EXPECT
Today's reading:  Exodus 1-4

"...She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile River.  The baby's
 sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him."  Exodus 2:3-4 NLT

Someone was expecting something big to happen.

I'm not sure if it was Moses' mother or Moses' little sister--or both, but someone expected something to happen.

They hadn't prayer-pitched the basket just to leave it to the will of the water.  They hadn't hidden this special baby in their home and in God's will for a moment in time when they'd just allow circumstance to take over in his life.  They hadn't stationed themselves along the banks of the river just to see the current decide the baby's fate.

They prayed.  They believed.  They kept their eyes peeled for God to move.  They parked themselves among the reeds until they saw it happen!

What about you?  Your prayer request?

Are you watching while you wait?  Are you eagerly expecting?  Are you anticipating Him to move in a mighty way--and are you in close enough range to see it happen?

Place your prayer into the river of God's love--and watch to see what will happen!  

COMMUNION
Today's reading:  1 Corinthians 11-12

"You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns.  You must never let familiarity breed contempt."  1 Corinthians 11:26 MSG

I don't know how often or with what style of communion your church celebrates the Lord's Supper.

Maybe you'll partake of it today.  Maybe this evening.  Maybe next week.  Maybe next month.

Quite possibly your pastor uses the same songs, the same Scripture, the same approach to this special service?

The same brand of grape juice and crackers each and every time?

Does your church have communion service plates that have been in the church family for years and years?

Regardless of the approach, the actual sacraments or the plates it's served on--your part in this special moment should never, never become commonplace or old-hat.

It's up to you to make sure the moment sitting in your pew with the bread and the cup should come alive to you.  You have to personalize it.  You have to place your heart and mind into His presence.

Familiarity allows us to take for granted the uniqueness of this moment.  Familiarity allows us overlook the importance of its symbolism.  Familiarity allows us to mark the occasion with rote instead of remembrance.

What will you do when the bread and cup are placed in your hands?    

ANYWHERE BUT THERE
Today's reading:  Mark 5-6

"As Jesus was getting in to the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him.  But Jesus said, No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been."  Mark 5:18-19 NLT

I can hear the new Christian sigh, Anywhere but there, Lord.

You and I can relate.

Our family.  Our closest relations.  The ones we were given and the ones we were given to.

In some our cases, the ones who have let us slip as far away from God as we have.

The ones who never told us about Jesus in the first place.

The ones who have had a big hand in making us who we are today.

The ones who know us--really know us.  They know us when we're sitting reading the Bible in our special place and the ones who know us when we're slamming cabinet doors when we're upset.

The ones who live closest to us and yet require us taking a very long journey to witness to.

The ones Jesus wants us witnessing to.

SIN
Today's reading:  Jeremiah 1-6

"Israel treated it all so lightly, she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone.  So now the land is polluted."  Jeremiah 3:9 NLT

Polluted.  Littered.  Trashy.

All because of sin.

It didn't start with the entire country.

It began with one man or one woman deciding that sin wasn't sin.  A gum wrapper in a 100-acre field.

Then they taught their children the same thing.

Then their children taught their children.  An overflowing trash can.

Then it was taught in their schools.

And accepted in their churches.  A garbage dump.

And approved by their governing body.

And eventually seen as acceptable, loving and forward-thinking.  A landfill that spread from sea to shining sea.

Did it only happen in Israel, some thousands of years ago?

HOW GREAT THOU ART
Today's reading:  Job 25-26

"He spreads out the northern sky over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.  He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.  He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it.  He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness."  Job 26:7-10 NIV

God does all that.

And more.

Effortlessly.

Majestically.

Can He not do for you what you're needing done?

O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works thy hands have made
I see the stars I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art how great Thou art    
-Stuart K Hine

THERE IS A PROBLEM
Today's reading:  Psalm 36-38

"The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble.  The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked.  He saves them, and they find shelter in him."  Psalm 37:39-40 NLT

If we believe there is a need to be rescued...

If we believe there is need to be helped...

If we believe there is a need to be saved...

Then we better believe, with the same intensity and fervor, that there is an enemy.

Satan wants us to believe he doesn't exist.  That he isn't a harm to anyone.  That his powers of persuasion are small and that his impact even smaller.  That his ideas are for the greater good, to make more people accepted and loved.  That just this once it won't matter.

But the record states, the Holy Bible that is, that there is an enemy so dangerous that a Savior is required to save us from him.

We have a problem...and the only solution is Jesus.

  

TAKING THINGS INTO MY OWN HANDS
Today's reading:  1 Samuel 11-15

"And Samuel said, “What have you done?”  Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”  1 Samuel 13:11-12 NKJV

Saul felt compelled to offer sacrifices unto the Lord, instead of waiting for Samuel to show up and perform his priestly duties.

Maybe Saul thought it was the right thing to do.

Possibly Saul supposed it couldn't wait any longer.

He intended it for good.

There's a very good possibility that Saul's counterparts pressured him into doing it.

He knew it needed done.

Either way, Saul did it.  

Saul did what he wasn't called to do.

Saul busied himself with someone else's job, purpose and calling.  Saul chose to take the situation and 'fix it' himself. 

Saul was not content to wait on the Lord.

The Message Bible puts it this way...

"...So I took things into my own hands..."

That's where God has bruised my heart this morning.  

Guilty.  On so many levels, guilty.

GATHERING OUR STRENGTH
Today's reading:  Genesis 48-50

"One day not long after this, word came to Joseph, Your father is failing rapidly.  So Joseph went to visit his father, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.  When Joseph arrived, Jacob was told, Your son Joseph has come to see you.  So Jacob gathered his strength and sat up in his bed."  Genesis 48:1-2 NLT

Jacob was an old man.  A weak, tired, spent old man.

As patriarch he had something very special to do with his last few ounces of strength--pass on a blessing.

I believe it took every bit of energy the elder had to sit up in his bed and pronounce a blessing over Jacob and his two sons.  I believe he was spent and exhausted from just uttering the words.

But he had to do it.  He had spent his entire life building and preparing for this moment.

So?  What about us?  It's 2014, what is there for us to learn from an ancient like Jacob?

Be very, very careful what you use your energy on!

Use every effort to be a blessing to someone.

Look for souls to reach for God, not people to bypass on your way to accomplishing your tasks.  Look into their eyes and see them as your Savior sees you.

Don't waste a single minute of your time on anything that's not of eternal consequence!

When you think you cannot do one more thing--gather up your strength, get out of bed and bless someone else.

CANNOT HELP IT
Today's reading:  1 Corinthians 9-10

"...I am compelled by God to do it.  How terrible for me if I didn't preach the Good News!  If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment.  But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust."  1 Corinthians 9:16-17 NLT

I love sharing what He uncovers for me in His Word.

I love seeing the faces of folks as they unwrap the Bible and find an amazing morsel of truth--just what they needed, in an easy to digest bite.

I love leading discussions that allow for others to share what God has shown them as they study.

I love watching the faces of the little ones as they hear biblical encounters for the first time.  Noah.  Moses.  Daniel.  The Nativity.  Easter--the real Easter, not the rabbit version.

I love the fact that He speaks to me.

I love the fact that He has given me this awesome privilege.

I cannot keep it to myself!  

GOD IS STRONG ENOUGH
Today's reading:  Mark 3-4

"Let me illustrate this further.  Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and  could plunder his goods?  Only someone even stronger--someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house."  Mark 3:27 NLT

Jesus' words.

Not mine.  Not those of some preacher-man.  Not a Sunday School teacher's voice.  Not the words of your grandmother.

Jesus tells us only, ONLY, One that's stronger can defeat satan.  Not only defeat him, but knock him down, tie him up and take back what he's stolen.

God is strong enough.

Even for your problems!

HE KNOWS ME AS HIS OWN
Today's reading:  Isaiah 62-66

"But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name."  Isaiah 63:16 NIV

I'm not written into the genealogies of the Bible.

I'm not a card carrying member of the Jewish race.

Abraham is not in my family tree.

I'd not have been allowed into the Temple during Bible times, my Gentile 'germs' would have made it unclean.

But I'm God's!

There are drops of Christ's blood on my adoption papers that make me as much His as any pure-blooded Israelite.

I have Christ's blood flowing through my veins.

I can step into His presence, worship Him and call on Him.

Not because of who I am, but because of Whose I am!

THE GOD WE KNOW
Today's reading:  Job 23-24

"God has made me sick at heart; the Almighty has terrified me."  Job 23:16 NLT

I, for one, tend to forget that God is God.

I like to wrap Him up in a tidy, bow-tied package as present only the characteristics of Him that I need and love.  He is faithful.  He is omnipotent.  He is a promise-keeper.

I forget He stirs me to change.  I fail to remember that He is bow-to-my-knees worthy of honor.  I don't choose to focus on the fact that He is holy and awe and reverence are the only responses I can honestly make to Him.  He is just.  He is holy.  He is above reproach.  He is demanding in a gentlemanly kind of way.

I need to be reminded by verses like today's that His sovereignty and holiness should terrify me.

I need to re-think how flippantly I refer to Him, speak of Him or approach Him.

We welcomes me at all times, but He also holds my heart like a piece of clay--wanting to mold it into something more beautiful that it is.

POLLING PLACES
Today's reading:  Psalm 33-35

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.  The people He has chosen as His own inheritance."  Psalm 33:12 NKJV

It tell us we have been chosen by God.  Chosen to be His.  Chosen to receive His salvation.  Chosen to have Him with us at all times, guiding out every choice.

He has chosen us, but do we choose Him?

Yesterday was voting day.  I made my stop in the local polling place and cast a vote, I hope, for the right person.

I'd printed off a voter guide.  I knew where each politician stood, based on how they'd answered questions regarding the 'hot topics' of the day.  I marked my ballot accordingly and handed it over to be counted.

It got me thinking, would God be elected as ruler over our nation, if it came to a vote?

And if He were elected by a landslide victory, how differently would our country be if we lived according to the votes we had made?

Would we even bother with visiting the polling place?

Would we, do we, sacrifice our time and our personal desires, to mark our ballot for Him?

 

AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW
Today's reading:  1 Samuel 6-10

"But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us.  So Samuel prayed to the Lord."  1 Samuel 8:6 NKJV

Samuel was upset.

Samuel, quite possibly, had his feelings hurt.

Samuel wasn't happy about the whole thing.

Samuel was maybe even blindsided by the request.

So, what did Samuel do?

He didn't sull up or cross his arms as a sign of his disgust.

He didn't call up everyone he knew to tell of this offense.

He didn't throw a fit.

He didn't, and here's where I stand to follow his example, say a thing.

He prayed.

He took the problem to God.  He wanted God's take on the issue at hand.  He chose to see where God stood--and stand beside Him.
 
A lesson to be learned.  A fine example to follow.  

DEAR ENEMY
Today's reading:  Genesis 44-47

"So it was not you who sent me here, but God..."  Genesis 45:8 NKJV

Dear Enemy,

I have, for too many years, given credit to you where credit was not due.

I have assumed, for far too long, that you hold in your hands more power than what you do.

I have, as is the way of my friends, spoken far too highly of you and your propensity to ruin my day.

That all stops today!

I will no longer allot to you any credit, power or value.  You will not be lifted up in any conversation I involve myself in.  You no longer hold my attention.

I will not assume, from this point on, that you have ruined my day, thrown a wrench in the works or have placed detours in my path.

You are capable of far less than I'd ever imagined.

As of today, I'm looking for God's hand in any and everything that my day holds.  I will not longer see distractions and interruptions as such, they will now be viewed as opportunities to see my God work--in me, and in the situation.

God, the Creator of the universe, has set me in this time and in this place for a purpose.  You, enemy, have not.

With sincerity,
Malinda

WHAT ABOUT ME?
Today's reading:  Mark 1-2

"They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.  The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law."  Mark 1:22 NIV

I can imagine the looks on their faces as He read from the scrolls.

Stories they'd heard time and time again, came to life in a way they could not have imagined.

They felt as if He were taking them into the account.

They heard in His voice a difference.

What about me?

When I speak of my Savior, do people know I'm not just talking about an acquaintance, but a dear friend?

When I mention God's name, do those around me know it's out of awe, respect and a deep adoration?

When satan hears me whisper a prayer, does he realize I'm one of God's kids?  And all His authority is given to me?  Does he shudder to think of all I can command in the name of Jesus Christ?

When I worship, do I step into realms that only one of His closest dares to trod?

What about me?

What about you?  

CHURNING
Today's reading:  Isaiah 56-61

"But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt."  Isaiah 57:20 NLT

How are things going for you?

Does peace fill your heart even when ease does not fill your day?

Do you have joy, regardless of what whirls around you?

Are you certain that you're doing just what God wants you to be doing--nothing more, nothing less?

As His, on a minute-by-minute basis we can choose to accept or reject Him.  We can make choices that are for Him or against Him.  We can follow His lead or we can blaze our own trail.  We can be stirring the fire of salvation in the hearts and lives of others--or we can be churning up mud and dirt as we spin our wheels going against His plan.

What we choose determines the outcome of our day, of what we're involved in and who we'll reach for Christ.

WHAT I CAN DO
Today's reading:  Job 21-22

I shouldn't have asked Him, but I did.

I was afraid this might be the point He was going to bring up.

What is it, Lord, that you and I need to work on?  What area of my life do You need to do an overhaul on?  Where in my Christian walk are there some wrinkles You need to iron out?

"Then Job spoke again, Listen closely to what I am saying.  That's one consolation you can give me."  Job 21:1 NLT

I don't listen.

I'm a fixer.  A solver.  An un-raveler of all things tangled up and messy.  I'm a set-it-to-rights kind of gal.

I'm not a listener.

By the time you're halfway through telling me your problem, I've got a game plan on how to whip things into order.  A 12-step program.  A roadmap to ending your problems.

But as I read Job's words, that may not be what you're needing me to do.

You're needing me to listen.  You need a few minutes of my time.  You need my attention.  My concern.  My love shown in ways that don't involve me being up and doing something.

You're needing me to sit down, focus and listen as you spill your guts.

You, very well, might not need me to say a word--Gasp!

So, now that God's brought this to my heart and mind, I'll try.  I'll try to stop the whirlwind blowing in my mind and listen.  Intently.  Purposefully.  Genuinely.

I'll listen.

  

WHAT'S REALLY WRONG
Today's reading:  Psalm 30-32

I've found a medical website that lists the top 5 diseases killing Americans.

1.  Cardiovascular diseases
2.  Cancer
3.  Respiratory diseases
4.  Diabetes/Diabetes related issues
5.  Influenza/Pneumonia

I wasn't surprised to find matters of the heart to be what's killing the majority of people.  I don't think you are either.

But I believe, based on Scriptural research, that it's less to do with what we eat, the exercise we partake of or the levels our blood tests reveal and more to do with sin and its effect on our heart.

"I am dying from grief, my years are shortened by sadness.  Sin has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within."  Psalm 31:10 NLT

Oh sure, we can list the big sins...but wait, no where in God's Word are sins placed on a grading scale.  So any sin that interrupts our relationship with a Holy God, is detrimental to our health and well-being.  And to the eternity of our loved ones.

Any sin.

Adultery.  Unforgiveness--of yourself or another.  Murder.  Gossip.  Thievery.  Bitterness.  Pride.  Anger.

I could continue.  It's an unending list.

The thing is, they all influence how our heart works--or doesn't.  They all impact our lives, the quality, the quantity and the sphere of influence we're allowed to have for Him.

How long do you want to live?  How well do you want to live?  How many do you want to leave a spiritual influence on after you've gone?

Get rid of sin!

GROWING UP WITH GOD
Today's reading:  1 Samuel 1-5

"...The boy Samuel stayed at the sanctuary and grew up with God."  1 Samuel 2:21 MSG

That's what I want for our boy.

To 'grow up' with God.  To know Him intimately.  To always feel His presence.  To experience Him every day of His life.

I don't want God to be a distant relative who shows up on various holidays.

I don't want God to be a long-lost uncle who has him written into his will.

I don't want God to be a step-father who doesn't accept him wholly and lovingly.

I don't want there to be any doubt, any doubt what so ever, that God is for him and not against him.

I don't want God to wait until his adulthood to introduce Himself to my son.

I want Him to be known now.  I want Him to be permanently residing in his heart.  I want there to be a relationship developing on a day by day and a moment by moment basis.

I want our boy to know Him like I know Him!

HE'S GONE AHEAD
Today's reading:  Genesis 40-43

"When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, Why are you standing around looking at one another?  I have heard there is grain in Egypt.  Go down there and buy enough to keep us alive or we'll die."  Genesis 42:1-2 NLT

Grain.  Stockpiles of grain.  A way to make it out of the famine alive.

And how did it get there?

God had gone ahead of Jacob's boys.

God chose to use the mean spirited-ness of his sons again Joseph.  God chose to sell the young boy to a certain caravan.  God chose to place Joseph in a specific palace.  God chose to allow a certain jail to house a certain set of criminals.  God spoke to a young man who wasn't afraid to relay his dream to a king.

God goes ahead of all of us.  Not just a Jewish father of twelve.

God has in store for us His best, His most intriguing, His opportunities chosen to turn us closer to Him.

He has gone ahead of you today...look for where He's been!

JUDGE NOT?
Today's reading:  1 Corinthians 5-6

"It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning."  1 Corinthians 5:12 NLT

It's the age-old topic of debate among Christians and non-Christians alike--to judge or not to judge.

We've told ourselves we're not the judge or jury so many times we've come to believe it.  And yet, God's Word says otherwise.

We're to be examining the lives of those in our pews.  We're to be holding accountable those who say they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We're to be watching the words and actions of those who claim association with God, to see if they line up with His Word, His instructions, His ways.

If not?

If not, we're going to let sin run un-checked in our churches, in our homes and in our country.

If I claim I'm Him, then I submit to being under the scrutiny of other followers of Christ.  If I claim to have accepted His blood and His forgiveness, I'm to be held to higher standards and greater expectations than one who doesn't.

That goes for you, too.

Does it not fill our hearts with a thrilling excitement to think that the costly disciplines and lonely agonies that make up our earthly discipleship may at any moment, and without any warning, be transformed into everlasting splendors the like of which we can scarcely conceive, let alone understand?

James Phillip

WHO IS HE?
Today's reading:  Matthew 26-28

"Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor, Are you the king of the Jews?  Jesus replied, You have said it."  Matthew 27:11 NLT

Who do we say Jesus is when...

...we speak of how big our problems are, instead of how big Jesus is?

...we worry and fret?

...we doubt?

...we don't have enough faith to believe?

REBUILT
Today's reading:  Isaiah 51-55

"...I will rebuild you with precious jewels and make your foundations from lapis lazuli."  Isaiah 54:5 NLT

Considering my profession is working in a lumberyard, verses like this catch my eye.

I had to look it up.  I had to dig deeper.  I had to find out just what God was saying when He spoke these words!

We sell concrete blocks for building foundations.  Gray.  Dull.  Coarse.  Hard.  Nothing fancy.  Plenteous.  Common.

What God says He uses to fix, set or establish His children, lapiz lazuli, is nothing like that.

Lapiz lazuli is a bright blue metallic stone mined from deep within the earth.  It's a prized possession.  It's a brilliant addition to any workman's masterpiece.  It's hard to come by.  It's expensive.  It's highly valued.  It's set apart as ornamentation, not commonality.

It used to be ground and mixed with additives to be used by Renaissance painters.  This special paint was reserved to paint only the dress of the Virgin Mary in portraits.

It has been mined from the bowels of Afghanistan for over 6,000 years and used as a high priced trading commodity.

Lapis lazuli has been mentioned in one of the oldest known pieces of literature on record.

Maybe you've seen it on the funeral mask of a young king, Tut.

And He'll use it like building materials in our foundations?  Like we would concrete?

He must love us!  He must have a greater plan for us than we can think or imagine!  He must consider us to be His prized possessions--because He's sure not sparing any expense!

NOT JUST ME
Today's reading:  Job 19-20

"Even if I have sinned, that is my concern, not yours."  Job 19:4 NLT

I know it tells us within the first chapter of Job, that Job was a godly and upright man.  He walked closely with God.  God knew Job was his by his actions.

But in this verse, a verse where he was talking to his 'friends', I believe Job was wrong.

We're living in a day and age where we think our sins influence no one but ourselves.  We imagine that what we do effects only us.  We tend to believe we're in an enclosed bubble that may bump into the bubble of another, but we don't influence them in any way, shape or form.

That's wrong.

That's what's wrong with our families, our churches, our communities, our nation and our society.

Our sins, mine and yours--even the ones we keep hidden in the closet, inside the walls of our homes, stuffed down deep in our hearts and minds--infect others.

Our sins influence what we spend money on--or don't.  Our sins influence what we allow in our homes--or or don't.  Our sins influence what we tolerate--or don't.  Our sins influence how we raise our kids, how we vote in the ballot box, how we worship and how we fulfill our roles/purposes in society and in the church.

Sin is a cancer.  A cancer that spreads.  A cancer that infects.  A cancer that sickens.  A cancer that kills.

It is my concern if you, as a Christian brother or sister, sin...and it's your concern if I do, too.  

PLEASE SPEAK
Today's reading:  Psalm 27-29

"I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.  Do not turn a deaf ear to me.  For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die."  Psalm 28:1 NLT

The online Lexicon I use shows me that in the Hebrew and Greek the phrase, 'Do not turn a deaf ear to me', is translated to be, 'do not remain speechless'.

Talk to me, Lord, it says.  Don't give me the silent treatment.  Don't hold back what You have to say.

I've been there.

I've begged to hear His voice above the roar of surrounding circumstances.  I've pleaded that He give instruction--not a complete essay of His plans, but a simple command like 'go' or 'wait' or 'stop'.

I've sat quietly wanting to have Him bring to my mind a verse or a hymn that will soothe, a healing balm for the hurt.  I've made a concerted effort to keep quiet and listen, wanting to hear His voice and not my own.

I've yearned for His words of encouragement.  Not applause.  Not kudos.  Not pats on the back.  But a simple, 'Well done, my child.'

I've wanted Him to call me out on what I might be doing wrong.  Before I got too far into it.  Before I dragged too many others down.  Before my focus was taken off Him.

Talk to me, Lord, I've said.

For God to remain silent would be reason to give up.

GO FROM HERE
Today's reading:  Ruth

The account of Ruth is a great love story.

The account of her mother-in-law, Naomi, is a great story of God's redemptive grace.

You see, Naomi was bitter, broken and where she shouldn't have been.

Sure, she'd been taken there by a husband, who had the nerve to die.  She'd lost her two boys.  She was left with only daughters-in-law.  And while they may have been great gals, they weren't her flesh and blood.

So she did what she believed God was asking her to do--take a hike.

She set off for her homeland, Judah.

It was a long journey.  It was a dangerous journey for women to make alone.  It was a gamble.  A risk.  A roll of the dice as to what they'd do once they got there.

That's where God so often steps in.

Even when we're in a pickle we've placed ourselves into, He can do a work!  When we've found ourselves in a pit we've dug ourselves, He can do a work!  When we're fostering hatred and bitterness we know He doesn't want us to harbor, He can do a work!

It takes us stepping out and heading in the right direction.

Staying in our sin won't allow Him room to work in our hearts.  Keeping bitter emotions inside us and away from His healing touch, even when we 'deserve' to feel the way we do, won't allow Him the room to work in our hearts.  Refusing to move, make a change or get up off our little tail-ends, won't allow Him the room to work in our hearts.

For some of us, it's time we take a hike!

WHAT IT DOESN'T MEAN
Today's reading:  Genesis 36-39

"The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master."  Genesis 39:2 NLT

I'm reminded each time I read about Joseph, that just because I'm His doesn't mean my life will be easy, simple or comfortable.

As a Christian, I'll still struggle with temptation to sin.  And I'll see God give me victory!

As a Christian, I'll still be called upon to deal with unlovely people.  And I'll watch as God uses me to touch their lives!

As a Christian, I'll still be attached to this sin-driven body.  And I'll witness, firsthand, His strength allowing me to go where He needs me to go!

As a Christian, debt, heartache and broken dreams will still be a part of my life.  And I'll experience His grace being enough!

As is says in the verse, God was with Joseph--and Joseph was still a slave.  But he was a slave serving a Living Savior!

Joseph's soul was well within the care of His Father.

I think that's what the songwriter, Horatio G. Spafford, may have meant when he penned the words to "It Is Well."

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows fall
What ever my lot Thou hast taught me to say
It is well--It is well, with my soul.  

NOT READY?
Today's reading:  1 Corinthians 3-4

"...And you still aren't ready for you are still controlled by your sinful nature."  1 Corinthians 3:2-3 NLT

Paul wanted to give the members of the Corinthian church more.  He wanted to take them farther.  He wanted them to go deeper.

But he couldn't.  They weren't ready.  They hadn't placed full control of their lives into God's hands.

I do not want that to be said of me. 

I don't want to be missing out on something.

I do not want to be placing anything, especially me, ahead of Him.

I want all God has in store for me.

Don't you?

INSIDE AND OUT
Today's reading:  Matthew 23-25

"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.  Hypocrites!  For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence!  You blind Pharisees!  First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and the outside will become clean, too."  Matthew 23:25-26 NLT

I can have my act together.  I can be dressed the part with matching earrings and matching shoes.  I can have all four translations of the Bible with me at one time.  I can pray out loud.  I can sing in the choir.  I can get our family to each and every event and appointment ten minutes before the scheduled time.  I can have my Sunday School lesson completed along with a few pages of notes.

But while looking good on the outside and performing the tasks I'm called to perform, the inside of me can be a mess.

My heart and head can be filled with doubt and questions, fear and faltering faith.  I can look calm, cool and collected on the outside, but have a heart that's nearly broken.  I can spend time offering advice and timely Scripture for your problems, but inside, I'm not believing them for myself.

I know the kind of person Jesus was talking to when He mentioned the dirty cup and dish--it's me!

I've got to spend more time fine-tuning my personal relationship with my Savior.  I've got to do some remodeling, from the inside that will influence the outside.     

The Lord knows them that are his by name, but we must know them by their character.  -Matthew Henry