Powerful and Effective Prayer

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

James 5:16

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

                                    1 John 5:14

You’d think it was my husband’s first day of kindergarten, the way I followed him out of the house this morning, asking if he had his keys, his phone, his breakfast, and if he needed some water to take with him. I then stood on the walk by the front porch and waved at him as he drove away. No, this was not his first day of kindergarten; it was his first day at a new job after having been out of work for a little more than three months, due to the economic downturn from the COVID pandemic 

My husband is a civil engineer and has been one for almost 30 years. He loves his work. He was at his last employer for about 18 months and before that, he was at CPS Energy for most of his career. Since having been laid off, he has applied for numerous civil engineering jobs but was able to land only two interviews—for the first company, he made it to the second-round interview, only to not hear from them at all. When he followed up with them after a good amount of time, he was told that they instituted a hiring freeze and that the postings were taken down.

When he landed a job interview for a company last week, I initiated a prayer chain of sorts—I texted our prayer group, some friends from my Emmaus group, my work team, and a few errant believers whom I’d met through work. I asked for folks to pray for God’s will to be done—not necessarily that he would get the job, but that regardless of how things played out, His will would be accomplished. Don’s  interview was for 1:00 PM on a Wednesday. Buoyed by the prayers of my friends, though perhaps not fully acknowledged by my husband who doesn’t seem to be in the same point on his spiritual walk as I am, he went to the in-person interview, face mask and everything. The interview went all right; he felt that they were looking at the person they hired to bring clients with him or her. Since Don’s projects were with the US military or other government agencies, he didn’t really have clients to bring with. He was a bit bummed by that.

After the interview, he went to visit a friend named Raymond, a wonderful guy that Don had worked with before who owned his own engineering firm; I’d even worked with him at USAA. Our families exchanged Christmas cards every year, and he has been a wonderful friend and mentor to Don. When Raymond told Don that Don’s prior employer had just hired two engineers, Don was supremely disappointed—his boss had told him after they had laid him off that he would work really hard to bring him back on when things started looking up. In Don’s eyes, I’m sure the whole day was a bust and the kernel of hope he had from getting the opportunity to interview turned into a boulder of disappointment and doubt.

Later that evening, Don got a phone call from Raymond. He put it on speakerphone when I came into the room, one so that I could say hi to Raymond, but more importantly so that I could hear what Raymond was saying. Raymond told Don that his engineering firm needed someone to work residential projects and that while Don’s experience was more on commercial building projects, if Don was willing to be trained by one of Raymond’s employees, Raymond would be happy to offer him a job. Raymond and the other two owners run their company in such a way as to offer great benefits and opportunity to do quality work in a supportive environment, so it was a wonderful gift being offered!

After Don hung up the phone in shock and humility, I started dancing and hollering praises to the Lord, telling Don that the Lord had come through and that the prayers of all of those who were praying had had their impact! When we called his mom to tell her the good news, I was whooping it up. When we called his dad to tell him the news, I was declaring His praises and grinning from ear to ear. When Don talked to his brother about it and commented that the job seemed to come from out of the blue, I corrected him and declared that it was a God thing through everyone’s prayers! I couldn’t contain that excitement and praise as I shared the news with our prayer group, and was met with an outpouring of the same declarations of praise for our mighty God!

An even cooler, mind-boggling aspect of the prayers of my Christian brothers and sisters is that Wayne shared that when he prayed for Don that morning, he asked God to give him favor and to give him the job, but more specifically, that Don would see and know that it was through the prayers of all those who were praying for him, that he got the job. I am confident that Don was blown away by how all of this came to be, and he acknowledges that God was at work.

This whole thing, from layoff to employment, has been a great witness opportunity, one that I did not want to blow. I’m confident that it’s due to the prayers of many of you all that have helped in that, and I am eternally grateful! To God be all the glory!!

Prayer Requests

·      For our nation to repent and return to the Lord

·      For those suffering from the impacts of COVID—the ill, the healthcare workers, medical researchers, those laid off and unemployed

·      For those struggling with the impacts and implications of this “new normal”

·      For us to have compassion on those who are struggling, those who are lost, and those who need to know the love of Jesus

We each have the opportunity to participate in praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Each time we do, we are blessed to be instruments of His love and grace. To God be all the glory!  

 Quotes

“If you can no longer understand what’s happening, ask God to open the eyes of your heart so that you will see a better perspective.”

“Pray, not until God hears you, but until you listen to God.”  

On Edge

 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous

                           1 Peter 3:8

with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love

                           Ephesians 4:2 

There have been a number of memes and cartoons about 2020 floating around—my favorite one thus far was a response to a weather station’s announcement about a Saharan Dust Model that showed the dust making its way into North Carolina over the weekend, and that if the trend persisted, the dust would be substantial enough to dim the incoming sunlight. The response: “Awesome! I always wondered what it was like to live during the times of the Civil War, Spanish Flu, Great Depression, Civil Rights Movement, Watergate, and the Dust Bowl. Not all at once mind you, but ya know, “beggars/choosers” and all.”

2020 sure has been quite a year, hmm?

The pandemic has changed the landscape of our everyday lives—whereas before when we would leave the house to go to a public place and check our pockets or purses to ensure we had our keys, wallet, and phone, we now add face mask to that list of things we cannot leave the home without, if we even go out. Many of us are working from home instead of going to the office. Virtual happy hours on video conferencing have replaced real-life ones. Telemedicine has supplanted routine doctor’s appointments, and as we have recently experienced, the livestreaming of church worship services has taken the place of in-person worship.

Some of us have adapted relatively well; others are struggling a bit.

To add proverbial insult to injury, in social media and in mainstream media, there seems to be a staggering amount of conflicting information lately about everything—pros and cons of wearing a mask (side note—just wear the mask already); praise on one hand for Governor Abbot’s leadership and critique on the other; political views and statements about protesting, race relations, voting, cancel culture, defund versus defend the police; and the list goes on. There is an overwhelming amount of information and misinformation, on both sides of the political aisle, and through those people whose politics align with their respective party.

Add to that fear and concern over the increasing number of local COVID-19 cases, impacts from unemployment, and in some cases, a firm enforcement of stay-at-home orders. All of this is added on top of the normal challenges that life on this planet produces.

I felt compelled to write about this topic after a good friend of mine, when talking about a mutual friend whose actions caused a bit of concern, said “everybody’s on edge.” And it seems that he is right about that.

It can be too much at times, even for the resilient ones. We all react in different ways—some of us push all of the pain and uncertainty down, gruffly refusing to acknowledge it; others search for an escape in a bottle or pillbox, while others seek healthy ways of dealing with their emotions through counseling. Because each of us handles stress differently, we may not recognize that our brother- or sister-in-Christ is struggling. Heck—they might not even realize that they are struggling to the degree that they are. But my ask is that we seek to find out how each other is doing, because we are all children of the living God. It’s not a duty or requirement of only the formal (Pastors Wayne and Ray) and informal leaders (Session members) of the church to reach out to the congregation and body of Christ—it’s bigger than that. It takes each of us and all of us caring for each other and building each other up—building up the body of Christ. May we be sensitive to the unspoken needs of our fellow brother or sister in Christ, open to the leading of the Holy Spirit to bring kindness and grace to one another, and overflowing in the love that we have for each other. Together, solidified by His love and guidance, we can make it so that folks are no longer “on edge.”

Prayer Requests

·      For our nation to return to the Lord

·      For the victims of COVID-19 and their family members  

·      For pastors and church leaders who must navigate in unchartered waters, balancing the safety of those in their flock while acknowledging that there are people who want to worship in person

·      For our nation’s leaders, regardless of whether you agree with their politics or not

·      For us to shine and share Jesus to this broken world

I’d be remiss if I failed to remind my fellow brothers and sisters that it is perfectly acceptable to ask for help as well. It is not a sign of weakness; it is nothing to be ashamed of. I am 100% confident that you will not get shut down or laughed at if you reached out and asked anyone in this church for help or to at least pray for you.

Quotes

“If you want God to close and open doors, let go of the doorknob.”

“Don’t let the noise of the world keep you from hearing the voice of the Lord.”

Extending Grace

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

Romans 3:23

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

                                    1 John 1:8

I was in Academy the other day, looking for workout equipment that I could use at home. Their shelves were surprisingly void of weights and resistance bands. Disappointed, I turned to go when I heard a comment from a fellow customer in the same area, which I will not repeat out of decorum. She loudly expressed her dissatisfaction with the F word and the taking of the Lord’s name in vain. I cringed at hearing those, and while I longed to say something to her (which you and I both know I’m too chicken to do) or even stand there and shoot her dirty looks, I knew my better course of action would be say a prayer for her at the day she was having, as well as to pray for the store clerks as well as the young teenager she walked in with (in typical teenage fashion, he walked way ahead of her and didn’t seem to engage too much with her).

Her comment bothered and offended me, though. I’m not trying to come across as a Pollyanna Goody Two Shoes who never gets angry or curses, because that would be a misrepresentation of who I can be at times. But to hear a grown woman drop the F bomb and swear using the Lord’s name in a public store where children and families frequented was just too much.

I don’t watch a lot of the critically acclaimed and popular series on streaming services—I’ve never seen Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black, Breaking Bad—mainly because of the subject matter, violence, and the cussing. (I’m not judging you if you watch them—I promise I am not)! I have watched a couple of episodes of a series I looked so forward to—Picard—only to be put off, to a small degree, by the F word peppered throughout some of the dialogue. I enjoy the intrigue and action of the latest Jack Ryan series on Amazon Prime, because a) it’s got John Krasinski and b) Jack Ryan’s character from The Hunt for Red October is one of my favorites. And yes, there is a lot of violence, given the backdrop of the storylines, and darn it, there is a tremendous amount of bad language in it.

Our mayor even used the Lord’s name in vain in an impassioned speech to the protesters the other night. I admit that I have heard words like that in casual conversation at work, and am surprised every time I hear it in an office environment.

Perhaps this is the norm and I’ve just been living in a naïve idealistic bubble. Perhaps everyone talks like this and television shows like Picard and Jack Ryan are merely portraying the reality of life that is different than the one I’m used to at my office.

Now again, I want to make sure I represent myself appropriately to my sisters and brothers. I have dropped the occasional F word here and there in moments of frustration or while watching the Dallas Cowboys (oh wait—those examples were redundant. Kidding…). I am a fan of the show Schitt’s Creek, and while its use has been infrequent, they have used the F word. My point is that I am not perfect and do not claim to be. I am a sinner.

If I, a sinner, am offended and dismayed by the degradation of civility by the common use of offensive language, can you imagine how our heavenly Father feels? I envision Him wincing the same way I did when I heard that lady in Academy every time His name is said in vain, but with even more sadness, pain, and disappointment, especially exacerbated when He hears that language from my lips.

But because of Christ’s atoning work at the cross, though I pain Him, I have every assurance of the love He has for me and the grace He has given me. Instead of living shackled by sin and dreading that every evil thought and bad word will pass from my lips, I have the presence of the Holy Spirit to convict me not to say them in the first place. I have His inspired Word that tells me to change the focus of my thoughts and direct them onto whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, if there is any excellence or anything worthy of praise. It also inspires me to, as Paul writes in Ephesians 4, to “put off my old self, which belongs to my former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of my mind, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

I am not a lost cause. When the Lord looks at me, He sees me as righteous, only because of Christ’s imparted righteousness. My Lord and Savior took the punishment for sins I would commit 2000+ years later, and I move in His incredible grace. Since I have been given grace, I must extend it to others, which is why I chose to pray for that woman in the Academy store instead of condemning her for her attitude and language.

May we always seek to have eyes that see others as God sees them.

Prayer Requests

·      For us to love our neighbors as Jesus did, regardless of their race, sexual orientation, politics, or other dividing attribute    

·      For our nation to heal

·      For our nation to turn to the Lord

·      For us to share the love of Christ and the gospel message to a world in desperate need of it

I thank God for His love, grace, and that He brought us all together in service to His kingdom.

 Quotes  

“Never wish them pain. That’s not who you are. If they caused you pain, they must have pain inside. Wish them healing.”

“Followers of Jesus are on a straight and narrow road that offends many. Pleasing God separates you from this world.”  

“When you finally learn that a person’s behavior has more to do with their own internal struggle than it ever did with you…you learn grace.”              

The Golden Rule

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

                           Matthew 22:36-39

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets

                           Matthew 7:12

Before I start, I want to share that I have started and stopped writing this devotional a couple of times over the past week. I have agonized over the message to ensure that it is coming from the Lord and not from my heart or thoughts. If there is any Laura that eked through, I ask your forgiveness for that.

I am shell shocked over the events that have taken place in our nation over the last two weeks, a condition exacerbated by the state of the worldwide pandemic and its impact on people close to me (my husband’s job loss) and those afar (the close-to 400,000 deaths (as of June 7) from COVID-19) over the past couple of months. My heart is broken for the pain of it all.

As I have written before, I am not one to normally comment on social media, mostly due to two things: I am afraid to get into an argument with someone who may be more well versed in the topic and I am loathe to really rock the boat with people. I know my beliefs, and I am comfortable in them, and don’t feel the need to bash people over the head with them.

On Facebook, I have friends that are on both ends of the political spectrum, and I admit that there are some whose political rhetoric have made me snooze them (basically, not have their Facebook posts come up in my newsfeed), basically because I’m too much of a people pleaser to unfriend them. However, some of the posts that both sides have shared have been quite thought-provoking, from the ones that cite the example of Jesus turning over the money changers’ tables in Matthew 21 as an endorsement of protesting to the ones that defend actions taken by police to clear out protesters in front of St. John’s church in what has been painted as Trump’s bible photo op. Which stance is the correct one?

My mind is most happy when the world in which I operate is black and white—at work, when expectations and goals are clearly defined and boundaries given—boy howdy, watch me go! I can knock it out of the park. Throw me into an environment in which there are 73 different shades of grey, and I will admit that I struggle.

My heart, however, can see the 73 different shades of grey when it comes to people and situations. I acknowledged, albeit quietly, Colin Kaepernick’s (and others) peaceful protest of taking a knee during the National Anthem while appreciating the anger from those who felt it disrespectful. I agreed with those who quoted Romans 13:1(submitting to established governing authorities) to denounce illegal immigration but agreed also with those who quoted Matthew 25:43 (“I was a stranger and you did not invite me in…”) to demonstrate our responsibility to those less fortunate than us.  

I can totally identify with those latest rounds of Facebook memes that show Venn diagrams with three circles with “Me” in the middle; one is about COVID-19: “People taking COVID-19 seriously, people concerned about impending economic devastation, and people worried about expansion of authoritarian government policies”. Another about current events: “Outraged by George Floyd’s death, supports good cops, and does not condone looting and rioting.” The same tagline is on both: “it’s okay to be all three”. That is where I am, on both accounts.

I don’t know what stance the Lord is asking me to take on any of these topics—heck, I don’t even know if I am supposed to take a stance. But here is what I do know, and it came to me through prayer this morning: I don’t have to figure all of this out; I am simply supposed to love people. I am supposed to love my neighbor as I love myself, living the Golden Rule like Jesus told us to do in Matthew 7, regardless of my neighbor’s skin color, belief system, sexual orientation, whether or not they like the Dallas Cowboys—regardless of any of that and more. That is pretty black and white to understand, albeit challenging at times to do. I’m thankful for the presence of the Holy Spirit to help enable me to do so.

Prayer Requests

·      For our nation to return to the Lord

·      For unity and peace instead of division and chaos

·      For the ability to love as Jesus loves and extend grace like Almighty God does

·      For pastors and leaders in the church, as church buildings reopen

A pastor friend of mine posted this message on Facebook with the Matthew 7:12 verse: “Imagine how different our nation and world would be right now if Christians not only knew this rule, but actually lived it out. Today, in the midst of such challenging times, let's embrace this high calling on our lives. Let's make a GODly (sic) difference in this world one relationship at a time. Remember, the change you can control is the change in you!”

Quotes

“If Christ didn’t come to condemn the world, it’s probably not our job either.”

“The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of us, but those who win battles we know nothing about.”

The Alpha and the Omega

We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

                           2 Corinthians 5:8

And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.  He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

                           Revelation 21:6-7

 My father Glenn married Helen, a woman he had met through a Christian dating site about six years after my mother had passed away suddenly in their home. Helen was a kind and giving woman with a beautiful soul, seven years younger than my dad, and my sister and I welcomed her into our family with love and thankful anticipation that my dad would have a companion in his proverbial golden years. Since they got married when I was 40, I would inadvertently start to refer to her mistakenly as my mother-in-law, stopping midway before correcting myself to call her my dad’s wife. It felt a little odd to refer to her as my stepmother. Estranged from her own daughter for reasons unbeknownst to her, Helen sought to provide the friendship and support adult children need, and I loved her for it.

Dad and Helen traveled fairly extensively, something for which I am thankful, as my mom didn’t feel very comfortable traveling. Helen grew up the daughter of missionary parents in Africa, and she and Dad returned there on a couple of trips, Helen’s heart full of love for the place she called home. In the past couple of years, however, their travels slowed down a bit as Helen faced a series of unrelated health problems, some due to medical conditions, and others caused by errant falls and trips. As my prayer meeting friends can attest, Helen was on our prayer list quite frequently. Throughout each bout of physical challenge, despite the pain or resultant discomfort, Helen’s countenance shone brightly, powered by her faith and love for the Lord.

The Lord called Helen home last Friday, a couple of days after a successful rotator cuff surgery, when she passed away in their home while sleeping. She had taken a tumble in the middle of the night, being disoriented, and I believe that something occurred in that fall that eventually caused her to pass. Regardless of what caused it, she is with our Lord right now, without physical ailment, without pain, without tears. A beloved daughter of the King is now with her Father, and although I mourn her passing and the resultant gap in our family, I am overjoyed that she is with Him as I write this.

In the book of Revelation, The Lord tells us that He is the Alpha and the Omega. I was thinking about that this morning in my prayers. In the Greek alphabet, I’m sure you know, Alpha is the first letter and Omega, the last. To oversimplify His word—God the is the beginning and the end. Many of us look at death as an end of sorts, and it is—of this mortal life and body. But for those who believe in Him, death is not the end of “us”; it is simply and beautifully the beginning of our physical and eternal time with Him. Think of it—to be in the presence of Almighty God—our Creator, our Father, the One who loves us unconditionally—what a mind-boggling, overwhelming, amazing and indescribable joy we will experience at that moment, and in the ones to come with our resurrection bodies, and the new heaven and new earth. Glory be to God!

Prayer Requests

·      For those who do not know our Lord yet – that we can be instruments in the hand of a loving God in sharing the good news

·      For families like Bruce Richter and Bob Gaffin, facing the eventual loss of their family members

·      For families and individuals facing the impact of COVID-19, health-wise, financially, and the like

·      For government leaders and people of influence – that they be united in seeking godly wisdom

Folks, it is because of what Jesus did on the cross that we have the hope of what Helen is experiencing right now. His sacrifice meant that instead of eternal damnation, we as believers have eternal life. May we share that message of hope with those yet to believe.

Quotes

“Be an Esther, bold and courageous enough to stand for the truth, to voice your opinion and fight for the good of others, even when it means to sacrifice yourself. If God has put you in a position, it is for a purpose. Never be afraid to heed that inner voice.”

“You’ve got to preach with your life before you can preach with your mouth.”               --Brian Beasley

Known For

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

  1 Peter 2:9

As the days grow long, or at least seem to be long because they flow into each other and don’t seem to change from one day to the next because of the sheltering in place we’ve been doing, my work teammates and I look forward to Wednesday morning at 8:30 for our weekly catch up session. This was something I scheduled a few weeks into our work-from-home situation, realizing that each of us was desperate to retain the office camaraderie my small team and I had and to hear each other’s voices on something other than work-related conference calls. We don’t talk about work at all during this 30-minute catch up; instead everyone, including my executive director, answers team-building questions like “kids these days will never know the struggles of…” or “what is one key skill you think everyone should have? (mine was grammar and spelling skills, surprise, surprise, and would you believe that one of my coworkers offered that up on my behalf?)…or even silly ones like “black licorice—yes or no?” (definite yes for me. I *love* that stuff). It has been a way for a fairly close-knit group of teammates to get to know each other even better without it feeling forced and has given us a way to triumph despite the circumstances of COVID-induced lockdowns. I scour a number of websites to ask the right questions, changing things up if my questions elicit little response.

One of the questions I found to pose to the group really got me thinking. The question was “what do you want people to think of when your name comes up in conversation?” and my initial response (to myself) was “I want people to think I’m witty and funny.” After thinking about it more, and posing it the following week, I told the group how my thought process had changed from its original response. Though I do want people to think of me as witty, clever, and funny, I also want my reputation at work to be one of a hard worker, someone who knows how to get the job done, a go-to person. In thinking more about it, though, realizing that although I am all those things, I am one who loves the Lord, and that’s what I want folks to say about me when my name comes up in conversation. Though I feel bad that my initial reaction was a very human, prideful, worldly one, I can say with 100% certainty that in the long-run, my being a believer who loves her Savior is an attribute that I am not ashamed to declare, even to my work peeps.

As I have grown on my spiritual walk, I have realized that the validation I have sought from the world is fleeting, temporary, and is frankly wrong. The perspective I should have and demonstrate—the eternal perspective—is the focus on what the Lord is doing in my life and what I am doing in my life for the Lord. Even the work I do in the church, whether it is the writing of these devotionals or the time I spend in prayer for you—it is all meant to have Him as the focus and not me (though I cannot deny that it is nice when people respond to these devotionals, and I do enjoy being up in the pulpit as liturgist. There’s that whole introvert v extrovert battle I have with myself ever so often, or I’m ham. Or both).

And you? How would you answer the question?

Prayer Requests

·      For Bruce and the family of Gloria Richter who is in hospice care

·      For Jackie Zivley, Ruby Milton’s daughter, at Ruby’s passing

·      For all to seek to understand others’ points of view regarding masks, sheltering in place, going back to work or remaining in lockdown—everyone is coming at this from a different place and stance, and that is okay

·      For our leaders—government and church-wise—to make godly decisions

I love the fact that even though I fail Him daily and He must shake His head at the things that I say and do, but I love that He loves me with a love that I have never known before, and never will. And friend, He loves you the same way—regardless of your past, current, and future failings. You and I are children of the One True King! All praise and glory to be God!

Quotes

“The devil whispered, “You can’t withstand the storm.” The warrior replied, “With God on my side, I am the storm!”

“God sends the storm to show that He is the only shelter.”

No Hard Sell

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation…”

Mark 16:15

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

                                    Matthew 9:37-38

 A knock on our front door interrupted our quarantine game night of Wii Frisbee golf this past Friday night. Two young ladies were offering to clean our front room area rug (“it’ll take only 20 minutes!), and my husband took them up on their offer. They said they would be right back but 15 minutes later, a young man and a different young lady appeared holding a large box with the words “Kirby Vacuum” splayed across it. Since I hadn’t answered the door and didn’t totally realize what was happening until they came in, it was a bit too late for us to say “no”. We were in for an in-home demonstration of all that the latest Kirby Avalir vacuum cleaner, a solidly built behemoth of a machine compared to my nimble Dyson. The friendly young man started to careful vacuum our rug, starting and stopping to put in filters that would demonstrate the amount of dirt, cat hair, and old glitter from fallen Christmas tree ornaments that my Dyson had left behind. We left him to himself while we continued playing, pausing when he called us in to show us those filters and telling us about the features of the Kirby. He demonstrated various comparison tests between the two vacuum cleaners, and asked us what we thought of the Kirby and how much we thought we could pay for such a machine. When he revealed the amount, which was almost twice than the figure we threw out there, I knew we were going to be there for a while. When I explained that my husband was laid off from his job and we just weren’t ready to make any big expenditures, I was met with care, concern, and the simple double-digit monthly payment amount if I financed through Kirby for the next four years (at 21% interest, I might add).

This enterprising young man asked if he could show us what his machine could do for our mattresses by using a different color filter that showed the amount of human skin and dust mites that was on our bedsheets. It was a compelling demonstration, I will admit, but one that did not convince me to purchase the vacuum for the original $2248 asking price or even for the cheaper amount of $1648 after knocking money off because of my allergies and Kirby’s partnership with the American Lung Association. I asked if we could get his card and contact him after my husband and I talked about it, the salesman said that this was a one-time offer with a decision that would have to be made in person that night, as that’s how their business model worked. We wouldn’t need to do any research on the vacuum, he said, because he was demonstrating the research live for us.

When we thanked the young man for his time but stayed resolute in our refusal to purchase the vacuum cleaner, reiterating the fact that this simply was not a good time for us, given my husband’s recent job situation, the young man smiled and said that he understood, but that we really couldn’t afford to miss out on a such a great opportunity, given how great the vacuum was and knowing how the economy was going to rebound and the like. With a smile and a firm “no thank you”, I told the young man that it was getting late (this was around 10:15 Friday evening. What was promised as something that would take 20 minutes took about 2.5 hours, though we continued playing on the Wii during his set up and vacuuming), and he said he understood and that he just needed to let his supervisor (the young woman who came to the door with him) know. Everyone who has purchased a car from a dealership knows that when the salesperson goes to get his or her manager, we were going to get the next-level hard sell from her, charming and personable as she was. And we did. After asking our assessment of the vacuum and its comparison to my Dyson, and hearing our feedback with a firm reminder that we weren’t in a position to purchase, she came back with a figure that, she explained, was cutting greatly into their commission, but that she’d be willing to do “because I like you guys, Miss Laura.” Her last question was to go with the presumptive close: “how would you and Mr. Don want to pay for it? Monthly installments or pay cash?” I stood my ground, and they packed everything up and headed out the door, the “quick demo” finally over.

I hadn’t even realized that the Kirby folks were still doing door-to-door sales, especially in this online, one-click purchase environment. I do feel bad that the young man spent so much time trying to sell us a fairly decent vacuum cleaner, schooled in the counter arguments potential buyers might throw at him. His supervisor made the requisite personable small talk, trying to connect with me on a personal level, asking about our grandfather clock and my work at USAA. I get it—it’s more difficult to say “no” to someone with whom you’ve made a connection. They both exhibited a great knowledge of sales tactics; alas, they were lost on us that Friday evening.

As believers, we are commanded to share the gospel with yet-to-be-believers and part of our mission is to make Jesus known to others. Although Pastor Kevin used to say that “we were in sales, not management”, we do not have to use sales techniques when we talk to the lost. We don’t employ any pressure tactics; in fact, there isn’t anything we do to make the proverbial sale. Our testimony should be genuine and factual, led by the Holy Spirit to share our story at the right time. The Holy Spirit is the One who stirs the heart of the one we are sharing our story with; we need only be obedient and open to share at the Holy Spirit’s prompting. No theatrics, just sincerity; no emotional guilt trips, just a testimony that demonstrates the depth of the love and grace of Jesus Christ; no judgment, just love.

Are you ready? He is with you. Go share!

Prayer Requests

·      For those who are facing diagnoses that are scary, especially during these times

·      For families of Gloria Richter and Ruby Milton, as they face their beloved wives and moms in hospice care

·      For all pastors and leaders during these challenging times

·      For us to seek to understand God’s lesson for us in this

May we do all we can to truly walk in obedience to His word, and to share His love with those who don’t know Him yet.

Quotes

“We are very good lawyers for our own mistakes, but very good judges for the mistakes of others.”

“Spiritual maturity isn’t measured by how high you jump in praise but how straight you walk in obedience.”

You Are Not Alone

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 

                                    Romans 12:10

Google “quarantine fatigue” and you’ll see scads of articles about how being in lockdown for the time that we have has led some folks to rebel and flock outdoors, despite stay-at-home orders. You’ll find pundits on the left and the right of the political spectrum commenting on various aspects of the lockdown, their messaging reflecting their take on this whole thing. (no, I’m not going to get political here, I promise!). Keep looking however, and you’re sure to finally find an article on the emotional health aspect of what is going on.  

The second or third week or so into working from home, I could not, for the life of me, figure out why I was so mentally fatigued by 4:00 in the afternoon. I was getting an hour’s more sleep each day, since I didn’t have to drive to the gym at work; I maintained as much of my morning routine as I could—devotional and prayer time with Him; working out by walking the neighborhood or even better, cardio kickboxing on the Wii, and strength training; standing up at least every hour at ten minutes until the hour as my Apple watch reminded me to; calling in to work meetings and getting work stuff done. When the work day was through, all I had to do was lock my work laptop and go downstairs to spend time with the family. Life overall seemed simpler—I hadn’t been really out of the house, not even for groceries, as Don took care of grocery shopping since he had the inadvertent free time as of late. Work was not especially grueling as it had been in the months leading up to the end of February. Yet I found myself distracted throughout the day, scrolling through Facebook and Reddit while on meetings (we weren’t using our video so as not to overwhelm the system of 15,000 some-odd people suddenly working from home) and struggling to formulate cohesive and coherent sentences for emails and instant messages in the afternoons. When a coworker who is a dear friend of mine mentioned that she was mentally exhausted every day, I told her that it had to be because she had just lost her mother who lived out of state. I couldn’t, however, explain why I was.

It wasn’t until a Facebook friend shared an article entitled “Why Am I So Tired?” that I found my answer: “we first need to recognize that the current pandemic, and the resulting quarantine we find ourselves under, is a unique situation that most of us have never faced before in our lifetime and that this situation is a form of community trauma.” Add to that the barrage of new stories about the healthcare workers working 100-hour work weeks, young people dying from the virus, hospitals running out of ventilators as well as the collective loss of our “normal”, and it’s any wonder why I, and countless others, are exhausted or feeling out of sorts, or somewhat depressed. It is normal and explainable.

So now that it’s out in the open, what do we do about it? We pray. We realize that we are not alone in feeling how we do, despite what the enemy tells us. We spend time in the word with Him. We ask for the Paraclete, His Holy Spirit, to comfort and encourage us. We reach out to our Christian brothers and sisters check on them. We pour out grace to our families, ourselves, those with whom we interact, even fleetingly. We remind each other and ourselves that greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world, and we cling to Him. We take each day as it comes, not in our own strength, but in the aegis (protection) of the Almighty God, receiving it as the gift He intends it to be. We remember to Whom we belong, and we recall that He has given each of us a job to do while on this earth, and has equipped us to do it.

Prayer Requests

·      For the families and friends of Ruby Milton and Gloria Richter, as they deal with these lovely ladies being placed in hospice

·      For leaders of the government at all levels, whether you support them or not

·      For those who face financial hardship and loss because of the economic impact of the virus

·      For healthcare workers, first responders, pastors, leaders—for protection, wisdom, and grace

You, my beloved friend, are not alone. You are surrounded by the body of Christ—people who love you and care about your well-being. You are definitely surrounded by the love of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit as He attends to you. Reach out to Him I prayer; reach out to Pastor Wayne or the church if you are in need. Resources exist to help you during this challenging time. Know that you are loved.

 Quotes

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”    --Martin Luther

“Never be a prisoner of your past—it was just a lesson, not a life sentence.”

“Death was proof that Jesus was human. Resurrection was proof that He is God.”               

What Happened at the Cross

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),

                                    Galatians 3:13

I know that Easter Sunday was last week, and while I feel like I should be able to attribute writing a devotional that talks about the sacrifice Jesus made for us a week after one of the biggest Christian holidays of the year on the fact that this crazy lockdown has made me lose track of all of the days (I saw a post on Facebook that said something like “in case you were wondering, today is March the 381st), I can’t. No, it was commentary on what’s documented as Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth that hit me straight in the heart this past weekend.

As I’ve shared before, I refer to Pastor David Guzik’s Enduring Word commentary to help further my understanding of God’s word. There’s even an Enduring Word app that I have on both my phone and iPad. This past Saturday, I read the latter half of the fifth chapter of 2nd Corinthians, part of which is quoted above. I’m sure I’m not alone in the feeling of unmitigated unworthiness combined with pure gratitude at the thought of what Jesus did on the cross for me, a pure and unadulterated sinner, and the love with which He did it. I know it’s the gospel story, one we have heard time and time again, but the thought of what He endured, physically, emotionally, and spiritually gets me every time. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself” Paul writes in verse 18. Guzik’s commentary on that states:

As horrible as the physical suffering of Jesus was, this spiritual suffering – the act of being judged for sin in our place – was what Jesus really dreaded about the cross. This was the cup – the cup of God’s righteous wrath – that He trembled at drinking. On the cross Jesus became, as it were, an enemy of God who was judged and forced to drink the cup of the Father’s fury so that we would not have to drink that cup.

“…forced to drink the cup of the Father’s fury so that we would not have to drink that cup,” Guzik writes. When I initially read that, I burst into tears, overwhelmed by the act. When I was able to gain my composure, I mulled over the use of the verb “forced”. Its use brought to mind the thought of a criminal or an evil person coercing a victim into doing something unthinkable, at risk of losing their life if they don’t. That wasn’t the case here. No, what’s truly at hand is the fact that Jesus did this willingly, knowing the implications of what He had to do and why He had to do them. Love compelled Him to hang on that cross and receive the full wrath of the Father as punishment for the sins that you and I committed. Love enabled our Savior to voluntarily give up His life, descend into Hell and endure being separated from Lord God.

Friends, I am simply astounded by His act of love for us. I fail Him every single day, multiple times a day even, and yet I know that He loves me. He knows our failings, and yet He loves us anyway. May we never cease to be amazed by this!

Prayer Requests

·      For us to seek His will for our individual and church lives

·      For our national and local governmental authorities to pursue godly wisdom in the eventual reopening of businesses

·      For those who are ill and hurting

·      For those considered essential personnel—for their sacrifices and commitment

Jesus tells us “Greater love has no one than this, that to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Dear ones, bask in this immense love and share it with the world today!

 Quotes

“You have no idea the numbers of people that God may want to influence through you.”

“Everything is either caused by God or allowed by God. There is no third category.”

“This too shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone, but it’s gonna pass.”                 

Hope Despite the Quarantine

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.

Psalm 39:7

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

                          Psalm 42:11

Since the COVID-19 lockdown mid-March, I’ve seen a number of memes that resonate: “Quarantine day 1: I have enough food to last me weeks. Quarantine day 2: I’ve eaten all the food”; “Did a load of pajamas so I could have clean work clothes this week”; “Introverts, check on your extrovert friends. We know you’ve trained for this very moment and love it, but the extroverts are suffering!” There’s truth in that last one, but even as an introvert, I’m missing being in the middle of everything at work. Since my whole team has been working from home going on our fifth week now, I’ve set up weekly phone calls so that we can at least chat, in addition to weekly team building questions that range from the surface to more thought-provoking, and we have our first virtual happy hour using Zoom last week. It’s important to stay connected, not just for the productivity of the work, but also for the sanity of the team.

I’m also missing my church family. Again, as an introvert, there are a few times that are challenging for me when we’re all together—my yearning to run to the ladies’ room when we would pass the peace is not a reflection on you; it’s a reflection of a facet of my introversion. I promise! It’s a joy when we’re able to chat a little bit before the livestreaming of the worship service begins, and my heart sings when we all send the likes, loves, and happy emojis during the service.

This may be our new normal for the near future, and we’re all trying to make the best of it. We have come up with new ways to connect with each other; we have learned technologies that other churches had been using that were brand new to us. We now have a YouTube channel (innumerable thanks to Lori Grimes for setting that up)! We have pages on our website for positive distractions and resources for shopping and the like. We very quickly became an online church presence with our livestreaming and enhanced website pages. This crisis, though it may seem like it spoiled or delayed plans, may have actually ignited some technical advances for us! God is good!

What hasn’t changed, and never will, is the steadfast love of Almighty God. And it’s not just His love that won’t change, it’s Him—He will never change. He is immutable, our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  We take comfort and draw strength from the fact that none—absolutely none—of this is a surprise to Him. We don’t worry about if or how He’s going to “figure this stuff out”; it is part of His plan and He already knows how things are going to happen. We must simply do as David says in Psalm 91, and ‘say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”’ And His response?

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

What better comfort, what better promise is there than that? Whether through this new normal or the new normal to come, may we rest in the promise of His rescue and protection. Amen?

Prayer Requests

·      For healthcare workers who are giving up time with their families to tend to the nation’s ill

·      For government leaders at all levels

·      For us to understand the lesson in all of this

·      For first responders and their families

·      For us to be shine the joy of Resurrection Sunday, where Jesus triumphed over death!

Friends, He has you. He has us. Regardless of everything swirling around you, or even the lack of activity because of the lockdown, He is still on His throne, and He loves us very much. Dwell in the shelter of the Most High, and you’ll rest in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1).

 Quotes  

“Never let an earthly circumstance disable you spiritually.”

“While others are congratulating themselves, I have to sit humbly at the foot of the cross and marvel that I’m saved at all.”  - Charles Spurgeon

“Sometimes it isn’t about the answer to the prayer. Sometimes it’s more about what you learn while you’re waiting for the answer.”                

Freedom in the Chaos

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;

Proverbs 3:5

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.

                                    James 4:13-15

The last devotional I wrote was about the book of Habakkuk and God’s lesson to us about trusting in Him and not our circumstances. Realizing this, Habakkuk declares that despite all of the loss, he will yet rejoice in the Lord. A challenge to the believer, in two senses of the word: a call to take part in something like a contest or competition and also for some of us, a difficult undertaking. I shared that devotional the evening of March 18th; less than a week later I find myself faced with that challenge.   

My husband Don is a civil engineer. He has worked in the government and private sectors for most of his career, the latest at a small engineering firm in Boerne. Mid-March, the leaders called the company’s 60+ employees together and told them that there was going to be some belt-tightening due to the work stoppages because of COVID-19 and that layoffs may occur. Last week, my husband and some others were called into a room and given the bad news: they would receive a week’s pay as severance and health benefits through April.  

Don sent a terse text with the news and I won’t lie—I experienced an immediate sense of dread that stopped me cold. I honestly can’t remember what I was doing at the time – probably listening to some meeting at my desk at home, since I’m now working from home during this time – but I knew that I couldn’t wallow or worry, as I needed to call Don while he was driving home, and I needed to be as calm and collected and hopeful as the Lord would enable me to be.

The next morning as I spent time with Him, I cried just a little—not about the circumstance itself, but for my husband, for the pain he was feeling because of the layoff. He knows it wasn’t a personal thing against him; it’s just something that happened. The challenging thing is that he lost his job in the summer of 2018, so this happening 18 months after that was a bit too close for comfort and ego. But as I prayed to and with Him, and thanked Him, albeit weakly, for the trial, He led me to understand the freedom in the midst of all of this chaos. You see, despite our best efforts, I don’t know if anyone could have seen the impact that COVID-19 has had on not only on people’s health but also on the global economy. Who would have predicted, not even a month ago when we were hearing about everything happening in Wuhan, that businesses would be decimated and schools and church buildings emptied?  

And yet, therein lies the glory of the Lord. In my struggle to quell the need to try to figure things out and plan for the future or even the next week, and make myself crazy in analyzing, in Dr. Strange-like fashion, the hundreds of different outcomes to something over which I have no control, He showed me the folly at even trying. And I felt peace…and freedom. Peace because I wasn’t trying to figure things out, and such freedom because I couldn’t and did not have to. Sweet relief!   

I know that the Lord has us—and whatever is going to happen, it will all be all right. You see, the Lord doesn’t have to figure this stuff out—it just is, it just happens, He says it and there it is. There is comfort in knowing that He knows the outcome of all of this and is not surprised by any of it. There is security in the promise of that He will work good in all things for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. There is peace in the understanding that our ways are not His ways, and our thoughts are not His thoughts.

He is God, and I am not. Praise be to His holy and beautiful name!

Prayer Requests

·      For those working tirelessly in search of a cure, testing, vaccinations and the like, all because of this virus

·      For us a nation and a world to repent from our dark and foolish ways and turn to Him

·      For the victims of domestic violence, of which we have seen an uptick in due to the economic impacts of COVID-19

·      For us to realize that even though we are not able to meet in person, we are the church, wherever we are, and to whomever we meet

Most assuredly, I declare that regardless of what happens with his job, with the economy, with my job, our health – we will be fine. The Lord has us. He will use this current bump to grow me and my witness, and He will be glorified.  

 Quotes

“Worship will get you through the roughest times in your life, because it shifts your focus from the problem to the problem solver.”

“A person who is hungry for God will seek His presence every day, not just on Sunday.”               

P.S.

• I’ve created a new COVID-19 resource page on the website where we’ll make updates and share information as things happen. This one is different than the one I sent out last time.

• Please share feedback on how the live streaming of the worship service has been. Please know that we plan on having Pastor Wayne wear a wireless headset microphone as soon as we can get it to him, so that folks will be able to hear him better. Shout out to Kenny Williams for buying it!

Yet I Will Rejoice

Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

I read the book of Habakkuk a couple of months ago and was drawn to its message and applicability from when it was written (likely sometime between 609-598 BC) to now. I knew immediately that there was a devotional, and perhaps even a sermon(!) from reading this book; the only thing in question was when?

If you haven’t read Habakkuk, I invite you to read its three chapters. Until then, allow me to boil it down for you: Habakkuk was a minor prophet who questioned God about the presence of evil throughout the land of Judah (his people) and God’s apparent silence and lack of action in response to this evil. In fact, the second verse of the first book reads

“O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save…For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore, the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore, perverse judgment proceeds”

Wicked things are going on all around Habakkuk and he doesn’t understand why the Lord hasn’t done anything about it. When the Lord tells Habakkuk that He would soon send the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to mete out justice upon the wicked in Judah, Habakkuk’s response is one of protest, lamenting that God’s act of judgment upon Judah (the punishment) is worse than the evil acts Judah was partaking in (the crime). God shares with Habakkuk that although He will use the evil Chaldeans, He will eventually destroy them. The Lord gives Habakkuk a vision to share with Judah of the pending judgment and disaster, changing Habakkuk’s outlook from doubt and worry to that of faith and praise. The vision is terrifying but magnifies the glory of the Lord throughout the natural world. It demonstrated that the Lord is in control, and that Habakkuk’s faith, like ours, needed to be placed in the Lord instead of his circumstances.

Habakkuk closes chapter 3 with one of the most comforting, declarative, and inspiring verses, demonstrating that as believers, we can know joy in the midst of desolation and darkness. He declares that he will rejoice in the Lord despite the barren fig trees, lack of food, and empty stall. Circumstances change—our world right now is evidence of it—but God is immutable. He never changes. Habakkuk realized, as so should we, that faith need not be in the circumstances—but in the One who is greater than them all.

In what or whom do you rejoice? In what or whom do you place your faith? The obvious answer, of course, is the Lord, as this is a Christian devotional. But I urge you to examine your heart and be thoughtful about your response. There’s no judgment here, I promise. In times like these, with the unprecedented rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, toilet-paper hoarding and hand-sanitizer stockpiling run rampant, worry about the global economy because of the impacts of travel bans and restaurant closures, it can be difficult to not worry, or even panic, especially when the impact could hit so close to home, either in sickness, loss of employment, impact to one’s investments, and the like. Many times, when things are beyond our understanding and seem to be happening to us, our immediate response is to act on those things that we think we can control, and put our faith in our abilities and material goods (finances and the like). We tend to trust more in ourselves and less in the Lord. It is a natural, human, understandable response.

However…God controls the circumstances. He may let us think that we can impact them, but we know that He is greater than our circumstances. Habakkuk realized this, and praised God. God’s majesty and glory are increased when we acknowledge Him for His sovereignty and power.  

Prayer Requests

·      For comfort and healing for those who are contract the COVID-19 virus

·      For health-care workers in their tireless service

·      For the children in abusive families for whom the now-closed school was a welcome and needed escape

·      For those in society who are most impacted by the suspension of visitations—people in nursing and rest homes, prisons, hospitals

Dear ones, God is still on His throne. Whether you think we are in the end times or in a “this too shall pass” time, He is still in control. Our response is to have faith in Him, and to be obedient to His leading.

 Quotes

“Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes He lets the storm rage and He calms His child.”

“Somebody, somewhere is depending on you to do what God has called you to do.”           

P.S. I’ve created a special COVID-19 page on the website where we’ll make updates and share information as things happen. I’m also hoping to have a link to the livestream of our church services as they happen on that page as well. #NotAShamelessPlug J

Dear Younger Me

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

I recently heard the song “Letter to Me” by Brad Paisley, in which the singer-songwriter talks about writing a letter to his younger self, sharing wisdom and hope learned in hindsight of teenage heartache and youthful experiences. The song ends with “I wish you wouldn’t worry/Let it be/I’d say have a little faith/And you’ll see…” Hearing that song was an interesting coincidence, as the earworm I’ve had in my head since the MercyMe concert has been “Dear Younger Me”, a song written in the same vein, but the knowledge of the background of the song makes it that much more meaningful. You see, a friend of lead singer Bart Millard’s happens to be a professional athlete who fell in love with baseball because he was abused by babysitters as a child, and he chose baseball because he said that it [the baseball field] was the one place they [the babysitters] couldn’t get to. When Millard heard that in a television interview, he texted him these words, which he then turned into the lyrics of an extremely moving song:

If I knew then what I know now/Condemnation would have no power /My joy and pain would never be my worth/If I knew then what I knew now/It wouldn’t be hard to figure out/What I would’ve changed/If I had heard “Dear younger me, it’s not your fault/You were never meant to carry this beyond the cross.”

Millard knew of which he wrote, because his father was horribly abusive to him when Millard was a child.

I have known people who have defined themselves by the things that happened to them or by the mistakes they made earlier in life (or, like me, both). They struggle to overcome the shame and pain, and the enemy’s reminders of past hurts and failures keep many people a prisoner to their past, their perceived worth non-existent.

I’ve also known people, brothers and sisters in Christ, who have experienced the same type of trauma but who have been able to see their worth only in the imputed righteousness of our Savior. Some have expressed regret in having gone through the experiences that they did, either by their own hand or by others’, while others have expressed remorse about the time it took them to come to know Christ, feeling guilty about the perceived loss of time in accomplishing Kingdom work.

Friends, hear me now: what you have experienced is all part of God’s plan—the good (God be praised!), the seemingly bad (God be thanked for those trials), and what seems to be the ugly (remember Paul’s words to the Corinthians: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” 2 Corinthians 4:17). The experiences that you went through made you who are you, and positioned you in such a way that you could be a witness to others—those who have experienced what we have—to help them through their trials. Paul points this out to the Corinthians: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Some of you need to know that the things that happened to you when you were younger are simply not your fault, and I beg you to not let anyone (least of all yourself!) tell you otherwise.

Some of you need to know that you are not defined by your bad choices and mistakes—that you are defined as a child of God and so desperately loved by Almighty God.

Some of you need to know that your salvation moment was on God’s timeline, not yours, and that you weren’t ready to accept Christ as your savior until that moment you did.

Let the Holy Spirit work on your heart to enable you to accept the things that I just wrote. The Lord Jesus has ransomed you, snatching you away from the grip of eternal damnation and declared your worth. The Creator of the universe has forgiven you—now it’s time to forgive yourself. The Prince of Peace loves you—now it’s time to love and value yourself, not for what you are or what you have done but for what He has done.

Prayer Requests

·      Comfort and encouragement for those who are caregivers

·      For law enforcement and first responders

·      For those in military service and for their families

·      For us to share the love of Jesus with this broken world 

Dear ones, I don’t want anyone to think that God is mean-spirited and that His plans are to throw trials and tribulations your way, that He causes things to happen and you’re just at the whim of His capriciousness. That is simply not the case. God does not cause bad things to happen to us, but He does sometimes allow those things to occur because He can use them later to bring you or someone else closer to Himself.  

 Quotes

“You are holy, You are righteous, You are one of the redeemed, Set apart, a brand new heart, You are free indeed.”  -- MercyMe from “Dear Younger Me”

 “We’ve made loving people a lot more complicated than Jesus did.”                                     

Like a Roaring Lion

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:11-12

My husband and I recently got the Ring video doorbell and alarm system. It has an app that you can use to enable and disable the alarm, receive notices when someone is at your front door, and even talk to people at the front door. It’s pretty nifty and I’m glad that we got it. But it also has this pesky feature in which I get notifications of “nearby incidents”—vehicle thefts and break-ins, home burglaries, gunshots (that last incident turned out to be fireworks but still), and the like—anything within a 2.5-mile radius of my home in Stone Oak. I didn’t realize all of the things that are happening way too close to my home – too close for comfort—but now I do. I don’t think I want to know, to be honest—ignorance truly was bliss. Oh, I knew that crime happened, and I’m not naïve enough to think it couldn’t happen within the Stone Oak area, but to know that a vehicle was stolen not too far from my neighborhood last week and that a couple of houses were broken into is unsettling. I reckon I could turn off these notifications, but I don’t think I will. They provide valuable information—information that I can use to increase awareness of my surroundings and mitigate my risk of being a victim. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.

This same concept applies to the work of the enemy. Peter tells us to be alert and of sober mind, for the devil prowls like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. We cannot ignore the threat of his presence by either denying his existence, or by attempting to live our lives under the proverbial radar, hoping to slip past his gaze, not daring to call attention to ourselves. No! I’m sorry if I am the one to tell you but he is real, he is deceptive and a liar. We play right into his hands, also, if we live our lives in such a non-threatening way that we aren’t even a blip on his radar. We cannot, if we are truly children of the living King, compromise on our duty to share the gospel with the unbelieving world.  

James, Peter, and Paul provide us the knowledge we need with respect to the enemy. James tells us to submit ourselves to God, and to resist the enemy and he will flee from us. Peter tells us to resist him and stand firm in the faith. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians equips us with the tools we need in the full armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the readiness of peace, shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We needn’t be afraid of the enemy, for “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” We just need to be aware of his existence, and walk with the Lord, holding on to His hand for assurance. The enemy may try to do his worst, and it won’t be pleasant, but we need to remember that he is limited by our God. The enemy cannot take away your salvation or the love of the Father. So walk proudly into this broken world and share the gospel, fearing no one. The Lord’s plans will not be hindered by what the enemy does. 

Prayer Requests

·      Gratitude for all that the Lord has done for us

·      Blessings on Ray, Wayne, George, and Carlos

·      Healing for the who are sick, in accordance to His will, peace for those concerned about Coronavirus, and strength for those treating the sick and infirm

·      For us to be the church wherever we are

Friends, don’t we serve an absolutely awesome God? He will never leave us or forsake us. He wants us to be bold and know of His presence always.

 Quotes

 “When God designed the plan for your life, it wasn’t dependent on you being perfect. Your mistakes are not a surprise to Him.”

“If you’re breathing, you matter, because you matter to the One who gave you breath.”                                            

Shepherds

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

Hebrews 13:17

“Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”

                                            Hebrews 12:28

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

                                                             Exodus 17:11-12

Like I shared in last week’s devotional, friends and I saw MercyMe in concert the 17th of February. It was a fantastic evening full of praise and worship of our Lord, with much joy and admittedly, some tears. Their songs move and touch me so deeply. In introducing one of their songs, Even If, Bart Millard, the band’s lead singer, shared the story of his oldest son having juvenile diabetes and the struggles that he as a father has had seeing his child suffer through major health issues. He spoke of the challenges he’s had to stay positive and inspire concert-goers and witness to people, knowing all along that the Lord could deliver his son from this sickness if He so chose to do so. In fact, the lyrics exemplify this challenge:

         I’ve stood on this stage night after night/Reminding the broken

         It’ll be all right/But right now, oh right now I just can’t

And

         They say it only takes a little faith/To move a mountain

         Well, good thing/A little faith is all I have, right now

         But God, when You choose/To leave mountains unmovable

         Oh, give me the strength to be able to sing/It is well with my     

         soul

I can’t fathom the number of times he has willed himself to sing even though his heart is breaking or his faith is shaken. Although Millard is not a pastor, he is still leading worship and seeking to glorify God in his music. His music is his ministry, and he and his band members need to be remembered in our prayers for all that they are trying to accomplish for the Kingdom.

Similarly, and closer to home, pastors carry a large load on their shoulders as well. It cannot be easy, Sunday after Sunday, to consistently deliver His message when life’s struggles and the enemy’s attacks can distract and threaten to undermine. Pastors and other church leaders are not immune to the slings and arrows the enemy launches, some coming through challenging interactions with people in their congregations and yet others, through their own self-doubt and pity (note, I am painting with a broad brush and generalizing—neither Ray nor Wayne have ever mentioned anything to me about this at all, I promise). If I’m upset with my husband but have to buy a birthday or Valentine’s Day card for him, I struggle because the meaning of the card needs to be sincere—I cannot buy a card just because it’s a card with a pithy message—can’t get one that is all lovey dovey if that is not what I am feeling at the time. It feels disingenuous (the silly thing is—I’m the only one who knows this). I know how challenging it would be to preach a message during a time in which I were in a valley, or had a diminished amount of faith. (I’ll preempt what you may be thinking here—maybe that’s why I’m not up there preaching every week! God sure knows what He is doing, keeping me in the pews, hmmm?)

Here’s where you and I come in, friend. We pray. We pray for our pastors and leaders in the church. We pray for missionaries, itinerant preachers, evangelists, elders—whether we know them or not. For our own pastors, we come up alongside of them, arms out to hug, to lift up, to hold up the proverbial arms of those He set before us as pastors and leaders. We remind them that God is in the valleys as well as the mountaintops. We love on them, knowing they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We become Christ’s hands and feet to them, comforting, helping, all the while demonstrating God’s love to the bod of Christ.

Prayer Requests

·      For our pastors and lay leaders in Stone Oak Church

·      For our hearts to be prepared for Lent, starting this Ash Wednesday

·      For government authorities and leaders at all levels

·      For God to be glorified in all that we do

According to an interview I read about the hit Even If, Millard mentions that “Even If is a reminder to people in difficult situations that don’t seem to go away. God was worthy long before any of those circumstances even showed up. This song is a declaration to God that even if He went silent and never said another word, He’s still worthy to be praised and that He’s our greatest hope in the midst of the trial.”

Amen!

 Quotes

“Speak the biblical truth, even if it doesn’t meet the approval of the culture.”            

“Mountaintops are for views and inspirations, but fruit is grown in the valleys.”           

-- Billy Graham                                                

This So-Called Love

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

John 17:3

I went with some friends to the MercyMe concert this past Sunday—it was a fantastic concert! David Leonard (a new band) and Jeremy Camp performed as well. The music started at 7:00 p.m. and MercyMe came on at 9:00—I did not get home and into bed until midnight. Needless to say, I was quite tired the next morning. Rejuvenated and joyous Sunday night; my you-know-what dragging all day Monday. Since the concert, I’ve been listening to MercyMe through my iPhone in my car and working out—I had simply forgotten the beauty of their music and the truth of their lyrics.

There is one small song in their 2010 album The Generous Mr. Lovewell that seems almost an afterthought. At 1:36 minutes, it’s a short song, slow in nature, but simple in message. Entitled This So-Called Love, its lyrics are as such:

I can be there for you when it can't get much harder
I can cover your head when life starts to rain
I can hold on tight when it feels like you're falling
I can bread-crumb the path when you've lost your way
I can make you laugh when the whole world is crying

I can build you up when you're broken in shame
But if all that we do is absent of Jesus
Then this "so called" love is completely in vain

Y’all, this song was the last song I heard as I drove to my parking space this morning, eyes thick with tears. It has been one of those weeks/months—major change happening in key pillars of my life—and the Lord and I chatted about it while I waited in a traffic jam on my way to work. I was primed and susceptible to the emotions that threatened to overwhelm me, even though I know for a fact that the Lord has everything and that He would give me the peace I was so desperately asking for, if I just set back a bit and rested in Him. Struggling to get it together so that I didn’t look like a blithering idiot to the security guard checking my badge and waving me in, I was safe until the song came on. It’s a slow song, one that speaks of closeness, friendship, and security…until the end of the song, where the lyrics take that promise and shatter it with the Truth.

Friends, it’s not enough for us to love as the world loves. It’s not enough for us to do good works, and give money to outreach and mission work without sharing the love of Christ, or without Christ being the reason that we do what we do. Atheists and those from other religions can do good works. They can address the needs of the infirm, poor, imprisoned, and lonely. And they can love. But it is the works of believers, though, those who love because He first loved us, that are meaningful and lasting. When Christ-followers demonstrate the same love that Christ did when He died for our sins, God is glorified and people have the opportunity to not only have their needs met, but their hearts and value affirmed as well. When we are instruments of God’s love, we partner with Him for the eternal well-being of the person who is the lucky recipient of this wonderful attention. That person experiences an amazing blessing, and we too, are blessed.

Prayer Requests

·      For the discernment of His presence as we walk through the storms

·      Blessings on Pastor Ray and April as we prepare to transition pastors

·      For those who are ill, and for their caretakers

·      For us to be the church wherever we are

People need to know the love of Christ, y’all—it’s that simple.  “Agapetoi agapomen”—Greek for “those who are loved, let us love” or “Belovd, let us love one another”.

 Quotes

“Not everything that weighs you down is yours to carry.”

“The only One who can truly satisfy the human heart is the One who made it.”                                               

Worship

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

John 4:23-24

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” 

                                            Hebrews 12:28

Remember back in elementary school when you learned about the water cycle—how condensation in the clouds saturated the clouds to the point where precipitation would fall into lakes, streams, rivers, and the like (collection), and then through the process of evaporation, water droplets or condensation formed in the clouds, and the process starts again? That process came to mind when I was mulling over a statement I’d heard ascribed to Louie Giglio:  “Worship is simply giving God His breath back.” Think about it—because God pours out His love and grace on us, we receive it and (ideally) share it, and simply and sometimes sacrificially offer up thanks for His blessings in praise and a declaration of His honor and reverence in worship. We rightly acknowledge His majesty, and He blesses us. Love rains down; praise goes up. It starts and ends with Him.

There is much talk these days of “praise and worship” being experiences that we consume as church goers. Megachurches have been accused of using praise bands and fog machines to affect an emotional response from the people attending, and that can be dangerous. Churches have split over changes to the worship services, while others modify and tailor the atmosphere to attract seekers and grow their congregations.

But the focus is all wrong—worship is not about the church goer. Notice in my example above—God is the one who initiates the process by pouring out His love on us and He is the recipient of our worship. He is the focus. Worship in Hebrew is Shachah, which means to prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage or royalty to God)—bow down, crouch, fall down (flat). In the Greek, worship is “Proskynō”, which has a similar definition but also conveys “kissing the hand of one who is revered.” Worship occurs when we acknowledge the greatness, majesty, sovereignty, and holiness of Almighty God in communion with Him. Praise and prayer are the media by which we do this; worship is the outcome.

Please don’t get me wrong—as part of the Worship committee/team, I want to be responsive to your requests with respect to the service. I understand that if there is something that is being done within the service that bugs the heck out of you, you might be less motivated to come to the service, or if you do, to get all that you can out of it—I don’t want that. If there is something that we can change up that does not detract from the primary reason we are in church (to worship Him), then by all means, we can try it. But the primary purpose of our worship is to declare, publicly and privately, that He is the source of love in our lives.

I read the story of how songwriter, singer, and worship leader Matt Redman’s song “The Heart of Worship” came to be. It was the late 1990s and the congregation was struggling to find its meaning despite the music and interaction within the services. “The pastor discerned that something was missing, and did a brave thing,” Matt shared. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for just a season, and we gathered together with our just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.” The pastor challenged the congregation with this question, reminding them to be producers in worship, not just consumers, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?” What developed in Redman’s songwriting mind were the lyrics to “The Heart of Worship”:

         When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come/

         Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless

         Your heart/I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all

         About You, Jesus..

 What about you? What will you bring as your offering to God this Sunday?

Prayer Requests

·      For discernment and trust to all who walk with Him

·      For protection and blessing of our pastors and church leaders

·      Praise for the rain!

·      For us to be the church wherever we are

Friends, we praise and love because He first loved us. He is the source, and may our words and actions reflect that.

 Quotes

“I believe churches are meant for praising God. But so are 2:00 a.m. car rides, showers, coffee shops, the gym, conversations with friends, strangers, etc. Don’t let a building confine your faith because we will never change the world by just going to church—we need to be the church.”    (Twitter)

“Rest tonight knowing that whatever is on your mind is in God’s hands.”      

Value and Self-Worth

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Isaiah 43:1

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14

My coworkers and I were talking about family dynamics, birth order, and personalities the other day. Even though I am the oldest (out of me and my sister), some of my personality characteristics are atypical for a firstborn. While I am hard-working and responsible, I am also a people pleaser and empathetic. On one hand, I am committed and aspire to excellence, but on the other hand, I can also be fairly insecure and wound easily. My skin is too thin, and my heart has taken up residence on my sleeve. My people-pleaser nature makes me a great target for being overly concerned about what others think of me. Said nature also lends itself to de-escalating (or even preempting) conflict, as I am loath to experience it, probably for reasons stated above. (I feel that I should caveat some of this with the statement that I am more apt to (respectfully) challenge or (lovingly) confront if I know you better, and trust that you know my heart and motivation. But even then, my insecurities can still get the better of me).

Such has been my life and outlook for almost all of my life. It wasn’t until maybe last month after some diligent self-examination of my reaction to a particularly challenging interaction at work that I realized that my self-worth should not rest in anyone else’s opinion of me—that the Almighty Lord loved me enough to send His son to die on a cross for me, and that the love that Jesus has for me enabled Him to suffer and sacrifice Himself for me, in obedience to the Father. I realized that I had the ability to actively change and choose the source of the validation I needed—His was the only voice whose tones and opinions mattered. Since it was His breath that gave me life, it should be only His words that define my worth. In a world full of noisy gongs and clanging cymbals, it is the melodious tones of my Creator singing over me that declare my value.

I can’t convey to you how liberating this is! I can actually feel my skin growing thicker by the minute and my heart is packing up its stuff, getting ready to move off of my sleeve! I am now apathetic to what everyone thinks now. Just kidding—I’m the same person I was before, but I’m not, you know? It’s liberating and at the same time, calming, because I don’t have to fret and overthink about what I said and the way I said it, what the other person meant by what they said and the tone they used, and so on, ad nauseum. My Savior loves me, and I am the daughter of the King.

Prayer Requests

·      For our government leaders at all levels of authority

·      For China, and those impacted by the coronavirus

·      For the Lord to be glorified in all that we think, say, and do

·      For His will and our discernment of it

Friends, may you bask in the goodness of His grace, secure in the knowledge of His love for you.

 Quotes

“God knows the when, the where, the why, and the how. So show up, do your part, and then let go and trust Him to do the rest.”                        

“People may have us because of Jesus, but they should never hate Jesus because of us. The way we treat others should lead them to only one conclusion: “If this is how Jesus loves, then I’m in.”                                                                            -Jen Hatmaker

Not Exactly How We Thought It Would Be

 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

Acts 9:15

“King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.

                                            Acts 26:27-29

I’ve recently just finished reading the book of Acts. I’ve read Acts many times, but I always learn something new each time I do, and I am so thankful to the Holy Spirit’s work in that. I give Him credit, also, for turning me on to Enduring Word, a commentary done by Pastor David Guzik that is available in an app that I listen to in the car or when I work out.

It was while reading Guzik’s commentary on chapter 26 that I was inspired to write this devotional. The setting in here is that Paul, accused and hated by the Jews because of his preaching and testimony regarding God’s message for the Gentiles that sparked a riot amongst the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, stands before King Agrippa in Caesarea. Through a right provided by his Roman citizenship, Paul has appealed to Caesar, to be tried before his tribunal, and along the way has reiterated his testimony and preached Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected to a number of Roman statesmen and dignitaries. It is also with King Agrippa that Paul shares not only his dramatic past and conversion story but also the message about Christ’s suffering and resurrection, proclaiming “light both to our people (Jews) and to the Gentiles.” Agrippa, after being pointedly questioned by Paul, tells him, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” (It sounds a bit more emphatic in the NKJV: “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”)

Paul is witnessing to the king, just as Jesus told Ananias Paul would. Only the route he took to get there was probably not the way he would’ve originally envisioned it. Truth be told, were I Paul, and were I told that I would appear before kings to preach the good news and name of Jesus, my first thought would be, “An audience with kings and other dignitaries—what an opportunity! It may take some coordination, connections, and string-pulling, but what an honor and great thing this will be.” I would endeavor to not allow pride to kick in, but knowing who I am, I fear I might lose that battle slightly. I don’t think I’d break my arm patting my shoulder, but I can see my head getting maybe a wee bit larger.

But the route Paul takes to get an audience with kings is quite different. Instead of preaching circuits in fine linens and horse-drawn chariots, with fine dining and drink, rubbing elbows with politicians and royalty, Paul, up to this point, has endured stoning, lashings, imprisonment, beatings, and plots to kill him. After he witnesses to the King and his entourage, Paul will face horrible storms while sailing, being shipwrecked, a snakebite, and further imprisonment in Rome.

Not necessarily the path one would want to be on, pre- or post-kingly visit, wouldn’t you agree? Oh, but it was a path put together by the Lord, one punctuated with its trials and sufferings as well as its highs of miracles (the earthquake that occurred while Paul and Silas were in prison as well as Paul’s handkerchiefs and aprons being used to heal and exorcise), successful evangelization throughout Asia, and as we read at the end of Acts, “preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.”

May we aspire to be obedient like Paul, knowing that although the plans the Lord has for us may not jive with how we thought things would go or turn out, He is sovereign and righteous.

Prayer Requests

·      For the lost who desperately need to know the love of Jesus Christ

·      For our hearts to be open to the nudging of the Holy Spirit in all things

·      For us to be Jesus to this broken world

·      For our pastors and lay leadership

Let’s open ourselves up to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and seek the plans that the Lord has for us, sooner rather than later. Let us put away preconceived notions on what we thought Christianity would be like – it can be messy, involved, heavy, challenging, and scary, but it can be oh so rewarding if we rely on Him and obey.

 Quotes

“When thoughts bombard your mind saying, “Who do you think you are?” Just smile and say, “a child of the most high God!”     

“It’s not the load that breaks you down; it’s the way that you carry it.”                                              

He’s Got It All Figured Out

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Sometimes when my older son Greg comes over on Sunday and Troy isn’t working, we’ll play card games—Tripoley, Texas Hold ‘Em (yes, I know I don’t have a poker face but I’m working on it!), as well as a board game like The Settlers of Catan. If you’re not aware of this game, it’s a strategy game in which players collect resources (sheep, iron, wheat, etc) and use them to build roads, settlements, and cities. I was at a bit of a disadvantage since Troy and Greg had played it prior to the three of us playing it together, and that disadvantage grew the more we played. I believe I ended up winning that game, however, because Greg and Troy played against each other, taking the other out, leaving me winning, and not fully understanding how nor why. A win’s a win, though, so I took it.

You see, I am not strategy minded. I’m not a visionary or a “big picture” kind of person. Sure, I can take a vision and map out how to execute to said vision, but coming up with the vision itself? Not my forte. I’ve never played chess or dabbled in office politics, as I lack the ability to anticipate the moves people will make—I’d always be like three to four steps behind.

Fortunately for me and those like me, when it comes to understanding what the future holds and how we each fit into it, we are in such a blissful state because we don’t have to figure it out--the Lord has it all laid out already. He has a plan; He already knows the part we will play in it, and the degree to which we will play. In fact, He doesn’t even need to “figure it out”; He simply knows how it will all play out.

How cool and liberating is that? When we are faced with surprising and upending news, and the few options our brains can generate leave us shaken, we can rest in the assurance that He has a plan. When we feel like life throws us the proverbial curve ball and the path that we knew in our heart of hearts the Lord brought us to closes and another path arrives, we can be confident that despite seeming like a really bad thing, the change in direction can be just what the Lord wanted to happen, and that He is moving us on to different things—things that perhaps we would have never thought of.

Y’all, the Lord is in our yesterdays and in our tomorrows. He will never forsake us. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Our inability to see the next three to four chess moves doesn’t negate our responsibility to be obedient to His leading. No, we trust in Him, praying for peace, discernment, and obedience to His will. Easier said than done, I admit, but necessary for our spiritual growth and discipline.

Prayer Requests

·      For the friends and family of Billie Dees, beloved church member who passed away last week

·      For the tragedy happening in Australia with the fires and loss of life

·      For those struggling with self-worth, depression, addictions

·      For His will to be done in our church

My dear friend, I’m not trying to trivialize your anxiety or worry. I’m merely reminding you that the creator of the earth, moon, heavens, and you has a plan for you. He hasn’t brought you this far to simply abandon you—I promise. He loves you overwhelmingly.

Quotes

“You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman.”    - Max Lucado                                    

“If your Christianity depends upon a pastor’s preaching, then you’re a long way from being where you should be.”   -- A. W. Tozer