TALKING TO ANYONE

Today's reading: 1 Corinthians 3-4

"Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life.." 1 Corinthians 3:1 NLT

Can you talk to anyone?

I mean anyone?

It's said of me I can talk to a stump.

About anything.

At any time.

About just about anything.

I can strike up a conversation about just about any topic with just about any person.

It leaves my husband scratching his introverted head more times than you can count.

But it is fun finding out new things, gathering new information, getting schooled in new areas...and having doors opened for sharing what you know.

Sometimes it leads to sharing Jesus.

More often than not, it just leads to speaking friendly words and leaving another human being a little better off than you found them.

 FOREVER

Today's reading: Matthew 23-25

"Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever." Matthew 24:35 NLT

Forever, but where?

One used to think they would always remain carved upon the towering government buildings, but sandblasters have removed them.

Or on the benches of courtrooms across our nations, but pieces of sandpaper have scrubbed them away.

Or in the classrooms of our small towns, but addendums and voted in policies have moved them out.

Or in the pulpits of our churches, but what tickles the ears of the paying congregants have replaced many of the sermons.

So, where will they remain forever?

It will have to be in the hearts and minds and lives of His people!

 TRULY

Today's reading: Isaiah 45-50

"Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in strange and mysterious ways." Isaiah 45:15 NLT

Boy, do You ever!

Just when I think You will answer in one way--You answer in another!

Just when I think this is how You will save the day--You do it in a completely different and amazing way!

And when I think a situation is beyond repair and past any form of being able to be restored--there You are putting it back together and weaving it into something that showcases Your glory and love!

You amaze me, Lord.

 HOPES

Today's reading: Job 17-18

"...My hopes have disappeared..." Job 17:11 NLT

Job was crushed. Broken. Defeated. Depleted. Hurt. Emptied. 

But to say he had lost his hope?

Makes me wonder in what, or better yet, in Whom, his hopes had been placed?

Makes me feel the need to do an internal, in depth, very personal inventory.

 REMEMBERING

Today's reading: Psalm 24-26

"Remember, O Lord, your unfailing love and compassion, which you have shown from long ages past." Psalm 25:6 NLT

I won't be so bold as to say I know what David was thinking when he wrote this psalm, but if you will allow me a guess--

He wasn't thinking he needed to remind God of anything!

God didn't need reminded of He saved Noah and his family from a watery grave.

He didn't need reminded of how faithful He was to Abraham and his many offspring.

Or of the three Hebrew boys who were thrown into the fiery furnace and who walked out.

God didn't need to be reminded of any of those times He was faithful and loving and compassionate--but I'm guessing David did.

Like we do.

We need to recall God's track record of goodness.

We need to have His faithfulness brought to our memory when times are tough and our resources are exhausted.

We need to be reminded of how big our God is in proportion to our problems! 

 WHEN IT'S WRONG, IT'S WRONG

Today's reading: Judges 17-21

"So Micah ordained the Levite as his personal priest, and he lived in Micah's house. I know the Lord will bless me now, Micah said, because I have a Levite serving as my priest." Judges 17:12-13 NLT

Let's just get it out of the way and determine that what Micah did was wrong.

His actions. His thinking. His presumptions.

But then again, isn't sin like that?

It makes us think what we are doing has a tint of godliness to it--and we run with it.

But friends, when it's wrong, it's wrong.

Living like the devil Monday through Saturday is not erased by plopping your tail end down on a church pew on Sunday.

Gossiping is not okayed by adding 'prayer request' anywhere in the conversation.

Hating one person, or race or persuasion of people, is not admirable in God's eyes even if you are loving another person, race or persuasion abundantly.

Need I go one?

We have to be really, really careful not to ignore the signs of sin. We need to be very much aware of the Holy Spirit's conviction in our hearts.

Because, when it's wrong, it's wrong!

 NO REASON

Today's reading: Genesis 32-35

"...There is no reason for you to be so kind to me, Jacob insisted." Genesis 33:15 NLT

Jacob, when he spoke these words, was standing before Esau.

Esau, his brother.

Esau, the one who Jacob had snookered out of their father's inheritance.

Esau, the one who Jacob had run from.

So when the two brothers finally met up, after years and years, the kindness Esau showed him was hard to swallow.

I get that.

I feel that same way when God chooses to bless me.

I know, without a doubt, that God knows there is no reason, no reason what so ever, for Him to be as kind to me as He is.

And still He pours out His love on me.

I'm humbled.

I'm in awe.

I'm star struck by His grace!

 JUST GUESS

Today's reading: 1 Corinthians 1-2

"Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 1:7 NLT

Guess which word jumped out at me from this verse.

Go ahead, guess.

It wasn't every...

Or need...

Or wait...

It was the word 'now'.

As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, right now, this very instant, as we speak, you and I have every spiritual gift we need as we wait for Jesus to return!

We don't have to bank so many hours in Christian growth classes.

Or wait until a certain age.

Or attain a position on a specific church committee.

Right now we have all we need.

So, that being said, if you and I aren't seeing those gifts in action--it's not because it's not there, it is because we're not utilizing His potential within us.

 QUITE DIFFERENT

Today's reading: Matthew 20-22

"But among you it should be quite different..." Matthew 20:26 NLT

Jesus' words spoke to me this morning.

About how, as a follower of His, I shouldn't act like the world.

Talk like the world.

Think like the world.

Worry like the world does.

React like the world might.

My deeds should be quite different...

Not just a little different...

Not just a smidge different...

Not just one degree different...

But quite different.

If I'm not sticking out in society--I'm probably not doing it right!

WHO?

Today's reading: Isaiah 40-44

"Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed out the mountains and hills? Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to be his teacher and counselor? Has the Lord ever needed anyone's advice? Does he need instruction about what is good or what is best?" Isaiah 40:12-14 NLT

Maybe after reading this portion of Scripture you are asking yourself the same thing as the one typing up this devotion...

'Who in the world do I think I am?'

Attempting to give God advice as to what might be in the best interest of me, His created...

Giving Him help in matters that are wildly outside my sphere of influence or intellectual grasp...

Suggesting to Him what might bring Him the most glory in my life--or in the lives of those I love...

Taking the pen out of His majestic, powerful, all-knowing and loving hand, to give a hand at writing my own story...

Hinting to my Savior what might be more comfortable, doable, redeemable or socially acceptable...

Does He need instruction in what is good or what is best?

Not from this faulty creature! Not at all!

 YOUR MOUTH

Today's reading: Job 15-16

"Your sins are telling your mouth what to say..." Job 15:5 NLT

If you have ever started a sentence with...

But...

Well...

If only...

If it weren't for...

If they...

...then there is a very good likelihood that your sins have been telling your mouth what to say.

When your sins are talking there are a lot of excuses provided as to why you might continue in your current state, why you are in your present condition and why you couldn't possibly get out of what you are in the middle of.

So let's all spend some time in prayer. Let's open up our hearts to God. Let's allow Him to sweep clean any sins that are holding the reins on our mouths--and our lives--and our witness.

 A LITTLE SHEEPISH

Today's reading: Psalm 21-23

"The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need." Psalm 23:1 NLT

The animals on our small farm understand this verse better than I do!

You see, when they see my husband or I head out to the barn--they run for the gate, knowing they will be tended to, petted on, fed and watered.

And they do it every time.

They know we carry their feed. Fill their water troughs. Show them attention. Do our very best to fix any problems they might have.

During storms we double latch any gates or doors that the wind might catch and scare them with.

At night we check to make sure they are settled in and cozy, needing nothing.

They look to us for all they need.

And their shepherd? Well, their shepherd has a Shepherd.

A mighty One.

A good One.

One with limitless abilities, resources and insight.

One that lavishes love, mercy and grace on her.

And still this shepherd looks past the Shepherd at times for other help. She worries that this Shepherd isn't aware of her needs, or more to the point--her wants. She questions her Shepherd's timing and decisions.

When the Shepherd she has provides her with ALL she needs.

Like I said, the animals 'get this' better than their shepherd does.

 NOT THAT POWERFUL

Today's reading: Judges 12-16

"Then Samson prayed to the Lord, Sovereign Lord, remember me again..." Judges 16:28 NLT

Samson, a hand-picked man of God, had really messed up.

His list of infractions included marrying a woman from outside his tribe, taking revenge into his own hands, failing to keep some Levitical laws, sleeping with a prostitute, sharing his secret with a less than godly woman and holding a grudge.

And still?

Still, when the time came--God remembered Him.

His life reminds me of a post I saw on Pinterest just the other day...

Think you've ruined God's plan for your life? Friend, you are not that powerful!

 WITNESS PILE

Today's reading: Genesis 28-31

As I am reading in Genesis 31:43-55 about Jacob and Isaac's 'witness pile', I'm convicted to gather a few rocks and make my own.

You see, it's easier to hold a grudge than to forgive.

It's more natural to hang on to offenses than to let go.

It's more socially acceptable to spend time and energy attempting to get even than to get on with life.

So I need a few 'witness piles'.

Things I can see that will remind me that I have given an issue over to God.

Small piles of rocks that tell me it's safely in God's hands and no longer in mine.

Heaps of pebbles that are visual indicators of me having prayed over a matter and let that enemy of mine off the hook.

It won't be for them.

It will be for me. As a witness to remind me of doing just what God has asked me to do...trust Him with it.

Trust Him with it all.

 ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE

Today's reading: Romans 15-16

"May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other--each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other." Romans 15:5 NLT

Oh, have I ever had to submit myself to 'attitude checks' when in the Bible.

But this morning, I've noticed more than just having the right attitude...

I've noticed that our goal, as Christians, is to live in complete harmony with each other.

Easy enough, if the other person does their part.

But they don't always--do they?

So when they don't? When it's a one-sided display of having the proper godly attitude?

You ask for enough of Jesus to cover your attitude and theirs.

You ask for a double dose.

 COMING DOWN OFF YOUR MOUNTAIN

Today's reading: Matthew 17-19

"When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, a huge crowd was waiting for them..." Matthew 17:14 NLT

Jesus, Peter, James and John had just had an amazing, faith-promoting time on the mountaintop.

I'm sure, like us, they hated to leave that spot. Too full of awe. Too full of hope. Too full of renewed belief. Too full of doubt something so great could ever happen again.

But they came down, as we all do.

And the crowds met them.

Needy people. Hurting people. Hungry people. People needing a touch. People needing a hand. People needing a little bit of what they, and we, had just gotten while on the mountain.

But there are other people in the crowd, too. 

Doubters.

Balloon-busters.

Nay-sayers.

Critics.

They are always in the crowd. Their crowd and your crowd.

They attempt to suck the life right out of any and every experience with the Lord that we have.

They present their questions. They doubt your experience. They put a spin on what you've been through that leaves you wondering why in the world you even shared it with anyone.

But you know, Jesus came down the mountain for them, too.

He still loved them.

He still touched them.

He still ministered to them.

And we must do the same!

Love them like Jesus.

 DISPLAY HIS GLORY

Today's reading: Isaiah 34-39

"...There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God." Isaiah 35:2 NLT

Where is it God's glory will be revealed? Where is it we will most vividly see His splendor?

Mountaintop? Pleasant pasture? Good days? Easy times?

No, in the wilderness and the desert!

Places where everything else, all our strengths, are stripped away from us.

Scary places. Dark places. Dry places. Uninhabitable places.

Times when our focus is completely on Him--because all else has failed us miserably.

Moments when He has our full attention because our idols have let us down, our plans have proven less than favorable and our pedestals have been toppled.

So, friend, if you are there...look around. Look for Him. Look up!

 HE LOVES ME

Today's reading: Job 13-14

"I wish you would hide me with the dead and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again! If mortals die, can they live again? This thought would give me hope, and through my struggle I would eagerly wait for release. You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork. For then you would count my steps, instead of watching for my sins. My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover over my iniquity." Job 14:13-17 NLT

Job has just asked God to put him aside instead of disciplining him.

But only until His anger has passed.

Not to the point of forgetting about him.

And then...then and only then...call him back to His side.

Because Job knows as hard as the season is that he is going through, and as bad as it feels, he cannot get through it without God.

He loves God and knows God loves him.

That's what will get us through, friends.

That's all that will get us through!

 HE IS MY SUNSHINE

Today's reading: Psalm 18-20

"Lord, you have brought light to my life; my God, you light up my darkness." Psalm 18:28 NLT

I can think only of a few times when this blog post has been typed up when the sun was shining. I'm up, showered, had my Bible time, prayer time and blog time way before the sun begins to peak over the horizon.

So when I read this verse, when I let it soak down into my thoughts, I agree wholeheartedly with David--God, you bring light to my life!

In the real sense, I've never had a morning when He didn't provide the sun to light up my day.

In the spiritual sense, I've never had a long, dark night that He didn't lighten up.

He has never failed to put a ray of hope in my heart.

He has never fallen short of warming me with His presence when I sought it out.

He is my sunshine, my only sunshine

 GRIEVING GOD

Today's reading: Judges 7-11

"But the Israelites pleaded with the Lord and said, We have sinned. Punish us as you see fit, only rescue us today from our enemies. Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and served the Lord. And he was grieved by their misery." Judges 10:15-16 NLT

Two things I have noticed in the verses above...

1. The Israelites put aside their foreign gods. Put aside? As in kept them as a 'fallback'? Did they put them aside as in stored them in their closets for another time when serving and following God seemed too big a task?

2. God was grieved by their misery. I wonder, was He broken hearted that they had indeed fallen into the hands of the enemy--as He told them they would? Or...was He grieved to know that their little gods were still at hand? Still in the picture? Still, probably, in their hearts and minds?

I find myself in the words of this portion of Scripture.

I have, too many times to recount, pulled my handy-dandy god out of my back pocket and relied to heavily on it that a fall was all that would break the idolatrous spirit I was housing.

I also have felt God grieving over me. My choices. My lack of faith. My independent nature.

Do you see yourself?

PUSHED AWAY

Today's reading: Genesis 24-27

"And Abimelech asked Isaac to leave the country, Go somewhere else, he said, for you have become to rich and powerful for us." Genesis 26:16 NLT

Imagine being so full of the Spirit, so blessed by God, so empowered by your faith in Christ--that your enemy asks you to leave his presence?

He pushes you away because he is afraid to deal with the Power that is within you?

He wants no part of you and this God you serve--because he knows he will not win?

What a thought!

What an ambition!

What a gift--because God has already given this to us.

We have that power. We hold within us that spiritual fortitude. We are containers for the might of the Lord.

Are we using those resources to scare the bejeebers out of our enemy? 

 NO OBSTACLES

Today's reading: Romans 13-14

"So don't condemn each other anymore. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not put an obstacle in another Christian's path." Romans 14:13 NLT

I don't care where you are in your Christian walk--

Sidenote: If you are not a Christian...it's so easy to become one! Admit you are a sinner, that you have done wrong in God's eyes, that you cannot-on your best days be good enough on your own. Believe that God sent Jesus to the world to live a blameless life, be crucified for our sins and rise again in a show of victory against our enemy. Confess to another that you have done just that. Tell someone you have prayed and talked to God about how very much you need Him as Friend and Savior.

Whether you have been saved for years and years or just a matter of minutes, there is someone you can help in their Christian walk.

There is someone you can glean information and helpful hints from.

There is an opportunity for you to grow and to help another grow.

Just don't be a obstacle in their path.

Don't condemn them for their attempts. Don't announce their shortcomings. Don't criticize how they are doing their walk with the Lord.

Love them.

Pray for them.

Link arms with them and travel the path together.

 BRING THEM HERE

Today's reading: Matthew 14-16

"That evening the disciples came to him and said, This is a desolate place, and it is getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves. But Jesus replied, That isn't necessary--you feed them. Impossible! they exclaimed. We have only five loaves and two fish! Bring them here, he said." Matthew 14:15-18 NLT

When the issue is too large.

Or the resources too few.

Or our abilities too limited.

Or our faith is too small.

Jesus says, Bring them here.

Take them and their issue to Him.

 QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE

Today's reading: Isaiah 29-33

"The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle. But the only swiftness you are going to see if the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!" Isaiah 30:15-16 NLT

Ouch.

I mean, OUCH!

Take it from me, in case you've never found yourself in this position, waiting on the the Lord takes a whole lot more strength than seeking out (and sorting through the aftermath) other help.

Patiently waiting to see Him work...

Quietly pausing to hear His voice...

Confidently bowing before Him with hands and heart open...

Turning from sins and meeting Him at the cross of Jesus...

It takes strength of character, mind and heart. It requires grasping that mustard seed of faith so tightly it might be crushed. It demands wholehearted devotion during desperation.

Or we can seek help from other sources. Fallible helpers. Inadequate hands. Insufficient providers. Faulty assistance.

It's always our choice.

 WONDERFUL GOD

Today's reading: Job 11-12

"Can you solve the mysteries of God?.." Job 11:7 NLT

Job's friends provide us with few things to take to heart in their attempt at consoling their friend. Their words are hurtful at times, their assumptions wrong and their tactics a little less than loving.

But in this instance Zophar the Naamathite gives us something to ponder...

Can we solve the mysteries of God?

That's heavy. That's deep. That's a headful of thinking in one short question.

And the answer is, NO.

So many times we hear of God being referred to as 'wonderful'. Ever thought about what that really means?

Wonderful means, in all reality, full of wonder.

Doesn't that tell us that in all we can know about God, understand about God, believe about God--there still remains much more for us to wonder about?

He is someone we can spend our entire lives seeking to know more, attempting to draw closer to and trying to understand...and at the end of our lives, when we stand before Him, we will still be in awe of all we had yet to discover.

He is deeper than our minds can fathom. He is broader than our hearts can open. He is wider than our thoughts can grasp.

We cannot solve His mysteries but we can be filled with wonder of Him as we attempt it!

 MY GUARD

Today's reading: Psalm 15-17

"Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine." Psalm 16:5 NLT

Allow me a little poetic license as my thoughts run wild with verse...

I see God, my Guard, standing watch over all that is mine.

All the riches. All the treasures. All the blessings. All the joy-filled times.

I see Him guarding this 'Fort Knox' kind of vault for me.

I know He will not allow the enemy to steal, destroy or even touch what is mine.

Here's where it gets even more personal...

He also stands guard over all of it from the likes of me.

You see, so many things I want to get in and get my grubby little hands on.

I want to have it all now.

I want to sit among all my blessings here and now.

But He stands guard.

He allows them to come to me WHEN He knows they will do me the most good.

He opens up the storehouse of this vast wealth WHEN He knows my heart is ready for them.

He allows me to make a withdrawal on this treasure WHEN He knows He will receive the most glory for having provided it.

He guards my treasure from me. From my greed. From my inability to handle it when I think I could. From my wrong attitudes and actions. From my manipulative desires.

He guards all that is mine--and for that I am so very thankful!

 DISABLING YOUR ENEMY

Today's reading; Judges 1-6

"When the men of Judah attacked, the Lord gave them victory over the Canaanites and Perizzites, and they killed ten thousand enemy warriors at the town of Bezek. While at Bezek they encountered King Adoni-bezek and fought against him, and the Canaanites and Perizzites were defeated. Adoni-bezek escaped, but the Israelites soon captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes." Judges 1:4-6 NLT

It was common for victors of war to disable enemy kings in the way the Israelites did King Adoni-bezek. The theory behind the maiming was that with the loss of thumbs, a person could no longer hold weapons in war, and with the loss of one's big toes, a person's balance is thrown off--even for the simplest of tasks like walking.

This has me wondering...

Isn't it time I disabled my enemy?

Disarmed him?

Cut him off at the knees?

Refuse to allow him to speak?

Isn't it time I cut off Satan's thumbs and big toes--and that I remember it's done?

 

 PROVIDER

Today's reading: Genesis 20-23

"Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son." Genesis 22:13 NLT

Imagine with me the look on Abraham's face and the beating of his heart as he glanced over and saw a ram caught in the bushes beside the altar he had built.

What might he had done first?

Thrown down the knife he had been holding above Isaac?

Untie the ropes that he had used to bind Isaac to the altar?

Hug his boy?

Dropped to his knees in thanks to God?

The very next verse says what he did...

"Abraham named the place 'The Lord Will Provide..." Genesis 22:14 NLT

He renamed the very place he was standing.

He declared it, right then and there, a place where God had given him what he needed--and wanted.

He didn't have to contact the deed office. He needn't clear the new name with the real estate clerk at the country courthouse. He didn't bother with putting up new signage.

He knew in his heart.

He would never forget that place.

He would carry a piece of that plot of land forever in his heart and head no matter how far he traveled.

Do you have prime real estate like that?

Do you have places you have renamed? Places God has met you? Exact locations where you were standing when God provided?