A Difference Maker

I know your works-your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance.

Revelation 2:19

Today the writer talks about a woman in her church. She says that she has never seen a more servant-hearted person than Shirley. She tells of all the little things that Shirley does behind the scenes of the church, that probably not many people notice, and how Shirley does these things faithfully, and with a joyful heart. She says that Shirley never forgets to send you a birthday card, or an anniversary card, she holds you up in prayer when your child is in the hospital, and is the first to hug you when you are hurting. The writer says that while Shirley does all of these things faithfully, the most beautiful thing that Shirley does, is her ministry to the children of a nearby apartment complex. Every week Shirley and a few volunteers meet the children in the apartment's clubhouse after school, and for the next 2 hours, Shirley gives the children a snack, reads them a bible story, and helps them with a craft. They sing songs, and play games, all the while learning about Jesus.

Wow, I aspire to be like Shirley. Shirley is a perfect example of someone living for Jesus, and He shines clearly in the way she lives her life. She is someone who definately has her priorities in order. I wish that my life reflected Jesus as much as Shirley. I know that I have the heart to do things, but like I said in my previous blog, I am slug. I start getting busy, and I let the things I have or need to do take priority over the things that I should be doing, like spending time with God. Sometimes I get so busy doing things, even things for church, that I am just doing them, and not doing them with the heart that I need to be doing them with. If I would just realize that if I prepared my heart, and spent time with my Saviour, the time that he wants with me and that I know I very desperatly want with Him, that my impact in my ministries would be greater.

Steps of Faith:
Father, help me to make an impact on my community that will reverberate into eternity. Give me a servant's heart and help me to remember that You see my efforts, no matter how small they may seem to the world.

Deeper Walk:
Mark 10: 43-45 NAS

But it is not this way amoung you, but whoever wishes to become great amoung you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first amoung you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransome for many.

God Promised

God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.

Psalm 46:1

Ok, I have been a slug. I haven't written my blog in sometime. I haven't done my devotionals during that time either, and I have felt the impact on my life. This is actually yesterday's devotional. I did read it yesterday, but wanted to reflect on it a little more before writing. I did intend to write it last night, but instead spent some quality time with my hubby, so I am doing it now.

The devotional talks about crisis. The writer tells a story about how her friend seems to go through crisis after crisis. She got divorced, then struggled with her finances, work became stressful, her son was in trouble at school, and her daughter had been sick, and then broke her arm. She was telling her friend that she was just exhausted. The writer told her friend that she knew she was going through a rough patch right now, and how she can only imagine how hard it is to be a single parent, but that her friend was doing a good job, even if she didn't think she was. Her friend thanked her for the encouragement, but let the writer know that she had reminded her that God hasn't forgotten her.

The writer goes on to talk about how none of us is able to avoid having problems from time to time, but that God promised He would be with us, she also reminds us of Isaiah 43:1-2, 5 which says, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk throught the fire, and the flame will not burn you. Do not fear, for I am with you."

I have to admit, I have had a period of difficult times. It has felt like I have fought one battle after another. It does get exhausting, and at times I feel so battle warn and weary. But then just when I think I can't possibly take it any longer, God picks me up, He gives me the courage and strength to go on and keep fighting. I always know this comes from my Lord, because I know I would not have been able to go on, on my own. My husband always jokes that he thinks that God made me a warrior, and that God made him a peacemaker. Maybe there's some truth to that, I don't know. But I know that through it all, I have had peace that God has always been right there with me, sometimes I needed to be reminded of that fact, but I know he was always there.

Steps of Faith:
"Lord, hear my prayer; listen to my plea for mercy. I call on You in the day of my distress, for You will answer me." Psalm 86:6-7

Deeper Walk:
Psalm 46 NAS
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A song.
Theme: God is always there to help, providing refuge, security, and peace. God's power is complete and his ultimate victory is certain. He will not fail to rescue those who love him.
Author: The sons of Korah (temple assistants)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come, behold the works of the LORD, who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted amoung the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Where are you, God?

I will never leave you or forsake you.

Hebrews 13:5

The story today is about a woman who has been out of work for a while, in fact for nearly a year. Her bills are piling up, and she's at the point where some bills are going unpaid. She is having a conversation with her mom, and she asks her mom, why she couldn't seem to find another job. She had filled out dozens of job applications, with no job offers, and she just doesn't know what she is doing wrong, or why God is letting her go without a job for so long. Her mom responds that she honestly doesn't know, but tells her daughter that waiting on God is a hard thing to do especially when your hurting. But she reminds her daughter that in every circumstance He's right there with you, even though you might feel He isn't listening. Her mom also suggests rereading the book of Job, and tells her daughter that it's in the tough times that our character is formed, and that God is using this situation to help build her faith in Him.

I have had several different situations where it felt like God was far away, and I couldn't understand why he was letting me go through that tough time. But one time that is sticking out to me is when my husband graduated from college and had a hard time finding a job. We were anxious for him to get a job, he had quit his part job a year before so he could focus on finishing up his classes, and our money from his student loan was running out. It was a stressful time, and he went on a couple of different job interviews in different parts of the country. We actually thought one of the job interviews that he went on was going to work out. It was a job in Panama City, Florida. I was dreaming about what our life in Florida would be like, living near the beach, it sounded so wonderful. At the last minute it didn't pan out, and the job that my husband has now did. God had a different plan for our lives. I remember when the job offer came in, it wasn't great money, but we both really felt like we needed to take the job. We weren't where we needed to be in our walk with Jesus at the time, but I still felt His peace about the decision, and He still had a plan for us. He put us in a completely different part of the country, but we are here for a reason, and we feel like God has a plan for us here, and He's not done with us here yet.

It can be tough to trust God in times when you feel like He's far away, but the stronger you are in your faith with Him, the more you will draw in to Him during those times, and your faith will grow even more because of it. He knows the plans He has for you.

Steps of Faith:
Father God, please let me see that You have a plan for me even when times are tough. Help me to remember that You'll never abandon me.

Deeper Walk:
Psalm 25 NAS
Theme: A prayer for defense, guidance, and pardon. As we trust in God, He grants these same requests for us.
Author: David

To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust, do not let me be ashamed; do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of these who wait for You will be ashamed; those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

Make me know Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and Your lovingkindness, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your lovingkindness remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O LORD.

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prospertiy, and his descendants will inherit the land. The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant. My eyes are continually toward the LORD, for He will pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Look upon my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. Look upon my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with violent hatred. Guard my soul and deliver me; do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You. Redeem Isreal, O God, out of all his troubles.

So Soon

Put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:5

In the devotional today, the writer tells a story about a woman named Alice who was devasted when she heard the news that her 17-year-old son's girlfriend was pregnant. But was more devastated when her son, Dylan, told his parents that his girlfriend, Tara, was going to have an abortion. "I tried to talk her out of it, I told her I would help her support the baby, if she would keep it." Dylan told his parents as tears spilled down his cheeks. Even though Dylan pleaded repeatedly with Tara, she had made up her mind. Tara was college bound in the fall, and she and her parents didn't want the "inconvenience" of a teenage pregnancy. The writer says that eventually, Dylan and Tara's relationship couldn't survive the stress, and they stopped seeing each other.

The writer goes on to say that we have seen a dramatic shift in the American culture over the last 60 years. She talks about how the sexual revolution brought a growing acceptance of pregnant single women.

The media and our culture have made being pregnant and single glamorous. They have also convinced young people that abortion is acceptable. Abortion has become a form of birth control for some, an easy fix to what they see as an inconvenience. However, abortion leaves a scar that will stay with this young woman for the rest of her life.

With the young people in our youth group, and once my kids reach the appropriate age, I believe in educating them about relationships and sex. The world is such a different place now, and they are bombarded with subliminal messages from the world daily. We plan on not only teaching about relationships, and sex, but I hope that we can stress to our youth what God has to say about the subject also, and how it is a wonderful gift, that God intended for a husband and his wife.

Steps of Faith:
Father, please help those who face unplanned pregnancies. Give them Your wisdom and the strength to do the right thing. Lead them to people and resources who can help meet their needs while providing godly counsel and encouragement.

Deeper Walk:
Romans 13:8-14 NAS

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another: for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTRY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nerer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

The (not so) Express Lane

Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated-it can only bring harm.

Psalm 37:8

In today's devotional, the writer tells a story about a time she was in the express lane in the grocery store. She was in a bit of a hurry, and was getting aggrivated with the amount of time the cashier seemed to be taking with each customer. When it finally came to her turn to be checked out, she didn't even try to smile at the cashier, she had her debit card already in her hand, and shoved her groceries across the counter. The cashier smiled at her, though, and started scanning her items. The cashier finshed scanning, thanked her with a warm smile and handed her, her receipt. The writer says she felt a little guilty for so openly displaying her anger, so she just nodded and grabbed her groceries. She says that although she felt God telling her not to get upset over something so insignificant, she still wanted to let someone else know. She marched over to customer service and spoke to the head cashier. The head cashier told her that the new cashier, Sheri had had a stroke several months earlier. The writer felt completely embarrassed and humbled, she hadn't sensed that Sheri was disabled in any way, and she had treated her horribly, not at all like God wanted her to treat Sheri. She thanked the head cashier, and went back to apologize to Sheri.

I have to admit, anger is something that I continually struggle with. Over the past couple of years I have learned not to get so bent out of shape over little things, but I still get quite aggrivated over small things. When this happens I end up feeling like the writer in the story, embarrassed and humbled. I have been trying to remind myself that I don't always know what is going on in other peoples lives, that I don't know about, and that I might be able to help show Jesus to someone, by just being nice in a stressful or aggrivating situation. I have a long way to go in working on controlling my anger, but I know God will continue to help me work on it, and will continue His good work in me, to mold me and make me more like Him.

Steps of Faith:
Lord, please forgive me for the times when I get angry without good cause. Help me to understand that this world isn't perfect and neither am I.

Deeper Walk:
Proverbs 15: 1 & 18 NAS

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger calms a dispute.

Happy Birthday

You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brothers in your land.

Deuteronomy 15:11

In today's devotional, the writer talks about her 15 year old daughter, and how when her daughter's youth group leader challenged his students to find ways to help the poor, her daughter, Jenny took the challenge seriously.

Jenny told her mother about how her youth leader had showed the students a video about poor people in India, she talked about the awful conditions the children and families in India lived in. Jenny's mother could tell that Jenny's heart had been touched by this video, and she prayed that God would continue to give her compassion for the poor.

Jenny began helping organize bake sales, and car washes with her friends on the weekends. She also conviced several of her friends to donate a portion of the money they earned from baby-sitting, mowing lawns, etc to help the poor. Jenny's mother was most proud of her when she invited her friends to her 16th birthday party, and she asked them to donate the money that they would have spent on a present to a Christian organization that helps people in India.

Wow that is a young girl after God's own heart!! My son is almost 10 years old, and right now he has a compassion for others, and others in need that I know God has placed there. It is neat to watch, and my prayer is that as he grows into a teenager, his compassion grows even stronger. We also have several kids in our youth group with this same compassion. I love watching their enthusiasm for helping others. Many of the kids in our youth group help me grow in my walk, just by watching them grow. I know they would never believe it, but they are in an inspiration to me and others around them, and my prayer is that my husband and I can help nuture their compassions and help them to grow in their walk with God, and to truly seek His heart.

Steps of Faith:
Father, please give me a heart of compassion for the poor and the needy. Show me how I can minister to them in Jesus' name.

Deeper Walk:
Psalm 41:1-3 NAS
Theme: A prayer for God's mercy when feeling sick or abandoned. When we're sick or when everyone deserts us, God remains at our side.
Author: David

How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. The LORD will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, You restore him to health.

Team Mates

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:21 NIV

The devotional today tells a story of a married couple, who are arguing on a Friday evening over their plans for their Saturday afternoon. They are a blended family, and they have all their kids for the weekend. He wants to go a movie that he knows his kids will love, and she wants to the river, which she knows her daughter will love. The husband eventually concedes, but they were both still mad at one another. As the wife is getting into bed, she chokes out how she is sorry for the way she acted, she talks about how her loyalty to her daughter sometimes gets in the way. He apologizes also, and agrees that his loyalty to his kids gets in the way to. They talk about how complicated the blended family thing is, but they agree that it is worth worth. They believe that God brought them together, ALL of them together, and that they just have to remember that they are on the same team.

I don't have a blended family. My husband and I are both on our second marriage, but neither one of us has children from our previous marriage. However, these same disagreements happen in our marriage also. Sometimes I get overly protective of my kids, and sometimes he feels that I am a little to harsh. We have many moments when we don't agree about things. We are still working our way through it, and I think we still have a long way to go. I have learned over the last 11 years that marriage is a job. It takes a lot of work, by both parties every day. And I think as long as both parties are committed to working on it every day, then you are on the same team, even when it sometimes doesn't feel like it.

Steps of Faith:
Lord, show me how to reach out to blended families who may be struggling. Remind me to pray for them regularly.

Deeper Walk:
Philippians 2: 1-18 NAS
Joy in Serving, Be like Christ

Therefore if ther is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfisness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and pervese generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.