed down and I thought he went to sleep. About 15 minutes later I took some clothes into his room and I saw that he was still awake. I gave him a hug and he said, "God is with me". I said, "That's right and He loves you more than anything". Then Caleb said that he was going "night-night" but that God was not going "bye-bye". I affirmed him again, but then he said the most amazing thing. He said, "God is going to stay right here and sing to me". The Holy Spirit immediately brought Zephaniah 3:17 to my mind and I just stood there in awe at the mercy and love of God.

I do not think it is too presumptuous to believe that my two year old was truly experiencing the supernatural presence and peace of God. I truly believe that Caleb heard the voice of God in his little spirit. Even though Caleb has never even read or possibly even heard Zephaniah 3:17, his words affirm that it is true.

If only we could be more like that. God is singing over us. He delights to show us mercy (Micah 7:18) and yet we walk around sometimes like we have no hope. Let us not forget who is in control. Let us allow His presence to calm our spirits in times of suffering or trouble.

Let us hear God sing a lullaby to us.

Election Prayer Guide 10/20

2008-10-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
They swarmed around me like bees,
but they died out as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the LORD helped me.
The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
"The LORD's right hand has done mighty things!
The LORD's right hand is lifted high;
the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!"
I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
The LORD has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
Psalm 118:8-19

Pray that our nation would realize that men cannot solve our problems: only God can.

Election Prayer Guide 10/19

2008-10-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Pray that God's man will be given wisdom and ability from the Lord to overcome any obstacle or difficulty during this campaign.

Election Prayer Guide 10/18

2008-10-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

"Let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance-
for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise."
Proverbs 1:5-6

Pray that God's man will listen with discernment, add to his knowledge, and receive wise counsel in this campaign.

Election Prayer Guide 10/17

2008-10-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

"He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time? Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?" Luke 12:54-57

Pray that God's man and our nation will be discerning and do what is right.

What can my prayers do?

2008-10-16T07:00:00.001-05:00

1 Samuel 1
1 Samuel 7:2-15

The familiar story of Samuel has so much truth for us today. We see in chapter 1 that Hannah was childless and so desired to have a child. Not much has changed in the heart of women. Most women have a desire to have children. Hannah did not give up. She kept bringing her request before the Lord. She was obviously a very faithful follower of the Lord because scripture tells us she and her family went up every year to sacrifice to the Lord. And every year she brought her request to the Lord.

Hannah made a promise to God that if He would give her a son, she would give him back to the Lord. All of our children belong to God, but Hannah seemed to understand that better than I certainly do. She was willing to give the only child she might ever have to the Lord. Her faithfulness amazes me.

God did grant her request and she kept her promise. The Lord then not only gave her more children, but he honored her faithfulness in a way that so touches my heart. God used Samuel, the child Hannah had prayed for without ceasing, to bring his children back to Him. Maybe we all have dreams and aspirations for our children's lives, but God did something through Hannah that I doubt she ever imagined.

The people of Israel were living far from God. God used Samuel to lead them back. He could have used anyone, but He chose to use Samuel. It all started with the faithful prayer of a mother. What will our prayers lead to? Do they make a difference? Let us never cease in praying for our children - biological and spiritual. We can't even imagine what God can do in their lives.

Election Prayer Guide 10/16

2008-10-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent." Acts 17:30

Pray for repentance for yourself, your family and for our nation.

Remember that God is our only sure trust
- Martha Washington - Mother of George Washington.

Assurance of Salvation

2008-10-15T14:44:00.002-05:00

Jeremiah 17:9, 1 John 5:13, Hebrews 10:23

Because of the overwhelming amount of responses that I received from yesterday's devotional about doubt, I wanted to follow up with some truth about the assurance that we have in the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Since I struggled with doubt for several years, I read anything I could get my hands on about doubt. One of the games that Satan plays is the game of shame and isolation. Many people will never admit or talk about the fact that a doubt has ever come into their heart because they fear what others will think. I used to be afraid that people would think I was "unspiritual" or immature. When I finally sought out some real help from the Word of God and confessed my doubt to a counselor, my life began to change. I was no longer living in the dark. I brought things into the light where they could be dealt with by the Spirit of God.

There are several misconceptions out there about a doubt. I have heard preached from the pulpit by many well-known pastors that if you ever doubt your salvation, you are not saved. I believe this is totally unbiblical and spiritually unsound. I see nothing is scripture that supports that statement. The other misconception is that Satan is always the reason we doubt. I do believe he is one of the reasons, but not the only reason. Foundations, a Bible study about core truths for the Christian life, truly helped me understand why people struggle with doubt.

Whenever a person is not sure if they are saved, there are several possibilities:
They may be disobelying God; disobedience causes us to lose the joy of our salvation and causes us to wonder if God still loves us.
The may be experiencing temptation to doubt from Satan, who obviously does not want us to feel secure in our relationship with God.
They may not be saved.
Foundations 2003 - Tom Holladay and Kay Warren

One of the things I had to realize was that I could not depend on my feelings or trust my own heart. Just because we may not feel saved does not change the fact of our salvation through Jesus Christ. Women are so emotional and we trust in our feelings much of the time. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that our own hearts will decieve us. We may not be able to trust our own hearts, but we can trust the Word of God. If we have trusted in Him, we will not be put to shame. (Romans 10:11)

The last thing I want to do is convince anyone that they are saved. But, I do want to tell you that "anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" Joel 2:32. Our first son is named Joel to remind me that I have called on the name of the Lord. I will see Him face to face and He will hold me in His arms. I pray that you have called on His glorious name for salvation. If you have not, you can right now. There is no right or wrong way. The words are not important; the condition of your heart is. If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, I invite you to pray a prayer like this:

Jesus, I believe you are God's Son and I believe that you died to pay the penalty for my sins. I ask you to forgive me for my sins and to be the Lord of my life. I trust in you right now on October 15th to forgive me and save me. I give you my life. Thank you for your gift of salvation. I love you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Election Prayer Guide 10/15

2008-10-15T14:06:00.002-05:00

"Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told." Habakkuk 1:5

"LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy." Habakkuk 3:2

Pray that the Lord would do something that would amaze us and give His servant victory.

A Bout with Doubt

2008-10-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Luke 7:18-28

This is one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible! I know I say that all the time! I guess I just love the Bible! I struggled with doubt for many, many years and still struggle with unbelief at times. Anytime that I am praying about an issue that I have chosen to believe the voice of the accuser over the voice of God, God reminds me of this passage. How does God feel about doubt?

For years, I literally saw doubt as the unforgivable sin. If I doubted my salvation, I was not saved and I could never be saved because I doubted. Sounds crazy now, but the feelings were so real then. I'm not sure how I missed this passage of scripture for so many years. Let's review a little about John's life before we answer the question about how God feels about doubt.

John's birth was announced by an angel. John was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. John was the "voice calling out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord". John recognized and baptized Jesus - the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. John's life was all about serving God and preparing the way for Jesus. He had one purpose and he fulfilled it.

But, toward the end of his life we see that he had a bout with doubt. He just wanted to make sure that Jesus was the Christ. Instead of hiding in fear, he took his questions and concerns to Jesus via his disciples. Now, I would expect Jesus to be upset about this question. Maybe even a little hurt. However, scripture shows us the exact opposite. Jesus tells them to go back to John and tell him what is going on. He offers assurance for his friend.

What is even more amazing is what Jesus says next. The King of the Universe then talks about how greatness of John's life. Jesus did not condemn John's questioning and doubting. He answered his questions and even offered encouragement.

God is big enough to handle our questions, our fears, and even our doubts. He is not offended by them. Let us not be afraid to voice to Him what is in our hearts. Bring your doubts, fears, and areas of unbelief to Him. That He can work with.

Election Prayer Guide

2008-10-14T06:53:00.001-05:00

Psalm 86:14-17

14 The arrogant are attacking me, O God;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life—
men without regard for you.
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
grant your strength to your servant
and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Pray that the Lord would defeat those who have no regard for Him in this election.

National Election Prayer Guide

2008-10-13T07:05:00.000-05:00

My church published a prayer guide yesterday to help us pray for the election. I want to post it daily for any of you who would like to join in praying for our country and its leaders.

October 13th

Psalm 125

1Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.
3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
their hands to do evil.
4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
to those who are upright in heart.
5 But those who turn to crooked ways
the LORD will banish with the evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel.

Pray that those who trust in the Lord will not be shaken...