May Peace and Mercy Outweigh Evil

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 Las Vegas. As I watched the news I couldn't stop the tears. My own kids have gone to many outdoor events, and the thought that a crazy evil person could do this to them. Well, let's just say that sometimes my faith falters...

At one point I asked myself if praying at a moment like this even makes a difference.  Would it do any good to ask God to comfort those who have lost a loved one? Why so much evil? Does the Lord even care?

Faltering faith is not the same as having no faith.  It just means that sometimes we are shaken, but then we press on, connect with God, cast our anxiety on Him, give Him all our worries, and throw the whole weight of our concerns upon Him.

When we do that our load lightens. 

The truth is that my faith is always strengthened after I pray.  I may have to connect with the Lord several times in a day to keep the faith, but that's okay: He puts no limits on me or you.

As we pray today let us believe we are making a difference.  Let us accept as fact that God hears and responds.  Let us push past the fear and doubt and trust that God cares for us and answers our calls for help and protection.  Let us invite the Lord to pour out His peace on our weary nation. Yesterday our President invoked this Bible verse: "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalms 147:3).  Let us accept this as the gospel truth!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for Your unconditional love for us.  We are heartbroken for yesterday's victims.  So much destruction and heartache - but we believe that You have the power to help and to heal. Pour out Your goodness into Las Vegas and into the United States of America.  We ask for Your divine protection from all the dangers in this world. May Your peace and mercy outweigh the evil in this country. Cover the wounded and hurting in Your love.  Cover us in Your love too. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

No Buts!

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

Yesterday we all saw the heartbreaking news of the tragic shooting in San Bernardino.  When things like this happen, its easy for our faith to falter. I don't know why so much pain is allowed in our lives, but in the absence of answers, I try to put my focus on Him.  

When I focus on Him I am reminded of a very important truth: GOD CARES FOR ME.  He actively watches over me and is concerned with everything that concerns me.

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

God cares for us no matter what, and that right there is reason enough to do a happy dance!

Let’s not use this unfailing love that God has for us as an excuse to not build our faith, to have bad attitudes, and never pray.  But rather, let’s allow His love for us and the power that He has at His disposal to ignite a passion for Him as we approach 2016. 

Let’s do what it says in Philippians 4:7, “…Let God know your concerns.  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 settling 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 madness that is all around.  We desperately need a sense of Your wholeness because when that happens, nothing is missing from our lives. In Jesus' name, AMEN~ 

Become Proactive!

Greetings in the powerful name of the Lord!

This past week we all watched with horror as the tragic events unfolded in Paris.  I was shocked, as I am sure you all were too.  And all that is happening brings me back to the DEVO I published a week ago today.  The verse for that DEVO was Proverbs 12:25 “Worry weighs down the heart…”

It is easy to worry when watching the news.  In fact, it’s always easier to worry then to have peace unless we become proactive.

I invite you to check out this website, which has over 20 Bible verses about worry: 

http://www.openbible.info/topics/worry_and_stress

A running theme throughout those verses is that we have to take an active stance or worry will overtake us.  These verses encourage us to make requests of God, cast our cares on Him, trust in Him, lean on Him, come to Him, learn from Him, and seek the Kingdom.

When we want to lose weight in our physical bodies, we have to make wise choices, like clean out the pantry of all junk food.  The same applies to losing the weight of worry in our lives.  We have to be wise and crowd out the junk that seeks to crush us by filling up on Him!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We come to You now in obedience to Your word and seek You and the peace that only You can give.  Remove all worry and anxiety from us and fill us with Your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen! 

Choke Our Worries~

Luke 8:7 “Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants.”

Greetings, all you beautiful and blessed children of God,

Repeat after me: I am a victorious and precious child of the living God, and therefore I am blessed today wherever I go and in whatever I do!

Back to farming…

So far we have examined seed that fell onto a hardened path where it won’t grow because the ground is impenetrable.  And we have looked at the gravelly ground where the seed, for the tiniest moment, sprouted only to wither away at the first hint of trouble.  Today we look at the seed that fell among thorns.

Jesus explains: “The seeds that were planted among thorns are people who hear the word, but as life goes on the worries, riches, and pleasures of life choke them. So they don't produce anything good.”

In this scenario the seed grew, but the thorns grew right along with them and eventually choked the life-giving goodness out of them. 

We will get to riches and pleasure later, but I will say right off the bat that there is nothing wrong with enjoying both.  But let’s focus on worrying, which sometimes has a way of occupying so much of our thoughts that little by little we squeeze out God until He is entirely out of the picture.

You would think that the more we worry the more we would turn to God for help and comfort, but that’s not always the case.  Sometimes, our brains tilt toward an overload of worry to the point that we completely forget about God.

Just ask the daughter who was so consumed with caring for her elderly parent that before she knew it a month had gone by without her praying.

Talk to the businessman whose company was in serious financial difficulty, and he was so preoccupied with trying to save his business that he pushed God into a corner and forgot about Him.

And then there’s the mom whose teenager was giving her trouble. In between trying to help him graduate high school and caring for everyone else’s needs, God kept going further down on her list of priorities until He was no longer on the list.

I am pretty sure we can identify with these folks.  Isn’t it interesting that initially, both the seed and the thorns grew side by side?  But left unchecked, the thorns choked them to where nothing good was produced.  No peace, patience, faith, endurance, or wisdom anywhere. 

We must all do some weeding, and by that I mean PRAYING!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We come to You today and take this time to connect with You.  We are grateful that as we pray, You are choking the life out of the worry that sometimes consumes us.  Refresh our souls today.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~  

Don't Reel It In~

Thursday greetings ~

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

This verse validates the human condition: We are prone to anxiety.  We tend to worry, fret, nail-bite, and play host to nervousness, dread, and even panic.

There of plenty of good reasons we feel this way too.  Anyone who has watched the news this week knows what I am talking about.  Coupled with all the personal struggles we face, it’s a minor miracle if we can get a full night’s sleep.  And Jesus, our precious Savior whose birthday we will be celebrating soon, rather than getting angry at us for not having our so-called “act” together, for having less-than-perfect trust that He has us covered, invites us to cast every last bit of our anxiety on Him.  Not at Him, but on Him. 

Let’s break it down!

First we cast.

Cast is a verb, and my husband the avid fisherman knows it well.  To catch a fish, one must put bait on a hook, attach it to a line on a fishing rod, and then throw it out into the water.  Jorge looks good when he casts because he has had practice.  I once casted by throwing out the line as if it were a baseball and hooked Jorge in the shorts.  He was standing behind me, and this was totally his fault.

The key, however, is to not reel in prematurely.  If you want to catch a fish you must leave that line out there.  When we pray, we are casting.  We are giving our worries and troubles to God, and that’s OK because He invites us to let Him have them.  However, after we pray, if we feel that worry creeping back in, then we know we have started to reel in that line and must cast again.  There is no limit to the amount of times we cast, and God knows it.  The way this verse is written indicates that “casting” is an ongoing act.  We don’t just cast once, and then we are done.  Fishermen don’t fish once either.  They continue to fish for the promise of sustenance.  We continue to cast because the sustenance of our souls depends on it. 

Let’s do it!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We cast every last bit of our anxiety on You.  WE DO NOT WANT IT! Sometimes it’s hard to function because we are consumed with worry.  Please take it from us.  You are the Prince of Peace and we want peace in every single area of our life.  Thank You that if we have to, we can cast again later. In Your name, AMEN~