Golden

 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
    I will never abandon you.”
So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper,
    so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 (NLT)

Lately the theme of this text has been coming up a lot. It has come up in conversations, different devotions I've read, when I read my Bible or other books.  What's the theme? Be content.

Be content in what you have. Be content in where you are in your life. Be content in your relationships.

Does that mean we shouldn't have dreams and strive to do more? Absolutely not! But it means we should also be content in the process. Often that process is God working out his plan in our lives.

We can also be content in the fact that God is with us. He never leaves us. He is always working in and around us. Sometimes, when things don't look the way you want them to, don't run ahead of God. The process is refining us like fire refines gold.

You Take The Best

Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.” Genesis 13:8-9 (NLT)

Abram and Lot lived together. The Bible tells us that they both were very wealthy. Things were getting a little crowded and their herdsmen were fighting. It was time to live separately. Abram said to Lot "You go first." Not, "You move out first" but "You choose first".  He said, "Lot, assess everything and make a choice." I'll take seconds.

Now, Abram was older (not to mention richer) so by all standards, he should have chosen first. But, he didn't. He turned the decision over to Lot. Lot looked around and chose the best land.

Makes you wonder about Abram. What was it in him that motivated that decision? Typically, we tend to think about pecking order as far as status and decisions go. Who has the higher position, who has the most money, who has the most clout are things we assess. But as I look at Abram and his walk with God, I think his decision was based on that relationship. You see, Abram knew it didn't matter where he lived or what he had. He knew that God was the provider. He had watched God take care of him even when he got himself into a pickle.

Abram was content with what he had and who had him. True to form, God honored Abram's decision to put others first and to trust him. After Lot moved, God showed up and said to Abram, "Look around. As far as you can see, it's yours. And not only that, I will give you more descendants than you can imagine. Go ahead, walk around, enjoy. It's all yours."

The decision to not fight for what is ours, to release our hold on "things", is not easy to do. It goes against our human nature. But God calls us to a higher nature. He calls us to a Christlike nature. That calling asks us to trust in what he has and will provide for us. It calls us to be content where he has us. When we live in that place, the place of contentment and trust, there is a peace in your soul...a peace that is beyond understanding. And that peace is way better than any "thing" you have.

A Minute In It - It's Always Been This Way

A little time in the Word every day changes you. Take a few minutes, put yourself in these verses and ask yourself the questions at the bottom of the post.

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”
“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”
Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”
John 5:1-10 (NLT)

What would it be like to be sick for 38 years?
Do you think at the beginning of his illness he was hopeful that he would get better? What do you think would have happened as time passed and there was no healing?
Why did Jesus ask him if he wanted to get well?
Do you think he had given up over time?
What was the man's response? Was it true he couldn't?
When we say "I can't" in our lives, is it true or is it the easy answer?
What did Jesus tell him to do?
When we need to overcome something in our lives, does Jesus give us instructions?
What did the Pharisees think about this life changing miracle?
When people in your life see how God is changing you, are they more interested in status quo or the miracle that is happening within?
What about you? When God is calling you to do something, are you more worried about what it will look like to others or are you willing to embrace the change and obey?

Trusting Hard

And a sword will pierce your very soul. Luke 2:35 (NLT)

When God revealed to Mary that she would be Jesus' mother, her world was turned upside down. She faced judgement and ridicule. Life took on many more complications than it would have if she had not been chosen by God.

Even Jesus, as he faced the cross said "Can you take this cup from me? Can we not do this?" What he was facing was the kind of hard that is crippling. It was beyond what the human mind could wrap itself around. But, God did not change his path.

Mary went on to face each challenge and in the end do the hardest thing she would ever do. She'd stand at the foot of the cross and watch her son be crucified. When Simeon said that a sword would pierce her soul, I pause. As a mother I know what that piercing must have felt like. The pain is incomprehensible.

Are you walking through something hard? Does it feel like you are not going to make it? Can you not get your mind around what is happening or what is to come? Do you feel like you can't breathe?

Do what Jesus and Mary and so many others did. Look to God. Grasp hold of the truth that he loves you and no matter how hard it is, he is walking with you through it. When God told Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus, she said "I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Jesus after asking if God could take the cup from him said "Not my will but yours." Both bravely faced 'hard'. Both chose to stay on the path, not deviate from the plan, even though it was the hardest thing they ever did.

In the end, the difference their "Yes" made in every single life before and after is immeasurable. Keep walking. Trust in God's plan and know that you are not alone.

Making Myself Remember

Ever have those days where things just don't seem right. Nothing is actually going wrong but nothing is actually going right either. Or maybe things are going all wrong and no matter what you do it feels like you are taking two steps backward instead of one step forward, Life is out of sorts and you wonder "What's up?" So you pray and ask God "What's up?" And you get no answer. Nada. So you ask again. Silence.

I can't say why God sometimes speaks and sometimes he doesn't or should I say why sometimes I can't hear him. He may be speaking but my hearing may be impaired. What I have recently discovered though is a way to find peace and comfort when I can't hear him. During these super frustrating times, I reflect on who God is. I step back and remind myself of his character. This helps me remember why I trust him. It reminds me that whether I can hear him or not, he loves me and has not gone AWOL. Here are a few of the texts that I've refreshed my memory with lately. What are yours?

God is love. 1 John 4:8 (NLT)

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

And finally, most importantly, when Jesus died on the cross he said "It is finished." In other words, "I've got this. It is done. You are safe."

It is always good to remember who God is. What he is will never change. And who he loves won't either.

Monday, Mar 6

But even if he doesn't.......Daniel 3:18 (GNT)

We read those words from Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and are moved by them. They were told to bow down and worship King Nebuchadnezzar's statue. When they refused, the King threatened to throw them in the fiery furnace. Their response was "Our God is able to save us but even if he doesn't......"

Lately, I've been praying hard for confirmation from God. I'm on a path that I believe he set into motion. I believe it but I want confirmation just in case I'm wrong. I want everything to work out fine....for God's glory, of course. Don't we all do this? We pray for God's leading and we really do want it for his glory but we want it for our security as well. If the words "Lord, I just want to know it's your plan." were translated into our hidden heart words it might look like "Lord, can you please assure me that this is going to work out fine and there will be no pain. This will all be for your glory"

The questions I've been wrestling with lately are these:
"If it doesn't work out and the bottom falls out of my world, will I still praise and worship God?"
"Is Jesus enough if everything else is taken away?"
"Am I worshiping him because of who he is or what he will provide?"

How about you? Answer your own question. But even if he doesn't _______________________
(spare my loved one's life, provide a job, heal my sickness, save my children/marriage/house) will I still worship him?

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego truly understood worship. Their worship wasn't tied to their circumstances. It was tied to the God they knew deep down in their hearts. How about yours?