Monthly Archives: August 2014

August 15, 2014 · 7:30 AM

A Proverbs 31 Woman

It’s Free Friday! Today is the day you let go of the things in your life that keep you down or hold you back from all God has for you. To celebrate, I’m giving away a copy of “The Measure Of Success: Uncovering The Biblical Perspective On Women, Work, & The Home” by Carolyn McCulley and Nora Shank. Keep reading to find out how to enter.

I’ve always heard people talk about a “Proverbs 31 Woman”. My mom was described as one. I’m sure someone you know has been described as one as well. To some guys, she seems as mythical as a unicorn! To others, like me, we’ve seen them firsthand in our home or we’re married to one. In any case, I want to share a few of my favorite verses in that chapter and my thoughts on them.

She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks. (Verse 15)

When I read this, I think of my mom. I don’t care what day it was, if I got up early, I would find her on the couch with a cup of coffee and her Bible. She spent hours reading, marking, dog earring and putting notes in her Bible. She spent time gathering spiritual food for herself and the household. She had us memorize scripture and quite it to her. She wanted to make sure that each of us knew the Bible inside and out. A Proverbs 31 woman trains her family to gather spiritual food.

She girds herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task] and makes her arms strong and firm. She tastes and sees that her gain from work [with and for God] is good; her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust]. (Verses 17-18)

A Proverbs 31 woman is mentally, physically and spiritually tough. She knows that raising a family is hard work and she’s up for the challenge. She does the things necessary to help herself to be prepared for what God has called her to do. She reads books on parenting, managing money, raising responsible kids as well as finding time for herself and her husband. There’s a certain instinct in women that can sense danger. I love that this says, “Her lamp goes not out.” My wife can be fully asleep and wake up if our son isn’t breathing right. I’ve slept through him falling out of the bed and hurting himself. God has given Proverbs 31 women an instinct to protect their own.

Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised! (Verse 30)

To me, inner beauty is far more important than outer beauty. If you ever saw the movie “Shallow Hal”, they did a good job of showing this. Hal was so concentrated on physical beauty that he couldn’t see inner beauty. He got hypnotized and saw women from the perspective of their inner beauty instead. This verse tells me that’s how we should see Proverbs 31 women. They are women who care about eternal things rather than the temporal. When she learns to worship God with all she has, her inner beauty can’t help but shine through into her outer beauty. Such a woman is to be praised and honored. She should be cherished and not objectified.

If God has blessed you where you have a Proverbs 31 woman in your life, honor her today. Let her know you are appreciative of all she does. When you read the whole chapter you will see that she works hard, gets up early, stays up late, finds time to balance her life, her relationships and her spiritual life. If you are called to be one, keep fulfilling your God given tasks. It’s not impossible for you to be this woman. You may feel like you fall short more often than not, but I am confident that if it’s your desire to be this kind of woman, God will give you the strength to do it. You were made in a His image after all. You are a strong and capable person who is an heir to the King of Kings. You are loved by a God All Mighty and His grace is sufficient for you!

If you would like to win “The Measure Of Success”, go to my Facebook page here and tag the Proverbs 31 women in your life. Tomorrow (8/16), I will select one person randomly who has tagged someone else to win the book. I will then post it on my site. If you haven’t liked my Facebook page, please do that as well to be able to see when new posts come out.

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August 14, 2014 · 8:03 AM

An Instrument Of Blessing

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

St. Francis of Asisi

I was reminded of this prayer recently. It’s been a while since I’ve read it. There are so many good things in it that we should pray as well. One of the things I really love about this prayer is that it reminds me to be more concerned with others than myself. It reminds me that I’m not supposed to run from hatred, I’m to sow love into it. I’m not supposed to get away from any of these negative things as a believer. I’m supposed to give what God has given me and plant it in the lives of people and in situations. St. Francis understood that.

He showed in this prayer and in his life that we should be focused on others more than we are on ourselves. When we do things for others, it’s for Christ. When we serve, we are actually leading. When we are helping others, we are really helping ourselves. I am constantly trying to see how Jesus lived and behaved in different situations to see if I’m living that way or behaving that way. Of course I fall short a lot of the time, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try. If He was our ultimate example of how to live, we should model our lives after His.

If He wasn’t afraid to sow love into hatred, then I shouldn’t be either. If it didn’t bother Him to spend time with the lost in an effort to save them, then it shouldn’t bother me. If He humbled Himself to wash the feet of those whom He was leading, then I should be willing to humble myself and serve them too. If His life was about showing love and giving, then mine should be too. It doesn’t matter who we are, we each have the ability to sow seeds into situations and lives. We just have to choose to do it.

What situations are you facing today that need God’s seeds planted in them? Who has God shown you that needs you to meet their needs before you meet your own? Take time today to purposefully give and plant instead of trying to receive. I’ve learned that someone else always has it worse than you do. No matter how bad your life might be, there’s always someone who needs your help. As God uses you to change their situation, more often than not, He changes yours. You just have to be willing to give before you receive.

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August 13, 2014 · 7:34 AM

Unanswered Prayers

Garth Brooks sang a song called “Unanswered Prayers” in the 90’s. In it he tells the story of how he and his wife ran into his high school flame. He remembered how he had prayed every night that God would make her his. He promised he’d never ask God for anything again if He would just answer this one prayer. As they talked he realized they were very different people. When he walked away, he thanked God for his wife because God knew what He was doing after all. He then finishes the song with, “Some of God’s greatest gift are unanswered prayers.”

I don’t know about you, but I find myself asking God for a lot. I have a specific time of prayer dedicated to just asking God for things I need, my family needs or that my friends need. A lot of times they go unanswered, they are delayed or answered in a way that I wasn’t even praying for. I’ve had some of my most passionate prayers feel like they were falling on deaf ears. I’ve felt like my tears were for nothing. I’ve even been mad at God for not answering my prayers the way I thought they should have been answered. Thankfully, God is patient with me.

Have you ever read “If you give a mouse a cookie”? It’s a children’s book that says if you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want a glass of milk. If you give him some milk, then he’ll want something else. If you give him that then he’ll want another thing. The book goes full circle to where if you give him this final thing, he’ll want a cookie. And if you give him a cookie, he’ll want some milk. I wonder if God looks at some of our prayers that way. We ask for something we don’t really need or is unhealthy for us and when we get it, He knows it will lead to needing other things that will create a cycle.

We don’t have the ability to see the cycle, but God does. He knows just what we need. James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father. He wants to give us good things, but we don’t always ask for those things. James 4:3 says, “And when you ask you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.” When I think of the prayers that aren’t answered, I try to go back and look at my motives. I try to think of why I wanted that so badly. Then I look at what a God did instead and I see that all along, He knew what He was doing.

You may be struggling with unanswered prayers right now. I’m not saying your motives are wrong or that you’re asking for your own pleasure. I’m saying that you should trust God to answer them His way. Say what Jesus said on His prayer, “Not my will be done, but yours.” Give God the freedom to answer your prayers the way He sees fit. He’s going to do it His way anyway. Giving Him the freedom helps you to accept it and helps to give you perspective. Who knows? Garth may be right. Some of God’s greatest gifts just may be unanswered prayers.

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August 12, 2014 · 6:45 AM

A Revival Of Love

I’m sure that Robin Williams’ death came as a shock to you as much as it did to me. How could someone so funny and entertaining lose a fight with depression? How could someone who brought so much happiness to others not be able to find happiness himself? These are the questions I asked when I heard the news. The truth is that he, like so many people, fought an unseen enemy in an arena that no one else can enter. He tried to deal with it the best ways he knew how. Most of which probably weren’t healthy or productive. We can sit and judge or we can watch and learn.

When I saw others post their favorite movie quotes of his, the one that came to my mind was fitting for the way he died. In the movie “Patch Adams”, his character, who was a doctor, said, “You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome.” So many times we look past the person and only see their disease, their sin or their faults. We spend so much time attacking the defect that we forget we are dealing with a person. We like to say, “Love the sinner. Hate the sin,” but too often we can’t see the sinner for the sin.

It’s hard to love someone when we are so focused on the thing we hate. When I read the way Jesus was in the New Testament, I see someone who had compassion for the individual person. He saw their sickness, their defect and their sin and He had compassion. Instead of pointing out the sin or disease, He looked at the person and showed love. He knew that when it comes to sin, you treat the person, not the sin. He knew that showing hate for the sin did more harm than good in most instances. Yes, He overthrew some tables a couple of times. Those were when He was upset at the very ones acting in His name. You never read where He got angry at a sinner.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t call sin “sin”. I’m saying we should be quicker to show compassion and love for others than we are to point out their sin. We don’t know what they have been through or what they are facing. What we do know is that we serve a God who forgives no matter what we or they have done. The only way they will see that is if we learn to show love to the sinner and treat the person not the sin. What would happen if we acted out the Golden Rule as if we believed it? You and I can’t forgive sin, so why do we try to treat it? We can however love the sinner, so why not do that instead?

So many people in this world need hope. So many are fighting unseen battles. Too many lose those battles without knowing there is someone who loves them and there is a God who can forgive and heal them. They’re afraid to come out because of what others might say or how they might be treated. If they knew that they would be shown love as a person and not treated as the disease or sin they have, they would be more willing to be open about it. They would get to see God through our actions of love and find forgiveness and healing from their sin. We could in essence start a revival through love. It has to start sometime, why not now? It has to start somewhere, why not with you and me?

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August 11, 2014 · 7:47 AM

Greater Dreams

I recently heard a preacher say, “Our dreams must be greater than our memories.” Immediately that struck a chord with me. As I continued to think on that phrase and ponder it’s implications, I began to think of examples in the Bible where that was true. I thought of several examples, but the one that stood out to me the most came from the book of Exodus. The Israelites had moved to Israel about 400 years earlier to escape the famine, but they never returned to the land God promised Abraham. Now they had become slaves in a land that was not theirs.

In Exodus 6, God spoke to Moses to tell the people that He would deliver them from slavery and would take them to the land He promised Abraham. When Moses told them what God said, they didn’t even listen. Verse 9 says, “They didn’t even hear him – they were that beaten down in spirit (MSG).” The dream of being free had been forgotten, but God wasn’t done. He wanted to revive that dream. He kept at them until they began to dream again. It culminated with them walking out of Egypt and heading for their Promised Land.

It didn’t take long after they were freed for their memories to become greater than their dreams. In Exodus 16, they began to cry out, “Why didn’t God let us die in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat?” They forgot that dreams require sacrifice. It’s hard work to make a dream become reality. Instead of putting in that hard work to realize the dream, they did something much easier, they remembered how easy it was before. Given the choice of working hard to achieve their dream or to relax and go back into slavery, they would have rather chosen the later.

It’s easy to sit in judgement thousands of years later, but are we really that different? We have each been given unrealized dreams that we are no where near accomplishing. Why? Because it’s easier to sit and talk about the vision for our life than to accomplish it. It’s not hard to dream. It’s hard to make it a reality. As soon as it gets hard, we start remembering how “good” we had it before. The dream we were given by God gets overpowered by our selective memories of the past. We agree to forfeit our freedom for a meal. So we turn back to go the Land of Ease instead of to the Promised Land.

The dream God has given you will not come without sacrifice. It will not bloom unless it is tended to. It requires you to get up from where you are, to take that step of faith you’ve been afraid of and to move in the direction God tells you to go. It won’t be easy, but nothing good ever is. There will be roadblocks along the way, but don’t let them stop you. Keep the dream God has given you at the forefront of your mind. Don’t let the enemy bring up old memories. Keep pushing them back until you’ve arrived at your destination. When you get there, those old memories won’t be the ones that will make you wish you had never left, they will make you glad you did.

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August 8, 2014 · 8:03 AM

Out Of Balance

It’s Free Friday! Today is the day you let go of the things in your life that keep you down or hold you back from all God has for you. To celebrate, I’m giving away a copy of “A Balanced Christian Life” by Watchman Nee. Keep reading to find out how to enter.

I had a car once that when I hit a certain speed, it would start bouncing all around. I took it to the shop to find out what was wrong with it. I was worried that something was really wrong with the car because of how badly it had been shaking. They drove it and came back with a diagnosis. The tires were out of balance. They removed them, added weights and then out them back on. The car drove like a dream after that for a while. When it happened again, I knew whys needed to be done. I had to get it balanced again.

Our lives are like that car. When things are out if balance, life gets shaky. Things start to fall apart and the road gets bumpy. We think there are things that are badly wrong, but the truth is that we are simply out of balance. We have to make corrections in our life that bring balance back to it. We have to stop and move things around so that life can be smooth again. The problem is that so many of us just deal with the bumps because we are afraid of the cost to get it back in balance.

When you look at Jesus’ life, He lived a balanced one. It wasn’t all ministry all the time. He took time to go to weddings, hang out with friends and have dinner with those who invited Him. He spent time ministering in the synagogue, but He also spent time ministering outside of it on the hillside. He poured Himself into thousands at a time and then He also had a small group of close friends He would minister to privately. He found balance in all He did because He knew how hard it is to maintain the necessary relationships on life if you are out of balance.

I am a person who is constantly on the go. It’s difficult for me to slow down or to stop and spend one on one time with people. It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s that I don’t have the time. If you’ve ever said that phrase before, maybe your life is out of balance too. Your the type that will drive life until the wheels fall off. I don’t think that’s really what God expects from us though. He built us to take rest. He built us to slow down and enjoy things because when we don’t, our relationship with Him ends up suffering. We go so busy doing things that we forget to enjoy life. We get so stressed that we can’t sleep. We have so much going on that we miss the things that are really important.

Take time today to see where God wants to bring balance to your life. Ask Him what things you need to let go of and what things you need to pick up. There are things that are ok for you to worry about and things that you need to let Him worry about. He has made His offer to us of swapping burdens. In Matthew 11:28-30 He said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you… For my yolk is easy to bear.” It’s time we gave God the things that wear us out and rest. He wants to give us balance, but we have to give Him the things that are keeping us out of balance.

If you would like to win “A Balanced Christian Lifr” by Watchman Nee, go to the Devotions By Chris Facebook page and “like” it. I will randomly pick one person tomorrow (August 9, 2014) who has liked my page. If you have already “liked” my page, you are already entered for this drawing. I would appreciate it if you would invite your friends to like my page so they can receive encouragement from God’s Word too.

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August 7, 2014 · 7:49 AM

The Valley Of Blessing

In II Chronicles 20, several armies declared war against King Jehoshaphat at the same time. It says he was terrified when he heard the news. He immediately began to beg The Lord for guidance and asked everyone to fast and pray with him. The people came to Jerusalem to pray with him and to be ready to fight this vast army that had risen up against them. While they were praying, a man spoke up and said, “Don’t be afraid! The battle is not yours, but God’s.” He also told the people they were to march out to the battlefield, but that they wouldn’t even have to fight.

When they showed up to the battlefield, the other armies had been fighting each other and not one was left alive. The Israelites walked through the valley and gathered up all the spoils. It took them three days to collect it all. On the fourth day, they decided to call that place the Valley of Blessing. After that, no other armies wanted to face Israel and the story ends with, “Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.” Not only had God fought his battle and given him the spoils, He gave him peace and rest.

When I think of valleys, I don’t think of blessings. I think of difficult times, dark times, hard times, wandering aimlessly, and pain. What I see in this story is that God can take our valleys and turn them into blessings. We don’t have to be terrified of them because the battles that we face there are not ours, but God’s. He is the one who goes before us. He’s the one who fights on our behalf. We look at the odds and think, “There’s no way.” God looks at the odds and think, “Nothing is impossible for me.”

I like that King Jehoshaphat had the people meet him in Jerusalem. The very name of that city means “God will see to it”. They were reminded of that while they were praying and fasting about what to do in the valley. They knew they were out numbered. They knew there was no way for them to win the battle. Fear had taken over. In the middle of all that anxiety, God reminded them that He would see to it. All they had to do was show up ready to fight. When they acted in obedience to the Word of God, their enemies were defeated and they gathered the spoils. What should have been a valley of defeat turned into a valley of blessing.

You don’t have to be afraid of whatever valley you’re facing today. God sees that the odds are against you. He sees the impossibility of your situation. He wants you to turn to Him in prayer so He can remind you that He will see to it. He will be the one who goes before you. He will be the one who says, “This is my battle not yours. Show up for the fight and watch what I do.” As verse 20 says, “Believe in The Lord your God and you will be able to stand firm.” No matter what enemy rises up against you, God will see to it that the place you are afraid of will be turned into a valley of blessing.

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August 6, 2014 · 7:44 AM

Be In The Moment

On my last trip to Haiti, there was a young lady on the team who brought a video camera. She wanted to film the different things we did on the trip and would then make a video for us. Throughout the trip, I would tell her, “Get your camera ready. You’re going to want to get this! Sit in this side of the truck, the view will be better.” Then at some of the places we were, I’d look at her and she wouldn’t have her camera out. I’d go up to her and say, “Can you get this? I think this would be great for the video.” She would oblige most of the time.

After one such incident where I noticed she didn’t have the camera out, I asked her after, “What’s going on? You’re missing some key moments of this trip.” She simply responded, “I’ve learned that it’s ok to just be in the moment sometimes. I don’t have to capture everything. Some moments should just be shared among us and not with everyone else.” In those few sentences, I’ve learned so much because I’m a go, go, go kind of person. I rarely stop and smell the roses. I hardly stop and celebrate success.

I think it’s part of today’s culture to be that way. When we do something good at work, instead of celebrating, our leaders say, “Nice. Now prove it wasn’t a fluke by doing it again. This time do better.” In our lives, we are off to work first thing, we power through lunch taking calls, after work we grab the kids, eat fast food, take them to practice, run home, bathe, homework and get to bed just so we can do it again tomorrow. We’ve forgotten how to be in the moment. We’ve forgotten that’s it’s ok to breathe and relax sometimes. We’ve forgotten how to have fun.

Ecclesiastes says there is a time and season for everything. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance. I believe there’s even a time to relax and enjoy moments. I believe God set this example in creation. The Bible says that on the seventh day, God rested. I think after all that work, He wanted to take a moment to soak it all in and to enjoy it. When we don’t stop and enjoy moments, we run the risk of getting stressed and burned out. That doesn’t help us or those who are close to us.

I can tell you that things will still go on. Things will still happen even if you take a break, this world has gone on for years before you were here and it will go on for years after you’re gone. Things can still turn out fine even if you take time to just be in the moment every now and then. That video that she produced was amazing. It captured our trip perfectly even though there were moments that didn’t make it into it. Those of us who were in those moments have a certain bond that only we share because we took the time to be in the moment.

If you’d like to watch this 4 minute clip from our trip, you can watch it here.

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August 5, 2014 · 7:54 AM

Connecting With God

In almost every sales class I’ve been in, one of the most important things they teach is to connect. If you can’t connect with the other person, there can be no trust. Without trust, there can be no relationship. There are lots of ways to connect with someone especially when you find common ground. It’s the same way in our relationship with God. He’s looking for a way to connect with each one if us. He’s trying to build common ground because He wants to have a relationship with each of us.

When you read in the Old Testament, the priests were Levites. They were the ones who were set apart to connect with God on behalf of Israel. If you had to atone for sins, you had them sacrifice for you. If you needed an answer from God, you asked them to intercede. Only the High Priest could enter the holiest part of the temple to speak with God. The Levites were a special tribe who had the distinct honor of being priests and connecting Israelites with God.

In Genesis 29, you read the story of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. God saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, so he opened her womb so that she could bear him children. One of those children she named Levi. When you look at the meaning of the name Levi, it means “to connect”. I find it interesting that God chose the children of the tribe whose name meant connect in order to connect with His children. His plan to connect with His people was in place even before Levi was born.

Today, you and I have the ability to connect with God on our own. We don’t need a priest from Levi to offer sacrifices or to inquire with God on our behalf. Since Jesus came to this earth, He made a way for us to connect with God. I Timothy 2:5 says there is only one God and only one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ. Jesus has taken the place of the Levites in connecting us with God. He has built the trust necessary for us to have a relationship with God. He built the common ground necessary by becoming human.

God knew that it would be difficult for people to connect with Him if He hadn’t walked in our shoes. He sacrificed all He had just so He could empathize with our struggles and build a relationship with us. Just like any relationship, it takes two parties coming together. He’s done His part to connect with us. What are we doing to connect with Him? What are we doing to grow the relationship. If you want a deeper relationship with Him, you’re going to have to do the things that build connections and trust in your relationship.

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August 4, 2014 · 8:06 AM

Unexpected Help

I once heard the story of a town that was about to be flooded. There was a man in that town who prayed that God would save him from the flood. A little while later, the sheriff came and knocked on his door. He told him to evacuate before the flood came. The man replied, “God will save me.” Not long after that, the floods began to rise and water came into his house. He called on God again to save him. By now, he had gotten on his roof because the water was so high. A boat came by and offered to take him to safety, but he replied that God would save him.

The water rose so high that he was standing on the highest gable of his roof to keep from being swept away by the water. He cried out in desperation for God to save him. It wasn’t long before a helicopter flew overhead, saw him and lowered a man down in a basket. The man refused to get in the basket and told them that God would save him. After the helicopter left, the floods swept the man off his roof and he died. When he got to Heaven, he asked God why He didn’t save him. God replied, “I sent the sheriff, a boat and a helicopter. Why didn’t you accept my help?”

We often pass on God’s help because it’s doesn’t come in the packaging we want or expect. We think that God has to act supernaturally in order to truly help us. The fact is that God mainly uses other people to bring about His answers into our lives. He sends people to give us money in our desperation, but our pride won’t let us accept it. He has people offer vehicles, groceries, jobs and other things that we need, but we pass on them because we think God is going to open up the heavens, send a beam of light with harp playing angels to deliver what we need. We miss so many blessings because we refuse the answers God gives through others.

The next time you ask God for help, look around. He may be answering it in a way that you weren’t expecting. He could be using one person to get you to take a step of faith that will open the door for future blessings. I know I’ve seen God be a blessing to my family in desperate times. The answer didn’t always come from where I thought it would. In fact, it has never come from where I thought it would. That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t God. It just means that God has a better plan than I do and I need to accept His help when and how He sends it.

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