Not Against the Law...

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.

Greetings!

This morning I was scouring the internet for news while I was enjoying my sugar-free French vanilla homemade iced coffee and came across an interesting article entitled, The Strangest Law in Every State.  Of course I read the entire thing, and I found it amusing that in Alaska, it is illegal to avoid cracks while walking on the sidewalk (too bad for all the mothers' backs out there).  In Delaware it is against the law to change clothes in your car, in Hawaii putting coins in your ears can get you in trouble, and sorry "M" - singing off key in North Carolina is a big no no! 

"Strange" is the perfect word to describes these laws. They really don't make sense, and they are unnecessary.

The verse above provides another scenario for unnecessary laws.  When the Spirit comes into our lives, we can expect to enjoy a harvest of welcomed, good, and necessary fruit.  There is no law against being kind. No prohibitions where self-control is concerned.  Joy need not worry that employing it will lead to incarceration.  We never have to second guess if somehow having patience is the wrong response. We won't get in trouble for having peace, and we won't be prosecuted for having unselfish concerns for others. 

God removes all deterrents to these behaviors by letting us know, in all of His common sense and glory, that we are free to do the right thing.

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, We invite Your Spirit into our lives because we desire the fruit that comes from Him guiding us and blessing us.  Thank You that there is no law against the good things You want to produce in our lives.  We welcome extra doses of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control today.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Eager to Let Him In~

John 6:16-21 That evening Jesus' disciples went down to the shore to wait for Him.  But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn't come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernum.  Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but He called out to them, "Don't be afraid. I am here!" Then they were eager to let Him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!

Greetings,

Years ago I sat in the audience and heard the testimony of a young pastor and father who was in a rush to get to where he was going and therefore, brace yourselves for the horror, neglected to properly buckle his six-month-old baby, who was inside a car seat, into the car.  He sped off with the fully loaded car seat still on the roof of the car.  When he heard the clatter he stopped, instantly sick to his stomach, afraid of what he would find for he realized his carelessness.  

The baby was 100% fine, without a single scratch! AMEN! But that poor daddy/pastor cried so much during that testimony. I believed him when he said it would never ever happen again.

That testimony is a powerful example of what happens when we are in a hurry. When we grow impatient and leave Jesus stranded by the shore, when we take off without waiting for Him, without asking for direction, without praying for guidance, and without seeking wisdom.  We can find ourselves in choppy, churning waters.

However, Jesus does not get upset that we bailed on Him.  He comes to our rescue when we get stuck - no matter the circumstance or location - and says, "Don't be afraid. I am here!" The disciples were willing to take off without Him, but oh were they eager to let Him in the boat when the going got rough.

And once He was on board there was no mention of their impatience, no reprimands for leaving without Him.  They, like we, know when we have messed up.  We do not need to feel any worse than we already do. All Jesus wants to do is get in our boats. Our eagerness, willingness, and gladness to have Him join us on the journey is all it takes.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are eager for Your blessings, guidance, protection and provision in our lives.  Forgive us for those times we have rushed on ahead without You.  We willingly and gladly invite You to join us for every step we take.  In Your name, Amen~

Never Live in the Dark~

John 8:12 "Jesus said, 'I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will have a life filled with light and will never live in the dark."

Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida almost 24 years ago on August 24, 1992.  I remember it well.  Jorge, the kids, my grandparents, and I rode it out in a bedroom in the back of the house.  Jorgie was five days shy of his fifth birthday, and slept through the whole terrifying ordeal. Miss Rayray's second birthday was a week away, and she, quite uncharacteristically, sat very unnervingly still in my laps, eyes wide open, as the wind hooped and hollered. 

For the glory of God, our house was still standing after it all ended. The worst for us was no electricity for three weeks; our house was in complete darkness.  Adding to the difficulty was that Jorge left several of the plywood planks up on the windows as an added measure of security. 

Those few weeks were challenging in that all of us - even baby Rayray - experienced our fair share of stubbed toes, bruised knees, and stumbles to the ground.  At one point our two flashlights went kaput, and all the local stores were sold out of batteries.  Trust me when I tell you that candles were inadequate in such pitch blackness.  We celebrated like wild dingoes when the lights came back!

Living in the darkness was no fun and at times dangerous.  The darkness forced us to take tentative steps, and even then there was no guarantee that obstacles could be avoided.

God knows this, which is why He sent the Light that outshines all other light.

When we follow our Jesus, when we pray, when we trust His word, when we reach out to Him with our praise and worship, when we do things His way, we will NEVER LIVE IN THE DARK! What a power-packed promise.

Our lives will be filled with light, with clarity, radiance, and resplendence.  Bright and beaming, letting Christ lead the way, our existence will be unclouded, unconstrained, and uncluttered. 

Excuse me while I do a happy dance!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are the Light of the world and the light of our lives.  Shine powerfully in our lives and bless us with wisdom and joy.  We take You at Your word and rejoice that as we follow You, we will NEVER live in the dark. In Jesus' name, AMEN! 

Raise the Roof!

Greetings, and welcome to mash-up Thursday!

Today's DEVO is a prayer of worship with verses taken from Psalms 16, 147 and 150 (The Message Version). May the Lord bless our souls!

We shout praises to You, our God, and we raise the roof for the Rock Who saved us.  We invite You to take our hand so that our feet and the feet of those we love so much will always be on the right path.

We enter Your presence singing praises because You are the best. Your hands sculpted earth, and with those same powerful hands You take care of us.  You are our God! Hallelujah!

Praising You is the right thing to do.  You rebuild our lives when we need it.  You put us on our feet again. You heal our broken hearts and bandage our wounds.  You are great, with limitless strength, and we depend on Your strength.

Thank You that when we praise You, we get Your attention. You make our city secure, and You bless our children. You put the best bread on our tables. You launch Your promises earthward - how swift and sure they come!

Amen! Amen! Amen!

In Tandem With Him~

Jorge and I have owned a tandem bike for almost 10 years now, and those of you who know me know that I never thought riding around town with Jorge could get any better. 

I never thought waving at the curious onlookers could be more satisfying. 

I never thought I could get more pleasure out of yelling, "God loves you!" to the vulgar folks who yell obscenities at me when I rest my feet and Jorge does all the pedaling.

I never thought I could possibly enjoy the closeness we share any more than I already did because when we upgraded to a new tandem a few months back,  it just so happens that Jorge's bottom sometimes rests on my handlebars!

I WAS WRONG!!!

Every single thing about riding the tandem just got exponentially better because someone new has joined our team: Hershey Pie!  And contrary to some scientific law somewhere, our rides are easier than ever.  Something about having Hershey Pie along for the ride has actually lightened the load.  Jorge and I are invigorated with Hershey Pie's presence, and by the way he regally sticks his head out the ventilated top of his carrier, Hershey Pie enjoys hanging with us. Plus, I am pretty sure Hershey Pie appreciates that his daddy is careful to avoid potholes and any other uneven terrain so his carrier doesn't go flying through the air.  Together we ride faster and farther. 

The same can be said when we team up with our Lord - when we live in tandem with Him.

Proverbs 3:6 "Seek Him in all you do, and He will show you which path to take."

When we invite God along for the ride, when we ask Him to weigh in on our plans, our path becomes clearer; we avoid many of life's pitfalls, detours, dead ends, and bumpy roads. 

We live in tandem with Him, we team up with Him, and He joins us on our journey when we pray.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We seek You today knowing that as we do, You will show us the way to go.  We need Your guidance for our lives, and we gladly invite You along for the ride.  Show me what to do about this particular situation: ________________________________.  In Jesus' name, AMEN!

 

Horses Slip...

Psalm 20:7-8 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.”

This verse is a no-brainer for me.  I have never trusted horses.  One time Jorge was riding a horse down a steep cobblestone street in Jamaica. His horse slipped and slid all the way to the bottom, doing a split with both its front and back legs, and then took off in a wild gallop to the ocean to cool down the raging road rash it got on its horsey parts.  My poor hubbs could not control the huge beast and was being whipped back and forth like a rag doll.  And it's not like I could take off and help because I was on a blind donkey being led by a stable boy named Paco. Thank God that as soon as the horse hit the water, it calmed down. But still, it was crazy scary.  Ergo, I don't like horses!

Before any horse lovers get mad at me I want to clarify that I am aware that the preceding paragraph is a poor refection on me.  I know that with the proper training I could learn to enjoy the company of a horse.  The bigger point is the one these verses make.  Ultimately, our trust is in God.  It’s not in anything we own, it’s not in our training, it’s not in our equipment, and it’s not in our arsenal; it’s in God.  Yes, we prepare, we practice, we strategize.  We plan, we diagram, and we implement.  BUT, let us never think for one second that any joy, peace, provision, love, protection, or hope comes from anything we can do for ourselves; victory comes from the Lord!

Horses slip and chariots rust.  But God? He makes sure we “rise up and stand firm!”

The best place to start demonstrating our trust in God is through prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We ask for blessings over our “horses and chariots,” but we trust You for victory! Help us rise up and stand firm. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Asterisks Miles

Tuesday greetings,

My car is a little finicky. The electronic mile gauge will read 37 miles until empty, and then suddenly it will display what I have affectionately come to call "Asterisks Miles."

That means I can run out of gas at any moment.  When those three asterisks show up I know I need to head to a gas station pronto.

But playing chicken with the gas can be exciting, right? "I bet I can make it to the grocery store and back, so take that, Asterisks Miles!"  One time I erupted in nervous laughter because the car suddenly sputtered in the middle of a South Florida down pour, and I thought I would be stranded.  Another day Asterisks Miles showed up in the middle of an unexpected traffic jam, and I nearly panicked at the thought of navigating the Palmetto Expressway on foot, in flip flops wearing sailboat pajama bottoms because I was only going to meet Jorge with some paper he needed.

Of course, I could just do the responsible thing, not take any chances, and fill up while I have at least 37 miles to go - I could fill up long before the tank is empty.  The car does provide a fair warning, after all. 

This obvious truth applies spiritually as well.  We know when we are low on faith, hope, love, peace, wisdom, health, trust...when one tiny discomfiture will send us over the edge, leaving us stuck and stranded in a pit of fear or exhaustion.  Yet we neglect to fill up on the Lord's goodness.  We ignore all the signals and fail to communicate with the One who desires to bless us until "our cup runneth over" (Psalm 23:5).  We all desperately need to have our life filled by the One Who "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). 

It starts with prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Today we seek You because we need a fill up.  We desire an overflow of Your goodness right now.  We need more faith, hope, love, peace, health, and trust right now. Help us make the right decisions. Some of our cups are only half full or near empty.  Pour Your blessings into them right now so they overflow and splash everything and everyone around them.  In Jesus' name, Amen! 

       

What Nerve!

Thursday greetings~

Today I am revising a DEVO originally published a few years ago.  May the Lord bless your soul as you read.

***

We all have something very beautiful and amazing in common: MOMS!  As we prepare to celebrate Mother's Day this weekend, let's take a look at one fabulous, inspiring mom from the Bible whose name is Hannah.

Hannah desperately longed for a baby, but she could not get pregnant. It was heartbreaking, and to make matters worse, another woman, who had the blessing of children, "taunted her cruelly" because of it ( I guess mean girls have always been a problem).  And, surprise surprise, her own husband didn't understand her. He was so thoughtful that in 1 Samuel 1:8 he actually asks her, "Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” 

Hannah did the wisest, most powerful thing she could do.

I Samuel 1:11-12, "Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried - inconsolably. 'Oh, God...take a good, hard look at my pain, go into action for me by giving me a son, I’ll give him completely, unreservedly to you. I’ll set him apart for a life of holy discipline.'"

Hannah prayed...And from what the verse above says, it was a desperate, no holds barred, anguished plea; it was also a mighty invitation.

GO INTO ACTION FOR ME!

That's kind of bold.  Little ole us telling Almighty God to take a good, hard look at our suffering and then demanding He do something about it? What nerve!

But that's precisely the kind of "nerve" God responds to.

By the time we get to verse 20 in this same chapter we read, "Before the year was out, Hannah had conceived and given birth to a son. She named him Samuel, explaining, 'I asked God for him.'”

This phrase, "before the year was out," really touches my heart and fills me with hope.  I have several prayer requests that I would love to see answered before the end of the year.

Do you? 

Then let's pray! 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for moms. Some of our moms are in Your tender care, and we are grateful we will see them again. For those moms here on earth, bless them with long healthy lives. We also praise You for the bold language of the Bible; GO INTO ACTION FOR US.  I especially need to see Your power displayed in this area of my life _________________________, and may You grant my request before the year is out. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

A Man of Understanding~

"People of understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness" Proverbs 14:29.

Greetings!

This past week I went to the volleyball district playoff game for a local high school down the street, Saint Brendan.  The winner would go to regionals where a win would take them to the state championship game.  What made this best three-out-of-five showdown so compelling  was that the St. Brendan Sabres  - ranked fourth in the district - were playing the number one team.  During the regular season they had already faced this undefeated team and lost twice, so honestly, expectations were not that high that they would win.

Then something amazing happened.  After narrowly losing the first game, aces were served, kills were perfectly executed, and the Sabres won game two.  They lost game three but fast forward to game four and again the Sabres eked out a win 26-24.  Did I mention that my son-in-law, Emilio, is their coach, and that the Sabres' record has been steadily improving since he took over a couple of years ago?  Nonetheless, up to this point, when it became obvious that winning districts was no longer a lofty goal but an actual possibility - only one 15-point game away - I started to pay attention to Emilio.

The pressure was on, and it was palpable.  Miss Rayray, who was next to me in the stands, was grimacing so wildly that she made me nervous.  Between massaging her temples, and looking away, and pacing back and forth, and squatting up and down I thought she was, in fact, going to have a cow.  Every point was critical, so when the referees made some questionable calls, when some of the players missed their serves, I would have understood if Emilio would have gotten heated.  But no. He maintained his composure, encouraged his players, and smiled throughout.  I was impressed, especially since I have witnessed plenty of coaches behaving badly, and sometimes toward my own kids when they were growing up.  And let's not talk about how heated parents can get during these competitions.  They will yell obscenities, scream for the coaches to be fired, threaten the referees, and insult their own kids.  Just a couple of weeks ago in Cooper City, which is about 45 minutes away from where I live, two little league coaches made national news for actually getting into a physical fight in the middle of a game.  The shame!!!

When it was all said and done the Sabres lost game five, and it was a heartbreaker.  That didn't stop Emilio and his team from congratulating the winners, however.  And so the season ended with mixed emotions.  Yes, it had been the best record the Sabres had ever had, but they lost districts.  One thing that was perfectly clear, however, was that long after the game ended the fans, players, and parents, and at least one mother-in-law that I know of, were spectacularly proud of Emilio's example. He is a man who understands that no one wins when they let their emotions get the better of them.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You don't expect us not to get angry - just to control our anger so we won't do something we will regret later.  We never want to do something foolish, so help us every day to keep our emotions in check.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~