Sunday Devotional - What is Slavery Today?

When the Israelites first arrived in Egypt, it was for freedom sake. They were friends of Pharaoh (through Joseph), and they settled in the land of Goshen because the rest of the world was in the midst of a drought and they would die if they didn’t. They weren’t told what they couldn’t do. (Genesis 47)

But after a while, Pharaoh died, Joseph died, and everyone who knew any of them died, and soon the Israelites became slaves. They were stripped of the right to leave or to decline work. They lived in back breaking labor day in and day out, and were given no rest—after all, who gives rest to slaves?

So when they were finally given freedom, God instituted a day of rest, and they were given the right again to say “no” to work and enter into the stillness and peace that can only be found by allowing God to be ruler in their hearts again.

Deuteronomy 5:15 - Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Today slavery doesn’t look much different. It promises freedom because it will take care of us and fulfill our need without telling us what we can’t do or shouldn’t do. Smoking promises to keep us relaxed and help us stay thinner. Alcohol promises to help us forget our worries and become a more fun person. Caffeine promises to help us stay alert and awake so we can work or play longer and need sleep less. Food promises to comfort us and keep us from ever feeling hungry. 

But once we continue to live with our newfound friend and addiction, we’ll find it’s not easy to leave or even decline it when we have an urge to continue. And what’s worse is that we have to pay or work harder in order to keep up with the demands of the addiction. We have to smoke or drink or eat more in order to get the same promise out of them, and that costs more money. And not to mention the toll that these things take on our health. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other organ disfunction awaits the person who remains enslaved to these addictions. We soon find that the freedom promised by these things were actually just another form of bondage. It didn’t tell us what we couldn’t do at first, but eventually we found that we couldn’t stop.

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Christ has set us free from every bondage, every enslavement, so there is no need to live in slavery today to anything. No addiction can hold us if we abide in Christ and live in obedience. We have a promised land, a land of freedom promised to us in God’s word. But, just like the Israelites after they were freed from Egypt, they still had to fight to take the land that was promised to them.

Deuteronomy 1:8 - Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

Joshua 1:3 Every place where the sole of your foot treads, I have given you, as I promised Moses.

Even though God made these promises to Joshua and Moses, they Bible shows through most of the book of Joshua that they had to fight to gain ground and to take possession of the land and freedom God said was theirs. Likewise, freedom is ours, it’s already promised to us, but it’s up to us to fight and take it.

But isn’t it difficult to now battle against our addiction? It’s easy to remember the “good times” when the enslavement didn’t seem so bad. Wasn’t it nice to us before? Didn’t it kind of keep some of its promises? But unless we want to go back to Egypt, back to being told we can’t leave and we can’t stop while it slowly kills us and works us to death, we must fight.

Numbers 14:40-45 - Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!” But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.” Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

However, if we try to fight in our own strength, we will be beaten time and again, just like the Israelites were each time they tried to fight without God’s provision. The truth is that if we were strong enough to free ourselves and battle on our own, we would have done so. And just because we are children of the omnipotent King doesn’t mean that we can do things without Him with us. 

Gaining ground is a struggle, but if we rely upon the Lord’s strength, ground will be gained. We must pray before every battle, realizing that this is not our war, it’s His. Rely upon His strength each and every time we need to resist the urge to give in to our slavery. God alone can defeat our enemy, we need to leave it in His hands, and worry about only about abiding in Him.

My personal paraphrase of the promises from Isaiah 30:18-21(TPT) - Entwine your heart with His. Wait for Him to help and He will answer you when you cry out. Through hardship and difficulty, He will be with you—He will not hide from you. And you will hear his once behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”

John 15:7-8 - If you remain in me and my words in you, that is if we are vitally united and my message lives in your heart, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples. (AMP)

So my prayer today is that we take hold of the freedom to say “no” to whatever we are enslaved to today. That we will believe the promises of strength and boldness that we are granted in God’s word and march forward with Him in front of us and behind us and telling us where to go and how to get there. That our hearts will be entwined with His and that He will help us with the battles that we are facing to take hold of the freedom that is ours. In Jesus name.

Sunday Devotional - This Easter, am I Judas or Peter?

It’s Easter Sunday, and I’ve had Judas on my heart. He walked closely with Jesus, saw the miracles, heard His voice and His teaching, even shared meals with Him, but Judas didn’t submit to Him. Even though he was that close to Him, Judas didn’t allow Jesus to change him. Am I the same? Even if I’m around Jesus, going to church, reading my bible, listening to worship music, am I surrendered? Am I allowing Jesus to change me and make me more like Him?

John 12:6 - Now Judas said this, not because he cared about the poor [for he had never cared about them], but because he was a thief; and since he had the money box [serving as treasurer for the twelve disciples], he used to pilfer what was put into it. 

Judas couldn’t be trusted with the little things. He made compromises on little things. What was the big deal? As long as they had enough money to do what the disciples wanted to do, did it really matter if he took a little bit of something for himself? Small compromises weakened his integrity and made it easier for him to make bigger ones. It opened the door for the enemy to work. When I make small compromises, what am I setting myself up for? Every choice I make draws me closer to God or further away. Every choice is a battle for my soul, so what will I choose today?

Luke 22:3 Then Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve [disciples].

Because of Judas’s sin and his lack of repentance, Satan found a way into his heart and caused the ultimate betrayal of Jesus. But even after this horrible mistake, Judas could have changed, he could have repented and run back to Jesus, but the enemy lied to him, and Judas believed him. When am I guilty of believing the enemy’s lie that my mistake is too bad for the Lord to forgive? Or that I can’t face the Lord now that I’ve failed in resisting temptation. God’s mercy is always stronger, coming to Him dirty and broken is expected. My mistakes aren’t final if I turn to the Lord and let Him forgive me. Who will I choose to believe? 

Matthew 27:3-4 When Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was gripped with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,  saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They replied, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”

Even though Judas felt guilty, he didn’t turn to the Lord for forgiveness, and he didn’t repent. Instead of going to Jesus, he went back to the religious leaders, and they offered him no forgiveness, no grace, and no mercy. They didn’t care. So the guilt that he had drove him to despair. 

Matthew 26:74-75 Then Peter started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed, and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Peter also betrayed Jesus that night be denying Him three times. Adamantly, with curses. But with his regret and guilt came repentance. He sought the Lord, and when Peter finally saw Him, he leapt from his boat and swam to shore, coming directly to him rather than letting the enemy have the final word.

John 21:17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You.” “Feed My sheep,” Jesus said.

And the Lord gave him the opportunity to repent and say that he loved Him three times. One for each time Peter had denied Him. Each followed up with the command to feed His sheep. And Peter did as he was asked. He didn’t let his story end with his betrayal, but found repentance, love, grace, and redemption by coming back to the Lord.

Even when we mess up, Jesus loves us. He doesn’t quit just because we failed. He already knows everything bad we’ve ever done or are going to do and He still offers us forgiveness and grace. Even though Jesus already knew what Judas was going to do before he’d even started plotting, Jesus still washed his feet. He still looked at him lovingly at the Last Supper. His grace and love go beyond betrayal and denial. And He gives us the opportunity for redemption and repentance through is mercy and grace. 

Hebrews 4:16 - Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

So my prayer today is that we will be more like Peter than like Judas. That we will turn directly toward God when we make a mistake. That we will listen to Him rather than the enemy so that He can show us the mercy, kindness, and a love that can make us bold, even when we betray Him. Let us never let Satan have the final word and make us believe that we’re unworthy of even trying to come to Him. Of course we’re unworthy, but we’re not unloved. Let us remember that He already knows what we we’ve done, and there’s no reason to hide. He invites us instead, as always… to come.

Sunday Devotional ~ Making Room for God

 

He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)

As Christians we want more of God in our lives—more of Jesus. We are selfish for Him to give us greater, bigger, and more extravagant blessings. It reminds me of one of the old hymns we sang at the small church my family attended when I was younger:

Showers of blessing,
  Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
    But for the showers we plead. (Daniel Webster, 1883)

Yes, we are thankful for the drops of mercy we receive from the Lord, but we all want showers of blessing. And we know that our God is capable of doing this.

God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine… (Ephesians 3:20)

But exactly how do we get more from Him? By making room. We make room by decreasing—decreasing our wants, our desires, ourselves, and giving that space to the Lord. There is no such thing as “awkward silence” with the Lord. Silence is golden. It’s by waiting to hear from Him that we receive His word and His blessings. But do we want those things enough to give up things that might seem good to us now, but hold us back from receiving even better from our God? Do we let making ourselves comfortable take preference? Do we fill our time, our minds, our bellies so full of things that we provide that we don’t allow the Lord to provide even better?

I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. 

Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. (Psalm 81:10)

Instead of trying to fill ourselves up and doing our own thing, and making our own way, let us take a moment to allow ourselves to be empty and then allow God to fill us up. We may just find out that His showers of blessing were just one step, one choice away. While we’ve been busy trying to find a way to fill the void in us with other things, God has been waiting for us to just turn to Him.

Today my prayer is that we open ourselves up to God. That we make room for Him in a new way. If we listen to the Holy Spirit, He will tell us where we’ve been failing to make room. Then all we have to do is let go of that thing and allow God to fill us up!

Sunday Devotional ~ Go and Sin No More

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)

When we have forgiveness of our sins, Jesus tells us to sin no more. We are to live a life that is free from sin, but it is not free from temptation. Each day of our lives we struggle against the temptation to be complacent, the temptation to be comfortable, and the temptation to be unsatisfied. But in all of these things, there is a simple cure.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8)

We are double-minded when we put the temptations of our own comfort before or equal to that which God asks us to do. If we'd rather relax with Netflix after working a long hard day instead of spending time in meditation with God, we're looking for our own comfort instead of furthering God's kingdom in a way we know we're supposed to do. The only thing that keeps us from our sins is to draw nearer to God through prayer, studying His word, and worship.

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:12)

The east and the west never touch each other. They never see each other. God not only removed us from our past transgressions, but also our present and future ones. He wants us to draw near to Him because the closer we are to God, the further we are from our sin. Conversely, the closer we are to our sin, the further we will feel we are from God as well.

Today my prayer is that we will draw near to God in every way. That we will worship even when we're tired... that we will step forward in faith even when we're complacent right where we are... that we will allow God to be our satisfaction when we feel unsatisfied. Lord help us to draw near to you today!

Sunday Devotional - What are you a slave to?

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1 NIV)

In Exodus chapter 1, we find that God delivered the Israelites from 400 years of bondage in Egypt. Generation after generation of slavery. So much so that the people who God delivered through Moses knew nothing about being free--slavery was all that they had ever known. They had no choice but to jump when their taskmaster said to. They couldn't say, "no." It wasn't an option.

When God sent the plagues to Egypt and Pharaoh finally let them go, they had a hard time adjusting to this new life of freedom. They still felt they needed someone to tell them what to do. They needed to be busy. They had no idea what to do with all this free time. Their minds were still fixed on being slaves.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath

 to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son

 or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, 

nor any foreigner residing in your towns. (Exodus 20:9-10)

God wanted the people to remember Him. To not just sit around and do nothing on the Sabbath day, but to spend the time with Him, in worship, prayer, and studying His word. 

While we work we might "forget" about Him, momentarily. If we get too busy, we might go hours without remembering. This is slavery. Without being plugged-in and in-tune to our God, we're doing things by our own strength instead of His, and our batteries will soon run dry.

Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried 

and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. 

Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. 

(Luke 10: 41-42)

What are we enslaved to? What keeps us from listening to and taking in the Lord? Are we busy serving the church and missing out on the relationship we need to have with Jesus? Are we busy chauffeuring our kids around from event to event? Too busy checking emails and social media? What are we enslaved to?

Today my prayer is that we take the time to think about what seemingly innocuous things we're giving our time to. With God's help, we can decide if we should cut back, and think about giving more of our time to sitting at the feet of Jesus. Let us remember why we are free.

Sunday Devotional ~ Do we have to suffer?

For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. (Psalm 66:10)

Life is pain and suffering. Each one of us has trials we must go through in order to make it from birth to death. No one's life is easy, even if it may seem so. Our response to the trials we go through are what make us stronger or bring us down further. God refines us through our trials so we can learn to rely upon Him for our strength and ability.

 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, 

as though some strange thing happened to you; (1Peter 4:12)

Being a child of God doesn't keep you from the trials of life, it just gives you Jesus to rely upon to help you through each of the struggles. We must trust Him and rely upon Him to make it through each episode of life. By doing this we learn not to have faith in our own strength and abilities. The harder the trial, the sooner we learn to lean on Jesus.

For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. (2 Samuel 22:30)

Without the wall in front of us, we would not know we can leap over it by God's help. Without the troop standing against us, we would not know we could run against it with God's strength. God sets trials before us so we can learn how great and awesome He is. 

Whatever trial we're going through today, let us remember Who is there to help us get through it. Let us not ask why we're in a trial. Let us not wish the trial would go away. Instead, let us face the trial head on, knowing that on the other side of it, we will be closer to God and allowing Him to manifest Himself to us, in us and through us.

Sunday Devotional ~ It's Okay to ask God to Hurry

And let us not grow weary while doing good, 

for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.  

(Galatians 6:9)

God has His own timing, called "due season." In this day and age, we're always in a hurry, but God never is. However there's a major benefit in asking God to hurry, even while we wait. Asking God to hurry keeps our prayers honest. 

It may seem like it takes greater faith to say, "God, take your time," but the psalmists often asked God to hurry:

But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! 

You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.

(Psalm 70:5)

Be pleased, O Lᴏʀᴅ, to deliver me! O Lᴏʀᴅ, make haste to help me! 

(Psalm 40:13)

O Lᴏʀᴅ, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you! 

(Psalm 141:1)

God wants our prayers to be fervent. Fervent means passionate, heartfelt, and honest. He doesn't want us to pretend to not be in a hurry when we are. Asking God to hurry means that we understand who is in control of all timing. He is. It gets our minds straight so we expect God to answer, know He's going to answer, and ask Him to please not delay.

If we're honest in our prayers, we'll feel the longing in our hearts and we'll be stirred to pray even more persistently. When we believe God will answer quickly if we ask Him to, He will honor it.

 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. 

(Luke 11:8)

Asking God to hurry makes our prayers persistent, expectant, fervent, and honest. This is exactly the kind of prayer God tells us He wants from us. If you've been waiting a long time for something, maybe it's time to start asking God to hurry?

Sunday Devotional: Waiting and Waiting and Waiting upon the Lord

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.  To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 

He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 

Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

(Matthew 25:14-30)

There are times in our Christian walk when we have a vision of what God wants us to do, we know that it's His will, but we are waiting to see the manifestation of this vision in our lives. And waiting... and waiting. But what are we to do while we wait for the Lord?

In the parable of the talents, we see three servants who were given talents by their lord with no instructions on how to use them, no warning on how long the lord would be away, and no command on what the servants should do while he was gone. He didn't tell them this was a test. He didn't tell them there would be rewards or consequences.

Two of the servants used their talents and worked to make their lord more prosperous. And one buried his talent in the ground to protect it and then did his own thing. And when the lord came back, he rewarded the two and punished the one.

If we take this parable as an example of waiting upon the Lord, what should we do while we wait? Sitting around, watching Netflix, and scrolling Facebook don't seem like the best options - those would be akin to what the third servant did. The lord knew that this servant was prone to passivity and laziness, so he only gave him one talent at the start.

What God wants is for us to be growing His kingdom. He wants us to use the talents He's given us to know Him and to make Him known. These are the keys to growing the kingdom.

“This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent” 

(John 17:3).

“But nothing, not even my life, is more important than my completing my mission. This is nothing other than the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus: to testify about the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).

So while we're waiting, God wants us to be productive. He wants us to draw closer to Him and get to know Him better through prayer and diligent study of His word. He wants us to rely upon Him while we battle our personal sins and tear down the strongholds that keep us from better, greater fellowship with Him. 

This creates our personal testimony. As we overcome the world and our flesh, we have a reason for our faith. People will see the changes in our lives and the things which set us apart from the rest of the word because of the deliverance to abundant life we have in Jesus. This is how we make Him known. More people are drawn to Christ from one person walking in freedom and fellowship with God than a million tracts. Our testimony and the blood of the Lamb are the two things that help us triumph over Satan:

 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;

 (Revelation 12:11a)

So what kind of testimony did the third servant have? Since he buried his talent and spent his days doing as he felt, I doubt he had the kind of testimony that would bring glory to his lord. 

I desire the kind of testimony that brings God glory and greater honor. And I know this can only be done by overcoming the strongholds in my life and by relying completely upon God to tear them down. But it's difficult, it's not easy, and too often, I want a quick fix. Waiting upon the Lord is hard, it's work, and it's not something we can do passively.

So today, my prayer is that we will chose to be productive for the Lord. I pray that we will grow in the Lord and gain a testimony that defeats the devil. I pray that we will get to know Him better and better each day so that it becomes easier to wait for Him because we trust Him to know the timing that is best for us. Oh Lord, let us overcome our passivity and make choices today which will further your kingdom. Amen.

Sunday Devotional: Getting Nowhere

via GIPHY

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)

Sometimes it feels like our spiritual life is getting nowhere. We think we're working hard and doing all the right things, but just like the cat on the slide, we're not getting to where we should...fast. Maybe it's time to take an honest look at ourselves. Are we really doing everything we should be? Are we truly giving 100% of our hearts to God and giving Him the first fruits?

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? 

But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; 

it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7)

Able gave God the firstborn of his flock--he gave to God first. But Cain gave "some" of his fruit--was it the best that he had? Likely not. Cain's heart wasn't in the right place, so he wasn't accepted. What Cain then did was minimize his sin. He decided that he'd done everything just as well as Able had, and that God was unfair for not accepting and blessing his sacrifice.

Whoa. That one hits home for me this week. I've been feeling like I'm running on a treadmill and getting nowhere, but is it because I'm not giving God the best of myself, the best of my time, the best of my energy? Sure, I'm giving God "some" of my time, but is it because my heart longs for Him, or is it because it's a chore, duty, or burden? 

If I'm minimizing my sin, then I'll decide that I'm doing what I should do, I'm giving "some", so why aren't I getting the blessing?

The Lord is near to all who call on him,

    to all who call on him in truth. (Psalm 145:18 emphasis mine)

I want for God to be near to me. I want to have the kind of acceptable life that Able had. I don't want for sin to crouch at my door desiring to have me. I want to rule over my sin instead of it ruling over me. But to do this, I need first to be honest with myself. If I haven't been giving God the best of my life, I need to determine to do it now. I don't ever want my time with Him to be a burden or a chore. I want it to be sweet and something I look forward to. 

That is my prayer for all of us today. Help us oh God, to be honest with ourselves about what we give and about what we do. Help us, Lord, to cry out to you in truth. Draw nearer to us, Jesus, so that we feel the goodness of your presence. With all of our hearts, Amen.

Sunday Devotional: Am I missing a step?

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-7)

Step 1 - Faith. When we come to Jesus we start with faith--no matter how small. At first it may be like a mustard seed, but Jesus already promised that we would be able to move mountains with the smallest amount of faith. (Matthew 17:20)

Step 2 - Goodness. In the Bible, God is called good and His word, goodness (Hebrews 6:5). So if we add to faith the goodness of His word, we're working toward the next step.

Step 3 - Knowledge. By reading God's word and praying for Him to help us understand it, we will grow in the knowledge. (Proverbs 3:5)

Step 4 - Self-Control. This one is a hard one for me. Once we have the knowledge of the things we should do or should not do, we suddenly find them impossible to accomplish, just like Paul did in Romans 7. But we need to remember that Jesus promised His yoke is easy and His burden light - because He knows that He will carry the greater burden for us if we remember to turn to Him for help with this self control thing. (Romans 7:25) (Matthew 11:30)

Step 5 - Perseverance. Ugh. We cannot develop perseverance without being tempted, overcoming obstacles, or without pain. Either we learn to persevere by denying the temptation over and over again, or we develop it by keeping the course with obstacles in the way, or we stay faithful no matter what pain or suffering we're going through. (Romans 5:3)

Step 6 - Godliness. When we overcome the steps we've worked on so far, we discover the freedom that Jesus has given us and the hope of a freed, abundant, eternal life... which He'd promised us was not only for Heaven, but here on Earth, too -- no matter what our external circumstances (Titus 1:1-2)

Step 7 - Mutual Affection. Only by encouraging each other and building one-another up can we overcome all the steps that have helped us get this far together. (1 Thessalonians 5:10-11)

Step 8 - Love. The final goal is one where we can learn to love the way Jesus did. Love whether the person loves us back or not. Love when the person hates us. Love the most sinful person. Love when there is no gain for ourselves. We can only love this way when we have completed all the other steps and drawn closer to God than we are when we start. We spill over with His love so that it reaches everyone we touch. (1 Corinthians 13)

I am finding myself having to renew my mind each day through steps 1-3 just so I can get some handle on steps 4 and 5. I know that the freedom and godliness that God promises can only come through perseverance. Nothing worth having comes easy. I pray today that you will overcome what you're going through, and that reading this breakdown will give you hope and encouragement to reach the next step, too!

Sunday Devotional Blog: But I want it now!

Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act!

 Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season 

he will honor you with every blessing, 

and you will see the wicked destroyed.

(Psalm 37:34 TLB)

I'm broken.

At 42 years old, I feel like I've been broken for so long that I'm beyond repair. But God promises me that there is nothing about me that He cannot change.

and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- 

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, 

the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise

 instead of a spirit of despair. (Isaiah 61:3 NIV)

Although there are times when He heals things miraculously and instantly, most of the time, He does not. Sometimes, we have to reap what we sow. Sometimes, we have to feel the pain of the sin that caused us to get into the predicament we're in and then rely completely on His strength and His timing to help us out of it. 

I cannot rush a broken bone's healing any more than I can rush this process of healing for myself.

Impatience is too much like unbelief. If we feel ourselves loathing God's timing, we start to doubt that He really has what is best for us in His mind. We start do doubt that He cares. And if He doesn't care, than why should we? Satan feeds us this line of lies because he wants for us to GIVE UP. It's too difficult, too painful to endure. Satan wants us to choose the easy way now because he knows that things will get harder for us in the future if we do.

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood

 in your fighting against sin (Hebrews 12:4 NAS)

Sure, the struggle is hard. The fight is real. When we're battling against our demons, we feel the pain and suffering that comes with it, but we do not bleed. We do not die physically. The battle we are engaging in is not against flesh and blood. 

"Truly, truly, I say to you, 

unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, 

it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24 ESV)

And we are called to die to the flesh in order to live. Those people who have overcome their sins and been healed are much more alive than this broken version of me. There are so many things that my sin has robbed from me. If we take an honest look at whether our sins and addictions are worth the cost, I think we can wholeheartedly say that it is worth the little bit of suffering now for the joy we receive later.

Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5b NIV)

The night can seem like such a long time that we begin to wonder if the morning will ever come. But we need to remember that we're not alone in the night - we have a guide. He has better night vision than we do, and is guiding us along this tough trial. He won't let us stumble and hurt ourselves worse. We only need to hold His hand. Also we need to keep believing, keep the faith, and keep watching while we wait for the signs that the morning is coming. Listen for the birds that start singing before dawn. Watch for the first vestiges of light that prove the morning is on the way. We'll see God even more clearly in the morning than we do in the night right now. He's promised that the morning will come, we just need to trust Him and believe it.

How many times will we need rescue?

 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, 

and he will deliver us again. 

On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us 

(2 Corinthians 1:10)

We need constant care. Some people have a view of God as being like a clock-maker. He built the clock, set the time, and then let it loose. The world is on its own and whatever happens, happens, without God caring about it. But quite the opposite is true.

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Luke 12:7)

He knows the number of hairs on our heads. Brush our hair and lose a few strands, and He still knows the number. Grow extra, and it makes no difference. He's so very vigilant when it comes to loving us that He cares about the number of hairs that are on our heads right now.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

His love doesn't change. We cannot tire Him out. His patience is long-suffering and He already knows our every fault, our every need. No matter how many times we need deliverance from temptation, He's there. No matter how many times we need help, He's ready to help. 

So even if we're disappointed with ourselves for our failures today, we do not need to hide ourselves from God. He already knows, He still loves us, and He's waiting for us to ask for His help.

Sunday Devotional - Dealing with Discontentment

One of the hardest things to deal with as a child of God is when we're disappointed with the One who provides all things. Sometimes we think that we deserve more than we have, better than we have, or something faster than we're getting. It's easy to see other people gaining what we want and then feeling like it's unfair that God's holding back His blessing from us. Especially when we've been good.

Like a child throwing a tantrum, we want to rail at God for being unjust.

Satan moves in like a lion waiting to devour right about now, too - he's there to provide all the coaxing that we need to feed our feeling of dissatisfaction.

• Everyone else has more, even though they aren't even believers.
• You've worked so hard this week, you deserve that reward - but God didn't care to give it to you.
• Why should you bother fighting temptation when it makes no difference?
• Why should you have to keep waiting for what you want?
• God obviously doesn't care.
• He doesn't really love you.

The eyes of all look to you,

    and you give them their food at the proper time.

You open your hand

    and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

(Psalm 145:15-16)

God has not changed who He is. He does love us and He does care. He is the provider of all good things - but in the proper time. His time. Our every desire will be satisfied by His hand. Just because He provides differently from what we expect, or at a different time than we hope, doesn't mean He won't provide. 

When feeling discontented, the first thing we need to do is tell God how we feel. If we're mad, tell Him. If we're sad, tell Him that, too. The Psalms are full of discontented voices asking God to hurry up. Once we've emptied out our feelings, we then need to denounce the lies and remember the truth of God's word. His promises are real and meant for us. We need to remember everything He has provided for us already, then thank Him and praise Him. Lastly, we need to wait upon Him. Wait for the contentment, or the blessing. If we know we are going to receive His promise, but haven't yet, we need to wait for it in great expectation. It's coming, even if it's not on our timetable. 

I've had a great bout with discontentment this week. I felt as though I'd been battling hard, fighting to gain ground, but when I checked to see how much ground I'd gained, I'd actually lost some. I was heartbroken, cried, and spent a few hours having a temper-tantrum of sorts. Then God reminded me of His provision. He reminded me that it's about the relationship I'm developing with Him, not about the outside sources or rewards. 

Jesus is the only source of true joy and satisfaction. He is my reward. 

Yes. I had a child-like tantrum and afterward, I felt a great deal of guilt. But God gave me a good hug and reminded me that I'm already acceptable to Him. If you're feeling discontented like I was, I pray that this short message and testimony will find you where you are and help you remember where you're reward is, too. May God bless you on your continuing journey with Him.

Sunday Devotional: Bringing Dead Dreams Back to Life

When we were younger, we had so many dreams. We believed we could do anything, become anything, accomplish anything. Walking, talking, reading, riding a bike--these all seemed like impossible tasks until we overcame them, so if we could do that, nothing was outside our grasp. Then reality hit and some dreams became dead to us because we found out they were too difficult for us to accomplish on our own especially when we didn't have the resources to overcome them.

No matter how much we try to push ourselves to overcome the thing, it was impossible to do on our own. Inspired initiative is when we hear God say, "Arise from the dead." (Ephesians 5:14). Only when the inspiration comes from God are we able to arise our dreams from the dead and do the impossible thing. Because God's words come with miraculous power and the resources we need to overcome any obstacle.

But there's a catch to it.

God doesn't give us life until we do as He says. In order to "arise from the dead," we have to get up. In order for the man with the withered hand to heal, he hand to "stretch forth" his hand (Mark 3:1-6). God gives the order, and we have to take Him at His word and move when He says to. If we believe Him and get up, we'll find that God gives us overcoming life immediately. We'll find strength where we had none, help where we didn't see it, and the power to overcome when we were overwhelmed.

So what is God asking you to do today that you think would be impossible? What dream did you think was dead, but God is telling "arise?" My prayer today is that we take God at His word and move forward, believing that He will give us the power to overcome any obstacle.

Fruit of the Spirit: Love (Part 7)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

To demonstrate love, we have to remember the 15 attributes of love as described in 1 Corinthians 13~

Love is patient.

Love is kind.

Love does not envy.

Love does not boast.

Love is not arrogant.

Love is not rude.

Love is not selfish.

Love is not provoked.

Love thinks no evil.

Love does rejoices in truth.

Love bears all things.

Love believes all things.

Love hopes all things.

Love endures all things.

Love never fails.

In the rest of this blog series on Fruit of the Spirit: Love, we'll go over a few of these attributes per post.

Love does boast:

Boasting about what I have or have done is all about taking credit. It is showing off. But not in a good way. Instead of allowing God to reward me for my accomplishments, I want to see everyone patting me on the back and telling me what a good person I am and how wonderful I have done. Or I boast because I want to feel better about myself, because often I don't feel good about myself unless I compare myself to someone else.

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and[b] prayed these things with reference to himself: ‘God, I give thanks to you that I am not like other people—swindlers, unrighteous people, adulterers, or even like this tax collector! I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far away, did not want even to raise his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than that one! For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14)

God doesn't want us to compare ourselves to anyone but Jesus. Not because He wants us to be down on ourselves that we can never be good enough, but so that we keep striving toward a goal with the understanding that we can do nothing on our own without Him. Once we understand that each of us are striving toward the same goal, we can do the opposite of boasting, encouraging.

Encouraging others is the opposite of boasting. Instead of pointing out to someone else how great we are or how much better we are than them in an attempt to make ourselves feel better, we'll often feel the opposite, empty. But in encouraging people and lifting them up, we'll find the fulfillment we were striving for.

A person of blessing will be enriched, and he who gives water also will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)

So today my prayer for you is that you will find a way to encourage others and lift them up and in doing so, find yourself lifted up, too.

Fruit of the Spirit: Love (Part 6)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

To demonstrate love, we have to remember the 15 attributes of love as described in 1 Corinthians 13~

Love is patient.

Love is kind.

Love does not envy.

Love does not boast.

Love is not arrogant.

Love is not rude.

Love is not selfish.

Love is not provoked.

Love thinks no evil.

Love does rejoices in truth.

Love bears all things.

Love believes all things.

Love hopes all things.

Love endures all things.

Love never fails.

In the rest of this blog series on Fruit of the Spirit: Love, we'll go over a few of these attributes per post.

Love does not envy

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30

The key to overcoming envy is to have a heart at peace. Contention is a part of life. As you walk through this world, whether at home or at work, there will be people who contend with you and try to take away your peace. But if you renew the peace within your heart by remaining in constant communion with the Lord, then you can keep away from the envy that rots the bones. 

Envy is described as jealousy, hatred, malice, resentment, and opposition.

Just like every temptation that we come across, we have to choose to envy. The temptation comes in as a whisper in the ear, or a piercing of the heart. If we are acutely aware of our natural inclination to give in to this temptation, we can immediately renew our focus. Look to God and ask for Help in overcoming the temptation to envy. Today I pray that your awareness will increase, and that you will look to Jesus for peace each time the temptation for envy comes into your heart.

Fruit of the Spirit: Love (Part 5)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

To demonstrate love, we have to remember the 15 attributes of love as described in 1 Corinthians 13~

Love is patient.

Love is kind.

Love does not envy.

Love does not boast.

Love is not arrogant.

Love is not rude.

Love is not selfish.

Love is not provoked.

Love thinks no evil.

Love does rejoices in truth.

Love bears all things.

Love believes all things.

Love hopes all things.

Love endures all things.

Love never fails.

In the rest of this blog series on Fruit of the Spirit: Love, we'll go over a few of these attributes per post.

Love is Kind

Kindness starts in the mind.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.  (Romans 12:2)

We are kind when we renew our mind and our feelings about someone else. We are not naturally kind. Instead, we are naturally selfish. In order to show the love of God for others, we have to learn to become kind. Kindness is thoughtfulness, graciousness, helpfulness, and consideration. It is when we put someone else's needs above our own, and meeting those needs as we see them. Today, I ask God to open your eyes to see the needs around you so that you can fulfill them. 

Fruit of the Spirit: Love (Part 3)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

The First Fruit: Love (Continued...)

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7)

Change your mind and change your heart. If you cannot think loving thoughts toward another, or toward yourself, you will not be able to experience the change of heart that allows you to experience the kind of agape love that is a fruit of the spirit.

So how do we change our mind and what do we think on when we see others?

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)

When we encounter a gruff person, someone who is less than easy to love, our usual reaction is to protect ourselves from the harshness of the other person. We'll close up and look out for our own interests instead of looking at the other person's. Chances are the harder that person is to love, the more they need it. Chances are that their own gruffness is caused primarily because that person is closing up and using those spikes to protect their own, fragile heart. When someone is angry or hard to get along with, always try to find the reason way.

In order to do that, we have to stop looking out for our own interests and look out for the interest of the other person. Look beyond their outward appearance and find out what they need. Love then becomes an action as we consider prayerfully how to fulfill it.

What if, while we are trying to fulfill that gruff person's need, they abuse us or mistreat us?

If we are grafted in Jesus the way that we are supposed to be, then we find our joy and our comfort in Him. He fulfills our needs to the point of overflowing. And that overflow is supposed to splash on those around us. If our lives are full of Jesus, then we do not need to be filled by anyone else. So what this person does to us or their response to our attempts at filling their needs should not be a total surprise.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:6)

In order to be wise and cunning, we should pray from the start that the reaction of the person is revealed to us so that there aren't any surprises. And if we expect no love in return, we will not be disappointed, either. It's hard to give and get nothing in return, but remember that we are working toward Heaven, and find the source of our strength in Him.

So to change our mind about someone, we need to look past their faults and see their needs. And then when we fulfill their needs, we need to look for no reward, and no thanks. Through these changes of mind, we can begin to see what it's like to love someone who we previously thought was unloveable. And our love might be just what an unloveable person needs in order to change their mind, as well--though that shouldn't be our goal. Today, I pray that we make our goal to change ourselves and to change our minds so that we can feel the love of God toward others, and let the overflow splash upon them.