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 ~ 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: 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.

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.

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 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 4)

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...)

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. (Luke 6:35)

"Do good..." Love must become an action. We can declare all day that we love this, or love that, but unless we can demonstrate our love through action, they are simply words.

How do we do it? How can we act in love?

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 patient - Love endures all things:

Our patience is our willingness to endure. Endure discomfort, endure inconvenience, endure disappointment, endure heartbreak. We may be asked to suffer any of these negative things and not let it affect us in such a way as to veer us from our path. We must love in spite of the things which happen to us. To stand out as a believer in Christ, we must be willing to endure.

 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. (Hebrews 10:36)

It's all about focus. If our focus is on ourselves, then we will not be able to endure. The first discomfort, inconvenience, disappointment, or heartbreak will send us off to recover. We want to avoid these negatives in our lives, because we don't deserve them. But love says endure it. Be patient. keep your focus on Jesus, and remember His promises. Remember how much He endured to save you and realize that this suffering is temporary. Though at times it may feel like forever that you've been suffering through it, this momentary lapse is just a blip in the face of eternity. So today, I pray that you will endure whatever is troubling you and act in the love that shows patience.

Weigh-in Wednesday 4/15

It's now been a little over a month since I started wearing a Fitbit, and here's what I've accomplished:

1. My resting heart rate is now a full 20 bpm lower than it was when I first started - this is huge. I was on the verge of needing to go to the hospital before, and now my body is working more efficiently because of my weight loss and fitness level.

2. I have walked 2 half-marathons. Over 13.2 miles in one day TWICE over the past month. I have logged in over 10 miles/day on average. And every step adds up to calories burned.

3. I can now run a full mile (and a half) without stopping to walk.

4. And I've lost a total of 14 lbs so far.

When I exercise, I keep my focus on the source of my strength, Jesus, by listening to praise music. It helps keep me motivated to just push a little further and go a little longer. And I thank Him for helping me stay on this journey and for picking me up when I fall down.

How did you miss Jesus?

How is it possible to go to church every Sunday and not see Jesus?

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. (Luke 24:13-16)

These two people had walked and talked with Jesus before the cross. They knew Him once. They heard of His crucifixion, and had even heard of His resurrection. He was standing right in front of them. And yet, they didn't know Him.

What kept them from recognizing Him?

[Jesus] said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! (Luke 24:25)

Lack of faith.

They heard, and yet they didn't believe...much. They sort of believed. Likely, they wanted to believe completely, but reason held them back. So Jesus reasoned with them.

In the World, Satan has perpetuated his lies and made them the standard of intellect. He claims Christianity is not a reasonable faith. And yet it has more evidence to back it up than the "theory" of evolution. Although I am not an apologist, and cannot argue with an atheist nearly as effectively as C.S. Lewis or Ravi Zacharias, I can not hide my head in the sand, either.

How is it possible that someone can work side by side with me everyday and not see Jesus in me?

Am I ready?

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15)

Am I actively reading the word?

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

How can I walk the walk and talk the talk if I'm not letting Christ rule in me? Being a nice person is not enough. I have to understand God's purpose in my daily life, in each and every moment. I need to breathe Him in so I can exhale Him out. Only then will people see Jesus in me. Only then can I give the reason for my hope by the words He gives to me. And I'm not talking about beating people over the head with my faith. I'd hope that anyone who knows me would know that I wouldn't do that. BUT I'd also hope that they know that I am a follower of Jesus.

It's all about Grace

"It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a living sacrifice-" Oswald Chambers

Grace, it's all about Grace!

God's grace is not just available for us so that we might have enternal life and live with Him in heaven. He expects us to live in His grace now, not later. We should trust God not only to the point of death - but in enduring the hardships of life, remembering His promises, trusting His word that He knows our every circumstance and is developing us to maturity.

Isn't it hard to trust? Like David, we might feel that God has forgotten us, or hidden His face from us. But I read today something so great!

Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah

He DAILY bears our BURDENS. Every day! He knows what I am going through. And though it may seem so trivial what I have endured today when I look at what others are going through, sometimes it seems I'd rather die than do this yet another day.

But If HE daily bears my burden - then why can't I daily bear it with Him? Why can't I persevere to live this life I am called to, and overcome, by the Grace of God?