Everything Changes

Genesis 8:22 “As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night."

Memorial Day ushered in the unofficial start of summer, and I spent it at the beach slathering on SPF 70 and listening to K-LOVE radio.  My nieces and nephews eventually showed up, and everyone enjoyed the cool water and feasted on food only a Cuban grandmother could make.  As we sat in knee-deep water, my eldest niece lamented the fact that her parents won't let her get a summer job (she is 15), and my nephew was bummed about another couple weeks of school.  And I thought to myself:  Dear dear precious teenagers, live in this moment because eventually, EVERYTHING CHANGES.

The Bible teaches us that as long as we are alive on this earth there will be constant changes in our lives, but “change” is not necessarily a bad word. 

What matters most is how we approach the inevitable transitions of life.  Do we embrace the new seasons as opportunities for new blessings, or do we go into denial and hope that when we open our eyes everything is still the same?

One day as I was in deep thought about how quickly I was adding new titles to my life, mother-in-law, stay-at-home wife, Jorge's secretary, quinquagenarian, dog owner...my precious Lord whispered to me, “Yenisita, this is what you have been praying for."

Every time I asked God to help my kids make wise choices in dating, it was for the high purpose of them eventually settling down and starting their own families.  As much as I love them, I would never want them to live at home forever.  

Working for Jorge means that God answered the desire of my heart to help him.

Growing older means that God has blessed me with health.

And Hershey Pie? God's answer for my requests to be joyful!

Think about it. When we pray, we are inviting change into our lives. The transitions and the adjustments, the changing seasons, and the brevity of life, these are all good things! God is God every step of the way,  and each new day – no matter where we are in life – brings blessings.  Let us pray for good changes and then embrace them.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that when we pray, we are inviting good change into our lives.  Thank You for remaining by our side as we live through the seasons, and help us be like the woman in Proverbs 31:25 who “smiles at the future.”  She smiles because she knows in Whom she trusts. Her eyes are fixed on You, and so are ours.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!  

God-given Fleas!

“You parents -  if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!  So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good and advantageous gifts to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:9-11)”

Greetings!

Corrie Ten Boom is one of my faith heroes.  She was an amazing woman who helped many Jews during World War II.  Eventually, she was arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp.  You can read her amazing and life-changing story in her book The Hiding Place.  As you might imagine, she endured many difficult situations.  And just when she thought it could not get any worse, she and the others in her barracks came down with fleas.

Fleas in a concentration camp where there were no ointments, baths, remedies or relief.  God, really?  But Corrie was a woman of faith, and she thanked God for them. 

God-given fleas turned out to be a blessing that spared Corrie and the other women  unspeakable horrors at the hands of monstrous, abusive guards. God-given fleas allowed Corrie to share the gospel and have prayer meetings in those barracks.  So many women came to know Jesus because of those fleas.  God-given fleas are responsible for a legacy that will last all eternity.

The fleas were actually the choicest of bread and fish – the best possible gift from God.  Tremendously good and beyond advantageous.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Sometimes we think that we have received "fleas" when all along it was exactly what we needed to ultimately be blessed and bless others.  Help us to trust Your goodness over what our eyes see or what our minds think.  Change our perspective today; You are the best gift-giver. We are grateful.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Settle Us Down~

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

By now we have all seen the heartbreaking news of the horrible attack yesterday in Manchester, England. When things like this happen, it's easy for our faith to falter. The wisest thing we can do is focus on our Lord.   

When we focus on Him we are quickly reminded of a very important truth: GOD CARES FOR US.  He actively watches over us and is concerned with everything that concerns us.

And please note that there is no "but" to the verse above. He cares for us, but only when our faith is perfect.  He cares for us, but only when our attitude remains good.  He cares for us, but only when we pray a certain amount of times.

God cares for us, PERIOD.

God's unfailing love for us is the very reason we should build our faith.  I want to get to know Him better.  I want a deeper, more soul-satisfying understanding of His love and power.  Let me change that. I NEED a deeper, more soul-satisfying understanding of His love and power. 

As we connect more and more with Him the Bible promises in Philippians 4:7 that “Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for Your unconditional love for us.  As we share our concerns with You today – (insert your concerns here) – we look forward to You settling us down.  We joyfully await all the wonderful things that happen when Jesus becomes our focus instead of worrying all the time. We also ask for Your divine protection from all the dangers in this world. We desperately need a sense of Your wholeness because when that happens, nothing is missing from our lives. In Jesus' name, AMEN~ 

Reach Out and Touch Him

Mark 5:25-34 tells the story of a woman who had a serious bleeding problem that was getting worse.  The doctors couldn't help her anymore and she was out of money.  Then..."she heard of Jesus." 

But that's not the whole story. She heard about Christ AND jumped into action, "If I touch Him,  I will get well."  She muscled her way through the crowd around Christ and reached out, her hand only grazing His robe.  

And that is all it took!

“Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.”

My dear precious brothers and sisters in Christ,  it is not enough to hear about or know about Jesus.  We must take a step in His direction and reach out to Him. 

Jesus' response to this woman is a great encouragement: "Now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.”

Jesus welcomes and rewards our every effort to reach out and touch Him as well.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Sometimes we get discouraged.  Sometimes we feel as though our problems have been going on for a long time.  We have tried on our own to no avail. Yet this woman in the Bible story did not give up.  She made her way to You and received a healing.  We reach out to You today as well and ask for a healing in our emotions, body, and soul. Thank You for being accessible.  You want us to “live well and lived blessed,” You want us to be "freed from our suffering," and we receive it.  In Your name we pray, AMEN.

A Personal Touch

Matthew 19:15 "One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could lay hands on them and pray for them...Jesus placed His hands on the little children's heads and blessed them before He left."

Greetings,

What an incredible scene this verse above must have been.  These loving parents, having seen or heard of Jesus' power and miracles, wanted a personal touch from our Lord.  Who can blame them? They wanted Him to ask the Father for guidance, protection, health, wisdom, and other beautiful blessings for their young children. 

Jesus responded with action, and so should we.  After all, as Christians, we need to follow His examples.  If He, in all His perfect glory, found it necessary to stop what He was doing to and pray for these kiddos, then we need to do it too.  And while we are at it, let's also put our hands on our family while we do so.  I don't always touch everyone I pray for.  But there have been specific times, like when Jorgie was hospitalized with a serious hand infection, that I absolutely gently laid my hand over his while I prayed.  And I have been known to wildly invade a woman's personal space and lay my hands on her belly and ask Jesus to bless her womb with a baby.  

What need are you facing right now?

Do you have a child who needs Christ's personal touch because they are struggling in school? Place your hands over their brain and pray.

Does someone you love have a stomachache? Place your hands on their belly and pray.

Do you need peace? Place your hand over your own heart and pray.

If Jesus thought it was important enough to lay hands, then we should too.

PRAYER: Thank You for this glimpse into the way Jesus interacted with others.  And because there is a purpose to everything Christ does, we will follow His example.  Answer our prayers today when we boldly go and touch someone we love.  What a beautiful way to connect with others! In Jesus' name, AMEN.

A Praying Mother

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.  "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

Greetings,

The verse above is one of my all-time favorites because part of God's good and hope-filled plan for my life was to give me a praying mother.

I think of her often  -  especially around this time of the year  -  and of all the things she could have left me when she went home to heaven, nothing is more precious or more valuable to me than knowing she prayed for me every single day.  

She asked the Lord daily for His blessings, guidance, healing, protection, forgiveness, wisdom, and moral clarity to infuse every part of my being. 

If you had or have a praying mother, praise the Lord for that incomparable gift.  If you didn't or don't, then pick up the mantle, if you haven't already, and be part of that good plan God has for you and your family.  There is nothing you could do that is more beneficial or powerful and no greater legacy you could leave behind.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for moms. We also thank You for opening our eyes to the importance of prayer.  We want to be part of Your good plans, so we lift up our children before Your throne and pray down a blessing right now.  Meet us and our families at the point of our need.  You have every single thing that is necessary to get our lives moving and staying in the right direction.  In Jesus' name, AMEN.

HOPE on Every Page

2 Samuel 22:25 "God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to His eyes" (The Message).

If someone were to write your life story, would you be pleased with the narrative?  Would you consider your life as one lived well so far?  Are there chapters you would keep secret? Are there other details you are proud of and wish the world would know?   

Regardless of how we answer those questions, I bet we all have parts of our story we would like rewritten, like the summer when I turned 15:

“Yenise really hated her bushy eyebrows and decided the only solution was to shave them off -COMPLETELY.  She made her way to the bathroom sink and fumbled in the cabinet for some Barbasol.  She dispensed a huge glob in her palm and applied a thick coat to her right brow.  However, common sense prevailed and right before she ran the brand new BIC disposable shaver over her eye beard, she picked up a towel, wiped off the shaving cream, picked up a plucker, and with the expertise of a seasoned cosmetician, promptly gave herself a nice arched brow.” 

In actuality, I shaved both eyebrows down to the skin.  In the grand scheme of things, this foolish decision only had temporary consequences.  But some of the stuff we do or don’t do stays with us much longer, and that is why we need a heavenly do-over.

Even though none of us can go back and edit our life story, we can lay it all out, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  And then moving forward, He will rewrite the text of our life.  He will change the course of our life. The trajectory of our life.  The quality of our life.  The meaning of our life.  But first we must go before the Lord and open ourselves up to Him. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We open up to You today and invite You to rewrite the text of our lives.  Edit out the fear, loneliness, sadness, illness, and shame and replace it with peace, love, joy, healing, and blessing.  Thank You that when You do the writing, HOPE and FORGIVENESS are on every page. In Jesus’ name we pray, AMEN~    

The Finish Line

Holler!

For the past few DEVOs we have been featuring Ernie and the Ironman competition he participated in.  We have talked about his preparation, struggle, and effort; the only thing left to do is see if he crossed the finish line. 

His wife, Maggie, and the rest of us squirmed and squished our way through the throngs of other anxious friends and family hoping to get a glimpse of their loved one crossing the finish line. We all speculated as to what condition he would be in.  Would he be crawling? Walking? Lightly jogging? Throwing up? NONE OF THOSE! We spotted him as he was close to the end, and he was pumped up.  He ran right through the arch where the race ended and straight into Maggie's arms. A video camera was rolling, flash photography captured the exhilarating moment, and husband and wife exchanged a sweet sweaty kiss.  The kids huddled around their exhausted but happy dad, and amazingly Ernie stayed on his feet.    

Afterward, Ernie had a lot to say.  Some of it was scary to learn, and some of it was funny.  (At one point he needed to use the bathroom and did so while riding the bike.  Let's just say he wound up contaminating his drinking supply). Nevertheless, Ernie finished and he had the fatigue and battle scars to prove it, but he also had joy!  Kind of like the lives we all live.        

Some days are harder than others, and we feel like we have had the breath kicked out of us. We wonder if we will make it.  Other days are perfectly glorious, and we round each and every corner with a huge smile on our face.  But no matter what, there are two truths to keep in mind: Jesus is with us each step of the way, and just like Ernie, we will cross the finish line. 

2 Timothy 4:7

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, We are so glad to know You are with us all the time.  Remind us of this when we are struggling to breathe.  Help us to be grateful when our days are marked with nothing but happiness.  Help us to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith! Most of all, thank You that the best is yet to come.  In Jesus' name, Amen!

Jesus, Strengthen Me

Philippians 4:13 "I can do everything through Jesus Who strengthens me." 

Greetings,

Today we pick up the Ironman story with the actual event itself.

Imagine hundreds of men and women, all eager/anxious participants, excitedly huddled around friends and families in the huge parking lot of Northshore Park where a 2.4 mile swim would kick off the grueling competition.  Now let me change the name from huddles to prayer circles because everywhere I looked folks were holding hands in public and inviting the greatest Ironman Who ever lived, JESUS, to be their Protector, Guide, and Encourager. 

Next thing we know the starter gun has gone off, and all the swimming cap-wearing competitors dive into the water.  It was breathtaking to see the synchronized bobbing heads.  Ernie's entourage and I headed back to the other side of the waterway where we would be able to walk alongside him for a few minutes as he swam to the transition point.  What we did not know was that a few minutes into the swim, Ernie got the breath kicked out of him by one or more of the hundreds of surrounding zealous swimmers vying for the best time.  He literally had to float on his back for 20 minutes.  Was Jesus with him giving him strength?

Ernie successfully transitioned into the bike ride, and a few hours later his kids spotted him.  They yelled for us to make our way down to a fenced area where Ernie would drop off the bike and then take off running. We were all there when a clearly exhausted Ernie staggered over to us.  And for a brief moment in time everything stopped.

He reached out to Maggie, his wife, kissed her, and said he was not sure he could continue.  His feet were in terrible pain, and admits he cried the last 50 miles of the bike race because of it.  We rallied around him, and somehow, someway, he dug deep, and off he went.  Was Jesus with him giving him strength?

At one point while we are waiting to see him during the run, Maggie says she and Ernie agreed that if he gave her a thumbs up it meant everything was fine.  She confided in me she was sure he would give the thumbs up no matter what to ease her worrying. But then we spotted him, and he gave a resounding and energetic thumbs up.  I told Maggie there was no way he could fake that joy, and it turns out I was right.  A few yards into the marathon, the foot pain stopped.  Did Jesus, indeed, strengthen him?

The answer, dear ones, is YES!  It would be a good idea for all of us to accept by faith that when we pray, whether or not we feel anything, God has answered and is with us.  That is why it is called faith. 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Strengthen our faith to believe that when we pray You answer us.  Give us strength for whatever we face today.  It is comforting to know we are never alone. In Jesus' name, Amen~