Category: Christians

Day 53 -A Spiritual Spa…

“He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.”  (Psalm 23:2-3)

Have you ever come to the end, or even the beginning of your day and have found that you are unsure if you will make it?  I don’t meaning living, but I do mean the stresses of life.
We all find ourselves here.
We find ourselves running on empty and at times we lose forward momentum in our relationship with Christ.
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These moments of fellowship that we have with God are so vital to the whole self.
It can become a monotonous, even boring practice if we only consider it an obligation.
God doesn’t require our obligation…but he longs for our fellowship.  When we find ourselves burned out, stressed out and emotionally/spiritually spent may we find the wellspring of life again through this relationship with God.  He wants to refresh our souls.  He longs to take us from the dry land, thirsty land and into a spa for the soul…to restore us, to renew us and to prepare us for his fellowship and his holy service.

Do you need the restoration of soul today?
Are you tired and emotionally or spiritually spent?
Allow a time of refreshment to take place in your life.  Perhaps this refreshment will come through your prays today.  Perhaps it will come from listening to a song in your car or on your ride to (or from) work.  Perhaps this spa will take place in a moment during lunch today.  Pay attention.  Keep your eyes, ears, hearts focused on what God is doing in your life today.  He wants to bring you to a place of refreshing and restoration.  Let Him in, and allow Him to bring his  renewal to you today.

Prayer:  Lord I desire your fellowship today.  I long for your peace in this restless heart.  Restore me today, I desire to be yours and yours alone.  Amen.

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Day 51 -God Given Wisdom

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5

There are certainly days when we lack the words to speak and the actions we ought to take.  Difficult days.  Days that leave us bowled over and utterly wishing we could just go back to bed and get a redo.  We’ve all been there.  When those days come can we ask God for help?  It might seem trite, but His presence with us is very real and evident if we pay attention.  For those who are Christ-followers, it is promised that wisdom will be given and given generously.

Can we seek God in the midst of our redo-seeking days?
Can we fall to our knees and make our day – His day?  God desires our fellowship and our love.  He will never force us to accept Him, or invite Him in, but when we do allow Him access in a manner of humility and love He will always provide us what we need.

Can you place your day, all your agendas, all your plans and to-do lists before God today?  Allow Him in and receive His provisions to your set-apart life!

Prayer: Dear Lord, I commit this day to your service.  I want to live for you in all that I choose to say and do today.  Lead me and I ask that when my words and wisdom fails, provide for me your wisdom and your words. Thank you for your blessings and provision!  In your name I pray these things.  -Amen.

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Day 46 – “Have You Had Enough?

“I have had enough, Lord,…” 1 Kings 19:4b
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Have you ever come to the point in your life where you’re just done “adulting” for one day? Perhaps the challenges at work, or the mounting house work, or the endless “to do” list has all just gotten the better of you…and you have had enough?  Have you been there?  I would imagine many of us have had those days where you contemplated why you even got out of bed.  Some days are just life that, and it seems the entire world wants a piece of you.  Rest assured, there will be better days.  All of us have experienced bad days and even bad years.  Life is certainly challenging and it isn’t always puppy dogs and rainbows, no matter how much we wish it were.  But the encouraging thing is life, and all that happens to us will eventually pass, and we have a God who journeys alongside us.  We are never alone in our struggles…and our bad days.  Another important thing to note is that our perspective on things always makes a difference.  Having a bad day?  Will you allow it to affect your spirit and the eternal joy God has given you? I hope the answer is “no”…that we will keep on keeping on despite the bad days, the trials and the set-backs.

The prophet Elijah certainly had his fair share of bad days.  The funny thing is he had just had a monumental victorious day, when he challenged all the prophets of Baal. (see 1 Kings 18:16-46) Elijah, called down fire upon a completely soaked altar and God made Himself known thereby defeating these false prophets and their fake god Baal.  You would thing this great victory would have lasted for a while, but instead Elijah is on the run and afraid for his life.   King Ahab and wicked Queen Jezebel want him dead.  Elijah is worn and weary, emotionally and physically spent, he lays down under a boom bush in the wilderness and asks God if he could just die.   He even says to God, “I have had enough…” Imagine that!  One of the most powerful Prophets of ancient times asking to die because life had become extremely hard.  He felt defeated.  He felt alone.  He thought it would be better to be taken to heaven than live another day on earth.

We experience days like this from time to time.  Perhaps not to the extreme of Elijah…but perhaps some of us have.  When those days come, I pray that like Elijah, God will encourage you, strengthen you and remind you that you are most certainly not alone!

Prayer:  Dear Lord, I pray for those who are struggling today.  I ask that you place a hand of encouragement upon them.  Lord, I too struggle with these days, thank you for reminding me of your constant presence and that I am given strength that is not my own, but yours.  Protect me from the evil one who tries to remind me of my many failures and discourages me from carrying on.  Shine your light of hope into my life today, and fill me with your peace even amidst the many storms of life.  Thank you dear Lord for being here for me!
-Amen

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Day 43 – “A Moldy Life?”

When I was in college I had this older SUV.
I was a good vehicle, it did what it needed to do.  It got me from point A to point B.
The one issue I have with this vehicle is that it smelled.   smell
At some point in the life of this SUV, it must have gotten wet on the inside and so the carpets and fabric smelled…most likely because of mold.  I tried everything to remove the stink from my truck.  I tried car fragrances and those little trees you hang from the rear view mirror…nothing seemed to work.  I would like to tell you that I successfully removed the mold and smell from my truck, but I didn’t.  Two years later I sold it and move on – smell-free.

The thing about mold in carpets is that it can be very difficult to remove, especially in places like under seats and under carpeting that is bolted down.  Mold has to be completely eradicated in order for the smell and the spores to die.  Without a deep, thorough, time consuming cleaning, that mold will remain…and so will the smell.

Proverbs 28:13 says this: “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
    but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”  Sin is a lot like mold…if we don’t do a deep cleaning it will not be eradicated.  Are there hidden spaces in your life right now that sin still remains?  It’s time for a deep cleaning!  Do not be ashamed of it – get rid of it.  Don’t hold onto it any longer.  It really is mold to the soul, and it will limit even keep you from the Lord!   Relinquish it, and allow the Lord to clean it from your life today!  

Prayer:  Lord cleanse my heart again.  I confess and expose these spaces where sin remains hidden away.  Lord, help me with my thoughts and my motives today.  I long to serve you a lone.  Remind me of my purpose and this aim today!  In your name I pray these things.  -Amen.

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Day 44 “We Hate The ‘S’ Word…”

It’s a word everybody hates.
For some it means relinquishing our freewill.
For others it means becoming a slave…and naturally, no one wants to be a slave.
Still others thing of this word as strange and even evil.

s-wordIt’s the word ‘Submit’…as in submit someone else.
-submit to the rules…
-submit to the will or whim of others…
-submit who you are to someone else’s identity.
This content of the ‘S’ word certainly seems negative and cause us to never utter it again let alone live in submission to anything other than our own freewill.

But what would you do if God requires this from you?
How do we consider the ‘S’ word then in the context of who God is and desires from us?
Even then, many (including myself) struggle with the notion of full-submission to God.
James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

This type of submission isn’t something that will hurt us, instead it will heal us. submit2 Submission to God means we can finally become all that God knows we can be.  There is this potential within all of us, but it can only be accessed and fully realized when we completely submit ourselves to God’s will.  This is probably the most difficult thing we will ever do.  Full submission to God doesn’t mean that we will lose our identity, no, it means that we will finally have our full identity.  We are called sons and daughters of God…when we finally submit to Him, this title becomes our identity.  The difficulty is letting go and trusting Him.  It requires us to say, “Lord, my life is in your hands!”  When we submit in this way, the temptations of the evil one will diminish and we can resist sin – through the power of the Holy Spirit.

You might now be there yet – letting go and submitting fully to God…but He longs for you to take that step!  He will not harm you.  He loves you and desires His people be holy.

Prayer:  Lord, I confess today that I struggle with full-submission to you in my life.  I fear letting go because it could mean that I have to make changes in my life.  Help me Lord to seek you and to let go.  I want to live for you in my life.  So in my day today, show me what this submission looks like.  I desire to be like you.  -Amen.

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Day 45 – “Love Bites…”*

“(love)…it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:5b-6

Today love is the topic for our consideration.
What is love?
How do we get it?
How do we keep it?

donaldOf course on a day like Valentine’s day, the expressions are everywhere – in the stores, in the flower shops, on commercials…you can’t go anywhere without seeing the evidence of love.  Unfortunately you can go many places and also see the void that love leaves.  This emotion, expression and way of living can be broken.  Many have experienced the brokenness of love – and it deeply hurts.  It happens when we become vulnerable to someone else.  It happens when we allow ourselves to trust someone and that trust gets broken.  Love, at times truly bites!

You can only imagine the hurt God must have felt when humanity broke His heart in the garden.  Adam and Eve walked with Him daily.  They told Him of their day.  They, creation and Creator loved each other.  But then we broke God’s heart and as punishment we were kicked out of that perfect love and into a place where atonement had to be found.  Thankheart goodness for God’s persevering, perfect love, because He made a way for us to get back to Him in the most outrageous and compassionate way – His Son.  Jesus died in our place.  While we were yet sinners Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8).  This kind of love came at an extreme cost – Death on a cross…the shedding of blood (Holy blood)…the sacrifice of the Lamb for we the hopeless, unfaithful, and broken sinner.  THIS is the love that bites.  This is the love that lasts…this is the love that Christ brings to you and me – an undeserving, love full of grace and mercy.

That love swings both ways though…will we love Him back?  Will we also reflect that love into the world?  Will we seek to be like Christ in our love for the unloved or unlovable?

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank you for loving me!  I know that at times I have not loved you back, and I have not always lived for you.  Be with me today to express this love that I have in my life.  Help me to share that love to the world around me.  Lord, you are with me – help me to love even the unlovables in my life today.  -Amen. 

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Day 42 -“Kill Em With Kindness”

When Jesus commanded us to love our enemies, he really meant it.   Perhaps we play that game…you know the one I’m talking about – then one where we ask, “well, what does Enemy really mean?”  Sometimes we like to pick and choose who we “think” our enemies are…but never in our wildest dreams does it mean “THAT” person (you know who I’m talking about)…but indeed that is who Jesus means.  (Sorry)
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Our enemies might never love us back, nor even show us an ounce of kindness, yet we are called to love them.  Isn’t it bazaar that we have been given that command by Jesus…and He took it to the extreme when he allowed those who hated Him to crucify Him on the cross?!  I mean, that is true love isn’t it?  It’s a kind of love that doesn’t have strings attached.  It’s a kind of love that, even if not reciprocated, is given freely.  This kind of love has truly turned enemies into friends over the course of history and permitted the Holy Spirit to work within people and the issues they had been dealing with.  Perhaps we do not know why THAT person treats others so poorly…perhaps they themselves are hurting or have been hurt in the past.  When we open the doors to even THOSE people, we begin to comprehend how deep and how wide the love of Jesus truly is.

So…kill em with kindness.
Questions:
-Do you have one of THOSE people in your life right now?
-How might you show love to them even if it is never reciprocated?
-Begin by praying for that person or those circumstances!

Prayer:  Dear Lord, help me to love the people in my life who are difficult to love.  Guide me today as I attempt to live for you in every aspect of my life.  Be with me.  In your name I pray these things.  -Amen.

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Day 41 “Facing The Giant”

“Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.”
-1 Samuel 17:40

When David stood before Goliath, he didn’t come with years of battle experience, or with the armor Saul had offered to him, instead he did was came naturally.  David selected five smooth stones from the riverbed and he brought his sling – these were tools he used frequently while shepherding.  giant

It is interesting that God usually works with things that are already in existence or innate within us.  David used a sling to slay a giant and it was already a learned discipline.  God does that same with us as well.  The challenges that we face in life might seem daunting at times.  Perhaps it is rather telling if the only thing we experience is peace – something might be wrong, or perhaps we aren’t challenging ourselves anymore.  When this happens, we should be asking ourselves questions like – “What am I afraid of?” or “Why am I not pushing myself as I once did?”   Sometimes we’re tired from the fight and so we avoid the next challenge that comes our way.

King Saul and the people of Israel were afraid of the challenges of the giant.  They didn’t respond to his calls to fight – how could they?  He was HUGE and his weapons looked fearsome.  They feared they wouldn’t stand a chance against him in a fight.  David showed up to drop off home baked goods and get a report for his father, only to discover God’s people quaking in their boots…so David stepped up.

fear2Sometimes we don’t get a choice with which giants  we have to face.  We have to press onward and actually face them, because if we don’t they won’t just go away and we will be powerless and frozen in our fears.  Facing the giants also means reliance on a strength that isn’t our own.  God will provide you the strength that you need, but it also requires us to admit that we need help and that we cannot do it on our own.  When we let go of this nothing of going it alone, we are freed from the shackles of self-doubt and self-reliance.

So how about it?
What sort of giants are you facing right now?
Have you lived in fear for far too long?
Perhaps it’s time to stop hiding in fear and doubt and instead live in victory and strength!
God will be there each step of the way, but will you trust Him?

Prayer:  Dear Lord, I place before you these fears that I have in my life right now.  There are giants that I am facing and I don’t know how to combat them alone.  Help me dear Lord.  Protect me in these battles.  Lead me to victory.  Use me Lord for your glory, not mine.  In your name I pray all of these things.  -Amen.

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Day 40 – “Do You Love Your Frienemy?”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” Matthew 5:43-44

It easy to love those who reciprocate that expression, it is a lot harder when that love is only one way.  Jesus takes the teaching of loving your neighbor to a whole new level when we tells those listening to love your enemies too.  Loving your enemies is extremely hard to do, especially if there is still resentment and hurt involved.  How could Jesus expect us to love THOSE people?  We might say to God, “I can’t love that person, he has said unkind things to and about me.”  or “God, you must be mistaken, that person is hateful and I don’t even think his mother loves him.”  Regardless of how we may feel, this kind of love does not naturally happen, but Christ displayed it for us in how he died.

Jesus didn’t have to die on the cross.
He could have refused, he certainly had the power to do so, and yet he did die…by the hands of those who HATED him.  He poured out his life upon those who were his enemies and friends.  His death signified our life.  …”But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.”  (Ephesians 2:4)   We were his frienemies…but we were dead because of the things we had done.  Yet Jesus came and loved even his enemies, which happened to be all of us because we were blind in our sin.
friends
This calling to love our enemies isn’t just for the enemy or the person who has hurt us or dislikes us…this calling to love is as much for them as it is for us.  When we choose to love in this way, we can begin to let go of the trappings of resentment, anger, revenge, malice, and hate.  Loving even the unlovable lifts the burden from us that used to hold us captive and bound to this world.  This isn’t a fake or phony kind of love either, no, instead when we begin to love God with our whole heart, soul and mind, we begin to realize just how much grace and mercy plays into this relationship.  What I mean is, we don’t deserve this love from God…and neither do our enemies…and yet like Christ, we must give it freely.  This might be the hardest thing you ever do – let go of the hurt, the grudges and the hate and simply love even your frienemy…without strings attached or any ulterior motives.

heartDon’t let hate rule you.
Don’t let it hold you as its slave anymore.
Release it, surrender it to Christ’s perfect love and allow Him to transform and shape you with his grace and mercy.

Prayer:  Lord today I ask that you soften my heart towards those who seem unlovable.  Regardless of how they feel towards me and what they may do to me, help me to turn the other cheek as you work within my life to transform it.  I want to be your reflection to the world and this includes even those who do not like me.  Fill me with your grace and mercy today.  May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight.  Oh Lord my strength and my redeemer -Amen.

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Day 39 “Have You Unfollowed God?”

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me...” Matthew 15:8

Have you unfollowed God?
godI would imagine most of us would say “no”.
We wouldn’t even think about doing something like that…and yet our actions sometimes speak louder than words.  We praise Jesus one minute and the next we curse someone who has irritated us.  We acknowledge God on Sunday, but forget to include him in our work or school week.  In some ways, we conveniently unfollow God and we don’t even realize it.

I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be labeled by Jesus as one whose heart is far from him…and yet, if I’m honest it sometimes is.  There are many distractions in life.  There are many time consuming efforts that I engage in that do not edify me and preoccupies my time.  Perhaps it’s more like my mind has unfollowed God, because I have failed to include him and invite him even into my thought patterns.

Paul writes in Romans 12:2b “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  When we allow god2this transformation to take place within our minds – change happens.  We check the box to follow God again.  We are then able to filter what we allow into our minds which bleeds over into our actions.  Without this transformation of the mind and the inclusion and fellowship of God into our lives, we will live but live unfulfilled, empty lives.  This sounds stark and cold, but the reality is that we were created with this very relationship in mind.  If we either consciously or subconsciously unfollow God, we break this relationship and in our hearts we acknowledge that there is something missing, but we can’t quite put our finger on it.  If you’re there right now, perhaps its time to reconnect with God.  Perhaps it’s time to acknowledge the many distractions that have taken His place.  We can try and try to fill that void with other things, but nothing will fill that God-shaped hole.  god3

Make it your desire to follow after God today!
Train your thoughts, and renew your mind…need help?  Ask Him, he’s always available and ready to give you strength.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, I confess that sometimes I have unfollowed you.  I have failed to include you in my day.  I desire today to converse with you and to include you in it all – the good, the bad and the downright ugly.  Lead me Lord.  I long for your fellowship, and a constant conversation with you.  Help me in this discipline of presentness.  I want to show up, I want to be present with you through my day today.  Grant me your strength through the difficult moments of this day, and allow me your discernment in the decisions that must be made, both great and small.  Lord, be in them all today.  I choose to follow you Lord.  -Amen.

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