Make Room for Christ~

Luke 2:7 "And she gave birth to her firstborn son, Jesus; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Christmas is right around the corner, and if you are like me, you are already in the hustle and bustle of all the preparations.  There are gifts to wrap, cards to be sent, Christmas carols to be practiced, decorations to be put up, and food to order.  I get so busy that sometimes I have to remind myself to make room for Jesus.  How ironic considering that He is the reason for the season!

The innkeeper missed out on having the Savior of mankind being born at his establishment because there was no room.  Maybe he could have made an exception. Maybe he just didn’t realize the magnitude of the situation.  Maybe he didn’t care.  Regardless, there was no room and no room was made; Jesus was born somewhere else.

We all know better.  When we open our hearts and homes to Him, He shows up and the blessings flow.  

It all starts with prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for answering prayer! Every time we gather here to pray, we are making room for Christ. We invite Him into every area of our lives and ask that He fill us up with blessings of hope, faith, provision, peace, joy, and health. In His holy name we pray, AMEN!

God Commands us to be Cheerful!

…In the world you'll have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but I will admit that with all the crazy news it’s hard to be merry and bright.  And honestly, many of us are facing personal problems that make it difficult to be holly jolly regardless.

How can God even write a verse like that in the Bible? How can we cheer up at a time like this? Doesn’t He realize how difficult life can be sometimes? Doesn’t He know we don’t all feel like laughing or decking the halls?

He does know, which is why He reminds us that this life sometimes means trouble.  But He immediately tells us to cheer up because there is no trouble too troubling, no sin too deep, no evil too mighty –  there is nothing this world can throw at us that can come anywhere even remotely close to being more powerful than our All-Powerful Lord.

Notice the verb tense in the verse.  He has already overcome the world. This is why God commands us to be confident, undaunted, and filled with joy; He has conquered and already gained a victory over all the mess.  

Joy to the world! We can have peace instead of worry. Trust instead of doubt. Hope instead of despair. Faith instead of unbelief. Love instead of misery and hate. Assurance and encouragement instead of fear.  And yes, dear ones, we can be cheerful!  Keep reading the preceding paragraph as often as it takes for you to get out of that bah humbug mood.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for ordering us to be cheerful!  We certainly want to be filled with joy, and when we focus on all You have done for us, we are.  There will be moments when we forget all this great news, so remind us.  We want to keep our cheer and joy at a maximum! 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~ 

He's a Page Turner!

Blast from the past. Originally published November 4, 2014.

Psalm 118:24 “God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to His eyes.”

As you may or may not know I love reading – especially spy novels.  Not long ago I arrived at the library and was thrilled the book I had reserved almost six months ago was finally ready for me to pick up.  I knew I would binge read, and I couldn’t wait.  I would go to my little corner of the couch, set up a cold beverage, put on my special glasses – the ones with the convenient headlights attached to the temples – and relish page after page of international thrills and intrigue!

When I got to page two I thought, “This seems oddly familiar.”  But honestly, there are several spy novel authors I read, and sometimes all the main characters sort of merge.  But by the end of chapter one I knew I had already read this book.  I was so disappointed. I wanted new action; I was ready for a new adventure.  Enough of the same ole’ same ole’.

Sometimes, we are eager for a change.  We want to move on.  We feel stuck on the same page and can’t seem to advance.  Today I am here to announce that God is a Page Turner.

He will get us out of the current chapter we are in and into another one.  I want to especially shout out to my friend who has been stuck in the chapter of infertility for a long time.  It’s boring and frustrating. (What chapter are you in?) And I want to remind her and all of us that God desires to turn the page and write a new chapter in each of our lives.

The first step is to open up the book of our heart to Him.  Let Him take a peek inside.  He knows what we need, when we need it, how we need, why we need, and how we need it.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Turn the page!  Some of us have been on the same paragraph, same page, same chapter for far too long.  We are eager to put some stuff behind us and get a fresh and blessed start.  Thank You that are the Page Turner.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

  

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You~

Good morning,

My family just keeps growing!  This past year we have added Tucker, Trooper, Hershey, and just this past weekend, Blue.  An Australian Cattle dog from the Blue Heeler category, and she is a cutie! Thank you, God, for blessing our lives with furry friends.  And while we are on the subject of things we give thanks for, I want to take a moment to talk about my kids.

When they were little I was CONSTANTLY reminding them to say, “Thank you.” I wanted to make sure they were appreciative of gifts they had received or compliments they were given.  And then one day something magical happened! Before I could get the words out of my mouth, Miss five-year-old Rayray said it on her own in response to something my mother-in-law gave her.  I knew at this point that my work was done.  And I was right; I have not had to remind her again, and I am pleased to report that both she and her brother are grateful kids who even thank Jorge and me for any and every parental gesture.

Being thankful is key if we want to have a happy life.  Studies have shown that grateful people are happier in general and have a more positive outlook in life.  And I think the best way to prove this is to look at the opposite of thankfulness, which thesaurus.com provides over 50 words for.  Words like, demanding, faultfinding, grumbling, selfish, ingrate, dissatisfied…

Try spending even 20 minutes with someone who is always finding fault, grumbling and complaining, and tell me if it’s not completely exhausting.  If this kind of attitude drains the joy and sucks the life out of us, can you imagine what it does to the actual ingrate? 

GOD provides a powerful antidote – Psalm 136. No matter what is happening or has happened or will happen, there is always something to be thankful for.

This Psalm, gives us one powerful reason: God’s love never quits!

Here are a few verses…

Thank God! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits.
Thank the Lord of all lords. His love never quits.

Thank the miracle-working God, His love never quits.
The God whose skill formed the cosmos, His love never quits.
The God who filled the skies with light, His love never quits.
The sun to watch over the day, His love never quits.
Moon and stars as guardians of the night, His love never quits.
God remembered us when we were down, His love never quits.
Rescued us from the trampling boot, His love never quits.
Takes care of everyone in time of need. His love never quits.
Thank God, who did it all! His love never quits!

The same God who works miracles, formed the earth, and remembers us when we are down, loves us with an unstoppable love.  Let’s allow that, and not all the problems we face, be our focus, then we can’t help but be thankful.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! You never give up on us, and Your persistent and powerful love never quits.  Thank You that we can always count on You.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Blue~

Unwrap the Gift~

"I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).

Jorge and I have a will.  It’s simple, really.  Every single thing we have is to be split 50/50 between our kids, and we trust them and their spouses to move forward in a spirit of unity and fairness.  Jesus had a last will and testament as well.  His was verbal, and it’s the verse above.  He spoke it to disciples as He was preparing for death. 

He is not leaving them a house, jewelry, or money.  But He is leaving them, and by association us, the one thing that seems to evade so many people nowadays: PEACE.

We all want it, and some of us pop pills, smoke substances, eat food, guzzle alcohol, or spend money trying to get it. Yet, peace is nowhere near.   

What we learn from this verse, however, is that any road to peace that excludes Jesus is temporary and therefore frightening.  When the buzz wears off, the food is digested, or the novelty of the new toy fizzles away, we are often back at square one and back to having that horrible sinking feeling in our gut.  Jesus is speaking strongly here and reminding us that nothing and no one can compare to the eternal peace He gives, which is abiding, steadfast, and everlasting.

The day Jorge and I fly off to Jesus, my children will take the steps to execute our will.  Hopefully, that will be a long way away.  Jesus, on the other hand, already left us the gift of peace; it’s already ours and like all gifts, we have to unwrap it.  We unwrap it by doing what the verses from Tuesday’s DEVO encourage us to do. We must make requests of God, cast our cares on Him, trust in Him, lean on Him, come to Him, learn from Him, and see the Kingdom.

Every single time we do this, we are opening up ourselves to a life filled with true peace!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, As we pray now, we seek You so you can fill us with this beautiful, powerful, and necessary gift Jesus left for us.  We want our hearts and minds inundated with peace.  We will not look to cheap substitutes.  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!