Turn to Him

Turn to me now, while there is still time.
Give me your hearts. Come with fasting,
weeping, and mourning.
Do not tear your clothing in your grief,
but tear your hearts instead.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
Joel 1:12,13
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Recently my eyes were awakened to an issue that I was not even aware I had. One day out of the blue I was assaulted with signs, clues, and discussions pointing to the fact that I had a problem. What was my problem? I waste a lot of time during my day on useless activities. Not only do these activities take away from time with my family but more importantly they take from my time with God. I was not getting as much done around the house like I should have been. Meal planning never quite got done. House cleaning happened when I remembered. In addition to my household chores not being completed like they should have, I was not spending time in the Word on a regular basis. I came up with every excuse in the book as to why I could not read the Bible that day. Well, one day I think God finally had enough with my bad attitude and poor choices. He put articles, scripture, Facebook posts, and even a conference talk in my path telling me that He had had enough. Talk about a slap in the face! Finally I heard Him loud and clear. No more wasted time during my day. Reading His Word is now a priority in my day. Beginning my day in prayer and devotion puts the rest of my day off on the right foot.
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Where is your faith in God? Are you all in or are you dabbling your toes in the sea of Christianity? Does your study of the Word and commitment to prayer ebb and flow like the tides? Today is the day to commit yourself whole-heartedly to God. He wants you all in. Give Him your hearts! Tear your heart open for God and let His love for your pour in. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily grind, the struggles and challenges that bombard us from all angles. Time in the Word is often sacrificed for time on the Internet or time gossiping with friends. Where are your priorities? If you regularly put God and your faith second then you are dabbling your toes in the water. Repent today dear friend. He is waiting.
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Remember time with your Father in Heaven comes in many different shapes, forms, and fashions. Prayer can happen anytime the world around you is quiet. Taking a shower, washing dishes by hand, cleaning the house, driving in the car between your children’s events; these are just a few of the times you can pray and give praise to Him. Download podcasts of the Bible to spend time in the Word while you workout, drive around town, take the dog for a walk, or get things done around the house. If your faith is important to you then there is time in your daily life.
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Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father I come before you today with a repentant heart. Forgive me O Lord for my sinful ways. I have lost sight of what is important in my life. It is You O Father that must come first in my life. Please show me the ways and the times in my life where I can make time for you and Your Word throughout my day. Please give me the strength and wisdom to change my ways so that my daily faith remains renewed, refreshed, and encouraged. All glory and honor is owed to you O Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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Challenge:
Can you reduce or eliminate one from your day, every day this week, that takes time away from the duties God has set before you? How many activities in your life detract from God’s work? Make a list it will help visualize the full impact these choices have in your daily life. Talk to your children and spouse about this topic. What are areas they need to work on?

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Alexis M. 2010

My Ugly Pet

Due to a very busy week, I am reposting an old favorite of mine. I pray that it ministers to you!

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I have a pet. This pet demands my attention and sucks the energy right out of me; it pains my heart and causes me much shame and guilt as I constantly have to clean up after it. In spite of this, I sort of love this pet. It must be love considering the manner in which I treat it. I snuggle with it and feed it and hide it from exposure. When it is threatened with death I do just about everything in my power to keep it with me. I pray for it to die quietly with no pain so I do not have to make the decision to put it out of its misery. Sometimes I even hope we can go on living together always, avoiding the pain of giving up something I have grown comfortable with in spite of its irritation to me.
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The name of this hideous, ugly, time consuming pet is…SIN. Sin certainly becomes a pet. Worry, overeating, gossip, discontentedness, resistance to authority, anger, criticalness, holding offences and a myriad of other things demand our time and energy each day. The Scriptures are clear that these things are against God’s plan for us and yet we hang on tight to them many times. We do so because it is comfortable. Let’s be totally honest. We would not be continuing in these patterns of unchecked sin if we did not get some feeling that we liked from them. Sometimes sin is fun, but in the end it pays poorly. Proverbs 14:12
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If you are not certain what your personal ugly pet is – and I promise you that EVERYONE has at least one – call out to the Lord as David did in Psalm 139:23 and 24. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” The Lord will show you your sin because He wants you to be holy as He is holy. He wants you to live a life of freedom and peace. Without His holiness we cannot be effective in our witness to our families and the world around us.
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Once we identify our not-so-cute Kujo, how do we go about killing it? God’s Word tells us that, “Those who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 We must first confess that we have these closely held critters and then we must turn from them. We have a choice and making the right choice has a wonderful outcome – mercy, freedom and righteous living. (Romans 6:16) We do not need to be in bondage to our sin. If we belong to Christ His life giving Spirit has freed us from the power of sin! (Romans 8:2) His Word promises that “…letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” Romans 8:6 So…go slay that snarling pet sin and live in freedom!
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Prayer:
Father, please show me the ugly pet sins in my spiritual life. Give me the strength and determination I need to put them out of my heart and life. Thank You for the conviction of the Holy Spirit and Your patient love. Amen.
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Challenge:
Ask a friend or your husband to help you identify ugly pet sins. Ask them to hold you accountable and then be open to their observations.
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Jen 2007

The Theology of Feet

Once again, I am delighted to share a devotional by my friend from Provision Farm. This article was slightly edited for length. You can read it in its entirety here.

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The most common problem I have ever encountered when I'm looking at someone else's goats is their feet. Many, many people don't trim their hooves often enough. Needless to say, they will grow grossly long and affect how they walk. People have given me their goats in the past (yes, I know, don't look a gift goat in the mouth, right?) and I consistently take notice of the fact that these goats often have seriously deformed feet.
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Let me take a moment to admit that I'm very particular about this issue. The first thing I do when I get a new animal is to trim its feet and give it wormer. Every spring, I catch my sheep and do this, as well. My goats get their hooves trimmed probably every couple of weeks, though. To me, it is one of the easiest things and one of the most beneficial things you can do. To keep a set of feet standing flat on the ground is to set the whole animal straight. The feet are quite literally the foundation.
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When I think of the implications of overgrown hooves, I think of my own laziness over proper 'trimming' in my life. This world is filthy and corrupt and I'm not impervious to its vices. If I don't consistently prune back my flesh, my entire alignment will be off. If I allow more of me to grow, I will by my very nature begin to trap junk on the inside of me. Pressing this corrupting matter close to myself, will in turn corrupt my insides. Trimming back my excess will expose what's pressing against me so it can easily fall away instead of becoming trapped to my insides. Allowing too much of me to grow will also simply offset a healthy balance in my life. Something so small as a hoof can throw off the conformation of the entire animal. To compensate for the malformation, the rest of the body must malform itself. I have found that if I allow myself to become less like the image of Christ and more like the image of selfishness, it affects everything around me. My malformation becomes the malformation of my entire sphere of influence. O woe is me when I not only cause myself to stumble, but those around me!
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Romans 8:28-31 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; those he called he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
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I come to my goats with a pair of hoof trimmers in my hand. I come to trim away their excess so their feet may be conformed to the image of correctness. Their feet were designed to be a certain way, same as we were created and predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. Trimming their hooves is much like the 'justification process' we undergo as sons and daughters of God. When we have submitted to the Lord's trimming, we can stand strong. When we have the image of correctness (Christ), who can stand against us? The answer is 'no one'.
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Submit to the Lord. Stand strong. Stumbling will become less of a reality if we do this.

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Prayer:

Father, help me to be mindful of what needs trimming in my life. Give me Your eyes to see what is overgrown and affecting my walk with You and my witness to others. Amen.

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Challenge:

Be mindful of the Scriptures that call you to holiness. This week, keep in mind the righteousness of the Lord and strive to walk in His likeness.

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Adrienne 2010

It's Not About Me

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." Psalm 62:5-8

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If there has ever been a Scripture that reinforces that “it’s not about me, it’s about God” you’ve just read it. Have you ever noticed that it doesn’t matter what it is, someone can always find something to complain about. Why is that? The simple truth is; how it affects us, determines the way we perceive it. For example, my oldest daughter used to hate Valentines Day until she had a Valentine. I can remember being annoyed with all the Mother’s Day hoopla until I became a mother. Both of us would have to admit that before it was about us, we viewed those days as nothing more than an opportunity for Hallmark to sell more greeting cards.
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The same thing happens in our churches my friend. I’m sure you have heard, or like me, you have been the complainer concerning a particular sermon or type of worship music. Do you understand that this is wrong? Not everything can be about what works for us. There are other hurting people all around us that might be benefiting from the same thing you are discarding. May I suggest the following insight shared by Sharon Jaynes of Girlfriends in God to better understand this “it’s not all about me” concept as it relates to our church? Be blessed.
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Sharon writes: “I didn't like that sermon." "I didn't like the singing today." "I couldn't relate to that teaching." And on and on we go. You know what I've discovered...It's not about me. It is all about God. If the pastor is preaching on a topic that is not my struggle, I pray that God will open my eyes to new truths that I've never seen. If he is talking about losing a loved one, I pray for those who have lost a loved one recently...even though that not might not be my struggle at that particular time. Is the teaching on raising young children? I have a grown son, so I pray for those who are in the throes of raising the next generation.
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One Sunday, I was singing in church. Barely singing, I might add. It was a dry old hymn and I just wasn't into it. Then I looked at an older women a few seats down and she had tears trickling down her wrinkled face. She was moved to tears by that old hymn and was taken to the throne room of grace. "Oh Father," I prayed. "Please forgive me. This is not about me. It's not about what I like or dislike. It is all about You. Truth is truth. Worship is worship. Help my focus be on You and You alone. It's not about me.”
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Prayer:

Father help us to understand the importance of this message. Help us to be willing to extend grace to others. Help us to set aside our own will and empower us to replace it with “Your Will,” because we simply surrender to the fact that You know what’s best. In Your Son’s name we pray. Amen.

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Challenge:

Take time to search out the verses in Scripture that encourage you to think of others, prefer others, put others first. When you are tempted to cast aside something that is just 'not your style', remember that someone is being blessed by that same thing. Listen to this beautiful song for encouragement to keep Jesus first in all things.

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Pam 2010