The Land of Promise

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

Where we are is not as important as who and whose we are in that place.

Scripture of the Day:

Joshua 1:7-8

^{7 “}Make sure you are very strong and brave! Carefully obey all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful in all you do. ⁸ This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper and be successful.”

I missed blogging yesterday while moving my son into his dorm. So many thoughts have flooded my mind this week, taking inventory of the foundation laid before this next chapter begins for him – and us.

Everybody likes something new, and our souls yearn for the next thing. But sometimes we are called to stay.

I wonder if this message in Joshua is not just for those going into the new land, but for those who stayed behind. The tribes of Israel who chose an inheritance east of the Jordan – wouldn’t they also need to be strong and brave? They had agreed to help the other tribes get into the promised land, but they did not want to settle there.

Fear and familiarity with what they knew likely robbed them of God’s blessing, but even in that place of choosing a lesser inheritance, they, too, would need God’s strength and to remember their God in that place.

Sometimes we are called to move and explore new adventures and sometimes we learn to be content with the same circumstances and provision. In either case, the greatest thing we need is God and His word.

Where we are is not as important as who and whose we are in that place.

My son will now need to forge ahead in his new station of life and make choices that will impact his life and future. I am truly excited for him. But we who are left “east” of his new land need to figure out life without him.

The foundation laid all these years has become stones of remembrance for us all. When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, God spoke to Joshua and told His people to place stones of remembrance in the midst of them as a reminder that God had been faithful to them.

Instead of sorrow at this crossing from childhood to adulthood, I reflect on the “stones” of remembrance that God allowed us to lay on the foundation of my children and our family. He has been faithful to my family – through raging waters and fiery storms. He has brought us into a land of promise – as we abide in Him.

Even when we are creatures of habit and don’t prefer change, God can meet us at that place and transform it from a place of sorrow into a place of worship.

 

Lord, I thank You for every stone laid in my life – the painful, the sweet, the undeserved blessings. All of it You mysteriously use for eternal means. May You be glorified in each moment, each step of our lives.

Have I Done Enough?

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

It’s not how you start the race that matters, but how you finish.

Scripture of the Day:

1 Corinthians 9:24

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. ²⁷ No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Leaning over and stretching, I looked at the entrance to the race with a side glance, as if to hide the fact that I was examining it. Had my training been enough? What about those days when I opted to eat chocolate instead of training on the treadmill? (There’s that chocolate appearing in the blog again).

“You can do this”, I told myself. Ugh, but I really didn’t want to. I started to contemplate why I signed up for this race in the first place, and so began the battle of the mind as we all took our mark.

In preparation for the race, earlier that morning my dear hubby thought it would be kind to make me a three egg omelet and grits with a banana. * Gulp. * One egg is usually my limit, but I thought I needed energy for the race, so I obliged and stuffed my face. It’s all about the carbs, right? Later he asked if there was any breakfast left. *Oops.* No wonder it was a three egg omelet – we were supposed to split it.

As we drove to the race, my tummy and I were not feeling in the running mood, if you know what I mean. Now back to that starting line. “Pace yourself”, I coached myself. “Don’t worry about everybody passing you when you are slower than everyone else around you”. Self-talk was starting to get me pumped up. I had enough fuel to get through this race, just needed the right attitude.

The blaring sound alerted us, hearts pumping, that it was our turn for our feet to slave away at the pavement. “Why, oh why am I doing this AGAIN?” Focusing on my first benchmark, I squinted between drops of sweat and thought I was probably already to a half mile. Suddenly, I really felt like I was going to hurl. Desperate for a quick exit, the 30,000 people surrounding me made it seem impossible to find a place to puke.

Note to self: “Don’t ever eat a 3-egg omelet with grits and a banana before a race again”. “I can’t do this”, I started to fill my mind with a doubtful mantra. Just then, my husband tapped me on the back. He was following me still, urging me on. Seeing my misery, he encouraged me to keep going.

Pressing on in my misery and panic, I furtively looked for places to hurl, but found none. At each mile marker my husband somehow appeared, dancing and rooting me on. He had not even trained for this race, and he was whooping me?! I started to wonder if he had a sinister plan with the 3-egg omelet he had prepared that morning just for me.

By the grace of God, I finished, but it wasn’t pretty. My husband sprinted the entire race ahead of me to encourage me, but I was feeling mighty inferior.

I learned a lot that day about perseverance, and yes, I ran that race again, but I avoided some of the mistakes I made before.

The lessons learned in a race impact all areas of life. The tasks God calls us to – will we work at them and complete them, or give up part way through? Will we prepare and be in the Word to enable us to do the work of God, or just randomly serve?

This question asked at the beginning of today’s post echoes in the corners of my mind. Have I Done Enough?

As a parent – have I done enough? As I prepare to send another child to study on campus instead of at home, I wonder, have I done enough? Will he be able to stand against temptation and run his own race?

As a child of God, have I done enough? Has my heart burned with the passion of sharing God’s love with the world? Or have I focused on being comfortable in this temporary world?

We are all in a race, but often get caught up in life’s hectic distractions and forget what matters most. That glorious finish line will be worth it. Our burdens and the difficulty of the race pale in light of what God has in store for those who run this race all for His glory.

Like the race I ran that was full of challenges, life is rife with hardship, temptations, and battles, but there are encouragements along the way provided by God to spur us on.

It is not those necessarily those who start well who win the race, but those who are consistent and finish it well. Stay focused and stay faithful. It will be worth it in the end.

Lord, thank You for your grace to run the race of this life. Give us Your perspective and help us to not lose heart. Be glorified as we run for You.

I’ll Have A Double Portion

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

There is a quest for “more” that God approves of – especially when it is spent on others for His glory.

Scripture of the Day:

2 Kings 2:9

“When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘What can I do for you, before I am taken away from you?’ Elisha answered, ‘May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you.'”

When I was twelve, a quarter was very important. It was the difference between doing laundry or not. For my mom and I, every penny counted during that time. I confess I felt remorse and guilt at spending two quarters on a video game at a Pic Quik store across the street that made my mom cry.

In those lean times, we learned to economize and be grateful for what we had. My mom met someone special and one of his favorite things to do was to go out to eat, and one of my favorites was when he said, “Let’s go to Baskin Robbins”. This was amazing to me.

A visit to an expensive ice cream place (sorry to bust on Baskin Robbins), was amazing to me. When it came my turn to order, it all looked so good. I just could not decide, so I asked for a double scoop. Hmmm . . . the good ol’ days when I could get a double scoop. Not so much now, my metabolism has caught up with me.

Wait a minute . . . I interrupt myself to say that there might be a connection between yesterday’s blog and today’s, both having food as a source of delight – hmmm – could I be dieting again? But I digress . . .

Being greedy or gluttonous in the area of food might add to the Gluteus Maximus if you know what I mean. But there is a quest for more that God approves – especially when it is spent on others for His glory.

Elisha desperately did not want his mentor – his brother and discipler – Elijah to leave. Who would? When asked what Elijah could do for him, Elisha asked for a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energized Elijah.

Elisha was not asking for His glory, power or fame. He wanted the relationship with God that Elijah had. He knew He would need God’s grace to continue in the work God gave him to do. With all that Elijah did, who could fathom what a double portion would be? And what prompted such a desire?

In Old Testament times, the firstborn son was the inheritor of the “double portion”. Elijah was like a father to Elisha and Elisha wanted the spiritual inheritance from his father. What a great request – smart – kind of like Solomon asking for wisdom instead of riches.

Elisha saw His need of God to accomplish the ministry before Him, and he spent that double portion lavishly on God and His people, not for himself. Though there was this incident with mocking youngsters who kind of got mauled by a bear for calling him, “baldie” . . . so Elisha wasn’t perfect . . . but He hungered after God.

We aren’t so perfect, either. All the more reason to ask God to grant us a double portion spiritually that we might have energy, strength, wisdom and grace to serve God and His people with all our heart, mind, body and soul.

Oh God, may You grant a double portion to those who read this blog post today and to me, as well. Enable us to impart faithfully what You have given. Each talent, every gift You have so generously given – poured out and spent all for You.

The Pursuit of Pleasure

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

Pleasure’s benefits are brief and never as sweet as the lasting pleasure seeking God brings.

Scripture of the Day:

Psalm 1:1-2

“How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers! Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; he meditates on his commands day and night.”

Mmmm. The silky smooth milk chocolate glides through my mouth as I bask in the enjoyment of all its flavor. Unless, of course, it is cheap, generic chocolate, wrapped prettily but lacking in substance.

Ah, yes, I am a connoisseur of all things chocolate. Ok. * Sigh *  I am a recovering chocoholic.

But what drove me to this fascination with chocolate? The taste buds that God gave me, and the pursuit of the pleasure I feel when indulging in the sweet bliss of all things chocolate. This pleasure, however, is somewhat fleeting, as the scale reminds me the next day of the cost of that pleasure.

So why did God create tastes buds in the first place? Maybe if we did not have them, we would not delight in food. It seems the senses, in general, can get us into trouble.

Funny things is, God wants us to delight – He wants us to enjoy and experience – even pursue pleasure. The object of our delight often falls so very far of what He has for us, though. Everything around us was not meant to satisfy our deepest need, only our Creator could do that.

We hunger for this satisfaction of the soul and try to fulfill it with the outward senses, but when the temporary fix wears off, we are left wondering why it did not last and what will please us next. Like the Israelites, we hunger for the wrong thing and sometimes blame God when we don’t get what we want.

Then there’s this battle with gratitude. God gives us just what we need and blesses us so abundantly, but we tend to not know our limits. We like His blessing so much we want more and more and sometimes are not content with His provision and can complain when it is removed, as if we deserved it.

I am preaching to the choir here, people. Me, too. I confess that chocolate and I are close – perhaps a little too close, sometimes. But when I realize how I have allowed the creation to become my delight rather than the Creator, it brings me to a place of humble worship.

He alone is my soul’s delight. I have an inner thrill when I consider His incredible care and sovereignty. Wow. Instead of finding delight in things, we can ask God to help us delight in obeying Him and meditating on His Word. It is in this pursuit that we find lasting pleasure that the world can never take away.

Lord, You are our treasure, the delight of our souls. May we never search for satisfaction for our souls from an unspiritual world, but only find our complete joy in God.

Need favor? Got that.

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

The sting of rejection can impact our souls, but it no longer has a hold on us, because One higher than everyone and everything has given us favor.

Scripture of the Day:

Acts 10:34

“Then Peter started speaking: ‘I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, 35 but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is welcomed before him.'”

I stood amongst the group of kids with a dread in my heart. As the team captains each took turns calling names, I knew I would be last. The lump in my throat would not go away, so I faked a smile and looked away in the distance, pretending I did not care. But I did.

That same feeling overcomes me in situations that arise where I am keenly aware that either someone wants my position or perhaps I am not wanted.

The sting of that rejection can still impact my soul, but it no longer has a hold on me, because One higher than everyone and everything has given me favor. Undeserved favor.I love the fact that our God does not show favoritism. He made and loves all people and His creation is beautiful. He does not look at our athletic build, our skin color, our external appearance at all. He is watching over our souls to see if any will look and see His worth, accept His salvation and live for Him.

Do you ever wish you could just make it to the top? Ever wonder why it is so hard to make progress? Or maybe you just want a level of acceptance that makes you feel like you belong. Favor from man is one of those things often coveted. We strive and we long for acceptance, but sometimes even more than that – to be the best.

Getting to the top of the mountain we are climbing seems impossible, but it would not be a worthy achievement if it were not for the rugged climb to get there. This competitive desire to be significant can become idolatry easily enough, but it can also become a catalyst to help us to live faithfully for God.

God chose us to be on His team, but the choice is up to us. We have the favor of God – if we fear Him and do what is right. This is not merit-based, but it is heart-based. We cannot fake living right – God sees it all. His favor does not mean we will not have any troubles. Living godly lives does not mean we will always get our way, either, but the favor of God upon us matters more than our wants.

Oh God! Who are we, that we should have Your favor? Help us to live in a way that honors and reveres You above all else. 

Starting the Year off Right

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

Consistently reading God’s word is not mere duty. It will change your life!

Scriptures of the Day:

John 8:31-32
31 Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you
continue in my word, you are truly my disciples,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you
free.”

Joshua 1:8

8 Don’t stop reading this book of the Law, but day and night
think of what it says, so you can be careful to do everything
written in it; then you will prosper and succeed.

Acts 20:32
32 “And now I entrust you to God and his care and to his
wonderful words that are able to build your faith and give you
all the inheritance of those who are set apart for himself.

Matthew 4:4

4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People need
more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of
God.’ ”

John 6:63

63 It is not the flesh that gives a person life. It is the
spirit that gives life. The words I told you are spirit, and so
they give life.

Romans 15:4

4 And the Scriptures were written to teach and encourage us by
giving us hope.

John 14:23-24
23 Jesus replied: ‘If anyone loves me he will cherish my word;
my Father will love him and we will come to him and make him
our abode.
24 He that does not love me neglects my words. Yet the word you
hear is not my own but that of the Father who sent me.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us
what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.
It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.

17 It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped
for every good thing God wants us to do.

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper
than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost
thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.

 

New year’s resolutions are often broken before they are begun. But there is one resolution that we never want to break – the faithful, consistent reading of God’s word. Consistently reading God’s word is not mere duty. It will change your life!

Don’t believe the lie that it is too hard to read the Bible in a year. Take two or three years, if needed, but getting into God’s word is necessary for us to be able to live a godly Christian life.

I’ll keep it brief today, so we can all get into God’s word. 

Here is a fantastic link for Bible Reading Plans. The 52-week plan is my favorite!

Our Chief Purpose in the New Year

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

Who do you want to BE in 2017?

Scripture of the Day:

Ecclesiastes 12:13

“Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.”

On the cusp of a new year, what are your hopes and dreams? What do you hope to accomplish? More importantly, who do you want to BE in 2017?

If we were made to enjoy His presence and to love and worship Him, do we have plans for that occupation in the new year?

Simply put, our whole purpose is to know God, make Him known, to fear Him and keep His commandments. That word fear is not a popular word these days  – or ever, for that matter.

But this fear is not like the the feat that evil brings. It is a Holy reverence at Who God is and an awareness that He sees and knows us completely. How then, ought we to live?

Like David, my prayer is that God would, “Examine me, and probe my thoughts! Test me, and know my concerns! See if there is any idolatrous tendency in me, and lead me in the reliable ancient path!” (Psalm 139:23-24).

This is my prayer for 2017, that we would not be deceived, but would see our great need of our Holy, awesome God – and live FULLY for Him.

Happy New Year, friends. Live well and completely for His glory. There is no other path that can bring us the joy of the LORD.

Oh God, thank You for revealing our need of You. Help us to draw nearer to You in this coming year and to make You famous! May we faithfully share Your love and not be distracted by civilian affairs or attacks of the enemy. Protect Your people and help us to stay focused on what matters – knowing and loving You and one another!

 

Is Your Plan from God?

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

When God inspires, He guides and provides a purpose beyond ourselves.

Scripture of the Day:

Acts 5: 38-39

“‘So in this case I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking originates with people, it will come to nothing, 39 but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them, or you may even be found fighting against God.’ He convinced them.”

We all want to succeed, all want to accomplish something that lives beyond ourselves. This cry for eternity is deep within our souls, so, we, like our Creator, set about creating and striving toward plans formed in our mind and soul.

We hope that our plans that will make a difference for someone, perhaps change someone’s life – even our own, for the better. And sometimes those plans fail. Sometimes we are successful and perhaps wish we never concocted the plan. Sometimes we pause and wonder what it is within us that urges us on to complete the work we are motivated to do in the first place.

I’ve had some pretty crazy ideas in my time, can’t say I regret any of them because God has used them all to change me for His glory. I live outside my comfort zone constantly, and it probably drives my family nuts – because they are often a part of my plans. (Insert sinister laugh here and envision me rubbing my hands together, hubby rolling his eyes).

But a plan is insignificant and temporary if it originates in the flesh. When God inspires, He guides and provides a purpose beyond ourselves. This might sound grandiose, but truly everything we do originates in the flesh or the spirit and has a purpose that will accomplish temporary gain or impact souls for eternity.

Reading in the book of Acts, we see a passion that the disciples had in their plan to reach people with the Gospel that intimidated the religious rulers of their day. When we seek to honor God and make a difference, we will face people who are against us and wrongly judge our motives. We will likely not get support from those “closest” to us, doubt ourselves and wonder if it is worth continuing to try at all. So why plan at all, in the face of persecution and perhaps even hardship?

As hard as it is to stick ourselves out there to try to achieve something grand, this is what it means to live and not just exist. Seeking to grow and be used by God sometimes leaves us weary and worn, but inwardly there is a delight when we are fueled by God’s strength and vision.

As we plan for the new year, may our plans be formed in the Word of God, covered in prayer and done for His glory alone. May our plans have Kingdom purposes, stand firm and may we resist the enemy in the pursuit of our goals.

Every deed and thought is laid bare before the One we are accountable to. He completely knows our hearts, though we cannot even fully know our own hearts. We often do not recognize fleshly motivations and are easily deceived, but the Bible, Holy Spirit and prayer are our compass that lead us to eternal motivations.

Lord, You know us completely. Give us a heart and a passion singularly focused on glorifying You and may we be sensitive to the leading of Your Holy Spirit. Give us Your plans for 2017 and grant success that impacts souls for You – be glorified in us.

Control’s Control

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

The One Who had all control laid it down to save our souls.

Scriptures of the Day:

John 11:48

“If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary and our nation.”

John 12:10-11

“So the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too, 11 for on account of him many of the Jewish people from Jerusalem were going away and believing in Jesus.”

John 12:27

“Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour.”

A sinister character plots an innocent man’s demise while the dissonant tones from the background music come to a climax, piercing the palpable tension felt while we eagerly watch to see whether the righteous or the wicked will overcome . . .

This typical dramatic scenery has drawn many with the lure of the villian/hero storyline. Me, too.

Many years ago I am ashamed to admit that I was addicted to watching soap operas. True story. When I think back on it now, it is embarrassing. But there I was, watching the clock to make sure I did not miss an episode and clinging to every word to make sure that my favorite character was not duped by the newest control monger in town.

This addiction with soap operas ended when the LORD confronted me on it. “I will set no vile thing before my eyes . . . I will walk in my house with blameless heart . . . (Psalm 101). When I doubted whether or not God was really speaking I asked Him to shut off the television if He did not want me to watch it. And. The. Television. Shut. Off. Thinking it was just a coincidence, I turned the television back on and asked the LORD to confirm. And. The. Television. Shut. Off. Again.

So, that ended my fascination with soap operas and television, in general. But what was it that was so addicting about them in the first place?

Deep within we all want to know that the good guy wins. The thought of manipulative people wrecking people’s lives and plans by controlling their outcomes is unjust.

But even in the vilest plots of the enemy, the sovereignty of our God trumps it all. His will WILL be accomplished. No matter what. No one can control that outcome. It is done.

Even with this truth, man still strives to control in his folly. So how does control end up controlling us? The motivations for control are many. Here are just a few:

Fear. The Pharisees were motivated to kill Jesus because of fear – fear that they would lose control. What was it they were trying to control and why would they want to keep the living Truth from all people?

Power. They wanted to maintain the power they had and were blinded by their selfish pursuits and . . .

Jealousy. They did not want another leader to come and take away their audience. They were even willing to kill the man Jesus had just raised from the dead (Lazarus) to try and stop the fame of Christ from spreading. Wow. How did they become so blind?

We, too, can lose perspective and become crazed in our quest for control, if we are not careful. It might be a little matter, but it could become a big problem, causing dissension even in the body of Christ. In the end, we ultimately control nothing.

While God is always in control, the One Who had all control laid it down to save our souls. Jesus did not seek to control or to have deliverance from His suffering, but solely chose to glorify God, yielding His will to the Father. God was sovereignly in control at all times, even over the death over His own Son – and the Son trusted the Father in it all.

The fruit of our thoughts and actions reveals their source – is our behavior of God or Satan? Is the glory we seek our own or God’s? When we rid ourselves of fear and bitter envy and recognize that God is in control, we are free from control’s control.

 

The Gift that Never Stops Giving

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

Joy from a gift given is temporary, but the joy from the gift of God lasts forever.

Scripture of the Day

1 Peter 1:8-9

“8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 

So, what did you get for Christmas? Did the longing for the gift equal the satisfaction you hoped it would bring? The joy from every gift is temporal, but not the joy of the LORD.

Throughout the day I have been thinking of you, friends who have chosen to stop in here for a moment each day to hopefully be refreshed as you press on to know God more. Writing this blog has been one of the greatest joys in my walk with God, and I thank you so much for joining me on this quest to go deeper with God.

As I thought about what I would say to you on Christmas day, “Merry Christmas” could not adequately express the greeting I wished to give. It feels a little “surfacey” for a blog that seeks to go deep.

Frankly, we don’t use the word “merry” all year long except for when Christmas rolls around, and it is a somewhat antiquated term. So, what is meant by this term?

A search on Google yielded these results: “cheerful, cheery, in high spirits, high-spirited, bright, sunny, smiling, lighthearted, buoyant, lively, carefree, without a care in the world, joyful, joyous, jolly, convivial, festive, mirthful, gleeful, happy, glad, laughing.”

Thing is, if we have lived long enough in the world we know about tragic events as have unfolded in this fallen world as well as in the life of my church in the past two weeks – two young lives tragically lost, a week apart, due to merely curving off the road and hitting a tree. Young children diagnosed with cancer. Spouses being unfaithful and breaking one another’s hearts.

How can simply saying, “Merry Christmas” bring the joy we hope it will? It can’t. A day can also not extinguish the hardships this life brings.But the message behind the term “Merry Christmas” is life-changing and brings a joy that nothing in this world can ever take away.

The gifts God gives us are temporary, as is this life, but the gift of His salvation never ever fades away. A secret joy is stirred in our souls that covers all the disappointments a fallen world brings. This life with all of its blessings and burdens was never supposed to be our joy. He is. His word, His Spirit are an ever-present joy to those who have learned to abide.

So, I wish you a Joy-filled Christmas and life, friends. When the floor beneath your feet is unstable and your heart longs for the pain just to stop, there is a joyful refuge we can run to, and it was revealed on what we now celebrate as Christmas. This joy, this gift, is not just on Christmas day. Jesus is ours forever.

Lord, thank You for the gift of Your Son. May we walk in the joy of the LORD every day of our lives, cognizant of Your sacrifice and love for us.