Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Knowing versus Doing

Philippians 3:10
I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection....

If I asked you the purpose for which God made you, what might you say? You might give a lot of answers that required some action on your part. However, the simplest answer to that question relates to one primary thing: fellowship. The most important thing God desires from us today is to have a deep and intimate fellowship with each of us.

The apostle Paul said he wanted to know Christ, and by knowing Christ he could experience the power of His resurrection. I find this to be the hardest thing for many of us businesspeople to do. So often it is much easier to be busy with the urgent (or even Christian) activity than spending quiet moments before the Lord. Before we realize it, days have passed since our last quiet time with Jesus.

Jesus understood how important quiet moments were with the Father. "After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone" (Mt. 14:23). The more mature I become in my relationship with the Lord, the more precious this time becomes to me. It is a time I look forward to almost daily. It offers me a time to reflect, to share my concerns with my Lord, and to hear Him speak. In the last few years I have begun prayer walks, which accomplish three things: fellowship, prayer, and exercise. It has changed my prayer life. I have come to understand that Jesus views us as His friend and He wants to spend time with us. We are depriving Him of His time when we put Him aside for the urgent. An interesting thing happens when we make prayer a priority: Urgent things seems to wane as we focus on Him. He makes all these other things fall into place.

Are you taking the time to get to know Him today?

Monday, November 24, 2008

I am Back!

On my journey that I started last year! I fell off for a little bit...life, circumstances, issues that led me to believe that I needed to pull away from the very God who was pulling me that much closer! I am back! Full force! This walk is not an easy one; it was never promised to be, but I am going to do it because God has asked this of me!

All the while I'm thinking things are going bad because God is allowing them to...um no! Things fall apart when you pull away and your relationship suffers with the One and only One who will be with you FOREVER!!!

God really has something special for me and I am not going to mess this up! (at least try not to, lol!) We all fall, but God is always there to pick us[me] up!

When things get hazy, too much or overwhelming, get on your knees and pray! PRAY! Stick it out! You are there for a reason! He has something so special planned and He is just getting you(me) ready for the major task that only you(I) can do!

Life isn't all peaches and cream , but you know what, it could be A LOT worse and I am thankful for that!!! The Lord keeps waking me up and blessing me to see brand new days; new days to get right!

Bottom line, God is never, will never and has never left me, it was me who was doing the pulling away - no more!

You ever notice how you cling to God so much more during troubles, trials, storms, but then when they pass, you think you are in the clear so your relationship with Him kind of slacks off? Then you wonder why you find yourself back in another storm so soon after you seemingly just got out of one? God uses all of those circumstances to bring us closer to Him, so he likes when we are near Him and TRUST in Him. He is teaching us to not only cling to Him during the troubled times, but during those beautiful times when He blesses us beyond measure and we have NO idea how we made it through!

I love the Lord! There is no way I could have made it through yesterday and woke up with a smile and burdens lifted off of me without His love and gentle whisper that everything will be ok if I only just believe and trust!

Good morning and have a blessed day!!!

Thank You Power

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)


Devotion:

In my (part-time) job as a university teacher, I'm frequently reading research. I know, I know ... it sounds as dry as an over-cooked turkey. Sometimes it is but often I find interesting stuff in that scientific prose. For example, this week I read about a study from the University of California that showed just how great it is to be grateful.

The researchers found that grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, more satisfaction with life, and more vitality and optimism. All good qualities I want more of in my life. They also found grateful people show lower levels of depression and stress - two things I'd like to experience less in my life.

What's more, they found that people who keep journals about gratitude on a weekly basis are healthier. They exercise more regularly, report fewer physical symptoms, and feel better in general than people who journal about neutral or negative life events. That sounds great, and I'll take all the help I can get in the exercise department.

Finally, the research showed that people who daily count their blessings report higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, and energy. Wow, the benefits of being grateful are remarkable and many! I guess that shouldn't surprise me after considering today's key verse. The Bible urges us to give thanks ... all the time ... in every situation ... because this practice is the will of God.

Let me be clear, there are terrible things that happen to us that may not be the will of God, but us praising God and giving thanks in spite of them certainly is the will of God. As Christians, we can always find reason to give thanks -- thanks for the salvation of Christ, the nearness of God, and the counsel of His Spirit for starters. The psalmist declared, "I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High" (Psalm 7:17, NIV). We can do that too.

Christian poet John Milton once wrote about every grey cloud having a silver lining. Purposing to give thanks, no matter the weather, will train us to look for it. Continuing in this manner day after day ensures that gratefulness will become our normal mode of operation.

No wonder those researchers found that people regularly counting their blessings grow happier, healthier, and more optimistic. After all, that research wasn't discovering anything new, but rather confirming the will and wisdom of God. God already knows how great it is for us to be grateful. Now "science" does too.

What can you give thanks for today?

Dear Lord, thank You for this day. Thank You for Your Son and Your Spirit, given to me. Thank You for the provision of shelter and food I have today. And Lord, thank You for this reminder to become more mindful of my blessings. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application Steps:

Start a gratitude journal. At the end of each day between now and Christmas, take a few minutes to jot down 3-5 things you are thankful for. Keep the notebook and pencil by your bed. Your list can include "big" things like good health, or "little" things like pansies in bloom. Give thanks to God for all of these.

See if you feel any happier, healthier, or more optimistic after a few weeks of regularly giving thanks. I'll be doing this right along with you, so stop by my blog to let me know how it's going with you, and to read some of the things for which I'm thankful.

Reflections:

How often do I give thanks to God?

Do I notice, or remember, the little blessings in my days?

Do I want to feel happier, be healthier, and think more optimistically? More importantly, do I want to do the will of God?

Power Verses:

Psalm 118:19, "Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD." (NIV)

Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood....

Have you ever heard someone say, "I will never do business with another Christian"? I hear this comment quite often in my dealings with Christian businesspeople. This comment represents the battle that rages against us by the enemy of our soul to destroy the witness and effectiveness of Christian businesspeople. We must realize that we are in a war-a war for the souls of men, a war to discredit all that a Christian stands for, a war that is designed to divide Christian against Christian.

Satan's ploy in the life of Christian businesspersons is to do several things to make them ineffective as soldiers in the marketplace. First, he wants to discredit them by allowing them to fail other people in their professional services. This often shows up in failing to perform what they committed to do or performing in an unsatisfactory way. Sometimes, this is a result of a downright failure of the businessperson to perform with excellence. In other cases, it may be a misunderstanding in the midst of the service that causes strife and division instigated by the enemy.

The result in both cases is the same: a division among Christians and even non-Christians, further resulting in a damaged witness for Christ. The apostle Peter admonishes us to "live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us" (1 Pet. 2:12).

There are times when each of us is thrust into situations out of our control. Sometimes this results in our inability to pay a bill on time, or to deliver a service. Defeating satan in these battles requires extra communication with those with whom we are dealing. If the motive of your heart is to do right, then God will give you favor in order to work through these difficult spots. Ask God today to show you where the enemy is seeking to make you ineffective.

We wage a spiritual war that is not flesh and blood. We must fight this war with spiritual weapons applied to practical daily living.

I am back!

On my journey that I started last year! I fell off for a little bit...life, circumstances, issues that led me to believe that I needed to pull away from the very God who was pulling me that much closer! I am back! Full force! This walk is not an easy one; it was never promised to be, but I am going to do it because God has asked this of me!

All the while I'm thinking things are going bad because God is allowing them to...um no! Things fall apart when you pull away and your relationship suffers with the One and only One who will be with you FOREVER!!!

God really has something special for me and I am not going to mess this up! (at least try not to, lol!) We all fall, but God is always there to pick us[me] up!

When things get hazy, too much or overwhelming, get on your knees and pray! PRAY! Stick it out! You are there for a reason! He has something so special planned and He is just getting you(me) ready for the major task that only you(I) can do!

Life isn't all peaches and cream , but you know what, it could be A LOT worse and I am thankful for that!!! The Lord keeps waking me up and blessing me to see brand new days; new days to get right!

Bottom line, God is never, will never and has never left me, it was me who was doing the pulling away - no more!

You ever notice how you cling to God so much more during troubles, trials, storms, but then when they pass, you think you are in the clear so your relationship with Him kind of slacks off? Then you wonder why you find yourself back in another storm so soon after you seemingly just got out of one? God uses all of those circumstances to bring us closer to Him, so he likes when we are near Him and TRUST in Him. He is teaching us to not only cling to Him during the troubled times, but during those beautiful times when He blesses us beyond measure and we have NO idea how we made it through!

I love the Lord! There is no way I could have made it through yesterday and woke up with a smile and burdens lifted off of me without His love and gentle whisper that everything will be ok if I only just believe and trust!

Good morning and have a blessed day!!!