Grammar Lesson

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV

I've worked around enough attorneys to know the difference between the words may, will, shall, must, etc. This verse is pretty clear: you WILL have trouble. Not you might. Not just a little. Not maybe. You will. Period. I've got trouble right now. Being sick while working out of town is double trouble. There's no calling in or taking a day off. It's do or die. But as this verse also says, I can take heart because God has overcome whatever trouble there will be.

Notice the action word in this sentence too: I HAVE overcome. Not he will. Not he might one day. He has already done it. Before we even have trouble he has removed the trouble and made it right. We just have to have faith. God doesn't bring us to trouble, he brings us through trouble.

So get your dictionary and grammar book out. Take heart. He's already been there, done that.

Every Groan

I love the Lord , for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. Psalm 116:1‭-‬2 NIV

When I read this verse I hear Whitney Houston singing it in "The Preachers Wife." So beautiful. So heartfelt. Part of the song says that with every groan we hasten to the throne. He hears our cry even when we can do nothing but groan. This is the Holy Spirit interceding for us.

We often feel as though we aren't heard. The noise in our lives is so big that it's hard to hear and be heard. This is why we must take time to shut off the noise and listen for God to speak to us. But praise God he hears us through the noise.

He hears you. Quiet your heart so that you can hear him.

Eat and Drink

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35 NIV

Jesus is not talking about physical hunger and thirst here. Although the physical presentation can be difficult to navigate - the word 'hangry' comes to mind - the feeling is fleeting once the physical need is met. But how do you satisfy your soul's longing for fulfillment?

Some do it through drugs and alcohol, or gambling. Some through other risky behaviors such as stealing or abuse. These are Satan's ways of telling you how to fulfill the deep longing in your heart, a heart that longs to be in communion with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We are more than our fleshly, earthly vessels. We are spiritual beings separated from our creator, which is why we long for him.

Feed your soul with the bread of life and the living water.

Voiceless Praise

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 59:16 NIV

I can tell you now I wasn't singing this morning. I've been sick all week and it wasn't much better. I won't be singing tomorrow morning either as I am spending my day travelling. But my heart still praises God even if my voice is weak. My soul still longs for him even when my flesh is weary. David was weary, battle weary. His house was being watched. They were plotting to kill him. I'd say that's worse than my cold and worse than spending a day in transit. Yet he still praised God. 

There are days I just can't find my voice to sing. There are days when it's easy to see God's blessings and smile at the simple things that mean so much. There are days when lifting my heart in prayer is all I can do to relieve the anguish I'm feeling. Yet my soul still praises him even when I cant. That's God's promise of the Holy Spirit, interceding on our behalf. And praise God we have that.

Let the Holy Spirit pray for you next time you need to seek refuge from the storm.

Freedom

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 NIV

Freedom. This one word evokes many emotions, and I know that many devotions and sermons have been written and preached on this concept. So I want to focus on the standing firm part. As Christians we tend to be people pleasers, not wanting to rock the boat, to be open to others and their points of view, to not judge. That's our call to service. But at what price? There are times we let ourselves become burdened by the world that we are not only ineffective in our ministry, but we become troubled in our own lives.  It's because we don't stand firm in our beliefs because we are trying so hard to be peacekeepers.

It's a fine line that needs a lot more space to flesh out than I have here. I do know that no matter how much we want to please everyone, that is not our calling. Our calling is to be a steadfast servant for God. To share his love even when that love must rebuke or correct a fellow believer. We must stand firm in knowing that he knows best and is leading us down the right road, even when we think we see an easier way. Be firm in your faith and do not let the world shake you with its twisted view.

When in doubt, run to the word.

Wrath of Khan

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. John 3:36 NIV

Have you ever had a job where someone just didn't like you for whatever reason? It could have been nothing you did, or maybe they were jealous. But despite the reason, they made a very determined effort to make you miserable. This would only be a glimpse into what it means to have God's wrath remain on us.

Lucky for us, God has a way out, unlike those unlucky coworkers who never understood how cool and nice you really were. All we must do is believe on his Son. That's it. Now it's a leap of faith to be sure, but so worth the leap. God's peace really does go beyond my mortal understanding of how the world works. And it's what I need on a daily basis. So while I may experience unhappy coworkers, I can always experience the joy of being one of God's children.

War of the Words

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. Proverbs 12:15 NIV

This is probably one of the hardest things to do these days. With the prevalence of social media, sound bites, and "you won't believe what happens when" stories, it's hard to know when it's a trusted source. Things float around on the Internet forever! You see a headline and are like wow, that just happened. Then you read the story and it happened a year ago. It reminds me of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast from 1938. People believed it was real and they didn't know who to trust that could tell them any different.

So it's hard to know who to trust. Which is why it's important to pray for wisdom to discern who can be trusted and to surround yourself with people who have integrity. And not just when it benefits them, but all the time. Be careful who you trust. God's word can always be trusted so when in doubt, get in the word. There you will find wisdom and truth.

In God we trust; all others we verify

Tax Time

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34 NIV

I should have read this verse before I went to bed last night. I know this verse by heart. I recite it in my head all the time, yet it didn't come to mind last night as I was trying to fall asleep. My mind wouldn't shut off worrying about things that hadn't even happened yet. I was doing our taxes and that brings up the subject of money and how we're going to pay for this, that and the other plus save for a wedding plus save for school. That among other things weighed on my mind and I couldn't shut it down to sleep. I worried about being tired today which kept me up longer. I know you know what I'm talking about. It happens to everyone. I totally get why it would be easy to get hooked on sleeping meds. People need a way to shut their mind down.

Well, here is God's prescription straight from the mouth of his only son. Don't worry. Easier said than done, but then the Bible follows this up with, 'cast all your cares on him'. He can take it when we can't. So we put our cares on him through prayer and then he eases our mind so our bodies are not stressed. I literally had to pray myself to sleep. It worked although I was still restless from a tickle in my throat. But I'm here today, working and getting things done. I gave it to him because I can't do it alone.

I'm so glad I have Jesus to help and family and friends. It really does take a village. 

Gold Medals

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Ephesians 6:10 NIV

I spent this weekend testing my own strength and watching and judging others as they did the same. We all pushed limits, did things we've never done, and learned some lessons. Taekwondo tournaments are good for the mind, body and soul. When we win we feel strong; not so much when we lose. Boards don't break, points aren't scored and moves in forms are not executed correctly. But we learn so much through our weakness to make us stronger.

We may not always be strong, but God is. He doesn't need tournaments or gold medals to test his strength. His power is always mighty, unwavering and endures forever.

We don't need these earthly trappings either to make us feel strong. It is God's presence that gives us strength. 

You think it's hard?

As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord ’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30 NIV

This is hard. Not like breaking boards hard but way worse! All we know are flawed, imperfect people who even though they mean well will let you down, lie to you, or fail to protect when trouble hits. I'm not judging. I'm saying this because I am one! If you have kids, you know for sure what I'm talking about. There have been times when the world kicked them in the patoosky and there was nothing we could do.

So it takes a huge amount of faith to believe that God's words really are flawless. Some days we feel he's made mistakes and left us twisting in the wind. But it's not a mistake. We are a process, he has us in a process to bring us to full fellowship with him one day. To get there as a human is nigh on impossible so we must trust his process. Well, some days I don't want too. It's hard. It's tough. I want to go back to bed and pretend to not care.

But I do care and I do love him. So I have no choice but to trust. And it will be harder tomorrow but he's preparing me today.

Go get some Water

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. John 7:38 NIV

I teach aerobics so I sweat...a lot. Not just a little and I don't just glisten. My hair is soaked after each class as are my clothes. That's a good thing. But if I don't hydrate well all day every day, my body cannot function like it needs to. I get tired and winded much easier and my muscles get fatigued. Our bodies are mostly water and so we need to make sure we put enough water in especially when we use it up.

So it is with our spiritual fitness. If we are not well hydrated with Gods word and with faith, we will falter. We will be tired and not be able to withstand things that may come at us and try to keep us from praising God or doing what he has called us to do. Our muscles will be fatigued and we will not be able to fight the good fight. We must hydrate ourselves every day. When we do, living water will flow. That sounds good to me. I'm thirsty right now. I think I'll go get some water. And while I drink, I'll pray and thank God I have water to drink. And while I thank God I'll read his word and listen to what he has to say.

I will hydrate for both my physical well being and my spiritual well being.

What About Job?

The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs 15:29 NIV

Job might disagree with this verse. I can't say I blame him. There he is doing everything right, praising God even through his pain, and what happens? It just gets worse! We know from the story that God and satan are having an argument over him. He's only a piece in the fabric of existence. 

I saw a video today of a stage showing of a battle between God and the world. That battle was over one girl. Her love for God was overshadowed by earthly things and sorrow that then kept her from getting back to God. No matter how hard she fought, she couldn't do it on her own. God tried but he can't affect free will and she couldn't trust him through her pain. Then, God decided to fight for her, just like Job. Yes, that's right. We sometimes forget about the restoration.

That video acted out this verse. God wants us to want him and seek him. If we do he hears our prayers.  No he doesn't always answer or answer the way we want. But he's there when we need him most. And sometimes he's fighting a heavenly battle for our soul because that's what matters to him. Not our earthly existence or comfort, but our eternal existence with him.

Selfless Ambition

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. James 3:16 NIV

#WORD. That's the 'word' that came to me when I read this verse today. The next words were a prayer that I am not the one with envy and selfish ambition. I believe that bettering one's self through hard work, study and application is a good thing. But when you put yourself above the care of others, that's when it goes wrong.

I thought today what I would say if someone asked me what kind of supervisor I am. After thinking about it I hope that I am trustworthy and not driven by selfish ambition. I hope people would say that I value everyone I worked with and that I put their interests first. I have a slip of paper on which I wrote 3 things that I expected of myself as a supervisor. I wrote it 5 years ago and I still have it. Why? Because I value honesty and integrity above all else and pray that I first model those values so that I do not fall prey to selfish ambition.

May this be our prayer today: Lord let me be a servant of yours first, helping others with grace and humility. Amen.

Training To Push Through

May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 NIV

Christ's perseverance.  God's love, but Christ's perseverance.  I practice martial arts and one of our tenets is perseverance, sticking to it when it gets tough. But I'll tell you right now, nothing in my training has ever been cross-tough. I've had some pretty rough times, training during reconstruction after breast Cancer was no picnic. But it is nothing compared to the perseverance of the cross.

I've struggled with this lately. I feel as though we are just not on God's priority list. And some days a little help would be appreciated. But in every instance where I feel I just can't go on, I just can't take one more day, God reminds me that He really is there and He really does care. I still feel a little left out sometimes, but that's my human emotions.

I'm trained to push through, and although I may never rise to the level of the cross, my job is to keep training and keep pushing. And with God's help, I can.

Always Learning

I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. Psalm 119:7 NIV

Do you get excited when learning something new about a subject you love? I do! I listen with rapt attention and absorb as much as I can, saving notes for reviewing later. And what's even more exciting is using that new found information for the first time and sharing it with someone else.

When it's God's perfect word we should be even more excited than this. We should want to learn it, absorb it, use it and share it with others. Any subject in this earthly realm will inevitably have flaws. But God's word is perfect and will always be true no matter what.

So be excited to be a lifelong learner of the most perfect subject.

It's All Crooked

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 24:35 NIV

I'm sitting on my bed with a cat in my lap, looking at crooked pictures on the wall of my grandparents who have long since passed away. I say crooked because it fits this crazy thing we call life. And if you've ever been to my house, everything is crooked. But I digress. I loved my grandparents and miss them still. Just like my dad. I miss him terribly. I have some of his things. I have some of my grandparents things. I have pictures. One day those will be gone too. It's all just things. But the memories last. Like Jesus' words.

No matter what age we're in, no matter what political era, God's words are always timely, true and trusted.  They will not fail. They will always be with us. We need only to listen, learn and heed.

Oreos

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. John 14:23 NIV

I love Oreos. Original double-stuffed. I will eat them in a car. I will eat them in a bar. I will eat them here or there. I will eat them anywhere. The point is...I love Oreos so much that I'd do just about anything to get them. If they talked and had rules, I'd follow them. It's just that simple.

I love God. My heart knows him. And he does talk and has rules and teachings. So why do we find it so hard to follow them if we claim to love him? If I claim to love Oreos and then never have them, what's the point in saying how much I like them? None! So if we love God, we must obey his teachings.  Look at what he promises to do...make his home with you! That's even better than living in an Oreo house.

So if you love him then follow through. Put that love into action.

Hallmarks

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 NIV

Joyful, patient and faithful. These are the hallmarks of those who follow Jesus. I know that I am far from perfect and fail to meet these hallmarks on a daily basis. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

And it's hard! For me, trying to be patient is usually more like gnashing of teeth. At least this verse didn't say to be joyful in affliction. I'm not sure many of us are physically capable of such a feat. But in all things we should be faithful and even this isn't easy. Life is tough and we sometimes put too much stock in things around us rather than in what our heart knows to be true.

But however these words touch your heart, we should be faithful in praying for joy and patience.

The Great Divide

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Corinthians 1:10 NIV

This is what we need right now, Hut don't think that we have somehow invented this current chaos. There would have been no reason to write these words to the Corinthians if things were hunky dory. People, even Christians, don't always agree. And we are told to not let these things divide us. Be of one mind. But what if we all interpret something differently?

That's ok. Come to a decision to respect one another in love and in Christ. If we all believe in him, that he is the one true way to heaven, and that he alone is the savior, then we have nothing to argue over. People will be people. Evil will be evil. The devil will seek to destroy. Don't let him destroy the love between brothers and sisters in Christ.

Take Heart

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 NIV

I don't know about you but I'm not a waiter. And I don't mean like in a restaurant.  I don't necessarily rush into doing things but I'm not a long time thinker and ponderer. I'd just rather choose and go than wait and see. When I pray I like to think my prayer will change things instantly. But that is not how it works.

My Mother is a patient woman and I wish I'd inherited just a smidgen of her patience. I'd probably have more effective prayers. Lucky for me God is patient and long-suffering for people like me.

But I love what this verse says about taking heart. It gives the truth of needing to wait for God to do his work in his time but it also gives us hope that God will accomplish his good work in that time. And that time is not on our schedule. We may be able to control our time at work, our children's schedules, and how we go about our daily lives.  But God is perfect in his timing. We just need to keep praying, keep working and don't give up hope.

Pure Love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬5 NIV

I'm a little behind in my postings and it's very late and I have to get up early, yet here I am because this verse got me. We all have heard it over and over so why don't we get it? Why do we keep records of wrongs done to us? Why are we prideful? Why do we want good only for ourselves? When we think of love, we think only of those we love. But ya'll, we must remember what Jesus said: love your neighbor as yourself.

Woah. Wait, what? If we are to love our neigbor, then that love is patient and kind and keeps no record of wrongs. That love is understanding and giving and seeks good for that person. But that person in the store checkout line is not family nor my neighbor. That person in the waiting room is a complete stranger. 

Jesus never differentiated between any of these and neither should we. He looks past the sins, past the differences, and sees a soul that needs saving. He sees someone that needs a smile and a hello for no reason.

Let's be the reason they see Jesus. 

Not in Vain

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV

How many times have you felt like you labored in vain? That all the good you did was just wasted. Your human self feels like it would be better to just give up, stop working so hard, especially if it all goes unnoticed. I know I've felt this way before. And it's easy to give up and move on to something else.

But we have God's promise who says that our work is not in vain. What we do every day to reflect God's love and compassion on others is never wasted and will be acknowledged...if not here, then in heaven. We must keep going even when we don't feel like it. We have work to do. So let us not get weary.