Tag Archives: christian living

August 20, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Being The Clay

giphy

Several times in the Bible, we are referred to as clay, and God as the potter like in Isaiah 64:8. It says, “And yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand” (NLT). I know that part of why God used the pottery analogy in the Bible was because it was a common thing that the people of that day could easily relate to. You and I don’t see it as much in our world, but the imagery still works.

If you’ve ever watched someone make pottery, there are several images like the one above that comes to mind. The first one that comes to mind is that to be perfectly balanced, we have to be in the center of His “wheel” or will. The wheel is spinning very quickly and unless you are in the center, you typically get thrown off or are wobbly at best. God’s desire for each of us is to be in the center of his will where He places us.

The next image I see is His hands on the clay as it spins. After a potter puts clay in the center of the wheel, He cups His hands around it to make sure it stays balanced. When God starts with each of us, we’re just a lump of unmolded clay. The first thing He does is place His hands around our life. He smooths out our lumps and tests our pliability. No matter how much things seem to be spinning out of control, we stay in God’s hands throughout the process.

After the potter smooths out the edges and has us balanced, he does something interesting. He uses his thumbs to empty the clay of itself, making it hollow. It’s exactly what God does to us. He empties us of ourselves so we can be filled with His love. The more we allow God to take out of us, the more we have room for Him and the things He wants to put in our lives. As I’ve watched potters do this process, they keep one hand on the outside while the other hand pulls out the clay from the inside.

Finally, the potter begins to shape the clay into the vessel He wants it to be. Only the potter can see beyond the lump of clay to what it could be. We look at ourselves as nothing more than a lump of ordinary clay, but when God looks at us, He sees incredible works of art that can be used for His purposes. He doesn’t look at who you are, He looks at who you will become. With patience and loving care, He creates in us things we could never imagine for ourselves. Those things only happen when we are willing to stay in the middle of the wheel and when we allow Him to empty us of ourselves.

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August 12, 2015 · 7:12 AM

Show Your Progress (Video)

Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress.
I Timothy 4:15 (NLT)

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July 30, 2015 · 7:01 AM

Strength Is For Service

Do you have any friends who are body builders? I do. They work hard at bringing their body under discipline, they exercise, lift weights and eat right too. Imagine if you will, if this person who is ripped walked past someone who was struggling to lift something and said, “I lift things heavier than that at the gym.” Then they walk away. How would you feel about that person? You know and they know they have the strength to help, but didn’t. It would change your opinion about them.

The same is true for those of us who have strength of character. We may be strong in many areas of our lives and not have to worry about certain temptations. Imagine if we saw someone struggling with sin and said, “I don’t struggle with that.” We would look like hypocrites and give the appearance that we don’t care about their struggle. Hopefully you think that would be a shame, but believers do it all the time. We see people struggle with sin and we steer clear of them. That’s against what God’s Word teaches.

Romans 15:1-2 lay it out clearly. It says, “Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, ‘How can I help?‘” (MSG) Part of being a Christian is looking beyond yourself and helping others who are walking down the same path. We can’t just leave them behind or treat them as inferior Christians.

My favorite part of that verse says, “Strength is for service, not status.” God has called you and I to be servants. No matter how close we get to God, no matter how strong of a Christian we think we are, we are to help others by serving them. God is pleased with our ability to be humble enough to help those who struggle rather than to turn our nose up at them. The only status that matters in Heaven is “Servant”. You are never too strong to not bend down and help someone else. God is looking for us to do what’s right even if it’s not convenient. 

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July 22, 2015 · 7:31 AM

Persistent Prayers

I think that prayer is something that most of us wish we did more of. I don’t think it’s really a time issue as much as it is a return on investment issue. Let me explain. In our lives we give time to things that give us a quick return. We’ve grown accustomed to eating out because it takes less time than having to read a recipe, go to the store to get the ingredients, prepare the food, cook the food, prepare the table and serve it. We get a much quicker return on our investment by going to a restaurant and have less work doing so.

When it comes to prayer, we tend to have that same mentality. We expect Hod to give us a quick turn around on our investment of time. When we don’t get a quick answer, we say, “It must not be God’s will,” and we quit praying for it. We also spend very little time speaking to God about the things we need. We send up quick, 9-1-1 prayers in an time crunch situation wanting God to respond in a matter of minutes. I don’t know if that’s a product of our societal conditioning or if it’s just human nature.

What I do know is that Jesus gave a couple of different parables regarding prayer. One such is found in Luke 18:1-11. It starts off by saying, “Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. (MSG)” He told us right in the beginning how He expects us to pray. He’s not looking for one off prayers where we are one and done. He wants us to pray about our situations consistently and without quitting. In the parable He gives the example of a widow who wants protection because her rights are being violated.

The judge she goes to help for could care less what God or anyone thinks. He does things his own way. In the story it says that he wouldn’t even give her the time of day. But, because she didn’t quit and was consistent, he answered her request. He said, “I’d better do something and see that she gets justice- otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black and blue by her pounding. (MSG)” He didn’t answer her request because he wanted to, he answered it because he knew she wouldn’t quit.

When is the last time God knew you weren’t going to quit praying about something until you got your answer? Most of the time, we’ve given up before we’ve ever started praying. In fact, prayer is usually our last option instead of our first. If you’ve been praying for an answer and haven’t gotten it yet, keep going to God in prayer. Sometimes He needs to know you won’t quit before He answers. Show Him that you are depending on Him alone to answer your request. Pray consistently and frequently and God will not drag His feet in answering you. 

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July 20, 2015 · 5:16 AM

Fit Perfectly Together (Video)

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Ephesians 4:16 (NLT)

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July 15, 2015 · 7:12 AM

Faith’s Value

A while ago, there was a bank commercial where they had hidden cameras and walked up to people on a busy street. They opened a briefcase with $100,000 cash in it, handed it to them, asked them to watch it and said they’d be right back. One man sat down with the briefcase and put it under his legs. He appeared nervous as he looked both ways while clutching the briefcase. He was guarding it even though it wasn’t his. The commercial says, “We gave total strangers $100,000 and they didn’t take a dime.” Each one of them guarded what was given to them.

Paul essentially told Timothy the same thing about his faith. In I Timothy 6:20 Paul wrote, “Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you.” His instruction to him and to us is that we are to guard our faith. We should treat it as a precious treasure that has been given to us. The Message says, “Guard it with your life.” Just like now, there were people who were easily distracted by the things of this world and wandered from the faith. They didn’t see their faith as being more valuable than anything the world has to offer, so Paul wanted to remind Timothy of its worth. 

In II Corinthians 4:7, Paul described our faith like this. He said, “We have this precious treasure, the Divine Light of the Gospel, in frail human vessels of earth. (AMP)” Our faith is valuable like a treasure. It is not common or ordinary, so why do we treat it as such? We must hold onto it, value it and cherish it the same way we would if we were holding onto something worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. When we see our faith as valuable, we do things that protect it. We stay away from temptations that would lead us away from it.

In order to truly value our faith, we have to look at what it cost. That’s why Paul was constantly reminding us in the New Testament of the work Jesus did on the cross. He also spoke of his suffering for it. While salvation is free to you and me, it cost Jesus everything. There’s something in us that devalues what costs us nothing. Paul warned Timothy to not look at faith that way, but to look at it as a valuable treasure worth protecting.

The value you assign to something determines how you treat it. That’s why you wear old clothes to do yard work in. They have little value and you treat them as such. You would never wear your best clothes to do hard work in. You value them too much. The same is true with faith. The less you value it, the less you use it or have a resolve to live up to its demands. On the other side of that, the more you value it, the more you’re willing to sacrifice for God. How much do you value your faith? You just have to look at how you live in order to answer that question.

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June 26, 2015 · 5:45 AM

10 Scriptures On Virtue

 

1.   For the righteous LORD loves justice. The virtuous will see his face. (Psalms 11:7 NLT)

2.   A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman–who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls. (Proverbs 31:10 AMP)

3.   If you are sensible, you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it. (Proverbs 19:11 GNT)

4.   The wicked bluff their way through, but the virtuous think before they act. (Proverbs 21:29 NLT)

5.   For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8 ESV)

6.   Shun youthful lusts and flee from them, and aim at and pursue righteousness (all that is virtuous and good, right living, conformity to the will of God in thought, word, and deed); [and aim at and pursue] faith, love, [and] peace (harmony and concord with others) in fellowship with all [Christians], who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22 AMP)

7.   Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14 NIV)

8.   Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8 MEV)

9.   You have loved righteousness [You have delighted in integrity, virtue, and uprightness in purpose, thought, and action] and You have hated lawlessness (injustice and iniquity). Therefore God, [even] Your God (Godhead), has anointed You with the oil of exultant joy and gladness above and beyond Your companions. (Hebrews 1:9 AMP)

10.   Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives. (Titus 2:1-6 MSG)

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June 23, 2015 · 7:37 AM

He Is Near

  
If you’ve ever had a baby who slept in a different room than you, you’ve probably used a monitor of some kind. My son is four and we still use one with him. If something happens in the night, he can call out to us and we will head to His room to help him. Even though he can’t see us, he knows that we are close enough to hear him. He has faith that when he needs something, if he calls out to us, we will come meet that need. It’s not so different for us as believers. Our Heavenly Father monitors us and hears us when we call out for help.

Psalm 145:18 says, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth. (AMP)” There are times in life when we can’t see God or feel his presence. We may be walking through one of the darkest times of our life, but God has not abandoned us just because we can’t see Him. He is there watching over us, listening to our hearts as we make our way. Often, we try to do it on our own. We want to prove we are strong enough to handle anything, but we don’t have to.

God is waiting for us to call out to Him in our time of need. In Matthew 14, after Jesus fed 5,000 with the five loaves and two fish, Jesus sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee by themselves. Verse 24 says, “Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land. (NLT” It was about three o’clock in the morning. It was pitch black and they found themselves in a storm scared to death. You’ve got to know they cried out to God for help in their time of need. They couldn’t see Jesus because of the rain and darkness, but He never lost sight of them.

Verse 25 says that Jesus came walking toward them on the water. Then He spoke the words that He speaks to you and I today, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here! (NLT)” Just like when my son calls out in the night and I call back to him, so Jesus does with us. His voice reassures us we are going to be ok even if we can’t see Him. We can take courage because He will never leave you or forsake you. He won’t let you face the unknown alone. He is near to those who call on Him.

I’m not sure what you will face today or have been facing, but I do know that you are not alone. In your darkness, in your storm of the unknown, Jesus is walking on water calling out to you, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here.” He sees you even when you can’t see Him. He is working for your good through all of turmoil, through all of the uncertainties and problems. His voice is louder than the storm you’re in. His spirit can give you peace no matter what you’re up against. All you have to do is call out to Him and know that He is near. He won’t let you face this alone.

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June 18, 2015 · 6:00 AM

Times Of Transition

Transitions in life are hard. They mean that one part of your life’s story is over and a new one is about to begin. They are the space between where faith is tested and fear fights to creep in. They are a temporary no man’s land that we have to walk through in order to grow. As we walk through them, it’s hard to see what’s coming next. The territory is so unknown to us that we put our attention and focus on the transition rather than on where we’re being transitioned to. We question God’s providence in our situation during these times.

I remember one of the first lessons I learned working in a child care center was with transitions. Kids hated transitions as much as adults. I learned that if I told them we were going to be making a change in direction in a few minutes, it would give them time to finish what they were doing and to prepare mentally for what was coming next. Now, when I talk to sales reps, I talk to them about transitions in the sale. It’s important for the buyer to know where they are in the sale and what’s coming next. I even encourage them to share with the buyer the why behind the transition.

As I’ve thought about all of that, I started wishing God would give us the warnings about transitions approaching in our lives and the why’s behind them. As I prayed about it, God reminded me how many times Jesus told the disciples what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem and why. They never heard a word of it and were shocked in the Garden of Gethsemane. They entered a time of transition between having Jesus walk with them daily and having the Holy Spirit coming as their guide. Like us, they were confused, frightened and wondered where God was in the transition.

God speaks to each of us daily. He says things we ignore or don’t want to hear so we block Him out. We use our selective hearing when He speaks of things that scare us. The disciples heard Jesus tell them about the transition, but they weren’t listening. Even when we know a transition is coming, it’s still natural to be scared. We’re afraid of change. The last few years have taught me that change is necessary for growth. When we fight it, we fight growing, we fight the future God has for us and we fight God’s will. Our times of transition help prepare us for the change. They grow our faith and trust in God’s plan for our life. It’s something we can only see when we take the time to look back.

Imagine if Peter and the others had stayed locked up in their house and never went to the upper room. Out of 500 people whom Jesus told to go and wait, only 120 made it through the transition. They were tough enough to stick it out and trusted that God had something more on the other side of the transition. As He did for them, so He does for you. God has something greater for you on the other side of this time of transition. It may take longer than you expected, but hang on. The reward will be worth it. The growth you will experience will be like no other time in your life. Don’t give up in the time of transition. Hold strong to your faith and trust God to see you through. 

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June 17, 2015 · 5:45 AM

Jesus Moonwalking

Since I am on vacation this week with my family, I’m reposting some of my favorite devotions from the past.

A friend showed me a video this week of two teams of guys doing a drill of passing basketballs. The video asked how many times a certain group passed the ball. I watched intently and counted in my head as they passed the ball. At the end of the video it asked, “How many did you count?” My answer was right. I took a deep breath, held my chin up a little bit and bowed out my chest as if I was something. Then the video asked, “Did you see the moonwalking bear?”

What bear? There were two teams of guys passing balls. There was no bear. Then the video rewinds and highlights a guy in a bear costume start from the right side of the screen and moon-walked through the players to the left side of the screen. The guys had to move in order to pass around him, but I never saw him when I initially watched it. I also replayed the video from the beginning just to make sure they didn’t try to pull a fast one on me. He was there the whole time.

I was reading John chapter one this morning and came across verse 10. Speaking about Jesus, it says, “He came into the world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him.” You’re thinking, “I recognize Him”, but really we have the advantage of the tape rewind like I did later in that video. Would we have recognized Him in that time when He came in the flesh? Would we have readily received Him? Or would we have been so busy counting the laws we were supposed to be obeying that we missed Jesus moonwalking through our world.

What about today’s world? Do you see Jesus in your world today? He’s there all around us. He’s the homeless person on the corner who’s hungry. He’s the single mother who doesn’t have enough money to pay the bills. He’s the person who has been beat down by this world and doesn’t think they can go on another day. He’s the child who has been orphaned and is in need of love. He’s in the cubicle next to you. In the house next door. Standing in front of you in line. He’s moonwalking through our lives and we don’t see Him most of the time because we aren’t really looking for Him.

Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me.” How many times have I overlooked someone or ignored them? It wasn’t intentional. I was just busy going about my day doing what I do. I wasn’t looking for those opportunities. According to verse 45, that won’t be an acceptable excuse. Jesus said, “Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me – you failed to do it to me.”

I don’t want to miss Jesus moonwalking through my life today. I pray that God opens my eyes so I can see Him where I didn’t expect Him. I pray that God gives me the courage to help the people that are overlooked and ignored when I see them. I’m hoping today that you’ll make that your prayer too. Jesus is all around us everyday, but we don’t see Him because we aren’t looking for Him that way. Yet, He told us in His Word that’s what He’d look like in our world. Keep your eyes open today and let me know where you see Him moonwalking.  

To watch the Moonwalking Bear video, click here.

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