Devotions For Real Life

God moments, lessons learned, and hope for the journey

Look for a new post every Sunday. My hope is you find encouragement, wisdom for real life moments, and share them with others who may benefit from any of the posts.

  • Every Good and Perfect Gift…

    Every good and perfect gift is from the Lord. Literally, every one of them is what that statement means. Do you believe it? Have you even contemplated it before?

    I was reading a devotion, and it asked the question “what can you thank God for today?” I paused at the question and really thought about what I was thankful for. Thoughts of home, family, and my job ran through my mind.  Basically, all of the provisions I have received and all of the people that God has placed into my life I am so grateful for. I realize that the answer to the question what I have to be thankful for was everything. However, the focus should not be so much on what I was thankful for, but it should instead be on who provided it, who supplied it. Who am I thankful to? That’s the real question. 

    It’s important to acknowledge that God and God alone is the source of all goodness and blessings in our lives. For me personally he has provided everything I need: a body to work, a mind to understand, a support system through the community of faith to encourage me, and a job to provide for the things that I need.  Everything I require for life he has given. 

    God has given his spirit to me to guide me and comfort me. He gave me brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage me and instruct me. His word he provided as a lamp to my feet and a light to my path and encouragement on hard days. Everything I need for godliness God has also supplied to me in great measure.

    Additionally, the beauty in the world around me has all been created by our wonderful maker. Sunrises, sunsets, natures glorious beauty, it’s majestic scenes and wondrous views, the vast and wondrous expanse of the heavens, and the endless mysteries of our natural world. All these he has given to you and to me. This majesty, beauty, and wonder all provided by God for our pleasure and enjoyment.

    Great joys, simple joys, expected blessings, unexpected blessings, hope to endure, his presence in times of trouble, his faithful love and always his enduring grace. All these things so richly given by God to you and to me!

    Everything good and perfect and I mean everything, he deserves all the glory and praise for providing it all. It’s not really about what we have to be thankful for. It’s more important that we realize who we have to thank for so many blessings. So today, I challenge you to stop and thank God again. My hope is that you would be able to recognize who your source is, recognize that he provides everything you need for your life, godliness, and faithful discipleship. God is truly our source.” Every good and perfect gift is from the Lord.” I pray that God opens your eyes and reveals this amazing truth to you in a new way today.

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  • Counting the Cost…

    I raked my yard with my son. My boys had gone out previously and piled up the leaves into large piles. There were so many leaves. While bagging up the leaves my son said maybe it would be better if we did not have the trees or maybe if we only had one tree so we would have less leaves. He thought that these trees and having them came with a price that he wasn’t sure he wanted to pay. The upkeep, the raking, the gathering of the seemingly millions of acorns and leaves that had fallen was just too much.

    Looking at him in all seriousness I smiled. Yes, the tree came with a cost of the work to upkeep the trees but without the trees we would not have all the amazing shade. The shade that provides relief from the Florida heat that we live in. Not only does it keep people cooler, but it also extends over the house a bit so my electricity bill is not as high as it could be. The shade is just one of the benefits of the tree. There’s another benefit.  My room is at the front of the house, and I sit in my room and have a wonderful view of that beautiful tree. Life is abundant in my tree. Birds flit through the trees, sing beautiful songs, and showing off the wonderful variety of their colors.  Squirrels frolic and play and gather those millions of acorns. They chase each other and remind me of simple joy and fun. It has personally brought me so much joy watching the various animals in my tree especially on long workdays when I get to look up and see that beautiful view. During the hurricane I watched the most captivating show as my tree danced, bent, and endured the fierce winds. It was something beautiful to behold. If I didn’t have the tree I may very well never have to rake or do any upkeep, but I would lose more than I would gain. The benefits definitely outweigh what it costs to maintain it. My conclusion was that the cost of the work to maintain the tree was one I was willing to pay and that’s what I told my son.

    Being a disciple of Christ also has a cost. According to Luke 9 we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow him. We are called in Colossians to die to ourselves, to put to death our earthly lusts. We are to love Christ above all others. Jesus even said in a parable in Luke 14” suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish’ or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with 10,000 men to oppose the one coming against him with 20,000? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and ask them for terms of peace. In the same way those of you who do not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciples.”  

    My question to you today is have you considered the cost of discipleship. What’s the cost you may ask? It is giving up your life as it is and submitting your will to his will and way. His gift of salvation is free. You have done nothing to earn the forgiveness that Jesus has richly given you. Yet to truly be his disciple you will have to understand that there is a cost. But just as there is a cost there is a benefit. There’s several actually. Eternal life, freedom from sin, spiritual favor and blessings in your life, strength, guidance and comfort from the Holy Spirit, and the development of your character as you walk with the Lord. There are countless benefits to being a disciple of Christ. Yes, your salvation was free, yet your walk with the Lord Is work and the full submission of yourself to God which requires something of you. That’s no easy thing and it will cost you something, but in return you will receive many blessings. The choice is yours. You have to decide if the cost is worth the benefit. You have to decide if you are willing to do what needs to be done to be a true disciple of Jesus.

    I’m not cutting down my tree and I’m not giving up my relationship with God. The work and the cost are well worth it to me. I challenge you today to consider the cost. Are you going to pay it? Or are you going to cut down the trees? Only you can decide. Know that the God who knows your heart knows your choice. So, choose today!

  • Simple joys

    I want you to stop and think of simple moments of pure joy that you’ve experienced. They come often and in many forms in our lives. Most of our joys come to us in this unexpected way. They’re simple, unassuming, and unplanned moments.

    Have you thought of a few? I have. For example, seeing 2 squirrels frolicking in the tree outside my bedroom window when I look up from my work during the day. Or the beautiful colors painted across the sky in a sunrise. What about the smell of salt in the air at the beach or the feel of the sand between my toes. Perhaps even the moments of looking into the eyes of my children and holding their hands sharing love and affection. Another such moment is hearing the sweet sound of my mother’s voice. Also, feeling the warm embrace of a dear friend or receiving a smile of encouragement from a loved one. Simple things, small things, that may matter nothing to anyone else but me. Yet they bring such great joy when they are multiplied and added together. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you have no joys because there isn’t just one great joy. The truth is, you have a thousand small and simple joys if you would only stop to notice.

    I pray today you will have your eyes open to see all the joys, the simple and big ones alike, that are waiting to be perceived and received.  “May the God of hope fill you with all joy (simple or otherwise) and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

  • Emptied

    I feel so empty. I have heard that so many times, and many times I have felt that. But being empty is not such a bad thing. I’d rather be empty than full of despair, anger, sadness, selfishness, or even contemptuous pride. Better empty than full of ills. All those listed above are soul sicknesses and they will lead to the corruption or destruction of the vessel that contains them. Better empty than full of bitterness. 

    At least when I’m empty there’s space. Space for Jesus to pour his healing balm into my soul. Space for new hope and enduring faith. Space to breathe life and his spirit into an empty vessel ready to be filled. So, if you’re there, empty, at your lowest try to remember, you can’t get any emptier. 

    Know that the space created can then be filled.  God through his mercies can pour into it so many good things. Be careful though, in the empty state to not become hard of heart. Don’t become brittle, stay soft so when he does pour into you, you won’t break. Instead, you’ll only fill up with goodness. Just think, maybe you were empty just so you could be filled up again, but this time with him.

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  • The Hardest thing to do…

    Why is the right thing always the hardest thing to do? That’s what I asked my friend today. I had to make the right choice, but it was also the most difficult choice and one I had been running from.

    There will be times in your walk with the Lord when he speaks to you, and you feel the nudging of the Holy Spirit to let go of something or perhaps to take something up. We don’t always fall into line. Sometimes we ignore the voice or the urging because we don’t want to hear the message, we don’t like it, or we don’t agree with it. Times when our will is very different from the Lord’s will which has been made clear in scripture and through the Holy Spirit.  I know, I know, you want to say that you would never ignore God, but let’s be honest with ourselves, all of us have. We have ignored not only as believers.  We learned it as children, not wanting to hear what our parents have to say to us or as adults at work pretending, we didn’t hear something our boss said or maybe lost the email.  We do this with God also. With the God of the entire universe we stand there with our fingers in our ears saying I can’t hear you. Shutting off our hearts and minds to what he is so clearly telling us. He must laugh at the ridiculousness of humans. At the audacity of mankind, that when we can so clearly hear him, we so willfully choose to ignore him. 

    Is it really hearing if you don’t receive the message and respond? Perhaps that’s why there’s a difference between hearing and listening. If I hear I receive the sound but if I listen, then I respond to that sound. So, what is required of us is more than hearing a message from the Lord or feeling a prompting from the Holy Spirit. We are not required to hear only; we are required to listen and do. 

    In James 1 scripture declares “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

    So how does the Lord know that we are listening to him? It’s simple, he looks at our actions to see if we’re doing what he’s told us to do, if we are responding to the message that he’s given us and making moves through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our actions show we are listening.

    I understand that most of the time the things that God requires don’t feel difficult and so listening and doing is easy. But there are times, times like I experienced today when the right thing to do, that thing I know that God wants me to do, that his word is in alignment with is not easy. No, it’s the hardest thing to do but it is what must be done. So, I finally did it. After fighting with God for months and trying it my way I submitted at last. 

    The amazing thing about God is he gives us grace. He waits for us patiently to let go of our own will and our own way and to choose to submit to him. This path we’re on is a narrow one. It’s not easy to follow Christ. Some of the things he requires will require you to sacrifice. Perhaps sacrifice things that you think you need or desperately want. Sometimes he requires us to serve him by selflessly serving others. Sometimes he requires us to boldly share his truth even in the face of rejection from those around us because they don’t see the point and they don’t understand. Being a disciple of Christ, being a true Christ follower means not just hearing the word of God, not just hearing and being sensitive to the spirit of God inside of you, but above all else it requires you to obey and follow Christ. You must do what God requires of you even when it’s not something you want to do. Even when it is a hard thing to do. 

    Now I know you probably wish you were reading a devotion written from someone who would tell you that God is never going to ask you to sacrifice, that all the things that he’ll require will be easy but I’m not going to lie to you. What I’m going to tell you is that God is a patient God. He’ll gently urge you and remind you in many ways and all the while just waiting for you to choose to obey. He doesn’t tell you how foolish you are because you don’t want to listen, he probably even understands the reasons for the way you want things, but we have to understand that his foresight is greater than ours. He wouldn’t ask it or require it of us if it wasn’t for our benefit. Some things don’t feel good in the short term, but our relationship with God is the long game.

    So, I challenge you today, maybe there’s something you’re ignoring. Maybe you like me have stood there with your fingers in your ears pretending you can’t hear, when the truth is you just don’t want to listen. Purpose in your heart today to submit your will to God, to do the hard thing. He’s not waiting to condemn you or say I told you so, no matter how long it took you to listen. Instead, he’s there to receive you with full acceptance, forgiveness, grace, and love. He’s there to comfort you and give you the strength to follow through when you lack it inside of yourself. Isn’t our God amazing! There really is no one like him. I am so thankful for not only an amazingly faithful God, but an extremely patient one, especially when the right thing is the hardest thing to do.

  • Keep the Fire Burning! (Dive Deeper)

    Having gone to churches all of my life, some lessons or messages just become less impactful over time. Regrettably familiarity, I would argue, not only at times can breed contempt but it can also cause indifference. We start taking for granted these messages, even amazing messages, and find the impact of them has become dulled.

    It’s kind of like this. If you got $1000 a day initially you would be thrilled every time you got it. But eventually you would not be as enthusiastic about it. You may even start to complain that it’s not enough, or it’s not happening frequently enough. The blessing would be dulled by exposure, by experience and by use. It doesn’t matter if it’s a blessing that you receive or an amazing truth or revelation from God, the outcome will eventually be the same when something becomes all too familiar. You may not agree with me but if you’re being honest with yourself, you know it’s true. All shining blessings or great revelations dull with time. Like the light in a bride and a groom’s eyes after years of marriage. The light gets dull, your fervor to act and serve diminishes, and all fires burn down to embers eventually. Unless. There is an unless, something that you can do to change this eventuality. But before we talk about what you have to do, you have to be willing to admit the truth of what is happening.  What’s happening? Your enthusiasm and excitement are diminishing over things that are absolutely amazing and wonderful still.

    This realization occurred to me when I taught VBS. I was the storyteller. The last night was about the crucifixion. This time I saw something I had never seen in all of my 45 years of going to church and countless Easters hearing the story of Jesus giving his life. You see I thought I knew everything there was to know about the story after 45 years of hearing it. I was wrong. This time new things stood out to me. Like the fact that Jesus kept shining his light even in the darkest place. In that terrible dark moment when he was betrayed, beaten, whipped, crowned with thorns, made to carry his own cross, marked, stripped, and nailed to a cross. It was in that terrible dark moment when he was in complete agony and humiliation, that our king still shined his love and his light to serve those around him. To his own mother, who was watching the devastating event. She was distraught and grieving, I’m sure. You see in scripture it says that she was standing there with one of Jesus’s friends. He asked his friends to take care of his mother, while he hung in agonizing pain. Wow, Jesus was the son who care deeply for his mother and he to the end wanted to love, honor, and care for her. 

    As a mother myself this struck a chord. You see my son may be an aggravating teenager most days, but he always tries to take care of me. Making me breakfast, sitting close to me sometimes, giving me gifts of stuffed animals to be with me when he goes to his dad’s for the weekend and is away. He so wants to take care of me in every moment. I see the same love and care in Christ for his own mother beautifully depicted it this request for here continued care. What an amazing thought! One that I had never paid attention to in this story before.

    Something else that stood out to me when I told the story at VBS. Christ richly loved and shared his light, not only to the thief beside him promising him a place in paradise with him, but even to all of us. You see as he hung there in great pain, he cried out father forgive them for they know not what they do. To the end, his last breath he shared his love, and he gave his very life for all of us. Wow! So amazing and impactful truth!

    When was the last time you read that story? Have you tried to look at it with new eyes? When was the last time you saw yourself and the people there at Golgotha whether it be in the role of his mother, his friends, his accusers, the soldiers, or the thieves crucified beside him? Have you lost the wonder you once had at the story of Christ’s amazing, generous, and agonizing sacrifice, the sacrifice Christ experienced and suffered fully for you and for me, for all who would believe? Or have you let this story dull? Have you lost your wonder over the Amazing Grace and love of our Savior?

    I challenge you today to do what has to be done to keep the fire of your wonder and amazement over Christ and all he did for you alive.  Not only for that story but for so many other stories from scripture. If you’re wonder has diminished, if the light in your eyes for Christ has grown dim, I challenge you to pray. Pray that God reminds you of the start. That he would fuel the fire that has burned down to embers inside your heart. That he will show you new revelations from these stories you think you already know but, need to examine again with new eyes. Look at them again and expect that if you’ve asked, the revelations will come. I challenge you to fall in love with Christ again! Choose to ignite the passion you once held for Christ so strong and new. Ask him and he will provide the fuel and the wind to fan the flames in your heart. He will show you himself in greater and deeper ways. 

    Some of us spend our whole lives dipping our toes into the truth and vastness of who God is. We are like those beachgoers just at the edge of the water, never really experiencing fully the depths and the vastness in the beauty in the opportunity that we have to fully submerge and dive into the beautiful sea of God in all his wonder. Step out into the waters of God’s word in God’s love, dive deep and don’t stop exploring. Don’t be satisfied with a mediocre, shallow faith. Don’t be satisfied with the fire that is burning out and with the lukewarm spirit. Be hot and passionate for Christ in your seeking after him. Burn bright and when your fire for him burns down or begins to grow dim add fuel to the fire, pray for fuel from our source the Lord. 

    The truth is there is no end to his depths, no end to the amazing revelations from his word that he can light in your heart. You just have to seek him, you have to step out into deep waters, you have to dive deep and explore the endlessly amazing vast depths of who God is. There is so much more to who he is and what he has for you. It won’t just happen, if you don’t do anything the fire will cool to embers and possibly even just burnout. You have to act; you have to seek and ask in order to receive. 

    Receive the call today-dive deep so you are again amazed, so that your eyes will shine bright with your love and adoration for Christ once again and his word will be alive and filled with fresh revelations and truth for you today. 

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  • Just as I am

    I have sang that song for years, after all it is a great hymn. Yet, I never fully appreciated the heart or the message behind the song in my early years. Why would I need to come just as I am? Honestly, I didn’t think that I was that bad. Sure, I read, and I knew I should agree with Paul that I was the worst of all sinners, after all if you have committed one sin you have committed them all. Yet, often times I didn’t think my sin was severe enough and I believed that I wasn’t really bad.  I didn’t need to hang my head in shame because I was ok.  Sure, I could willingly admit that I was not sinless, but I didn’t really believe that my sins deserved severe judgement. My plea before God went something like this: “I’m not that bad of a sinner Lord, but I need your forgiveness.” So self-righteous and I just didn’t see it. Since I was OK in my mind with who I was, coming to the Lord was not something I feared. I could approach him boldly. It was all too easy when I didn’t think I had anything to be ashamed of or embarrassed by.  So why would coming just as I am even be important? From that place I didn’t understand the true point of the Just as I am hymn, but I do now. (And just for the record I was completely in the wrong with my attitude, even then I was unworthy)

    Things happened in my life, and now I no longer feel self-righteous or as if I am good at all.  I have been in desperate places. Yes, I have lost all will to not sin. I stopped caring and wondered why it ever mattered. I would have loved to escape my personal hell and damn the consequences. I just wanted to do anything to not feel in those excruciating moments. This was not a place I was familiar with because I had been saved as a child and had for the most part followed the accepted path.  “How did I end up here?”, I asked myself. Life happened and I found myself in that dark place.  Humbled and in great need of a God who says come just as you are. 

    Because of my lifelong relationship with God, I knew I should do something different. That I should not think the things I was thinking, do the things I was doing, or seek on my own to remedy the pain.  I knew that I should only seek God and that I should seek him first. I knew that anything I did or tried to do to remedy my pain would be temporary, inefficient, often ineffective, or worse it would leave me hurting more. Still, I found myself completely broken and filled with heartache and grief, desperate for relief and not caring how I got it. 

    In that place, I finally understood what it meant to come just as I am. Worthless, faithless, doubtful, and conflicted, even like this, perhaps even more so, it was imperative that I still went to God.  Without any defense for my actions and choices and clinging tightly to the promises that he died for me and that he still wanted me. Though I was in conflict, and I had more doubts and questions than I could count, I knew I should still come. In spite of the fact that I’d been seeking mostly unsuccessfully to paralyze myself and numb the pain I felt God wooing me and letting me know that I should still come to him. He wanted to welcome me, to receive me, to cleanse me, to heal me, and to give me relief. He was not waiting with a big stick to beat me over the head for all the things I’ve done wrong or all the things I would do wrong. He was not waiting there to tell me how wrong I’ve been and how it’s all my fault that I had the grief and heartache, even though it would be true had he said it.  He was not saying I told you so and that you should have just come to me first or done things differently.  No, he was just waiting there for me. Just as I am, a hot mess. Like the father in the story of the prodigal son.  He was there at the end of the long road home, looking for me to come, uncaring of what condition I arrived in and with great joy at my return.

    “I know I’m not much, but I know you love me God. That gives me courage to come. So, I come to you God warts and all just as I am. Take me Lord I have nothing left but you.” That was the cry of my heart.  Maybe it’s been your cry too. Life has a way of bringing so many of us to this point. I want you to know that God wants you to come to him also, just as you are. He also waits for you and longs for you to return home.

    When we feel unworthy, still we can come.  When we don’t deserved his grace, still we can come.  When we were not so bad in our own eyes and can’t see our own sin, still we need to come. When we have been what we see as unforgivable or done the unthinkable, even then, still we can come.  Only by God’s grace and Christ covering can we ever come to God. He made a way so we can come to him.  Just as you are, without worrying over your condition you should come.  God will work in you as he wills to bring you closer to his heart.  He longs to heal and restore you, and to bring you home. Just open the door, no matter the condition of your heart. He’s not intimidated by your mess, neither is he impressed by how wonderful you think you are if that’s your condition, because every heart needs him in it.  What a blessing to us all that he says Come!  Come Just as You Are, Unashamed, Humble, and willing to let him in.  

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  • The Hands and Feet of Jesus

    I’ve never been a person who has wanted to need anything from anyone. I know that sounds like wisdom in some respects because it is good to be independent and try to take care of your own problems, right? Yet I’m coming to realize that there’s a negative side effect to this kind of self-reliance and independence. The negative is that I can’t always fix things, and sometimes things aren’t all right. There are many times that on my own and from within myself, I don’t know what to do. However, because I’m not accustomed to asking for assistance, I don’t. Then I find myself in sticky situations or with problems left unresolved because I don’t want to seek help. When I write these things about myself, I really don’t like it because who likes to face the truth about their weaknesses. Yes, this is a weakness whether you would agree or not. You see any character trait or behavior pattern that leaves you in a deficient state where you can’t meet a required solution in the way you are proceeding, or the performance of your life is altered in a negative way is a weakness. Basically, I could have but I ask not. Why?

    In an effort to appear strong and invulnerable, I don’t present problems to other people for them to assist with.  I choose not to appear outwardly like I have any real issues. So when help doesn’t come, I have no one to blame but myself.  How many times do we put ourselves in this place thinking it’s strength when in actuality it is a weakness.  It takes strength to know when to lean.  Wisdom to know whom to lean on.  

    We need to learn, both you and myself, how to be more open and honest about our challenges and struggles. We may never enjoy asking for assistance or being open when we have a need and need support, but we must learn we were not meant to bear our burdens alone. 

    This was on my mind because today I found myself in a wonderful situation. Typically, I think people look to me to be the strong one, but really, I’m not. That doesn’t mean I’m not competent or able or intelligent it just means that I’m not superwoman. Life’s challenges and difficult situations have worn me down and not always brought out the most positive side of me. This is not about beating myself up it’s about being honest because I don’t have to be strong and it’s enough that I’m strong in the Lord. Having said that though, the situation I found myself in is that a friend at church has been reaching out and mentoring me. Offering me advice to help me with some of the things I struggle with. People don’t do that for me. Maybe they don’t think I will welcome it, but I would. I get tired of trying to carry the load alone and figure out how to resolve things especially when they’re things I don’t know how to make better.

    I was amazed and humbled when I realized that this was the third time, she’s either done, given, or advised something that has been completely helpful to me. It’s overwhelming and it makes me feel so very loved that she would care for me. She’s not doing anything that other people would consider amazing but it’s amazing to me, because it shows me that someone cares about me and considers my needs.

    Part of the reason for the strong persona I often project is that I’ve been involved in ministry that’s out in the front for most of my adult life. I play the piano, guitar and I sing. I don’t think it’s anything amazing because there’s a lot of people who can do that as well. Yet because of my talents many times I’m not able to go to Sunday school because that’s when practice is, or not readily available to bond with fellow churchgoers because I’m busy preparing for the Sunday worship. I also think that it gives people some kind of false idea about me because all they see is the music that God has gifted me with, but they don’t actually see me. Maybe you’re like me and you’ve spent a lot of your life in the front because the gifts that God gave you put you there and you find yourself feeling that same distance from others. Because others think that you’re strong or spiritual they don’t recognize your challenges and your struggles. My friend had gone out of her way just to speak to me and get to know me. So, I was honest with her about my challenges and she in turn didn’t just pray for me, she acted. I’m not saying that prayer is not powerful because it is. Yet she went on to actually do something to minister to me in a practical way.

    I’m not used to receiving because most of my life is about giving to others. That is what you do in ministry. Today though, I have received again love and care from a fellow sister in Christ. Now I sit contemplating my Godly sister in Christ and how she’s being the hands and feet of Jesus to me. 

    I think there’s something that we can all learn from my dear friend. God calls us to love people practically. When we love people practically, they know they are seen, they know they are cared for, and they know they are loved. It could be as simple as a note to say thank you or I’m thinking about you. Perhaps a phone call out of the blue saying, “Hey, you are on my mind, and I just wanted to know if you needed anything to pray about today.” Or perhaps attending in conversation to see if there’s any concerns or needs or ways that you can support them. Remember scripture tells us to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. My friend was bearing my burden, and it made me feel lighter.

    We are all called to minister to each other and those around us. There is none of us that is strong enough to be able to face all of life and its challenges without the love and encouragement from our fellow believers and from those around us. My friends, let’s be Jesus to each other. 

    Interestingly enough, this is coming at a time in my life when I’m middle-aged, but I vividly remember when I was a teenager and struggling, God sent me a friend. She invited me to her home after church on Sundays, she took me to revivals, she invited me and all of my friends for meals and get togethers where we could talk about God, receive encourage, and fellowship together. I would not be who I am today had it not been for my dear sister in Christ who mentored me. We need to get back to that as a church. We are called to mentor each other. Those who have gone before and have fought the good fight can encourage others in ways to stay strong and to face the challenges that they’re going through. Maybe a little Godly wisdom for young parents who are struggling with the how to be a parent. Maybe just someone to watch the young ones so their parents can have a night to rest or a pat on the back telling them how wonderful they’re doing even though it’s not easy. It doesn’t have to be expensive or overly time-consuming actions. But when we invest ourselves in the lives of those around us through mentorship or encouragement, we are making a life giving and a life changing move. We are literally serving Christ by serving each other. That’s what he has called us to do.

    I’m thankful to my friend reminded me that I’m seen, and that I am loved through her generous encouragement, and I don’t even think she realizes how much it means to me. For somebody who never asked for help, to be so generously loved and offered encouragement, it means the world. Remember there are many people like me who don’t ask, so look closer and love deeper.I challenge you, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those around you within the body of Christ. To not assume that others don’t need the validation and the encouragement that you could easily give. Instead look carefully at the needs of those around you and in practical, even simple ways, live out your faith actively as you serve them. Whether it’s through mentorship, discipleship, or friendship use the opportunities that God has given you to love others lavishly. 

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  • Fighting Back with Truth

    I know it’s true that our feelings are not actually reality, but they sure do feel like it. I know I’m also not alone in wishing sometimes that I just didn’t have any feelings because feeling can be well, to put it politely, hell. If I let myself sit, I can get lost in my thoughts and in my feelings. I can begin to believe in a lie and get stuck in a downward spiral. It’s a dangerous thing to do. 

    I find that as people, we have typical patterns of thoughts that we run through in those moments. Now for each person I know it’s a little different because it’s based on your own fears, doubts, insecurities, or anxieties. So, there’s no patented kind of destructive thought pattern.  However, there is a way to deal with all of these false and harmful thoughts.  Deal with them we must because they hold us down, even though they are so very diverse and a bit different for each of us. 

    Today, I would like to look at how we fight this battle we all face. How do we handle this space of contemplation that is negative and damaging. The answer is actually quite simple. The action will be the same no matter your pattern of thoughts or the issues that you deal with. The action you have to take is the action of seeking truth and speaking truth. You recognize your thoughts and feelings are not reality or even truth.  You search for the truth. Then you speak truth to whatever thoughts are trying to overwhelm you.

    For me this plays out very often because I’m single and when I go to bed at night, I go to bed alone. So, I have moments where I deal with my own personal demons and memories. My pattern usually goes like this. I’ll remember that I’m alone and then my brain will trigger thoughts of how I am the reason that I’m alone. Or I’ll contemplate how I should find someone but I’m not looking, so it’s all my fault once again that I’m alone. Or I will wonder why I would ever want anyone because I’ve never been able to find gold when I look for love, only aluminum. I feel like aloneness is a curse of some kind that I’m plagued by and that everyone else finds love but me.  These not truths, they are just feelings. I’ll sit there and become obsessed with the thoughts of my singleness and find myself depressed and discouraged.  Instead of being contented which is how I feel most of the time. I’ll edge towards discontentment and frustration over the state that I perceive myself to be in because I’m listening to a lie and half-truths. These thought patterns are negative and destructive and need to be reset. 

    The truth is that there’s nothing wrong with my singleness, it’s not a deficiency. There’s actually a lot of benefits to my singleness. I have freedom to choose what I want to do when I want to do it. I am not being hurt by a relationship which has been a problem for me in the past. I have a great support system from friends that love me so it’s not as if I’m desperate for companionship. I am loved and cared for so why would I believe the lie. All the negative feelings and the lies of guilt, regret, and lonely thoughts seems to be my worst enemy nightly as I lay in bed alone. Yet I realize now that I am not powerless in this fight.  There is a change that can happen, and it has nothing to do with my relationship status and everything to do with my mindset.  Truth must be spoken into my situation. I need to find the truth and speak it to the lie that I am alone.  

    My truth is that I’m not alone because God is with me. My truth is that there’s so many benefits to my singleness. My truth is that I am loved even if I am not loved by a significant other. My truth is that where I am is in a great place even if it’s not where everybody else is or even if it’s not exactly where I want to be. It’s still a good place. I remind myself of scripture about how God is with me, how he’s formed me, and how he will sustain me here where I am, even in my singleness. So, speaking these truths from God’s word encourages my soul in moments when I would otherwise feel discouraged, stressed, or frustrated over my situation because of my own negative thought patterns.

    Whatever your damage is, whatever your negative thought pattern is, or whatever that lie that takes you to that dark place of condemnation and regret, (You know that place.  The place of the what ifs and why nots) you can identify the lie and choose to see the truth.  You can speak truths that bring life and light into the darkness of that pattern that has haunted you, no matter how long you’ve been stuck there.

    Don’t settle or give up.  Don’t believe the lies our enemy whispers. Don’t be defeated by a feeling that is not the truth about the reality of who you are and whose you are. Remember today who you are as a believer in Christ. Remember today the promises that God has made to you. Speak life and truth and hope. Don’t despair. 

    Remember the sun is always shining even above the rain clouds. Even when you can’t see it. The truth is there to find always, you just have to search for it. I challenge you to not continue to listen to the lie that the enemy is trying to depress you and discourage you with. I challenge you to seek the truth from God and to seek encouragement from his word. You can find peace and rest from the negative and destructive thought patterns in your life. You can reset them with God’s help and change them to instead a pattern of encouragement and truth. 

    It may not be easy; you may have to ask others for some ideas about what the truth is from time to time.  However, when you’re brave enough and courageous enough to take on these demons and those lies, you will finally find true freedom and victory. Stop running from your demons, turn around, and look the enemy straight in the eye while you speak freedom and life-giving truth. That’s all we need to do to have victory. Break free from a negative pattern and start a new one of hope and peace.

  • Phone a Friend

    Have you ever had one of those moments? Those moments when you feel unsure and when life feels heavy. Those kinds of moments when you’re not quite sure that you want to keep on keeping on or that you even have the strength to do it. Those kinds of moments when you know that you have got to have it all together, but you just don’t. I have. 

    The truth is I probably have them a few times every day because life is hard and if you are blessed, it can be long. So, you will have many opportunities for moments that give you pause, that leave you feeling burdened and in need.  But it’s not those moment I want to focus on here.  I want to look at our response to such times.  

    You see today I tried a different response.  Most often I feel those moments and try to handle it on my own.  After all, I’m supposed to have it altogether.  Today, I didn’t feel strong, so I changed my approach.  This time I reached out for help.  

    Here’s what I did. I phoned a friend. I don’t know if you remember that game show where you could phone a friend for help on one of the questions. It was a one-time offer for the game show. Sometimes phoning a friend helped the contestant and they were able to answer the question. While other times they didn’t choose the right friend, and it wasn’t much help. So, it wasn’t just that I phoned a friend that mattered today, it’s that I phoned the right friend. 

    We love to sing the song “What a Friend we have in Jesus” but do we really know him as friend, as someone who we can share all our griefs and sorrows with.  I called on my friend Jesus.  Well, technically I called a friend to pray and agree with me in prayer.  We were calling on Jesus together.  

    See this is the amazing thing.  I phoned a friend to phone a friend.  She called on Jesus on my behalf.  Perhaps it would have been the same if I had just whispered a prayer myself.  Yet it encouraged my heart that she interceded for me. The effect was immediate.  No, my situation didn’t change.  Not the burdens of the day, the challenges I was facing, or the doubts I was staring down.  Yet in that moment, my focus shifted up.  I saw the one who could truly deliver me.  You see he delivers us on the inside.  He gives peace that passes all human understanding.  How can we be at rest in the middle of the storm? We can with Jesus.  He gives us hope, that our present suffering pales in comparison to what he has promised us to come.  He gives us rest, because we can stop striving and let God fight on our behalf.  He gives us comfort through his Holy Spirit and his presence that never leaves us or forsakes us.  And unlike that game show, we can call on him again and again!  There is no one time limit on our phone a friend.  

    When life is too hard to stand, as the sign says in my room, kneel in prayer.  It’s funny, I’ve had that sign for years now, but I got it today.  “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.”  

    My friends it’s time to phone a friend in those moments, well in all moments, but especially in those.  When you feel weak, call on your brothers and sisters in Christ to lift you up in prayer.  Or call on him with your own lips, from your heart. Either way, you are calling on the one, the only one who can truly bring relief. 

     So, I ask you, in the words of the great hymn “Are you weak and heavy-laden, Cumbered with a load of care?  Precious Savior, still our refuge— Take it to the Lord in prayer.” Yes, my friend, take it – your needs, your desires, your tears, your joys, the best of your moments and the worst of them.  Take them to our Lord in prayer.  He is a friend like no other, so call on him today!

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