A Need for Escape

I Corinthians 10:12-13 says "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

I read somewhere that temptation is like someone looking through the keyhole into your house but the actual sin is when you open the door and allow that "peeping Tom" to come in. It seems to me that people use this Scripture as an excuse sometimes in that, if they wind up giving in to temptation, they say they "couldn't help themselves".

 It takes strength to resist evil of any kind.  Where does you strength come from?  "My strength comes from the Lord." (Ps 28:7, Ps 121:2) If we are not in communion with God the Father or welcoming the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have no support.  We cannot hear the guidance of the coach if we are on the other side of the field.  So as we traverse the temptations in our lives, we need to stay close to God for His strength and His guidance so that we can search for the "way of escape".  If you were in a corn stalk maze, you would have to search for the exit.  Sometimes there are dead ends, or you get turned around, but if you wave your flag for help, the guide in the watchtower will point you in the correct direction.

Don't assume there will be no temptation because you are a Christian.  Rather, shore yourself up, stay close in communion with the Guide and look sharply for your way of escape.

How to be a True Friend

Service

My devotions took me to II Timothy 2 today.  I have been asking God to open doors for me for service as I am missing the chance to do that and time restrictions and schedules don't allow for me to participate in "structured" events.  So, as is true to form, the Holy Spirit blessed me with both conviction and inspiration.  This devotional reading confirmed my conviction.  Paul is talking to Timothy about service and the different types of service, as far as approved and disapproved service.  He wanted Timothy to serve the Lord with pure motives and clear conscience.  Starting in verse 22, he says, "Flee youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife."  I felt inspired that Paul is encouraging having correct friends surrounding you.  Earlier in the chapter (vs 17) he refers to two people who were negatively affecting the church with their tainted words and twisted beliefs.  Here he is telling Timothy not to be reckless with his choice of surroundings but to choose servants who have the same type of heart that he does to partner with.  I think it is important to remember that friendships are relationships and good relationships take maintenance and hard work.

Friendship

I have been blessed with a friend at a very lonely point of my life.  When I first met her, I was struck by the light of her smile and the peaceful enthusiasm that she attacked life with.  My heart leaped inside me that the Lord had provided a friend so joyful!  We struck up a friendship right off.  Now this lady had twin girls 6 years old, 1 daughter 5 years old, a son 2 years old, and a new born (5 months).  Her husband has the same enthusiasm and he is joyfully establishing a country life for his kids.  They were originally city folks and have now migrated to the country with an 8 acre wooded property, nice house, he added chickens, hunts rabbits out back and just got a German Short-haired pointer puppy (7 weeks old) to add to the mix.  They want to put in a garden and are thrilled with the space God have provided for them to care for!  I stopped by to drop off some plants for her garden one night and saw an exhausted mom, nursing her infant, a puppy begging to come out, kids running around upstairs, dad exhausted, and a niece and nephew who came to stay the night.

The house was evidence of extreme busy-ness. We have tried to get together on numerous occasions to no avail and I was a little hurt.  But then the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and softened my heart.  "Put yourself in her shoes.....how would you be doing?"  I was bothered by this thought for a few days and then an opportunity presented itself.  I had 4 days off in a row and list a mile long that I wanted to accomplish. The very first day, it poured down rain and I had my plans squashed.  So I sat having my coffee that morning and praying and the Holy Spirit said, "Go see your friend."  So I took my daughter and we went to see her.  It was 9:30 in the morning and we walked into the house to see her daily mayhem underway.  My daughter took off with the girls and was in her glory.  The kids were eating Graham Crackers and milk for breakfast and Ginny was nursing the baby.  There was a huge bowl of celery on the table and her son was apparently learning how to cut celery with a butter knife.  The puppy was crying to go out, the kids were all in pajamas and running around, the laundry was escaping it's space, etc.  I had brought her a bag of fresh rhubarb and she was smiling ear to ear and exclaimed that she was going to try and make jam!  I laughed at her joy and started picking up and wiping down.

Verse 24 says, "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."  The devil had been working on a corner of my mind and a corner of my heart as well.  Until I laid my burdens at the foot of the cross, let the Holy Spirit intercede for me, and asked forgiveness for things both known and unknown to me, I could not escape that snare.  My friend asked why I was helping her and we talked about the things that God was showing both of us.  We talked openly and healed our hearts together.  So I talked and listened to my friend, took the puppy out a few times, cleaned up puppy food, wiped down the table and all the chairs, did the dishes, folded laundry, switched a load of wash into the dryer and found the whole container of fabric softener had been washed with the load, started a new load, cut up and froze the rhubarb for her, planted her strawberry pot, gave out hugs and left her to her day.  I was blessed for being a servant and she was where God allowed me to serve, and I know she was blessed for having a friend who followed the urging of the Holy Spirit.

Heaven Bound or Earthly Drowned?

Let's talk about focus. I was sitting at my kitchen table this morning and looking out the window feeling a little depressed and dejected and frustrated.  I am always trying to come up with some idea to try and make extra money. I think all of us can use a little extra here and there.  I have not been one to really think about money much.  I have been very blessed in that God has always provided more than what I needed.  Currently, I can use a little more because the basics are barely covered!  As I sat praying and pouring my heart out, I thought, "Let me see what I can find about prosperity in the Scriptures" and I opened  my Bible to where I had left off the day before and my eyes were carried to the end of Chapter 3 of Philippians where Paul is talking about running the race to receive the prize.  Today is also the Race for the Cure...coincidence?  Nope!

Look at Philippians 3: 12.  It became so clear to me that this partnership between Paul and Christ is what I need to focus on.  I picked out these words, "I took hold of Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus took hold of me." He goes on and basically is telling us to look ahead.  Don't look back.  Remember Lots wife when she turned back to look behind her she became a pillar of salt and to this day, nothing will grow in the soil where that pillar of salt dissolved.  How powerful is that?!  When we spend our time looking back, we hinder growth.  When we look back, we loose our grip on Christ Jesus because He is in front of us and we cannot maintain that hold if we are turned the opposite direction. Verse 14 says how Paul presses on to the goal for the prize which God has called him heavenward (or forward, in my interpretation).

In verse 17 he asks us to follow his example and then in verse 19 he groups people together.  He talks about people who are focused on the goals of the day instead of the goals of eternity.  How very small a vision we have if we only focus on the things of this world.  How infinite our dreams can be if we allow ourselves the freedom of focusing on heavenly goals. The folks who are feeding their appetite for money, or climbing a ladder for personal success, or gluttons who spend more money on unnecessary food or shopping in general rather than putting money into ministry, who have too high a car payment just to keep up with social status, or whose mortgage is strangling them so they live in a place where they can be "seen".  What are we focused on?

I have no need for sweet treats now and again but I selfishly argue that "I deserve it" and spend that $3.00 that could be used for something more beneficial.  What example am I sending to my daughter?  What is your vice?  A manicure?  New shoes when you have plenty?  Alcohol?  Eating out when you can eat in?  Movies that are not Christ honoring? Cigarettes? Snack foods?  Magazines? Cars? Jewelry? Plants? Home Decor?  How blurred is your line between needs and wants (or deserves)?  How skewed  is your focus?  Let Holy Spirit convict you and listen well to His call.  What a stronger church and stronger families we would be if we listened to Paul's suggestion and focused our eyes on Jesus.

The last 2 verses are, in short interpretation, saying that Jesus Christ has everything under control and will transform us to be like Him.  That is the prize.

Philippians 3:12-21 

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, 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,¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶ Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

¹⁷ Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Love is Patient

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

In the famous love chapter, I Corinthians 13, the definition of love or loves actions starts with "Love is Patient."  Do you think there is a rhyme or reason to the order of adjectives that describe the action of love?  It struck me the other day that the possible connection to the order is far from random.  We know that GOD is LOVE.  We know that Jesus Christ personified love.  But how does it translate to our every day actions?

As I have mentioned previously, I have a 3 1/2 year old daughter who is an only child and is very independent.  Yesterday morning I was reflecting on just this section and thinking about what that means in my life.  I was feeling pretty good until life got underway for the day and when my sleepy three year old decided that eating was not part of her criteria for the day as we approached our departure time for the day, I finally turned and yelled, "PlEEEEEase Eat your BREAKfast!!!".  A still small voice in the back of my mind tapped on the door of my heart and said, "Uh huh!  See why love is patient?"  How really critical is it that she eats when I say for her to eat?  I myself am a "grazer" and have a hard time eating at the normal assigned times of the day.  My husband is the same way.  Why would she be any different?  (Deep breath)

Jesus was so very patient and kind (second reference for love).  He patiently told Peter 3 times that he would be denying knowing Christ.  I imagine that as He looked at Judas in that upper room, He was disappointed and yet the embodiment of love within Him did not allow for Jesus to treat Judas differently.  As Christ sat with Mary and Martha busied into the room, I imagine she exploded as Christ about Mary not helping her.  Perhaps she even interrupted Him as He was teaching Mary and yet He quietly shook His head and looked in love at Martha, knowing exactly who she was in that moment, and lovingly reminded her that Mary had chosen well.  Again and again we see the example.  Different circumstances and different people but the same action.  The 10 lepers that Christ healed and only one came back to thank Him.  He knew before He ever saw them that only one would be grateful.  The Pharisees and Sadducee were explained to over and over again.  

In my own life, the choices I have made, my heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit have gently reminded me and reminded me and reprimanded me or delivered quiet consequence for my actions.  I may not receive the consequence quietly but I certainly receive it that way.  

How do you show love to those closest to you?  Love your neighbor as yourself.  I heard someone point out the other day that your family members are your neighbors as well as those who live outside your home.  How well do we exemplify LOVE?

New Every Morning

Lamentations 3:22-23

New International Version (NIV)

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

I have always thought that the verse said "His grace or mercies are new every morning".  Looking at the NIV of Lamentations and seeing that His compassions are new every morning is a little different.  What does the word compassion mean to you?  The fact that He considers us His children and now seeing that His compassions are new every morning makes me feel special.  I know I am special in His eyes and He only sees me as the finished product, but it gives me a different perspective.  As an "old mom" (43 with a 3 year old), I can appreciate the newness of the morning.  After both myself and my daughter have rested through the night, we can come together with renewed vigor and a forgotten sense of the frustration from the day before.

Compassion to me means....caring with sensitivity. Empathy and love that show a sincere response on the part of both the care-giver and the recipient.  Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are both our care-givers and the compassions they have on us daily is inconceivable. They really must look at us once in a while and say "Really?!  Your going to do the same thing you did yesterday?  I thought we had this covered. Okay, use your free-will and let's get on with it."

How awesome is it to have this God who forgives, forgets, sees us covered in grace and surrounded by His glory and yet meets us right where we are from the moment we open our eyes in the morning?! Thank you God for a new beginning and bright tomorrows.

WHATEVER!!

Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 reads, "Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you - for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others."

How many times have you worried about what others are saying about you?  As women, I think it is something that is part of our mental DNA.  We are, for whatever reason, concerned with whatever people are saying about us - and particularly other women! Perhaps the reason we wonder is because we ourselves have said things we should not have said and we know we will reap what we sow. We can be a rough group!  The mind can play tricks on us, deceiving us and leading us around shadowy corners.  Thank you God for your Word that reminds us of your truths and our tricks through words of wisdom!

Take the Good with the Bad

Mantis vs Grasshopper

James 1:17 states "Every good and perfect thing comes from above."  I have heard and even believed for myself that when bad things happen to good people that it must be evil at work in their lives.  Not true necessarily.  Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 says "Consider what God has done:  Who can straighten what God has made crooked?  When time are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other."  It can be a challenge for us to consider that a loving God would allow for bad things to happen to His children but it should be viewed without rose colored glasses.  As a parent, I don't wish harm on my child but I have knocked her in the head more than once when I was moving too quickly or knocked over when I didn't know she was under my feet. God is certainly gracious to give us bad times because otherwise we would be living in a fantasy world.  Adam and Eve lived in the first ever fantasy world.  They did not have to work, had all they needed and were created for each other for the purpose of furthering the human race and being companions for each other.  They were the first perfect marriage as I believe God selected Adams mate so there could not have been anyone better for him.  Still, they made a bad choice and bad things happened to them. Some of those things were consequences of their actions and their choices but others were a result of being outside the perfect place God had created for them to dwell (the Garden).

Solomon says to consider when times are bad.  What a great statement.  Don't be sad, mad, irritated, blaming God, asking why, but consider.  What should we consider about that?  I think just to look at things from different angles and try to understand (which is not always a possibility  why it happened or even consider how you can make good from the bad; the proverbial lemons to lemonade.