Devotional 130 - Free Again

"Oh what freedom, the Word of God and the love of friends."  Carol Totten

"How much more will the blood of Christ... cleanse our consciences...so that we may serve the living God." Hebrews 9:14 

"Dear friends, since God so loved us , we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11

I had returned from eight days on a tree-studded island in the middle of a cool spring-fed lake in Canada with a burdened heart instead of a refreshed and joyful spirit. I was ruminating like a cow on her cud about a mistake I had made. I had asked the Lord's forgiveness but kept getting the bad taste of the moment regurgitated back up into my mind.

The island was just as moss covered and fragrant with the smell of pine and jasmine, the sunrises continued to glow golden, the loons made their morning and evening music, the water shimmered and reflected the sun and clouds, but my heart wasn't free to enjoy it. My conscience accused me over and over. The last three days I saw the beauty with cloudy sight.

Not until I joined a few sisters-in-Christ in Bible study, right here in my small town in Kansas, did I find freedom again to let the joy return. 

Our study in Hebrews 9 clearly reminded me of the complete forgiveness of Christ. It is a done deal for all eternity. His blood cleanses my accusing conscience. It shuts up the whispers of Satan that wants to keep me chewing on dirt. Jesus cleanses.

And my friends...well they just loved me. They spoke encouraging words to me. 

Somedays we need to be encouraged by our friends. Somedays we are called to be the one who encourages. But everyday we need to replace our thinking with the Bible.

Oh how wonderful the Word of God and the love of friends! I pray you experience both today!

Devotional 129 - Just Be There

"The thing we must understand is that God did not choose us to "use" us....No, the Bible makes it clear that God created us because he longs to have fellowship with us."  Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World  ... Joanna Weaver

God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1Corinthians 1:9

While on vacation with my son and daughter-in-law we began to discuss what it is that people do that make us feel loved. My husband and son like encouraging words. I feel loved when my daughter vacuums or my husband washes the car. Acts of service make me feel loved.

Thus it is understandable that I believe God feels loved by me when I do acts of service. Sometimes I get myself in a frenzy of busy-ness to prove my love and devotion to God.

But my daughter-in-love quietly said I feel loved when you spend time with me. She explained that I don't even have to be talking to her, just quietly enjoying each others presence while reading or crocheting. She shares best when I am quiet.

Hmm...is that what Mary did when she sat at the feet of Jesus and just listened in Luke, chapter 10? God has called us into fellowship with Him. He wants us to be with Him. He did not mainly choose us to use us, though in His grace He does, but to have us with Him.

Wouldn't life be a bit more simple and free if the main thing I needed to accomplish today was to let my heart be with Jesus. What joy!

O God, help us to understand what a great privilege it is to be in your presence with a God who loves us, keeps us, comforts us, guides us, fellowships with us. We have been called to have fellowship with God Almighty. I cannot totally comprehend this greatness!

Think on this today and have joy in this meditation: "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"

Devotional 128 - Fruit

"To be sure, we are saved by faith, not fruit, but we won't be saved by fruitless faith."  Burk Parsons Table talk

Jesus said; "I am the vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." John 15: 1, 2

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me." John 15: 4

I woke up this morning and before I stepped out of bed I had already thought three negative thoughts, worried about something, and used a sarcastic tone of voice with my husband. As a few more moments passed, I began to get my Christian bearings back and I felt guilty for my behavior. 

I had to confess that I woke up totally ignoring God. When I do that I let fear and anger dominate my mind instead of the love of God. So immediately I repented and remembered that I live by grace moment by moment. It was grace that brought me to the cross and grace that keeps me in the arms of Jesus. No matter how long I talk the talk, all day long I fail to walk the walk. 

I need Jesus! I need the goodness of Jesus to want to do good. I need the love of Jesus to want to love Jesus. I need the patience of Jesus to want to be patient. I need the forgiveness of Jesus to be forgiven. 

The more I realize my need for Jesus, the more my attitudes and behaviors conform to Him. ....not by trying harder, but by treasuring Him longer. 

As I treasure Jesus Christ, I will bear fruit, not perfectly, not without some pruning, but nevertheless fruit will be produced. Christ promises it.

"Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none on earth that I desire besides You." Psalm 73:25

Devotional 127 - Listen to the Music

"We Christians are prone to follow the book while ignoring the music." Max Lucado

"And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Galations 4:6 NLT

"...through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit..."  Romans 15:30

Rhett and I were taking tap dancing lessons online. First the instructor told us the name of the step, then he demonstrated it, and after much practice, he added the music. We needed all of it together to dance. Without the music I was just a bunch of robotic steps that very often had no rhythm.

I do not have a trained singing voice. On occasion I have tried to sing a song, without music, to my five year old granddaughter. It always ended with a plea..."Stop singing, Nana."  I sing much better when I sing with music.

So to learn to tap dance or sing a pretty song, I need it all...the instructor, the example, and the music.

There is such beauty in the way God works in our lives. The Father gave us His precious Word to guide, direct and encourage. The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, gave us His life as an example on living the Word out in the world, which included dying for us. The Holy Spirit is the wind beneath our God-given sails and the music in our hearts to not only know His presence and comfort, but to feel it.

Yet there is never a separation between the Father, or Son, or Spirit. All three are one, working together as one in our lives. When we remember this, we can have confidence that God's purposes for our lives will come to pass. How could it not, when such awesome power is at work!

The Holy Spirit makes what you know about Jesus come alive in your life. He lifts your heart up in joy and praise. He is the music in your life, the gentle breeze, the whisper that comforts and convicts.

You don't have to try so hard to be good if you will just listen to the music, to the whispers of the Spirit in our lives, the Spirit who wants to infuse our whole being with Christ.

Devotional 126 - Blessed Easter

"...the Aramaic word for "rejoice" is the same as the word for "dance", leading one to wonder whether Jesus was actually telling people to experience the joy of  living or to get into the dance of life."  Soul Salsa  Leonard Sweet  pg. 14

Psalm 33:1-3   "Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the LORD with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy."

Psalm 16:11 "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy: At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Spring always brought tornadoes to the Kansas prairies. When I was little my parents would send all of us kids to the storm cellar while they stood outside at the top of the stairs like sentinels scanning the sky. We children sat deliciously huddled in the dark looking up and out the cellar door as the black sky boiled and twisted above. But none of us were afraid or sad because our mother and father were near and treated it as an adventure. We were happy during a storm because we trusted those who were near to take care of us.

Isn't that what this Psalm is about?  Even in a crisis, we can still always find ways to joy because we trust in His presence.

In His presence is fullness of joy even when the sky is dark.

Oh lovely, blessed Easter...a time to rejoice, a time to dance! Even when a storm blows in, the resurrected Lord is always there. His blood has served the sentence passed by the Father for my crime. I was under a death sentence and my dear Savior paid the full penalty for my crime by His own blood. His resurrection declares that He continues to intercede for me. This is a time to lift up our hands in grateful praise.

Rejoicing in the Lord can take many different forms -smiling, singing, playing instruments, painting, speaking words of adoration, hugging my kids, cooking a good meal, forgiving and asking forgiveness....and dancing.

Obedience to Christ includes rejoicing in Him. 

How are you doing in the "joy" department?

Devotional 125 - March Madness

Daniel 4:30 The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built...by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?"

"...constantly thinking little of ourselves is still thinking constantly of ourselves."  Beth Moore

Do you know what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar after making the "I am great" statement above? He went completely mad. He was driven out into the field with the beasts, eating grass like an ox. "His hair grew like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws."  Daniel 4:33

We all know as Christians that pride is sin because it takes our eyes off of Jesus and on to ourselves. "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance..." Proverbs 8:13. We have read that pride comes before a fall. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18 

But it was an eye-opener to me the day I was in the pit and moaning about my failings, that my husband pointed out the pride involved in feeling inferior.

 

"Really? How so?" I questioned. "I hate myself right now. How could that be pride?"

"Because," he said, "it is still about you."  Once again in my obsessive lowly thoughts about myself I was still taking my eyes off of Jesus. 

Beth Moore, author and speaker, wrote: "Nothing like priding yourself in hating yourself. Beloved, let's let this one sink in deeply: constantly thinking little of ourselves is still thinking constantly of ourselves."

Let us be women so in love with Jesus that He maintains a more prominent place in our thoughts than we do. My life is out of kilter when the focus is on me. God has a solution.

"I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever." Daniel 4: 34

Look up and praise!

Devotional 124 - God Bless America?

"God Bless you and God bless the United States of America." President Obama - State of the Union Address - 2015

"If you fully obey the LORD your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world....But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey...all these curses will come and overwhelm you."  Deuteronomy 28: 1, 15

President Obama ended his annual State of the Union Address the same way as all the presidents before him.. Ever since 2010 He has ended every State of the Union speech with "God bless you and God bless the United States America".

We have been a nation so blessed. There is no other country in the world I would rather live in. I am thankful daily for the safety and freedom I feel living in America. BUT......

It ain't goin' keep on happening. Why? Because our national policies are in direct opposition to God's word. God will not bless a nation that opposes Him.

Our legalized abortions and our legalized gay marriages make our nation ripe for a God take-down. Our national policies are in a wrestling match with Heavenly policies and we all can predict who the winner is going to be.

Please understand, I am not advocating for hateful, ungracious behavior towards sinners (of which we all are). I am advocating for boldness to call behaviors sin that our Lord calls sin, because this is loving. It is loving to direct people to Jesus, to their need for forgiveness, to the great joy of being in right relationship with the awesome and beautiful creator of the universe.

Whether you are gay, or have had an abortion, or are greedy, or a drunkard, or in an adulterous affair; whether you are hot-tempered, or a liar; whether you ignore God, take pleasure in anything more than God, doubt God; or whether you think you know how to run the world better than God; in all these things the most loving thing a person or church can do for you is call you to repent of your sin and come running back to God.

"We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done." Romans 3: 22  New Living Translation

So when our nation legalizes sin and restrains righteousness by its rules and regulations, we can not say "God bless America", we can only cry out "God help us one and all!" God will abandon a nation who abandons Him.

"Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator Himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires."  Romans 1: 25, 26 New Living Translation

I don’t think it will be long–perhaps in my own lifetime–that we will have a President who fails to include the traditional “God bless America” line in his presidential speeches. In my estimation, this might, lamentably, be a more virtuous act than asking God to bless what our Union has become.  Jared C. Wellman - Pastor at Mission Dorado Baptist Church in Odessa, Texas.