“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear Friends, since God so loved us, we ought to love one another. No one has ever see God: but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”  1 John 4: 7-12 NIV

Sitting in a parenting small group at church as a mother of a struggling teen, wanting to scream as the others shared prom pictures. Pictures of a normal life … pictures that stabbed me in the heart and reinforced my insecurities as a single mother.

Do you speak my language?

Welcomed into a small group, until the label Single Mom was attached to me and the marrieds in the group starting acting differently. Like my goal was to steal away husbands, obvious unspoken boundaries were put into place; who could sit by me, hugs exchanged for handshakes, and conversations would no longer be held one-on-one.

Do you speak my language?

A church single’s group, an open discussion about the Bible’s reference to adultery after a divorce.  Found by some to be more Sinful than any other sin.  A hypothetical scarlet letter appliquéd to my shirt.

Do you speak my language?

Like the little bird seeking its mother in the Dr. Seuss book, “Are You My Mother?”, I sought someone to speak my language. The one I understood from birth as a mother’s love nurtured.  The language I hear in the stillness. The language He and I share. The language of love.

Foreign languages and memorization are difficult for me. My brain works differently and I have learned an alternative way of memorization in visually recalling an image. I have also learned to communicate in another language with hand signs and pictures. These aren’t weaknesses; they just allow me the opportunity to look at a different way of doing something.

As God’s people, I challenge you to look to speak someone’s language in a different manner. Seek out the opportunity to relate and not segregate. Look at different ways to show love to the proverbial struggling single mother. Love as God loves; unconditionally. Because God’s unconditional love changed everything for you.

Father, Let us reflect Your unconditional love when our love becomes conditional. Let us recognize divine appointments to show Your love in our daily lives and help us to be obedient to Your prompting.

 

 

 

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 NIV

Remember when we were in grade school and you could tell your best friend all of your secrets?  It was always after several promise rituals, something about a needle and an eye, but you would always tell her in the end. And unless it had to do with a boy, our best friends would giggle and that was that. The secret no longer held any power because it was no longer a secret.

James is saying that in this scripture. Take the power away from the sin and confess it to someone. Share your secret. Once you confess it aloud and pray, the power shifts because it is hung on the cross and you are free. Not free to wallow in the same sin, but free from the penalty of sin. There still might be consequences for the sin, but how much sweeter will it be to have a friend to pray you through than to hold onto that secret within yourself. Our Father already knows about it and He wants you to experience healing in the way that He designed.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 says, “Two are better than one. Because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up”.

Father, thank You for those friends that we can trust to tell our secrets and in You be healed.

Written for Cornerstone Christian Fellowship “Seasons – Friendship”.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”  Galatians 2:20-21 NIV

Driving out of the prison gates with my son on his release date, I watched the guard lift the gate that held my son between imprisonment and freedom. As we drove through the opened gate, the guard told my son, “Remember Galatians 2:20”. All I had time to say at that moment was an earnest thank you and off we drove.

I often reflect on that poignant moment and think about what the guard was saying to my son. Was he reminding him of the love Christ has for us? Was he reminding him as a believer he lives in freedom from condemnation? Was he reminding him that life in Christ is a gift and cannot be earned? Or was he reminding him that he did not have to live in his own power, but by the power of Christ?  I suppose I will never know exactly what the guard meant but I do know that what he said was the most important thing that someone could have said at that moment.  It was a moment of rebirth from imprisonment to freedom.  Much like the rebirth one experiences when they learn who Christ is and accepts Him as their Lord and Savior.

Father, How can we thank you enough for what Christ did by freeing us from the burden of sin? We thank you for the fountain of Your power within us through Christ Jesus and in His name we pray.  Amen.

Written for Seasons: Perception, Cornerstone Fellowship Chandler, AZ 

 

“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. “   Ephesians 3:16-20 NIV

Consider the light bulb. It’s intricately designed. If you hold it in your hand, its purpose is not fulfilled, there is no light. If you screw it into a lamp, once again, there is no light. But, if you expose the light bulb to electricity by connecting the current to the bulb through the lamp, you have light.

Consider ourselves as the light bulb.  We are intricately designed.  Yet our purpose in unfilled unless His power is enabled in us.  When we through faith allow Christ to dwell in our hearts, His power makes us shine.  Without Him we are just empty shells, just like the light bulb.

When a bulb shines bright, the light cannot be contained to its structure and spills over to the surrounding area. I like to compare that light to His love for us.  It is uncontainable and spills out over our lives. It is not discriminate about where it shines and it surpasses our limited knowledge and completely fills our lives.

He will work through you to do things that you could have never imagined.  Do you think Moses thought, “I think I am going to ask God to part the Red Sea?”. I don’t think so, but God asked Moses to participate by lifting up his rod and stretching out his hand over the sea.  Just in time in a marvelous way, He took action.

Are you asking Him to show up in His strength or are you limiting Him to your ideas?

Written for “Seasons: Overcome” Cornerstone Fellowship, Chandler, AZ 

 

“Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” 1 Corinthians 5:6 NIV

I opened the refrigerator door and was met by a foul odor. How could this happen? I am usually so careful about making sure to manage the food and keep things clean.  I had to search for the culprit.  I found it… tucked behind some cheese … a bowl of refried beans gone bad. It looked ok, they just smelt to high heaven.  I had overlooked them for too long.

In God’s infinite wisdom, He made our sense of smell sensitive to foul odors.  That’s how you know something is bad, it stinks.  I’m sure you have experienced a foul smell a time or two. It’s not pleasant.

In the scripture above, Paul is admonishing the church in Corinth about their boasting.  He says that a little goes a long way to destroy.  That’s pure wisdom.  He is using leaven or yeast to make his point.

What is leaven, you ask?  The Bible Dictionary says, “Small portion of fermented dough used to ferment other dough and often symbolizing a corruptive influence.”  Plainly speaking, it represents sin.  Even a little yeast will work its way through the whole batch. We can’t be having that!

In 1 Corinthians 5:8 Paul says, “Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” What a beautiful picture those words paint.

I was once told that sincere referred to pottery in Biblical times. The vessel was only as sincere as the clay used to form it. If there were impurities in the clay and a crack formed, the potter used a wax to fill them. Wax wouldn’t last very long and the pot would leak. It’s the same in our character. If we allow these impurities, cracks are going to form, and there isn’t enough wax to hold us together!

I come back to that moment when I opened the refrigerator door and was hit with that foul odor. I immediately recognized something was not good.  Sin stinks. But is our sense of sin smell heightened to recognize it?  Something seemingly so normal, can in fact, start to be sinful.  That is when our sin sensor should be able to recognize the smell it brings with it.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for making us with a sensitive sense of smell.  Let us be sensitive to any foulness in our lives and help us to remove it before it damages our sincerity.

For Today:  Put your spiritual sense of smell in high gear.  Is there anything in your walk that stinks?    What yeast are you allowing in your life? What impurities are cracking your pottery?

“They remembered that God (Elohim) was their Rock, that God Most High (EL Elyon) was their redeemer.” Psalm 78:35 NIV

El – Elyon – God Most High.  God is sovereign, nothing happens without His knowledge.  He is supreme power and authority over absolutely everything.  

He has a plan

He is in control

In His timing

For His purpose

In His Will

Let’s take a brief look at the story of Jonah. You probably know it well.  God came to Jonah and told him to go to Ninevah because He was about to bring His judgment against that city.  Jonah ran away from the Lord in the total opposite direction. Did Jonah really think that he was going to outrun God? I find that laughable.

The story continues with Jonah on a ship, but the journey was interrupted by a dangerous storm. The sailors knew Jonah was trying to outrun God and questioned him about it. In Jonah 1:12 Jonah says, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea”, he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” It took the sailors a bit to obey because they were fearful, but they eventually threw Jonah overboard.  The seas grew calm and Jonah sank. However, the Lord provided a big fish to swallow up Jonah.

Jonah prayed while inside the big fish and told God he would do what the He had asked of him. No use in running. Then the Lord had the fish vomit Jonah up onto dry land. GROSS!  Not sure where Jonah “landed”, but it wasn’t Ninevah.  Ninevah is inland and not a port city. Many scholars think that Jonah was brought back to Joppa. It says in Jonah 3:3, “Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Ninevah.” So, he had to travel to Ninevah. That must have been an interesting trip.

I couldn’t think of a better way to describe the absolute Sovereignty of God than through the book of Jonah. We learn so much from this short book in the Bible. First, we learn that God has a plan for us. He communicates His plan and whether we choose to listen or not, it up to us. But, we need to be ready to accept the consequences if our choice is our own will. What He asks of us is not always easy and we may not THINK He knows what is best for us, BUT He does!  You can trust that fact. Because it is all for His good and perfect will. Just think of all the trouble Jonah could have avoided if he would have just have gone to Ninevah in the first place.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for being on control and having a grand plan! Thank you for holding us in Your hands and leading us in Your good and perfect will.

For Today:  Is there anything that God has asked of you and you have ran in the opposite direction? Has He asked you to give something up? Has He been asking you to serve Him in some capacity?

“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”  Psalm 9:10 NIV

Have you ever tried to call to someone without knowing their name? Or, how about trying to drive with directions without street names? “Turn at the 3^rd palm tree on the right”.  Really?!  It can be difficult at best to get the attention of that person or get to your destination.

Kids have this all figured out. They are fearless.  They walk right up to someone their own size and the first thing that they usually say is, “What’s your name?”. They share names and skip off to the playground holding hands.  Knowing someone’s name creates an immediate bond.

Not only do names create a bond, they have meaning as well. My name is Dawn. My parents chose that name just for me. It suits me.  Dawn means “the first appearance of daylight, daybreak”.  It also appears in the Bible (NIV) 33 times.  I love that!

Names are important. Your name is your identity. Are you aware that God has several names? Not one name could possibly encompass the entirety of His character. All throughout the Bible, the names of the Lord are revealed to us.  Names like Yahweh, Elohim, El Shaddai, and Adonia. His character, buried like treasure in His name, for us to discover as we learn about Him. He wants you to know Him by name on a more personal basis.  This relationship, this bond, is the foundation for trust in Him.

Won’t you join the journey as we discover these treasures together?

Heavenly Father, Thank You for revealing Your character to us through Your word. Help us to gain a better understanding of You through this study of Your names.

For Today:  Write down the different names used for God you see this week in your Bible reading.  Also when reading your Bible, try replacing “you” with your name?  It will personalize what you are reading.

 

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

The 2016 Olympics are in full swing. Every night Olympians grace my screen with the fruition of their hard work. I watch intently as the runners approach the start of their race. The starting stances vary depending on the race to be run. The strategies, narrated by the announcer, are also unique to each race and coaching style. Running has never been my thing, but I find these strategies quite fascinating. They could make just enough difference to determine the outcome by tenths of a second.

In addition to the strategic part of the race, training is essential and the use of training partners is typical. These partners train together and support each other in the races. They might not even be from the same country, but they are put together to make each runner individually better.

I also heard over and over how much of a race is mental; the mind guiding the performance of the body. Therefore, mental preparation is just as important as the physical preparation. I think that is what Paul is trying to convey in Philippians 3:13-14 that even though he hasn’t reached the end of his race, he presses on toward the goal. It’s a mindset.

The idea behind the Greek word used here for press is “to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavor to acquire”. Paul is not allowing himself to rest in what was, only to look ahead at what will be. Pressing on toward the goal, the finish line. It’s part of his race strategy and he uses it with the same exuberance an Olympic runner shows as he seeks the gold.

Paul knows his race is ending. He has no regrets with the way he ran his race. He says in 2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV), “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Indeed he did.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Paul’s example. Thank You for allowing us to see into his life as he struggled to run the race. Even though we run a similar race, help us to do it well. Help us to keep our eyes on You through it all.

For Today:  What is your strategic plan for your spiritual race?  Do you have a “training” partner?  What does “pressing on” look like in your spiritual walk?

 

“A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.”  Ecclesiastes 7:1 NIV

The little old church, once a one-room schoolhouse, was the perfect setting to pay our respects to the life of Charlie.  The oldest member of the congregation, Charlie was 93 when he went to be with the Lord.   The church was full of people of all ages as they came to say goodbye for now and support the family through this loss.

Charlie never really had much here on earth in material possessions, but he died a very rich man. His legacy in those he left behind; those who truly loved him and those whose lives were better just for knowing him. Each shed tear represented a moment in which he would be missed.  Each shared story showed how this kind and humble man had touched so many.

A good name is better than fine perfume … 

A good name takes time.  Charlie had 93 years to earn and keep his good name.  He was an honorable man. The way he loved, the way he served others and his country.

Charlie was at the little church sitting in his usual chair up to a few weeks before his passing.  He couldn’t hear a lick and had a tendency to rest his eyes on occasion, but he was there in church where he felt he needed to be. His priorities evident.

Charlie no longer has the troubles of this life. He is free. That is worth celebrating!

And the day of death, better than the day of birth.                   

I hope he heard those words we long to hear. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Well done, Charlie.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for the Charlie’s in our lives, rich beyond what this world could offer.  Help us to live lives honoring to Your name. This we pray.

For Today:  When that day comes and people are gathered to remember and honor you, what would they say?

 

 

 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything?” James 1:2-4 NIV

She came toward me, her four kids in tow, to say hello.  I asked her how things were going with her new additions.  She is a single foster parent and just added two young lads to her home.  This after she had recently adopted one of her charges to increase her forever family to three.  “I don’t know how you do it”, I told her, but she just laughed.

Then she leaned in and asked me to pray.  “They found a spot on my lung and I get the PET scan results this week”, she entrusted to me.  She had battled cancer before… there had been not-so-good news before…

The picture of that moment tugged at me.  She was joyful with her energetic loves around her like bubbles in a hot-tub.  Her tone was one of resolve that whatever it is, she was going to trust the Lord.  The encounter was brief as she had to get the kids to different classrooms before church, but it really left me thinking.  She knew the struggle, yet she was willing to do it all over again. She persevered.

Good ole Merriam Webster defines perseverance as, “continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition”.   No matter the outcome, it’s all about the process.  This is what James is saying in this scripture.  The testing of your faith, the process, develops perseverance.  There are no other guaranteed outcomes here, just a promise that through the process, growth will occur.  Consider it pure joy …

I think my friend mirrors the definition of perseverance as she has continued to reach out and love and bless despite her prior health related trials. She shows unexpected joy in those questionable moments and her faith is palpable.  I pray that the Lord bless her and keep her and I thank Him for her in my life.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for growth through the trials. Thank You for the joy that results from perseverance. Thank You for those living examples of Your Word. This we pray.

For Today:  What trial are you facing? How’s your joy-level?  What if the outcome is not promised?