God is Doing a New Thing~

Dear DEVO Readers,

 

Yesterday I had an AHA! moment. We learned in Isaiah 43:35 that God keeps no record of wrongs. And just a few DEVOs ago we learned that one of the definitions of love in 1 Corinthians 13 is that it keeps no record of wrongs. God loves us, and He practices what He preaches! Amen! If He isn't keeping tabs then we shouldn't either.

 

Several of you wrote back expressing how hard it has been to forget some things in your past--the regrets are overwhelming.

 

How do we let it go?

 

I hope this verse will inspire us all.

 

Isaiah 43:19

"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."

 

Is there something in your past that could be described as a wasteland? Something that has left you empty, heartbroken, feeling crushed under a weight of guilt, or bitter?

 

Then thank God that He has started something new in you, and it began the day you turned to Him. He makes a way through all the brokenness and brings a torrent of relief.

 

Consider the story of my friend whom I will call Z.

 

As a teenager she gave her heart and her body to a young man and became pregnant. He supported her--all the way to the abortion clinic. Why he even paid for it. Nice guy. For years and years and years she lived with the unbearable pain that she had taken an innocent life. All of this surfaced when she got married and tried to have a baby. She could not get pregnant, and it was later determined that her fallopian tubes were blocked. (I'll spare you the details.)

 

Of course she blamed herself and even told her husband that she wouldn't blame him if he left her. It was one big boulder after another that she threw at herself, and this left her feeling bruised and battered. And all this on top of the already profound sadness she felt at not being able to get pregnant.

 

One day I had a really strong and really loud one-sided conversation with her--something I rarely do. But sometimes we just need to help others snap out of it.

 

"STOP IT!" I yelled. "Your refusal to let this go is like telling God that His love is not enough. That His forgiveness is limited. That He lied in the Bible when He said His mercies were new every morning."

 

Slowly but surely she worked it out. Every time a negative thought popped into her head, she would replace it with a truth from God's Word.

 

"Look at what you did!"

 

"That was the old me. God says I am a new person."

 

"You'll never have a baby, and it's your fault."

 

"Nothing is impossible with the Lord."

 

"You are worthless and don't deserve a baby."

 

"I am, actually, so valuable that Jesus was willing to die to save me and to answer my prayers."

 

On and on this internal struggle went, but sure enough, the day came when her focus completely shifted from the old stuff and onto the new thing God was doing. That new thing was, in fact, a baby through in-vitro fertilization that has long since been born and is currently providing this woman and her husband with rivers of joy.

 

Glory glory glory!!!

 

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Thank You that You are doing a new thing. Some of us need this in our marriages, families, emotions, other relationships, finances, employment, health etc...If anyone can make a way, it is You--the Great Waymaker. If anyone can create rivers in the middle of a dry dead existence, You, the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth can. So do Your thing! The verse above asks us if we see it. Sometimes we're too focused on the past to see the good right now. Open our eyes, in Jesus' name. AMEN~

Forgiven, Removed, & Forgotten~

Wednesday Greetings :)



One time I miscalculated a trip Jorge and I were planning and stayed at a cabin in the mountains that was three hours away from where we needed to be. What was only a one-inch separation on a map, turned out to be a two-hundred mile difference. I remember telling Jorge as I was planning everything that, "How far could it be? The two cities fit between my fingers." I may have even said, "Duh!"


Luckily for Jorge he loves taking road trips with me or all those extra hours driving might have driven him insane. HAHAHAHA!


Nevertheless, none of us needs to be good with navigational maps to understand what God says in Psalm 103:12, "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west."


God makes sure that we and our sins are as distant as possible because east and west can never technically meet in the same spot. Okay, I looked this fact up because, as you all know, I am not an expert in navigation.


But wait! It gets better. According to Isaiah 43:25, our Lord does not keep a list of our sins.


But then how could He possibly keep track of something that He is too busy removing as far away from us as is possible?


I said all of that to say this:


If God, Who is the only One Who has the right to judge us, is keeping no record of wrongs, then let it go. Forgive yourself. Remember all that talk about emptying your pockets of stones? Not throwing them at others? Sometimes we have to stop torturing ourselves for the stuff we messed up, and stop throwing stones at ourselves.


I have said it before and I will say it again. The Bible is clear and does not mince words. If God keeps no records at all, that means that it does not matter what happened--it's forgiven, removed, and forgotten--every bit of it.


All those "I should have...", "I wished I would have...", "I could have...", as well as all those other, "I shouldn't have...", "I wished I wouldn't have..." and "Why did I do that...?" DO NOT MATTER.


PRAYER:
Dear Lord, That settles it. If You forgive and forget then we will too. Help us to get over anything we regret. Thank You that each and every day we get a fresh start to get it right with Your help. In Jesus' name, Amen~

Our Sorrow Has a Purpose~

Psalm 56:8

"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book."

 

Psalm 126:5

"Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy."

 

I read somewhere once that the Romans had a custom that whenever there was a funeral a friend would go to the one in mourning and wipe away their tears with a cloth and then squeeze the moisture into a small bottle. That bottle was then kept as a precious memorial of friendship and sorrow.

 

I am trying to imagine the tenderness of a moment like this--how thoughtful and comforting.

 

But guess what? Over the years these bottles have been unearthed in ancient Roman tombs and the only thing inside is dust. This doesn't mean the gesture was meaningless at the time it happened. It just means that we humans, in all our human efforts, have limitations.

 

This is why it blesses my heart to know that, (A) The tears that God has collected from me are still fresh, and (B) The more I cry the more joy I will one day have.

 

In other words, not one of your tears has been shed in vain. If you do not see a purpose now, please know, precious one, that at the very least God will turn those tears into joy some day.

 

Oh my goodness! I want to say that one more time. If you do not see a purpose in all the crying you have done, please know, that at the very least God will turn those tears into joy someday!!!

 

That's what these two verses mean. God knows we have sorrow. He is not insensitive to it, but rather in an act of unparalleled kindness He preserves them--perfectly. He is planning on taking every last drop that we have cried for ourselves, our loved ones, our pals, our neighbors, the injustices of the world, the evil--you name it--every last drop and turning them into an abundant harvest of shouts of joy. Amen~

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Thank You that You are paying attention to us. You lovingly collect every single one of our tears, and one day they will be released as joy in our lives! We find it comforting to know that our sorrow has a purpose. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Choose Faith~

I trust you all had a wonderful weekend:)

 

What kind of people are we? Allow me the pleasure of answering that question:

 

Hebrews 10:39 "But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved."

 

There are those out there who, when trouble comes their way, become fearful or refuse to acknowledge it. They hope that whatever is wrong will go away on its own. What is the result? Destruction.

 

But that's not our case. We have learned that no matter what we will pray. We have faith, and we are saved.

 

There are moments when we will have fear, but we will turn it around and go from being cowardly to courageous.

 

Why? Because destruction for someone we love or even for ourselves is not an option when the Most High God Creator of heaven and earth is on our side.

 

Case in point--my friend whom I'll call A.

 

Yesterday her daughter got married to an amazing young man! The wedding was beautiful and the reception a true celebration of love, family, and friends.

 

But A has had plenty of difficult moments in her life. Not only is she herself currently undergoing chemotherapy, her brother died of cancer six weeks ago. She, however, did not let that stop her. She did not give in or give up. Rather, she exercised her faith--sometimes every moment of every day--and plugged into God for His strength. I watched her glide around the party welcoming guests with such warmth. If I would have had a crown at that moment I would have gladly placed it on her head and declared her the Epitome of Grace.

 

At one point she made a bee line for me and we exchanged hugs. I choked up because I have such profound respect for her. She is one of my faith heroes, and I hope that her story will inspire each of you to engage. Use your faith! Never shrink back! No matter what it is, declare today that there will no destruction in your future--only salvation.

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Every day we have a choice. We can either turn away and become despondent, or we can use our faith and have victory. We choose faith, and we choose You. Help us today. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

This Woman Prayed~

TGIF Greetings:)

 

This morning I was ready to park when a vulture swept right in and scooped up the space. I momentarily lost my mind then came back to my senses because of each of you. How can I possibly sit here and write the DEVO if I have been rude? So thank you for keeping me in line:)

 

What does our journey look like when Jesus travels alongside?

 

Our protagonist from this week's DEVOs will testify that although it's not always obvious, it is true nonetheless. That looking back provides plenty of evidence of His guidance and comfort, and now that a year has passed she has finally settled into a peaceful season of life.

 

Long story short: Marriage was in deep trouble, every one's future was a frightful unknown, but just last week something private took place that was as an act of even a stronger devotion than before.

 

Talk about everything working out better than expected!

 

What is the number one exercise we should all be doing on our own journeys? What guarantees that Jesus is with us?

 

Group shout: PRAYER!

 

Every single day this woman prayed. She prayed in the morning, in the car, at home, at night in bed...She asked for prayer as well. She found a couple of like-minded buddies to come alongside her and trust God for the future of her family. Time after time she made sure every one was on the same page because someone praying for reconciliation and someone praying for a divorce will stop the hand of God.

 

Matthew 18:19 "When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, My Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of Me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

 

Would any one have blamed her if she would have chosen to go her separate way? Would any one have said she wasn't entitled? That she didn't have the right to divorce someone who was unfaithful? No~

 

But sometimes taking the higher road, being willing to do the hard, heart-wrenching work of rebuilding, leads to something that was even better than before. There's enough destruction in this world already. I say REBUILD. Let's all take a step of faith and REBUILD! Whether it's our own marriage, a strained relationship with a friend, sibling, in-law, or child, let's fix it.

 

For me, the most profound and blessed moment came when this precious young woman said to me the other day, "If I would have ended my relationship there is a great likelihood that my spouse would not even be alive right now."

 

I will not share certain details, but when she said that, I immediately thought that perhaps, rather than seeing forgiveness as some sort of undeserved gesture she extended to the person who hurt her, it was a gift she gave herself--a gift that she will continue to unwrap as time goes on and the kids get older and dad is there every step of the way holding her hand and theirs...

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, There are more than three of us praying right now, so thank You that You are here with us. Thank You that You go into action when we pray. Do Your thing and we will do ours, which is pray. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Change Yourself~

Today is the National Day of Prayer, and we DEVO readers will be doing our part. And even though I didn't see the headlines anywhere, every first Thursday in the month of May is set apart for a time of collective national head-bowing. Our President himself prayed this morning and said, "All of us have the freedom to pray and exercise our faiths openly. Our laws protect these God-given liberties, and rightly so. Today and every day, prayers will be offered in houses of worship, at community gatherings, in our homes, and in neighborhoods all across our country. Let us give thanks for the freedom to practice our faith as we see fit, whether individually or in fellowship."

 

AMEN! to that.

 

Yesterday's DEVO ended with this question:

"If this young wife and mom was not driven to despair, then to what, or shall I say, to Whom was she driven?"

 

Notice what the President said above--that we have the freedom to practice our faith as we see fit. We have a choice to make. We can either practice or not. We can seek God or not.

 

This young woman chose to go to God. It might be more accurate to say she RAN to God.

 

When it all started falling apart, it was very clear to her, like it should be to you and me, that there are some things we can not change. She could not undo the infidelity.

 

But there was one thing she could change, and it was herself.

 

How did she change herself? Ask her and she will tell you that previously she might have flipped out and broken down. But something had already been happening in her life that had her steadily approaching God with confidence.

 

One of her children had a health concern that prompted this mom to make prayer a regular part of her diet.

 

At first, when they were visiting different doctors and getting opinions, it was a struggle not to give in to panic. But over and over again our friend acted on Hebrews 4:16, "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

 

Like all of us, some days she needed His help more than others, but when the other issue surfaced, she was already well-practiced in prayer.

 

She knew her only hope was to keep it up.

 

The only One Who could help her keep her attitude in check was God.

The only One Who could keep her from getting bitter was God.

The only One Who could keep unforgiveness from growing in her heart was God.

 

But let's be honest; she had to make the effort. No one could our would force her. No matter how much someone begs for forgiveness, we don't have to give it if we don't want to.

 

And in her world, where family and friends alike, practically conspired against her marriage by telling her to dump him or get back at him, she chose a different route. One that was difficult, one that was scary, one that was more often than not lonely, and one that was foreign to her except one thing--JESUS would be travelling with her.

 

What does our journey look like when Jesus travels alongside?

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord,

We join our voices with everyone else today on the National Day of Prayer, and we thank You for the freedom to practice our faith in this fellowship of DEVO readers. Sometimes the greatest thing we can do is forget about the things we can not change and instead change ourselves with your help. We are grateful for the invitation that You have given us all to come boldly to Your throne and ask for help. HERE WE ARE! Help us. In Jesus name, AMEN~

Leave and Cleave~

Good morning all you citizens of heaven~



Last night Hormone and his lovely wife and Rayray and her lovely beau joined Jorge and me for a celebratory farewell dinner. Jorgie is off to New Mexico this Friday pursuing his baseball dreams, and I wanted one more family meal together because who knows when we will all be together again.


During the meal I wanted to share a few words with my son, whom I love more than my own life, and so I shared an inspirational story etc...and I finished off with this flourish:


"We are all proud of you for your efforts and support you wholeheartedly. But make no mistake. The real kudos goes to your wife because if she did not support you nothing else would matter. She is the one who has to endure the separation and the financial sacrifices, so thank you, Lis, for believing in Hormone."


Did you see what just happened there? I had a full-fledged grown-up moment.


Genesis 2:24 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."


Other versions say "unites to his wife," "clings to his wife," "bonds with his wife," " be joined with his wife," and "hold fast to his wife."


Before any of that uniting, clinging, bonding, and joining can take place, the young man must LEAVE.


The principle here is that every newly-married couple is now or should be independent from parental meddling. And our heroine from this week's DEVOs realized that not only did she have to cut loose some friends, but she also had to gently, and sometimes not so gently, remind her parents that her husband and her marriage were her priority. You would think this is common sense, but sometimes we parents, overzealous creatures that we are, do more harm than good. We forget that our children and their marriages take precedence over our relationships with them.


You know that expression, "When it rains it pours?" As if there weren't enough going on already, this determined gal found herself dealing with hostile parents, hostile siblings, negative friends, confused in-laws, and all the whispering and speculation from the other parents at her kids' school.


So much pressure.


2 Corinthians 4:8 "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair."


If this young wife and mom was not driven to despair, then to what, or shall I say, to Whom was she driven?


When you feel as though everything that could go wrong has. When you feel that no matter where you turn there's trouble waiting, read verse 9: "You are never abandoned by God (NLT Version)."


PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Thank You for including those verses in the Bible. You knew we would have seasons in life where it seems that everything that could go wrong has. But You never have nor will You ever abandon us. Keep this life-saving truth ever present in our hearts. In Jesus' name, AMEN~