These are some of the Devotional I've written
Attitude is Everything!
Our Sunday School class use to be in the fellowship hall of our church. There was an air conditioner vent in there that was really loud with some strange rattling, that made it difficult to hear our teacher. It became a weekly thing to hear one or more in the class complaining about the vent.
Finally one semester, our teacher was successful at getting our class moved to a new room. Everyone was so happy that now we can have a nice quiet room to have our class.
When we moved to our new room, it was a small classroom with two rows of chairs. We also had a very large class next to us with a robust teacher who was evidently very funny, because you could hear them laughing for most of the hour we were in class.
Soon, people were complaining about not having tables, to put their coffee or bibles on. They were also complaining about how loud the class was next door. One woman in class spoke up one morning and said “We want to go back to Egypt!” I thought that was perfect! I have never forgotten that! What she said was so true! Here our class was behaving just like the Israelites. They were slaves, no freedom, worked like dogs from sun up to sun down. They cried out to God, save us! And he did! So what did they do? Complained! They complained about every thing! So much so that they made God angry!
Num 11:1 And [when] the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard [it]; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed [them that were] in the uttermost parts of the camp.
Even Moses grew sick of it! So much so that he asked God to kill him! He could no bear their constant complaining.
Num 11:14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because [it is] too heavy for me.
Num 11:15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
It is very easy and very dangerous to live life with an attitude that everything stinks. We can get caught up in how horrible our situation is and how miserable our life is, and the result is we anger God. The Lord hears you, your complaints or your praises. Everything we have is a blessing from God. He gives us our food, shelter, clothing, even the breath in our lungs. There are so many blessings that You miss out on if you choose to focus on negative things.
Our Sunday school class was now in a smaller room, which was a lot more intimate! We could all discuss the scriptures and actually hear each other speaking! We weren’t by a big glass window sort of on display as we had been down in the fellowship hall. And mostly no rattling noise that was very very distracting.
The children of Israel taught me that if we complain about our circumstances, we may get what we want, but when we get it, we won’t like what we get. Because to be happy you need to have an attitude of gratitude.
Our lives can be looked at with a positive view or a negative view. A negative view will do several things, make God angry, cut ourselves off from other people who get tired of listening to the complaining, allow us to miss out on all the wonderful blessings the Lord has for us.
The Israelites were free! Not only that but God had promised them land of their own! A land flowing with milk and honey! That is such a blessing!! Don’t let a negative attitude about the daily things in life, let you lose site of what God has promised you!
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isa 40: 28-31
Receiving Joy
I can’t say I’m always happy. I can’t even say I’m always striving for it. But I have learned over the past couple of years to be content with where I am. I suppose coming from the ashes of an alcoholic life, peace joy were the last thing I was expecting. I was expecting sanity and stability. But in my journey back into the presence of the Lord, I received things I never expected.
There is Peace in trusting the Lord!
Psa 5:11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
I mean completely giving your troubles to Him. I turn over the things that I have absolutely no power over and don’t give it another thought. It’s pointless to worry or continue to take it back and try to fix it myself. God has never let me down! When I turn my troubles over to Him he is so faithful, He takes that anxiety from me. He fixes my problems! He either changes the situation or he changes me.
Something else that I never expected to receive was Joy! In the middle of some really big struggles I have Joy! I was looking at scripture the other day and came across the fruits of the spirit..
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,This really made me think, WOW, I have these! I have joy, peace, longsuffering, faith, love, goodness. Some more than others. I realized that everything I have, all my Joy and Peace and Patience are gifts from God. These are byproducts of walking in the Spirit and seeking God.
So if you are struggling with a problem, or person that is stealing your Joy, try giving it to the Lord and leaving it there. See how faithful He is! See how your life will become more peaceful and see if you too don’t receive Joy!
In a Hurry?
Lately patience has been placed on my heart over and over again. Everyone can relate to patience. Whether it is waiting in a long line at the post office or stuck in traffic; patience comes into play just about every day. There are also times in our lives that we are genuinely seeking the Lord’s will for our lives and are waiting for His time and direction. Both instances of waiting can be hard.
We live in a world of instant communication, instant foods, fast paced and never stopping. But as Christians we need to be different. God’s timing is different from ours as is His perspective. We are to wait on the Lord. As we wait on the Lord it purifies our motives and strengthens our faith. Isaiah 30:18 states; Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
One of the blessings of following God’s timetable is that we can endure difficult situations and people with inner peace, that comes from faith. As we wait on the Lord we are also getting prepared for what ever is ahead for us.
When David was called by God to be King, he waited on God’s timing. For seven years he was treated as an outlaw by the king Saul, and more or less so regarded by his fellow-countrymen. His patience under these trying circumstances, and his unwillingness to rush the Lord's timing, in which he fully trusted, his unwillingness to raise his hand against the king, or to arrange his death at the hand of another is a powerful message to me.
Of course then there is Sarah who grew impatient waiting on the Lord and found her own solution. Which didn’t turn out as well as if she had been patient and waited for God’s perfect timing.
God’s word promises us in Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
God wants the absolute best for us. When we are patient and wait on the Lord we gain so much more than is often visible on the surface. So next time you are called to Wait on the Lord, remember you are exercising your faith muscles. And when we are waiting on the Lord, He is watching over us. God is working, we are moving, learning and getting prepared, even if we can’t see it. A lifetime is but an instant in our journey with the Lord.
James 5:8
You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.
Maranatha!!
Walking on the edge of Darkness
(This walking in darkness therefore is meant of discomfort and sorrow. We often find in Scripture, darkness to be taken in this sense: as, on the contrary, light, because it is so pleasant a thing to behold, is put for comfort)
THOMAS GOODWIN, D.D. 1600-1679
Being a Child of God gives us life eternal. It also gives us the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. But this is no assurance for a life free of trials.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
Romans 7:14
My journey began prior to the death of my mother. But at the point in my life when my mother passed, I was not walking closely with the Lord and that is how I fell into a two year battle with sin, spiritual warfare and darkness. For even though I knew that my mother was with the Lord the truth was far from my heart. Left on my own to deal with grief and sorrow I became or even welcomed into my life things that are not of the Light. I drowned my sorrow in alcohol. Pulling myself farther and farther away from the Light. The holy spirit was speaking to my deceitful heart. I would grieve for myself and yet not take steps back towards the Light.
Like the blind we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like men without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.
Isaiah 59:10
Satan used fear, sorrow, doubt, guilt and a whole slew of other things to deceive. The more fear, sorrow, doubt, guilt, I felt the more I drank to numb those things. It was a vicious cycle. But through it all I knew deep in the very back of my dusty dark mind and soul that I was a child of God. And God promised me
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
So while I may have been drowning in drink and living as close to hell as one can get and still be breathing. The Lord was faithful. He never let go of me. He continued to correct me, trying to get my attention. All the while becoming more and more apparent. I suppose Jonah would be a good example. I wasn’t in the belly of a Whale, but I sure did smell like it. It wasn’t until I resisted, cried out to the Lord that I God reached out to me and pulled me back into the Light.
Today as every day I begin the day with thanksgiving. For the sacrifice that Jesus made for me and for God’s faithfulness which is eternal. It only takes a little bit of self assurance to give Satan a grasp on you. The deception is sly, imperceptible at first, and by the time you realize what’s happening the darkness has taken over.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:12,13.
I heard a preacher on the radio once who said “Being a Christian doesn’t mean perfection, being a Christian is falling, standing up, falling, standing up, all the way to Heaven”
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