Detailed Depth

"'Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.'"

Matthew 10:29-32 

What I love most about God, which is among an endless list of things I love about Him, is that He takes care of every detail when I trust Him with my life.  Even the most infinitesimal detail is in the great hands of God.  Nothing gets by Him.  Nothing He can't handle.

I believe God desires for us to notice how He takes care of every detail of our lives.  I think it gives Him great pleasure when we do because praise immediately follows recognition of His part and presence in the workings of our lives.  I think He wants to show us more of who He is and what He can do and what He wants to do for us.  

When we begin to notice all the ways God cares for us, especially in the ways we don't even ask for Him to, then we will begin to understand the depth of God's love for us and the worth we are to Him.

The Flaw Fight

The flaws I know I have, I so easily recognize in others.  As a teacher, I passionately try to fix those flaws in my students because I know the struggle, the burden, and the beastly side of those flaws.  It's funny how so quickly we want to change someone else that has the same identical flaws that we battle within ourselves to change.  Like the oxygen masks on an airplane, if we don't first help ourselves, we won't be able to help anyone else.  So, how do we do it?

First, identify one flaw.  Notice I said one.  If you try to take on more than one at a time, you will be defeated before you can conquer any of them.  Begin with one.  Focus on one opponent a time.

Second, pray.  Pray daily for God's help to fight the flaw.  Pray for God's strength, for His army, for His guidance to overcome, and for Him to change your heart and your habits.

Third, go against every natural, easy behavior that feeds that flaw.  For instance, if your flaw is messiness, then go against throwing clothes on the floor or leaving dirty dishes on the counter.  Follow through where clothes go or follow through washing the dishes.  Fight that flaw.

Fourth, fill yourself with knowledge.  Read Scripture, self-help books, and do Bible studies that all relate to that one flaw.  The more you know and understand that flaw, the better equipped you'll be to fight it.

Fifth, find support.  Ask friends or family to hold you accountable.  People want to feel useful and helpful, and if you give them an opportunity to aid you in bettering yourself, they will take it.  We all want to feel like we're making a difference.  Don't let the fear of burdening someone to keep you from asking him/her to hold you accountable.  Satan does not want you to be better, and he will lie to get what he wants. 

We all have flaws we would like to fix.  It is possible.  You are not alone, and you do not have to fight alone.  The God of angels' armies is always on your side.

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." 

2 Corinthians 10:4

Content with "No"

I believe true contentment is attainable.  True contentment is being able to accept if and when God says, "No."  True contentment is not changing your feelings about God no matter what the outcome.  True contentment is saying, "God, you are Master of the Universe.  I trust and accept whatever answer you give me to my prayer request and to my heart desire."  True contentment is praising God no matter the circumstance.  True contentment allows God to have full control and to know you are just along for the ride.  "But godliness with contentment is great gain." (1 Timothy 6:6)

Yes, true contentment is attainable.  Are you ready to let go?  Are you ready to let God?  Are you ready to accept in full faith whatever the outcome?  If you said, "Yes!", then get your praise on!  God is going to do mighty wonders in your life.  How sweet is the taste of satisfaction!

 

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content
whatever the circumstances."

Philippians 4:11

Genuine Love is Godly Love

"Don't just pretend to love others.  Really love them.  Hate what is wrong.  Hold tightly to what is good.  Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other."

Romans 12:9-10 (NLT)

Genuine love--real love--honest love--Godly love is a love we all seek and desire.  It is also love we are instructed in Romans 12 to give.  It is a love that is the same for an enemy as it is for a best friend.  It is a love that doesn't change because of a circumstance that does change.  It is a love that is constant even if it isn't returned.  It is a love that remains even if a relationship doesn't.  

When we really love  someone, we love out of God's heart.  He has lavished His love upon us so that we can love one another.  Really, genuinely loving someone means we put them before our own needs and wants.  Really, genuinely loving someone is giving without expecting anything in return.  In fact, if we genuinely love someone, then it wouldn't change based on the condition of whether or not that person loves us in the same way back.  This doesn't mean that if we are being abused or taken advantage of by another person that we should continue to allow that kind of behavior to continue; rather, it means that we continue to love that person with the same genuine affection even in spite of the abuse or the advantage taking.  Those kind of relationships may fall apart or change because of that behavior, but our love for that person should not fall apart or change.

Really love someone today.  Take delight in honoring another person, not yourself, today.  Respond to the love God has so richly given you by honestly, authentically loving others.  Not only will you have love overflowing in your heart, you will also have joy.

"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them."

1 John 4:16 (NLT)

Glorious Gift

 Who doesn't love a gift?  About two years ago, I put together some welcome gifts for the guests attending my sister's wedding.  My sister arranged a destination wedding at this quaint, antiquated inn on Lake Michigan.  The whole weekend was exquisite, and it was my job to put together welcome/thank you gifts for all the guests.  Well, I couldn't just throw together some treats in a gift bag, could I?  Not a chance! 

I ended up driving all over two cities to find and buyout these beautiful white cupcake holder boxes.  The outcome was worth it.  I enjoyed sorting and arranging the treats inside the boxes and tying pretty ribbon and tags around each one.  I enjoyed seeing my sister's delight at what I had put together for her special guests, and I enjoyed the smiles of surprise and awe that each guest had when he/she arrived and was handed one of my welcome/thank you boxes.  Such joy comes from thoughtful, intentional, hard work!

What joy it was for Jesus to leave us His thoughtful gift...the Holy Spirit!  "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17)  What joy it must be to Him we open this gift!  What joy it must bring Him when we use His gift!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)

A gift given is a joy, and a gift opened is a joy.  What good is Jesus' gift to us if we don't open it?  If we don't allow the Holy Spirit to powerfully work in our lives, to produce fruit; then, we lose out on receiving a glorious gift and we lose out on bringing glory to God.  May our prayers today and every day be of gratitude for such a glorious gift.  May we live with joy of receiving such a gift, and may use this gift to bring joy to others.

Spiritual Seasons

We all enter various seasons of our lives at various times and in various places. 

God takes us through valleys so that we know the feeling of a true mountaintop high.  God allows us to go through storms of all sorts, floods, dry seasons, high winds, no winds, extreme heat, and bitter cold so that not only could we experience the vastness of His power and creativity, but also so that our character could be tested and tried. 

During some seasons of our lives, God guides us the "long way" through the desert perhaps to see if we can learn trust, patience, and obedience to follow Him.  In some seasons of our lives, He provides the wondrous miracles of what it is like to walk on water, or what it is like to see for the first time after being blind for a lifetime, or what it is like to have a never-ending supply of oil in our jars. 

Whatever the season, in each of them God is there to shepherd us, to show His love for us, and to bring us ever closer to Him and His glory.  Therefore, the question isn't "Why are we going through this?" or "Why is this happening to me?"; instead, the question is and should be "What am I going to do about this in the light of God's love?" 

How we respond in each season we experience will show who we are in Christ. 

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Necessity is the Mother of . . . Creation

Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it

but receive it with thanks.

1 Timothy 4:4

The other day, I bought a new bag to carry my laptop; and although, it was a great buy, it did not have any place to hold my pens and pencils.  So, I had been throwing them into one of the pockets and had been fishing around for them when I needed one.  I would cringe when I pulled out a pen with the cap off because I really didn't want ink all over the inside of my new bag, nor did I want it on my laptop.  Consequently, I decided to shop for a pencil pouch. 
 
None were attractive or inexpensive or as small as I wanted it to be (I didn't have room for a big lump in my laptop bag).  So, I decided to make one.  I had never made one before, but I have sewn pillows.  The shapes are similar and the only difference, really, was adding a zipper, which was done first in the process.  I later added buttons to cover-up my novice sewing (a.k.a. crooked lines).  I sat back after my creation and smiled in amazement. 

 
How amazing it is that God gives the ability to create.  I thought about what He must have felt after creating the universe and everything in it.  I think that the seventh day was not rest as in sleep, but rest as in sitting back and marveling at all He had made.  I know that a handmade pencil pouch is nothing in comparison to the universe, but, still, in some related way I learned to appreciate more the creativity of God, His wonderful works, and the gift of creating He has given to each one of us.