My Hero

Romans 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

now go back and read that verse again. savor it. When life gets you down, say this verse to yourself. Print it and put it on your fridge. Put it on the visor of your car.  Memorize it.

When life gets you down, remember.. God is for us. When you think about it, the rest just doesn't matter much 

Worries

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

Easier said than done isn't it? But so true. there is enough going on today to worry about, why borrow trouble by worrying about things that haven't happened yet and may not happen? 

We know one truth for sure. god will provide. Genesis 22:14. He promises to provide our daily needs. He didn't say He would only give us bread for the day. He said our needs. This could be food, emotional needs, love. Whatever it is, God knows and He will provide it if we allow Him to.

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. Psalm 27:10

In the 23rd Psalm we are promised:
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."


Thank you Lord for your promise to care for me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for lending me your strength when I feel I am too weak to continue. Help me to focus on your grace instead of my fear of the unknown tomorrow. Amen

Be Quiet

Psalm 46:10 Be Still and know that I am God.

Does life seem to get so frenetic you can't hear yourself think? You are rushing to work, rushing to get the kids to and from school, football practice, gymnastics, sleep overs, got to get dinner cooked, bills paid, ARRGGHH!

Stop. be still. spend some time getting to know God. God longs to be in a relationship with you. Just like your marriage wouldn't work if you and your spouse never spoke, never discussed the day, you and God need time alone together.

Isiah 18:4 This is what the LORD says to me: "I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."

Even God takes time to be quiet, we need it even more.

Priorities

Haggai 1:4 Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while my house remains a ruin?

God was asking the Israelites why they had nice houses yet the House of God was not rebuilt.  They had put their priorities backwards. I think we often do the same. The Bible is full of instruction on what we should do with out love, our time and our money, yet we don't obey. We put our own desires first, but when we do this, we cut ourselves off from untold blessings.

God tells us in Haggai 2:8 "The silver is mine and the gold is mine", declares the Lord Allmightly.
so if it is His anyway, why are we so reluctant to give Him back our tithe and offering or when we do, it is out of obligation rather than love?

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

So why don't we give God more of our thoughts, our time and our money? 

Actions speak louder than words

I had a friend on Facebook, we will call her Joan. Maria posts lots of Bible verses and Christian songs as her status. Joan tells everyone she is a Christian and loves "Daddy" her name for God while she visits her few friends and publicly posts on their walls what they should and should not be doing as Christians. Joan brags to anyone who will listen how many friends she loses because of her "Jesus talk".

After months of deleting ribald jokes, curse words and dirty jokes and telling Joan I didn't talk that way, I finally asked her privately via inbox  to please not post such things on my wall. After saying she understood and was just being "onery"  then Joan promptly deleted me from her friends list.I was surprised to say the least. My good Christian friend got upset with me because i didn't want to hear her cursing and dirty jokes?

I can't judge whether Joan is a Christian or how close she is to God, that isn't my place. I tell this true story to demonstrate what Jesus meant when he said " by their fruits you shall know them" Matthew 7:16. If you have to keep telling people you are a Christian so they know you are one instead of showing people you are one by the way you act, you are in direct opposition of what Jesus said.

Put another way James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. If we are doers of the word, we are doing more than merely hearing the word or saying we hear the word.. wouldn't you say? 

I will be praying for Joan, I don't have to have her on my Facebook friends list in order to do that, but I will also be praying that my speech and actions reflect Jesus in everything. 

1 John 3:18
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

go forth into the world and show by your actions you follow Christ

Trusting in God - update

I was laid off from my job at the end of September, when the company suffered 
from the economic downturn. 
When it came time to pay my bills out of that final paycheck I prayed a quick 
prayer " Dear Lord, I am afraid, but I am going to continue paying my tithe to 
you. I am going to trust you to take care of my finances. Thank you Amen. 
 
Two months later, when paying bills out of un-employement income, I noticed I 
still had the same amount in my checking account that I had on the day I 
deposited my final paycheck. I frantically went back over my checkbook and bank 
account and could find no errors. Frustrated I took a break and went to my Bible 
and to pray. 
 
 My devotions that day was 1 Kings 17:10-16. The story of the widow who gave her 
last bit of oil and flour to feed Gods servant Elijah. The widow was in 
obedience to God and God fed her and her son and Elijah and God provided enough 
oil and flour until the famine was over. 
 
I have to tell you, rarely do I feel God speaks to me so directly, but with 
tears running down my face I praised and thanked God for his mercy and for 
keeping my flour and oil full until my personal famine was over. 
 
 For  seven and a half months, my God kept my flour and oil from running out. I 
have not paid one bill late and I promise, that little unemployment payment, 
while welcome, does not cover my bills, groceries, gas, etc!. Isn't God Great!? 
 
After this lesson in trust, a still small voice kept coming to me.. you need to 
increase your tithe to 15%. "What Lord? no way! you must be joking! I am only 
feeding myself because You are helping me!"... "oh, yeah, there is that trust 
and faith thing and I suppose out of unemployment, 15% really isn't all that 
much, and it is your money after all. Ok Lord.. whatever you say, whatever you 
want me to do I will do". 
 
Then what happens? My pastor gets up in church and announces we need to make 
some improvements to the church and not only that, it is A Beautiful Thing! 
 
But smug in my giving, I was confident this doesn't mean me. Maybe I would throw 
some loose change that direction or once I was employed I might contribute, but 
remember? I am unemployed! but no.. God doesn't always let us get away with that 
kind of thinking does He? That still small voice kept speaking in my heart.. you 
can give and this is what I want you to give every month to make the church 
building A Beautiful Thing.. Trust in me. It is My money I allow you to have, 
and you spend that much in extras every month anyway. " ok Lord, whatever you 
say <sigh>" 
 
Then at the Beautiful Thing banquet, while the Pastor was speaking, a rather 
large dollar figure ( large to me) popped into my head. Inwardly I chuckled, " 
Yeah Lord, if you will help me get a job, I could give that kind of money to the 
campaign. God immediately smacked me on back of the head and asked me " are you 
really trying to make deals with me? where do you think your money comes from? 
Haven't I been faithful to you? 
 
" oops " uh No Lord, I was just joking.." but that figure wouldn't go away. I 
couldn't sleep. I kept waking up finding I was talking to God in my sleep. I 
begged, I pleaded. i asked Lord, Please seriously, you don't mean for me to give 
so much do you? I may need that money, after all, I can't seem to find a job 
and... maybe it is me and you don't really mean for me to give so much" ( you 
would think I would learn by now wouldn't you? )" Lord, how about I go to sleep 
and if I remember all this in the morning, I will write the check." 
 
Bright and way earlier than I wanted to be up after little sleep, before my feet 
hit the carpet, that same dollar figure popped into my head.. so I bowed my head 
and said " ok Lord, I give in. I know you want me to give that amount to the 
Church. 
When i paid my bills that afternoon, for the first time I had to dip into my 
savings account. I was flabbergasted! "What! God! you let me down! you have kept 
me financially safe for 7.5 months and now you are forgetting me after you ask 
for so much money?!"  and i have to say I am ashamed. God in no way let me down. 
I had two interviews for the following week.. this week. 
 
The recruiter called me the same day I interviewed and told me " You really 
wowed them Sheila, both the owner and the supervisor emailed me to tell me you 
were hands down the one they want to hire." I haven't been told when to report 
to work, as they are doing the background checks but I suspect I will be back in 
the ranks of the employed by Monday. 
 
This isn't the job with the fancy title that i had before or that I envisioned 
for myself, but I think/hope i have learned my lesson about trusting in Him and 
having faith He has a plan for me and it is way better than anything I could do 
on my own, all I have to do is trust and obey. 
 
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who 
love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 
 
I thank God for Pastor Tom and for Hillcrest Baptist, you are right, she is 
a Beautiful Thing 
 
 

Need Strength do do it all?

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
We all feel like we just can't do any more. Like if one more person asks for one more thing, you will explode. don't we? I am pretty sure it isn't just me.
Thank goodness Jesus promises to help us make it through. He may ask a lot but He gives us the strength to do it all.


Dear Lord, I am taking you up on your promise today. please give me the strength to do all i still need to do today. I am grateful I do not need to struggle through on my own. Help me to rely on you.
Thank you, In Jesus Name I pray this