Monthly Archives: April 2016

Putting Out Fires!

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I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will guide you with My eye. -Psalm 32:8 NKJV
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At times, our lives can feel like they are “careening out of control, so much so that you feel like a firefighter running from here to there, extinguishing fires breaking out in your life or the lives of those around you.” (Nortker, 3-Minute Devotionals For Women) Everywhere we look their are new issues threatening to burst into flames. And then, there are those explosions that take us by surprise. How can we find peace with all that is happening around us? But, we can’t let outer circumstances control our lives. What we see, hear, and feel around us tends tamper with our emotions. But, we can’t let our emotions control us, or else they will become like fuel thrown into the fires in our lives. As you can understand, uncontrolled emotions only exacerbate the problems in our lives.

We have to stop, drop, and roll.

1. Stop immediately reacting to our emotions
2. Drop to our knees and pray
3. Roll into listening mode

 stop drop and roll 042213_0138_ThinkLikeGo1

1. Stop immediately reacting to our emotions

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” – James 1:19 NIV

2. Drop to our knees and pray

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”-Philippians 4:6-7NIV

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”-John 5:14NIV

3. Roll into listening mode

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” -John 16:13

For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”-Luke 12:12 ESV

As Christians, we need to let the Holy Spirit lead us instead of our emotions.

“When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”- Psalm 91:15 ESV

That way, we allow God to rescue us from the fires in our lives. Amen.

 

Reference:

Brigitta Nortker, comp. 3-Minute Devotionals For Women. Uhrichsville: Barbour, Ohio. Print.

Crossroads

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“Trust  in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In
all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

 Crossroads

“Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.” – Judges 6:36-40

Have you ever asked God for a sign? Have you ever prayed that if one thing came to pass, you would take the next step? Maybe you haven’t gone so far as to ask God for a sign. Maybe you don’t have as much doubt or disbelief as Gideon had. Or maybe you aren’t as bold as Gideon. You have to admit Gideon was pretty audacious to ask God for another sign after he had already asked God for a second sign, and God had given it to him. “Amazingly God wasn’t angry with Gideon for his disbelief. God met Gideon where he was. Gideon’s faith was growing; that’s what mattered to God. When we feel inadequate about our qualifications for the job God has given us, we can take a page from Gideon’s book. Gideon didn’t hold back his fear of failure. He needed God’s reassurance and patience in his faith walk, and God lovingly provided both.”(Nortker, 3-Minute Devotionals For Women, p. 303) Perhaps, signs like the ones Gideon asked for are a thing of the Old Testament. Or, perhaps it would be considered disrespectful or foolish to ask God for a sign. But, we can always pray and ask God for His guidance in every step of our lives. “The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” – Psalm 32:8 He is faithful and patient with us. He is always there to listen to us and provide us the patience necessary to wait for His guidance and timing. And, if we quiet ourselves before Him and listen, He will provide us with the reassurance we need to take the next step. Amen.

Reference:

Brigitta Nortker, comp. 3-Minute Devotionals For Women. Uhrichsville: Barbour, Ohio. Print.

The Barren Tree

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“He must increase, but I must decrease” – John 3:30 ESV

“The tree was bare. Every leaf had been shed. Winter had arrived. Yet, beyond the barren tree, the sun peeked its head above the treetops. Dawn was breaking. As the sun ascended higher, it’s rays were visible through the bare branches. Before long, the entire tree was glowing as the sun’s radiance shone through it.” (Nortker, 3-Minute Devotionals For Women, p. 91)

 barren tree

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

 -James 4:10 NKJV

 

What is humility? The Living Bible translation of James 4:10 describes it as seeing ourselves as worthless. It says, “Then when you realize your worthlessness before the Lord, he will lift you up, encourage and help you.” Humility is one of the most misunderstood concepts. There is a quote by C.S. Lewis that sums it up pretty good, though: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” When we think about it like that, we have to ask ourselves the following question: how much time do we spend thinking about ourselves (our wants, our desires, our happiness, our dreams, our goals, our plans, our finances, our things). I’m sure that most will find that we spend more time thinking about ourselves than thinking about God or others. But, if we spent less time thinking about our problems, wants, needs; how would our lives be different? Maybe we would be less stressed about our own lives and a bigger blessing in other’s lives? The author of the excerpt above describes a tree, that doesn’t have any leaves or blossoms. It’s been stripped of everything that could give it physical beauty, power, glory. In the same way, we need to be able to let God strip us of our desires and our visions of self-importance. We need to humble ourselves, before The Lord, and offer Him everything we have and want. That way, God can take the pride and other ungodly attitudes from us. If we do that, we will not be hindered by our own selfish will from fulfilling His complete and ultimate purpose for our lives. What if we made God’s will and God’s plans our will and our plans? Since the tree had less of itself, the glory of the sun (Son of God) could shine through it making it a more glorious sight than if it would have stubbornly retained its leaves. We need to be like the tree. We need to decrease, so that God can increase (“He must increase, but I must decrease” – John 3:30) and His glory can shine through us and past our insufficiencies. Amen.

 

“Jesus said to His followers, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must forget about himself. He must take up his cross and follow Me.”-Matthew 16:24

 

Falling Down

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“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.” 

– Proverbs 24:16 NLT

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 As followers of Christ, we are still human. Humanity is by nature weak. We all fall down. “In our lives, too, there are many times when we fall down–not physically, but emotionally, spiritually, and relationally.” (Nortker, 3-Minute Devotionals For Women, p. 262)            Sometimes we fall down really hard. We all have made mistakes. Maybe we lost focus of God and His lead in our lives. Maybe we gave up on the dreams, that God put in our hearts. Maybe we didn’t handle a situation in a way that reflects God’s love. Maybe we lost our patience in seeing God’s promises fulfilled. Maybe we took things into our own hands, instead of trusting God to guide us. Maybe we have not been the most understanding or maybe we have been unforgiving. Maybe we fell in “our struggle with particular temptations.” Maybe we fell in our attempts “to climb the ladder of success or in our effort to lead consistently Godly lives.”(Nortker, 3-Minute Devotionals For Women, p. 262) Maybe fell trying to carry a burden, that was to was to heavy for us to bear on our own. Maybe we failed to trust God to see us through the dark nights. But, God is still there with His hands reaching out. He still loves us and forgives us. “…God’s love never fails.” -Psalm 136:1 His love never runs out. Everyone else may give up on us, forsake us, and even leave us fallen on the ground. But, GOD NEVER GIVES UP ON US. He is there to help us get up stronger.

Think about the lyrics to this song: Forgiven performed by Sanctus Real.

“Well the past is playing with my head
And failure knocks me down again
Im reminded of the wrong
That I have said and done
And that devil just wont let me forget

In this life
I know what Ive been
But here in your arms
I know what I am

I’m forgiven
I’m forgiven
And I don’t have to carry
The weight of who Ive been
Cause I’m forgiven

My mistakes are running through my mind
And Ill relive my days, in the middle of the night
When I struggle with my pain, and I wrestle with my pride
Sometimes I feel alone, and I cry

When I don’t think and I don’t feel like I belong anywhere
When I don’t measure up to much in this life
Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ.”

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for always being there for us. Please help us to reach out to You, when we trip and fall down. May You help us to reflect Your love by offering forgiveness, support, and love to those who fall down. Amen.
Reference:
Brigitta Nortker, comp. 3-Minute Devotionals For Women. Uhrichsville: Barbour, Ohio. Print.