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Looking Good

We just got home from Texas yesterday. What a trip! We drove through the Hill Country and saw some beautiful ranches.

Made me stop and wonder what’s on the inside? Do you ever drive by those big, fancy homes and wonder who lives inside? Is it a business mogul, a movie star, an athlete or someone who inherited family money? I think we’ve all done that.

When people see you do they ask “Who lives inside”? What makes this person so special? Why do they have such a peace – why can they smile in the face of adversity – why do they reach out to others unselfishly when they are going through a terrible situation themselves? What makes them different?

“Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body. And always be thankful. 16 Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.” Colossians 3:15-17 ERV

Let peace – let thanksgiving – let the Word – let praise, dwell (live in) you richly! This is the treasure that sets us apart. BUT, we have to let (permit, allow) it to live in us. We have to choose these things, we are the deciding factor. God has already given us the ability to live this way but we can stop it with an act of our free will.

So I will ask again – what lives on the inside? Let the life of Christ live in you richly!

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Are You Grounded?

Are you grounded? If I asked that question of a teenager, I might get an answer of “not currently”.

Being grounded can have several different connotations. To a pilot it means they can’t fly; to a kid it means they can’t hang out with their friends; to a horticulturalist it means their plants have a good root base and to an electrician it means the wires are safe.

The basis is the same. Grounded: rooted attached, secured, stabilized, immovable.

Yesterday a friend told me that my morning devotions were peaceful and got her grounded for the day. That stuck with me!

Lord, I want to be grounded. I don’t want to fly off if conditions aren’t safe. I don’t want to be hanging out with people that can cause me harm and I certainly don’t want to be touching something that could be shocking.

“16 I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit. 17 I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built (GROUNDED) on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is.” Ephesians 3:16-18 ERV

I want my life to be like that of a tree that’s grounded. The roots run deep keeping it stable during the high winds and strong storms.

“Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God.
2. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night.3 So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream— a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful.” Psalm 1: 1-3 ERV
So I’ll ask again…are you grounded? I hope so.

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Coming Home

Home! There’s something comforting in that word.

When I got up this morning there was a big prompting on my heart. We’ve been on vacation for the last week and had a wonderful time but today we’re heading home.

Today I want to write this for those who believe they have wandered too far from God. For whatever reason you have been living life your own way. You have completely forgotten about God and may have even wondered if God is truly there.

You want to go home but you’re scared!

Now in the midst of trouble and difficult times you want to pray, you want to reach out, you want to ask God if He is really there for you but you’re afraid.

Afraid that He won’t answer. Afraid that He will reject you. Afraid that He doesn’t really care!

God is there for you – be honest. He knows your heart before you call. He knows your doubts and your fears. He knows your weaknesses and your failings. He knows everything there is to know about you and He LOVES you!

“We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged Christ in that way. 17 Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. 18 God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.

19 What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. 20 We were sent to speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen to our message. We speak for Christ and sincerely ask you to make peace with God.” II Corinthians 5:16-20 CEV

The reason God sent Christ to this earth was to make a way for us to have be reconciled to God. Reconciliation is to make right, to put in balance. In Christ we are put in balance with the Father.

God, the Father, is waiting for us to come to him and when we do He rewards us with His love and grace.

“Without faith no one can please God. Whoever comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who sincerely try to find him.” Hebrews 11:6

God isn’t mad at you. He’s not holding your past against you but instead He is waiting for you with open arms. He’s here to welcome you home!

“20 The younger son got up and started back to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him.

21 The son said, “Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son.”

22 But his father said to the servants, “Hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him. Give him a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 Get the best calf and prepare it, so we can eat and celebrate. 24 This son of mine was dead, but has now come back to life. He was lost and has now been found.” And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:20-24 CEV

Come Home! The Father’s waiting…

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Keep It Simple

Simple but true!

The way to faith in Christ is simple. We are told to be childlike in our faith. Coming to relationship with Christ is acknowledging our need as sinners for a Savior.

Everyone of us have sinned and Christ’s death paid the price for all sin. Simple & true. Even children can understand this and accept it by faith.

Once we have received what Christ did for us, we need to continue to keep it simple. Religion will try to make things complicated and difficult to understand but relationship with Christ simplifies our lives.

“Just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so go on living in him—in simple faith. Grow out of him as a plant grows out of the soil it is planted in, becoming more and more sure of the faith as you were taught it, and your lives will overflow with joy and thankfulness.

8 Be careful that nobody spoils your faith through intellectualism or high-sounding nonsense. Such stuff is at best founded on men’s ideas of the nature of the world and disregards Christ!” Colossians 2:6-8

Enjoy simplicity today – enjoy your relationship with Jesus.

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Family Resemblance

This year for my mom’s birthday I added pictures to a digital frame. All the family contributed some of their favorites for the slide show. It was so much fun to see how we’ve all grown and aged.

I realize that as the year’s go by our facial similarities become more and more defined. We look more and more like mom and dad.

All this made me ask – how much more do I look like my heavenly Father this year than I did last year? Our goal as christians should be to be conformed to His image more and more each day.

When Moses went up on Mt. Sinai to meet with God, his appearance changed. The Bible says that his face reflected God’s glory and it glowed. Moses veiled his face so that the Israelites would listen to him without being alarmed. (Exodus 34)

This experience is what Paul is talking about in II Corinthians 3 and he compares it to us being changed into the image of Christ.

“The Lord and the Spirit are one and the same, and the Lord’s Spirit sets us free. 18 So our faces are not covered. They show the bright glory of the Lord, as the Lord’s Spirit makes us more and more like our glorious Lord.” II Corinthians 3:17-18

Make it your goal today to look more like your Father and your older brother, Jesus. Let others see the family resemblance!

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Overcoming Doubt – Living in Faith

Seeing is Believing – isn’t that how the old expression goes? So many people will misconstrue what they see and even more so what they hear.

In John 4 a father came to Jesus and told Him his son was dying. The father begged Jesus to come and Jesus reply was “Go home, your son will live.”

Now some would have reported that Jesus did nothing. That he turned the man away with no help for his son. But the opposite was true.

“Jesus went to visit Cana in Galilee again. Cana is where he had changed the water into wine. One of the king’s important officials lived in the city of Capernaum. This man’s son was sick. The man heard that Jesus had come from Judea and was now in Galilee. So he went to Jesus and begged him to come to Capernaum and heal his son, who was almost dead. Jesus said to him, “You people must see miraculous signs and wonders before you will believe in me.”

49 The king’s official said, “Sir, come before my little son dies.”

50 Jesus answered, “Go. Your son will live.”

The man believed what Jesus told him and went home. 51 On the way home, the man’s servants came and met him. They said, “Your son is well.”

52 The man asked, “What time did my son begin to get well?”

They answered, “It was about one o’clock yesterday when the fever left him.”

53 The father knew that one o’clock was the same time that Jesus had said, “Your son will live.” So the man and everyone in his house believed in Jesus.” John 4:46-53 ERV

How many times have I wanted to see a miracle? Wanted to see the “power of God” moving and yet sat with the Bible on the coffee table and not opened it to find God’s miraculous, powerful Word for myself?

Thank God He knows our limitations and the fraility of our faith and is moved with compassion because He loves us so. Do you remember what Jesus said to the centurion who came to him asking that his servant be healed? To him, Jesus said I will come and the centurion said no, just speak the word and my servant will be healed because you have authority and your word is enough. (paraphrased by me)

“Jesus said to the officer, “I will go and heal him.”

8 The officer answered, “Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. You need only to give the order, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this, because I understand authority. There are people who have authority over me, and I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were with him, “The truth is, this man has more faith than anyone I have found, even in Israel…
13 Then Jesus said to the officer, “Go home. Your servant will be healed the way you believed he would.” Right then his servant was healed.” Matthew 8:7-13 ERV

I want centurion faith! If God’s word says it – that’s enough!

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A Good Reflection

And the greatest of these is love! God’s love for us is beyond amazing but Jesus gave us the instruction that the greatest commandment was to love the Father and then to love our neighbors.

“34 The Pharisees learned that Jesus had made the Sadducees look so foolish that they stopped trying to argue with him. So the Pharisees had a meeting. 35 Then one of them, an expert in the Law of Moses, asked Jesus a question to test him. 36 He said, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”
37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’ 40 All of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commands… None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question. And after that day, no one was brave enough to ask him any more questions.” Matthew 22:34-46 CEV

The Pharisees were trying to test and even trick Jesus into a wrong answer; something that would discredit him to his followers and better yet, something that would give them place to prosecute him and silence him in public.

What Jesus did with his answer was discredit the Pharisees. By giving the answer that He did, Jesus proved that their heart’s motive was anything but love. And if they weren’t walking in love toward Him, their neighbor, they weren’t keeping what they called the greatest commandments. He went on to correct them in their thinking about the Messiah as well. No wonder they decided not to ask Him anymore questions.

The Pharisees had all the outward trappings of religion and righteousness but their hearts were wrong. It was a self-righteousness and it was religion instead of relationship. Jesus was talking about a living relationship with the Father.

As we spent time loving the Father we will reflect His love to others. The moon has no light source in itself but it reflects the light of the sun. In the same way, as we spend time absorbing the Father’s love we will reflect that love to others. We can’t give what we don’t have – so as we receive more and more love from the Father we are able to love others more.

Father, I desire to love You with all that I am and then to reflect Your love to those around me today.

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Spending Time with the Kids

As parents, you all know how good it is to see your kids after a long separation – what a joy to hug their necks and be able to give them a kiss and just see them face to face. I can only imagine how our heavenly Father must feel when we chose to be separated from Him.

The joy He must feel when we come back to His presence must be unspeakable. And how it must light His day when we take time to stop throughout the day to check in and say hi. I so appreciate knowing that my Heavenly Father is always wanting me to come to presence and spend time with Him.

Take time today to make your Father smile – give Him a hug and tell Him you love Him.

“We are telling you about what we have seen and heard because we want you to have fellowship with us. The fellowship we share together is with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We write these things to you so that you can be full of joy with us.” I John 1:3-4

“With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:16

“The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. 15 The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we cry out, “ Abba, (Daddy) Father.” 16 And the Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:14-16

Spending time with the Father sounds like a good way to spend the day.

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The Heart Connection

The heart and the mouth are connected – Jesus knew that and He gave some specific teaching in that regard.

“Every tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. You won’t find figs on thorny weeds. And you can’t pick grapes from thornbushes! 45 Good people have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts.” Luke 6:44-45 ERV
Listen to your words today. What do they say about you, the real you, the heart of you?

You don’t change your heart but changing what you say. What you say will change when your heart is transformed.

Say with the Psalmist David, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:13-14

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He Knows My Name

From time to time I like to watch movies I’ve seen before on television. One that I particularly like is “Ever After” with Drew Barrimore. Cute movie – close to the end Henry, the prince, realizes he can’t live without Danielle, Cinderella, so he rides out to save her from her indentured life to Jacque LePew.

As he comes up the hill to the fortress walls, she is walking out, having gained her own freedom. He apologizes, tells her he loves her and can’t live without her. She stops him in his conversation and says, “Say that again.” He starts to apologize again for failing to trust her and then she says “No, not that. Say the part where you call me by name again.” And then he says her name, Danielle, and declares his love. AWWWW!

There is nothing so sweet than to hear the one you love say your name. It stirs the heart and words can’t explain fully explain the feeling it gives you. WOW! It is completely over-the-top.

I’ve been reading about Samuel and how God called him to service.
“The boy Samuel was Eli’s helper and served the LORD with him. At that time the LORD did not speak directly to people very often. There were very few visions…. 4 The LORD called Samuel, and Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 Samuel thought Eli was calling him, so he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.”
…Finally, Eli understood that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 Eli told Samuel, “Go to bed. If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, LORD. I am your servant, and I am listening.’”
So Samuel went back to bed. 10 The LORD came and stood there. He called as he did before, saying, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel said, “Speak. I am your servant, and I am listening.”I Samuel 3:1-10

Can you imagine? The voice of God calling your name, what a joy! God who created the universe knows my name.

Then I remembered that God called others by name as well. It started with Adam & Eve; Noah, David, Daniel, Jeremiah, Zacchaeus, the disciples, Mary at the garden tomb, Saul on the road to Damascus and John on the Isle of Patmos; all of these and more had that same wonderful experience of hearing God call them by name.

See what Isaiah says to the children of Israel.
“Descendants of Jacob, I, the LORD, created you and formed your nation. Israel, don’t be afraid. I have rescued you. I have called you by name; now you belong to me.
2 When you cross deep rivers, I will be with you, and you won’t drown.
When you walk through fire, you won’t be burned or scorched by the flames.
3 I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, the God who saves you. I gave up Egypt, Ethiopia, and the region of Seba in exchange for you.
4 To me, you are very dear, and I love you. That’s why I gave up nations and people to rescue you.
5 Don’t be afraid! I am with you.” Isaiah 43:1-5

God the Father has called us by name as well. Yes, He has! In His love He called our name telling us that He has a plan for our lives; a plan to be in fellowship and relationship with Him; a plan of adoption so that we can call Him “Abba Father.”

Hearing God speak your name shouldn’t be a one time experience, limited only to the day you accepted Him as Savior. How sad it would be if I only heard David say my name the one time when he made me his wife. No, daily he says my name and tells me he loves me and it never gets old.

Daily God is calling our name and telling us He loves us. Do you hear it or are you too busy and distracted?

Take time to listen…and take time to respond. Can you imagine how it thrills His heart to hear you say, “Abba Father, I love you. I want to spend time with you today.”?

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