Tip/Tidbit: Don't grow discouraged with seemingly unanswered prayer. God is on the move, working above and beyond what you have asked or what you have imagined. Begin to look higher than the trouble until your eyes of faith see the evidence that God is present, active, and victorious. Expect His light to vanquish every cloud and fill your life with glistening glory.
Clouds clustered over me like petals on a flower stem. My Southern brain stated the obvious, "Clouds are gathering. Bet we'll get a little rain today." Thus began my morning observation as I sat down to await the sunrise. After a few sips of coffee and a fresh attempt to watch the horizon, I noticed those clouds remained stationery. No breeze blew them past; rather they hung, suspended and heavy, as if affixed to their position in the sky. They reminded me of moments of trouble we experience. Like the clouds, they may not be ominous billows of tragedy. They may, instead, be a gathering of small inconveniences and problematic situations, heaped one upon the other, then remaining. They are the pressures, worries, and fears, lingering beyond their expected duration, as if permanently affixed over our lives. But just as the sky was more than cloud coverage, so are those moments in our lives. As my eyes turned eastward, I saw the gray horizon turn silver, then thread with gold and faint shades of pink. The shifting colors announced the sun would soon be rising. A quick glance at the clouds I'd just studied, proved they were still there. The cluster seemed to drop closer to me, more fully rounded, much less petal-like, though still stacked one-upon-another, like persistent hardship that grows more burdensome with time. That's when I saw the pink. Out-of-place amid the oppressive gray, it was smack in the middle of the dense mass of clouds, a pop of color that gave evidence to the rising sun. Upon closer scrutiny, I could see the soft blush of light was above the cluster., then, like a magician's hand waving over a black cloth, the light shimmered over, through, and between the clouds. Slowly, the heavy knot disbanded. Then, like dandelion petals blown in the wind, the clouds quickly dispersed, and morning sun rays painted the sky with increasing luminescence. What light. What hope. What a vivid reminder that when situations seem to linger unchanged, there is, in fact, a work in progress. The Sun of Righteousness is arising with healing in His wings. (Malachi 4:2) He is working for us, above what we can see when we are separated from the Truth by our observation of the trouble. Then, in one moment, what has been darkness becomes brilliant light.
Tip/Tidbit: Don't grow discouraged with seemingly unanswered prayer. God is on the move, working above and beyond what you have asked or what you have imagined. Begin to look higher than the trouble until your eyes of faith see the evidence that God is present, active, and victorious. Expect His light to vanquish every cloud and fill your life with glistening glory.
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Recent attacks on law enforcement have enhanced our awareness of the enemy. This enemy is not out to redeem the wrongs that have been done. This enemy cloaks himself in justification to execute his own plan. His plan is to take out the good, to destroy the law, to impede liberty, and to create chaos and fear. We've witnessed his tactics from a distance, but when he hits close to home, suddenly, our cognizance of evil intent is sharpened. The truth is we all have such an enemy. This enemy hates the Law, the Word of God, the foundation of truth and righteousness that saves us. Most of the time, we are oblivious to that hate. We go about our lives consumed with the mundane, the stresses, and the joys of the day. Then, "Blam!" Shots ring out, and we watch a fellow comrade go down. Shaken, we realize the enemy is not sitting in some corner of hell polishing his horns and combing the hair on his tail. He's lurking. Overtly SEEKING to kill, steal, and destroy. (1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:) He doesn't want us to experience the life, freedom, and peace found in Jesus. He wants to create bondage, limits, chaos, and fear. But like our upholders and defenders of the law, we, too, can regroup, unite, and come out with fresh courage. Doing so guarantees the enemy's demise. Tip/Tidbit: Trouble is not in vain if it shakes us awake from our spiritual slumber. Renewed focus, however, need not paralyze with fear. We have spiritual victory over our adversary. Consider these verses: Luke 12:4 "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Ephesians 6 says we can be protected by the armor of God, and can fight with the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." "...pray for them which despitefully use you..." Matthew 5:44. This week, I have participated in a Bible study on prayer. It was a study of 6 verses, each describing something for which the Bible notes that we should pray. Because of the number of verses, I decided to apply one as a focused prayer for each day of the week (Mon-Sat.) Wouldn't you know that on the day I was supposed to pray Matthew 5:44, I got up with my feelings on my shoulder? My feelings had been misplaced the by what I perceived as a few people's ingratitude. With lip hanging, I wanted to pout to God about the injustices of BEING USED! Disregarded! Taken advantage of! Unappreciated DESPITE all I had done for everyone! (yes, All and Everyone!) But there sat my prayer verse. Swollen on the page. Ready for me to pray. And in light of my emotions, I saw it in a new light., personal and for the moment. While definitely falling short of persecution, while not applying to enemies, or haters, or cursers, in that moment, given my feelings, "despitefully used" seemed a lot like "Unappreciated and disregarded. Used." Thus, the challenge was issued. Given what the Word said, how could I do anything but pray? So, I silenced my Eeyore voice, lifted my long lip, and started talking to God FOR my "users" rather than ABOUT them. I prayed earnestly and realized that, likely as not, they were oblivious to my disappointment. As I prayed, my load lightened. The cloud lifted, and I felt joy...and a bit silly for allowing my lip to drag in the dirt. I was reminded, yet again, that part of the reason God asks us to pray is for the benefits it provides the person who prays the prayer. It's a lesson He's taught me many times, but I'm glad for each reminder. Tip/Tidbit: Have you ever let your emotions dictate your moment? How about letting God's Word lead you into the brighter, happier place of forgiveness and peace? Interested in those 6 verses? Download the file below.
Matthew 9:9-11
9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Note the difference between the Pharisees and Jesus.The Pharisees were close enough to hurl insults and to criticize but never close enough to help.That's what happens when we are all about religion and not about relationship. We find fault. We want the sin problem healed, but we want nothing to do with the healing. Sacrifice, according to Strong's Concordance, has both "sacrifice" and "victim" as its definition. Religion requires a victim, and to the religious, that victim is the very one needing mercy. Therefore, the Pharisees, who considered themselves DOCTORS of the law, refused to treat the sickness of sin. Why? Because they themselves were sin-sick. (Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.") Religion alone maintains sin-disease. Its rituals and obligations have no life, no regenerating power. But Jesus came that we might have life (John 10:10). Consequently, relationship calls us to mercy, which according to Strong's Concordance is "kindness and goodness toward the miserable with the desire to help." The life Jesus has given us begins with mercy. As a result, relationship that grows from mercy extends mercy. Mercy did not require Jesus to become a sinner or a tax collector. It motivated him to be available and to touch sinners and tax collectors, offering something more than what they had. First, He called Matthew from collecting taxes to a new place of spiritual revelation.Then, it is likely that Matthew's testimony drew the crowd--a crowd who were like Matthew had been; a crowd who knew that Matthew was no longer what he had been; a crowd who were expecting change. It was among these that Jesus SAT DOWN. He didn't go harassing the people, He simply made Himself available to those who wanted to approach Him, available for those who wanted to know more. (Unlike the Pharisees who STOOD, hovering and pecking like vultures, just waiting for death.) Relationship with Jesus replicates Jesus. It declares, "Feel free to come close and see." It offers healing to those sick of sin, just like Jesus did to us. It sits down, invites to come close; it communes, partaking of the same table of mercy; it offers help, the sharing of the LIFE we have within. It says, "What Jesus did for me, He will do for you." Tip/Tidbit: Do you remember where Jesus found you and bid you to follow Him? Do you treasure that moment and want to share the forgiveness and life you have in Him, or do you prefer to guard your "righteousness" thereby withholding healing from others? How might you encourage someone to come close and to experience the mercy Jesus extends to us all?
Want more? Check out the latest book, On Purpose Creative Family Devotions.
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