More Than Just Ready~

Greetings~

On August 11^th I printed out the prayer from the DEVO and taped it to my computer monitor as a constant reminder that God is at work in my life.  The prayer reads, “Dear Lord, Thank You that You have not answered me yet because You want to do something bigger and better than I can imagine.  Thank You that You are preparing me for the greatest blessings of my life.”

And this morning when I sat at my desk, I once again whispered those words to Jesus letting Him know that I am trusting in Him.  Then, as I was preparing today’s DEVO, this amazing verse jumped out at me: 2 Corinthians 9:8 “God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done.”

I am going to take Him at His word and believe that God pours out blessings in surprising, effective, and timely ways, and when He does, not only am I ready for anything and everything in life, but I am above-and-beyond equipped and above-and-beyond capable for whatever needs to be done.

I like the sound of that!  God does not want us to be adequate or average, or have just enough love, or just enough peace. He goes overboard in His giving until we are bursting at the seams with His blessings.

The first step in receiving blessings from the Lord is to spend time with Him in prayer.  He promises that as we do – that as we “seek Him first,” He will start pouring out the blessings – “everything else shall be added.”     

PRAYER: Dear Lord, All of us could use Your extravagant blessings in our lives right now.  We need so much guidance, so much protection, so much peace, so much hope, so much of everything! The good news for us is that You are willing to pour out whatever we need.  We receive it. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Later You Will Understand~

John 13:7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

I am an insanely curious person.  I like to know why things happened, where they happened, and what happened.  I like knowing stuff and learning new stuff, and if I’m watching TV and a name pops up that I recognize I will immediately go to the internet and do some research.  Just recently I got up to speed on Scott Baio.  Those of you who lived through the 1970s will recognize the name!

The point is I like to know…and yet there are so many things I do not know and do not understand.  Why is there so much suffering?  How can it be that there are millions upon millions of subscribers to websites dedicated to helping someone cheat on their spouse? Why do so many people get away with such bad behavior?  Why do children get sick? Why do good children happen to bad parents and no children happen to good parents?  Why does God allow XYZ…?

Sometimes the amount of unanswered questions is maddening; there are so many things I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.  But Jesus assures us that one day we will understand.  In the meantime, what are we to do?

The Bible states that our goal should be getting to know God.  Having all the answers will not lead to eternal life, peace, and hope, but knowing Him will (see John 17:3).

One way we get to know Him is by spending time in His presence through prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, It is sometimes overwhelming to see all the crazy stuff happening around us, and there is so much we don’t understand.  One day we will have answers, but for now we focus our attention on You.  We shift our thoughts from all that confuses us to You.  We purposely meditate on Your goodness and on Your promises that You are with us helping us every day.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Through Everything God Made...

Romans 1:20 “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature...”

Greetings in the name of our mighty Lord,

Please congratulate me: I am a grandmother again!  That’s right! My son and his lovely wife came home a couple of weeks ago with a beautiful border collie they named Trooper – an homage to their fanaticism of all things Star Wars.  Trooper is fast, handsome, super smart, and loves to cuddle.  He and his cousin Tucker love rough housing, emphasis on rough, and both of my grand dogs go wherever we go; I have the pictures to prove it.  Trooper eyes are so soulful they are almost human, and of course, Jorge and I are completely smitten.

As I have gotten to know him I find myself thinking about how amazing God’s creation is.  The vastness of it, the attention to detail, the unparalleled beauty… All of this humbles me, inspires me, and most importantly, strengthens my faith.

You and I are enlisting the Creator of it all when we pray.  The One Who made the sunset and the sunrise is the One Whom answers us.  The One Who filled the beaches with endless grains of sand and the forests with canopies of trees, is the One Whom cradles us in the palm of His hands. The One Who provided so many precious animals for us to enjoy is the same One Whom leans in close when we call His name.  

    

If you find yourself having doubts, go outside and stare at the heavens.  Remind yourself that God’s eternal power and divine nature are reflected in His creation.  The Word says we can “clearly” see God’s qualities.  And among the innumerable qualities He has is that when we worship Him for what He has done and pray for Him to display His power in our lives, He answers!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Whenever we feel like our faith is failing, remind us to just step outside and look up and absorb Your handiwork.  Surely He Who placed trillions of stars in the sky is powerful enough to help us.  We believe it! In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

Horas Volat~

Greetings dear friends,

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.”

About six months before I got married, I started a countdown calendar.  It was a sheet of notebook paper with squares representing the months with tinier squares representing the days.  Every day I would pull it out and make a nice black X over the corresponding date noting that there were 100 days left, 99 days left, 98 days left etc…

One day I was in the middle of my linguistics class at the local college when I pulled out my countdown calendar to make the X.  I was not aware the professor was nearby, and he took great interest in my calendar.  I will never forget what he said, “Miss Alvarez, horas volat and before you know it, 25 years will have flown by – forget about the four months until you are married.  Let’s focus, shall we?”

He was right, of course, and it’s actually been 29 years since that conversation.  That’s why when we read “with glory just around the corner” in the verse above we can take heart and hold onto hope.  Glory is closer than anyone of us realizes, and this is great news.  Before we know it all hardships will cease, and we will enjoy so much of what eludes so many nowadays – peace, joy, happiness, tranquility, health, love, security… I’m not saying that we don’t have any of those things right now, but none of us has all those things 100% of the time.  And the best part is that we will enjoy all those things in the presence of Christ because Christ Himself is present.  Horas volat; Before we know it “we will share in all that belongs to Christ” (Hebrews 3:14).  

PRAYER: Dear Lord, It is true that time flies, which is good because the sooner that we get to share in all that belongs to Christ the better.  In the meantime, we are filled with hope because Christ is our Savior and You are our Father.  You help us and heal us. You protect us and provide for us. We thank You for helping us in this life and for the beyond-awesome blessings in the eternal life to come!  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

The Fires of Life~

Greetings in the mighty name of Jesus!

“Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.” 1 Peter 4:12-13

There’s nothing like suffering to refocus our hearts on what’s really important.  Over a year and a half ago my house caught fire.  A tankless water heater was the culprit, and when all was said and done, the garage was a total loss.  Among the treasures I lost was a little white linen dress I wore when I was a baby.   I mourned the loss of that remnant from my infancy because I so wanted to put it on one of my grand kids and take a picture one day.  But a few days later there was news of another fire up north that claimed the lives of several children.  Immediately I found myself thanking God that only stuff was lost and none of the humans I love so much were hurt.  And since the fire I have been learning the valuable lessons of purging – of not letting anything have a hold on me.  I am about to begin painting my bedroom, and Jorge and I are getting rid of the furniture we have had since we first got married.  I decided a long time ago that when the time came, I would release the rattan relics with gusto.  But I admit that I am only able to do so because experiencing that fire refocused me on what matters most.

Likewise, the “fires” of life have their value in that they give us laser-like focus on what is truly important in life and on Who is on our side.  And that’s what the process of spiritual refining does to us.  It clarifies what matters.  It improves our relationship with God, which affects everyone around us.  It forces us to examine our attitudes and sharpens our faith.  In other words, as hard as life sometimes gets, we can be glad that it’s not in vain – something beautiful and necessary is produced.  Let’s keep in mind, however, that first we must believe that GOD is always on the job - intimately aware of everything we are going through.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that as we continue to wait upon You for answers, we know you are preparing us for amazing blessings.  We ask that as we face difficult experiences that You would help us keep the faith.  We also ask that as we go through the process of spiritual refinement, that You would remind us that this will help us lead better lives.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Yenisita in her little white dress. Nine months old.

God is Always on the Job~

Greetings brothers and sisters; peace be unto you!

“Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.” 1 Peter 4:12-13 

This passage of scripture points out five things:

(1)  Life gets really difficult

(2)  We shouldn’t jump to conclusions about God

(3)  We should be glad that we get to experience what Christ experienced

(4)  Our struggles are a spiritual refining process

(5)  Glory is just around the corner

I wholeheartedly understand number one.  As far as number two is concerned, I repeatedly have to remind myself not to jump. More often than not I fail at number three. At least number four tells me that my problems are not in vain, and amen for number five!

Today let’s tackle numbers one and two. 

It is so easy to assume that God has turned His back on us when we go through tough times, and that’s when the questions start. “Where are You?” “Are you listening?” Do You even care?” “Are You going to help me or not?” 

I want to answer these questions with something Rick Warren said: “When you make a request of God, He almost always wants to answer in a bigger and better way than you’ve prayed.  Sometimes God denies your prayer requests because you’re thinking and asking too small.  He wants to give you something bigger and better.  But first, he has to prepare you for it.  So God uses delays in answering prayer to help you grow, to help you get ready, to help prepare you for a bigger and better answer.”

What if every day that passed that we were waiting on an answer from God, waiting on a miracle, a healing, peace, joy, hope, a new job, a baby, a spouse, income etc…what if every day of waiting for the difficulties to end we were to say to God: “Dear Lord, Thank You that You have not answered me yet because You want to do something bigger and better than I can imagine.  Thank You that You are preparing me for the greatest blessings of my life.”

What if instead of jumping to the conclusion that God is on vacation we accept, once and for all, that God is always on the job?  Psalm 121:3 “He will not let you fall. Your Guardian will not fall asleep.”

I am preaching to myself, people.  My current attitude could use an adjustment as I wait upon the Lord for some answers.  I am going to retype the above-

prayer below as well as print it out and attach to my monitor so I see it daily.  Most importantly, I am going to take God at His word!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You have not answered me yet because You want to do something bigger and better than I can imagine.  Thank You that You are preparing me for the greatest blessings of my life. Amen.

The Great Chef~

Greetings~

Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.”

The Message version of the Bible says, “You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies...”

Are you hungry? Right about now – it’s 5PM in Miami – I am thinking about what to cook for dinner.  I have gotten pretty good at cooking certain dishes, and I enjoy making my family happy.  I love getting together with my husband and kids and just sitting around the table (no cell phones, please) and just talk nonsense and make fun of each other.  Sometimes we play The Newlywed Game, which Jorge and I have never won.  One time we actually made up a game of “Confession” where everyone had to tell something bad they did.  I discovered that my better half used to be in a gang called The Mafia when he was in junior high, and they went around acting thuggish.  Others in our group stole stuff and keyed cars.  Such hooligans! But it was really funny, and all these get-togethers remind me of this verse: “Seize life! Eat bread with gusto…God takes pleasure in your pleasure!” (Ecclesiastes 9:7)

Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to break bread with friends, family, and even complete strangers who we just met.  But what about the verse at the beginning of this DEVO? How can I enjoy a banquet when hate, sadness, doubt, fear, defeat, hopelessness and any other joy-draining enemies are staring me in the face?  The answer is simple! The Great Chef Himself prepares a six-course meal of love, joy, faith, hope, victory, and goodness.  We can smile in the middle of the messes of life because He sets the table with everything we will ever need. 

Notice, however, how the verse says “You serve me…”  It doesn’t say, “God force feeds me…”  We have to choose to sit at that table and dine.  Let’s pull up a chair together and dig in, shall we?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We pull up a chair right now and receive the goodness you have prepared for us.  Some of us need extra heaping helpings of peace and others faith.  But no matter the need, You have prepared enough for us all! Nourish us and those we love until we are full. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~