A Rich and Satisfying Life~

One of you precious children of God asked me what a DEVO is, so here is a refresher. It's a short, one-page writing on the Christian faith and life.


What is the purpose behind all these DEVOs? It is not just about getting to heaven. It's about having a relationship with Him. Heaven is our ultimate destination, and I have said it before that one day we will all be there so completely happy that it will blow our minds. But in the meantime, we are not just supposed to tolerate living or get by with drudgery. NO! We are to live with faith, hope, peace, and joy because Jesus wants us to.

John 10:10
The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

His purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life. The thief', also known as the devil, steals, kills, and tries to destroy everything Jesus wants us to have. It really is the battle of the ages.

And yet, by prayer and faith and a relationship with Him, His purpose, and His purpose alone prevails.

Do you feel as though you have been robbed of joy? Peace? Love? Hope? Health? A sound mind? A good relationship? Has there been destruction in any area of your life that you would like to see rebuilt? What bout in the life of someone you love?

This is serious business, folks, and someone is counting on your prayers today.

Let us go to the One Who in His unparalleled generosity, desires to makes things right.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord,

We love that Your purpose is for us to have a rich and satisfying life, but there are days when we just aren't living it. We have trouble, pressures, worries, and anxiety. So today we invite You to fulfill Your purpose for us and restore to us a rich and satisfying life. It is impossible to have a rich and satisfying life unless You are in it, so fill us with Your presence today. We open up our hearts to Your goodness. We also pray for those we love. Do Your thing, because nothing else will do. Some people's hearts are closed to You, but Amen and Glory, You specialize in melting that hardness away. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Asking Wrongly~

This morning I decided to treat myself to a mani-pedi before going to work. As usual the topic of my aggressive tendon-like cuticles came up as well as all the other nonsensical stuff one tends to talk about at the salon. And then came the deep...


The young lady who attended me suddenly confessed that she has been trying to get pregnant for over a year but nothing yet.

I sensed an opportunity to encourage her, but first things first.

"Are you married, dear?"

"Yes," she replied, "And my husband and I desperately want a child."

Now let me go on the record as saying that I believe that the Bible is my guide for living. If God says that society and families are best served when children are born to a committed husband and wife, then it would be wrong of me to advise this young lady without first making sure everything is in proper order.

Notice how I didn't say perfect, just in order.

God truly desires to bless us, but we can not expect Him to grant us things carte blanche just because we want them.

I will never forget how several years ago a person I knew asked me for prayer because they wanted to date a certain person. The problem is the person they wanted to date was already dating someone else. How absurd.

Imagine God honoring that request. Does the Bible even address the notion of unacceptable requests?

James 4:3
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly..."

Thank God that He won't answer us when we ask wrongly, but He won't answer anyone else either.

Most of us are pretty wise folks and know how to ask for the things that are good and right. If you are not sure, ask God and He will show you.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, We do not want to ask wrongly. Guide us even as we pray. We want to receive all Your blessings! In Jesus name. AMEN~

Nothing is Impossible For Him~

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17


What about nature inspires you the most? Is it an orderly processional of ants loaded with crumbs? What about a field of flowers? Perhaps a sunrise or sunset? To this day I regret the time I stepped on a spider that was scurrying across my kitchen floor because when I did, hundreds of itty bitty spider babies scattered from underneath their squished momma in all directions. I almost criedL

But what really inspires me is two things: Animal babies and human babies. I especially love elephant babies, and I have yet to smell a newborn whose scent did not intoxicate me. One of you DEVO readers actually told me not to lick your baby when it was born. AS IF!!!

Nature is there as a testament to the grandness and greatness of God. The very same Lord who created hairless cats, snowfall, and the Grand Canyon, is the One Who listens to and answers prayer. If you are feeling down because the answer has not arrived…if you are wondering whether or not God has the power to help…if you are at the end of your rope waiting waiting waiting, then fret no more. Open your eyes today to the vastness of creation and tell yourself that GOD IS AWESOME AND POWERFUL. Do not give up; He cares for you.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Nature is amazing and taking time to enjoy it strengthens our faith in You. And just like the verse above says, we invite You to stretch out Your arm and with Your great power make something happen in our lives today. We need You to restore order and peace. If we ever doubt it, prompt us to look out the window and up in the sky at the sun where we will remind ourselves that if You could do that, then nothing is impossible for You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Keep on Knocking~

Yesterday we looked at a sequence of events that goes something like this:


1-We have a need/concern.

2-We pray.

3-God hears it.

4-He formulates a plan of action.

5-He implements the plan.

What do we do, however, when things seem stuck between numbers four and five? What are we thinking on those days or even weeks or months between us having prayed, accepted by faith that God has heard our prayers, confident that He has a solution, but we still don't have the answer?

The tendency we have is to either give up on praying because we convince ourselves that God is never going to answer, or we feel like we have bothered God one too many times and don't want to keep pestering Him over the same matter.

This is where having the Bible comes in mega handy. Luke 11:5-10

Then Jesus said, “Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don’t have a thing on hand.’ “The friend answers from his bed, ‘Don’t bother me. The door’s locked; my children are all down for the night; I can’t get up to give you anything.’ “But let me tell you, even if he won’t get up because he’s a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he’ll finally get up and get you whatever you need. “Here’s what I’m saying: Ask and you’ll get; Seek and you’ll find;Knock and the door will open.

What these verses show us is that if we will finally get up out of bed and open the door, even for an annoying friend, how much more will God, who is never bothered by us, answer us? These verses give us holy permission to keep on knocking until we receive an answer. We must never give up just because our timeline differs from God's. Trust me, if I could have had it my way, there are some answers that would have shown up in two days as opposed to two months.

The reason why our relationship with God is sometimes called a faith walk is because it takes faith to keep on praying when the answer seems so far off.

Nevertheless, please know that God not only wants you to keep knocking, He expects it!

Is there something you stopped praying for because the answer never came? I encourage you to reignite that flame before the Lord and keep it burning until He shows up.

I was going to stop the DEVO there, but then I remembered something significant.

Six and a half years ago I started a very special prayer relationship with someone. Every day we pray on the phone for a few minutes for the health and well-being of someone she loves. The number one thing we asked is that he would stop smoking. SIX YEARS later, that prayer was answered, and he has finally quit.

What would have happened if we would have stopped praying one year in, or two years in? Certainly by year five no one would have blamed us if we would have stopped because at that point, God had surely forgotten us. But what we discovered is that even while we were waiting for the answer, God encouraged us mightily along the way. He protected those we love, gave peace to our anxious hearts, provided for our needs. In other words, other beautiful things were granted while we were waiting on the one big answer. We would have missed out on so much if we would have quit. Let us resolve today that we are going to go the distance with God, no matter how long it takes. There are too many blessings along the way that we do not want to forfeit.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, You will always come through for us; we must never give up. Thank You that You have made it clear in Your Word that You want us to be persistent with our prayers. We take You up on that invitation and ask You to bless us today. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

God's Guidance~

This morning I got out of bed like a newborn pony and wobbled over to my desk to make my list of things to do, and as I write this my eyes are narrowed,  and I am staring at that list through the slits.  So much to do and such minimal desire.  Among my adventures I must go and return the wireless thingy at the cable company because I am still without Internet.  I must also make several calls and runs errands.

But the one thing I look forward to is writing this DEVO.  Why?  Because it settles me down as I purposely focus on God and invite His guidance into my life and yours.

What exactly, does it mean to ask God for guidance, and how do you know if you received it?

It all boils down to one thing, and it's called faith.

Here are a few examples drawn from our very own ranks:

(1) "My relationship is in turmoil.  I need help, Lord."  And then you are lovingly and gently directed to a relationship pro who is providing you with life-affirming advice and helping you put the pieces back together.

(2) "My parents aren't getting along, Lord.  Help them reaffirm their love for one another."  And then these parents decide to take a little trip to reconnect with one another and the relationship is back on track.

(3) "I am running low on money, Jesus.  Help me pay the rent." And then a deal that had been on the back burner re-emerges and there is enough commission to pay the bills and eat out to celebrate!

What happened in each of these instances is that the folks involved took a step of faith and shared their heart with God.  Honest and simple, because we already learned that we can not hide anything from Him.  And then God responded to the cries for help.

Our responsibility is asking God for help and then leaving the schematics up to Him.

Isn't schematics a great word?  It appears a lot in the spy novels I read because as you might imagine, there is a lot of planning in covert operations.

The difference between us and the spies is that they come up with both the plan and then execute it.  We, on the other hand, call on God and He comes up with the plan and then sees to it that it is executed.

The LORD of Heaven's Armies has spoken--who can change His plans? When His hand is raised, who can stop Him?" Isaiah 14:27

All of this might and power and awesomeness depends on prayer.  I can never say it enough; we must daily seek Him because this puts His plan in motion.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Thank You that You hear our prayer and then answer us.  Seems to us that Your responsibility is HUGE compared to ours.  But that is just a testament to How great You are.  Each of us in this DEVO group has different concerns and needs, but You have a plan for working it all out. We invite You now through prayer to fix it.  We do not need to know how--just WHO is doing it.  In Jesus' name, Amen~

We Have Enough on Our Plate Already~

I am a book nerd. I love to read and would rather do that than just about any other activity. I am one of those who gets very sad as I read the last page. My favorite books are spy novels. I have six authors whose books I read, and sometimes I get all the characters confused. One of the side effects of all this reading is that I sometimes have vivid dreams. Just last week I was in Libya launching a rocket grenade at heroin smugglers.


In my dreams I am thin, fit, fast, a weapons expert, highly intelligent, and sassy.

Then I wake up, and I am mostly sassy. And that is ok. I am who I am, and I have learned that one of the secrets to contentment is to not compare myself with anyone.

We have spoken about this before. That tendency to compare my body with someone else's. Or my kids with someone else's. My income with someone else's. My spouse with someone else's. My career, my friends, my dog... It's an exercise in futility because nothing productive will come out of it.

"When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." (Ouch!) 2 Corinthians 10:12

The reason this topic has come up again is because of a conversation I recently had with someone who was very very frustrated with a situation in her family and started off by saying, "I wish we were more like..."

"STOP IT!" I yelled.


I think we all have enough on our plate already. Let's not make room for a serving of jealousy or envy.

What I will do is be grateful for what I have and ask God to make it the very best it can be. Will you join me?

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, We all have areas of our lives that are far from perfect. But rather than waste precious energy dwelling on how good everyone else seems to have it, we ask for Your help in making improvements in our own circumstances. Give us wisdom, understanding, and patience so that we make the right decisions. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

He Knows Already~

Join me today in shouting, "Hallelujah," which is the highest praise we can offer God.


My sister, Aldys, who was married this past November, was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst that the doctors said had to be removed immediately. A second opinion verified this, so the appointment was made. Both doctors said it did not look good, and that the ovary would have to be removed as well. They also said there was a certain percentage that it could be malignant and that she would have to sign a document allowing for a complete hysterectomy if necessary.

Imagine if you were told that and had never had children. Rough rough rough!

What, dear one, are we to do when faced with these possibilities? On the count of three, One...Two...Three...PRAY!

So I hunkered down before the throne and had lengthy conversations with my Jesus, and I said, "Jesus, You are my friend. You and I spend a lot of time together, and You know very well that I am emotionally allergic to the thought of any one else I know on this earth ever having THAT again. Have mercy on my sister, her husband, and me. Fix it, Lord. You are the Great Fixer Upper. She hasn't had children yet. Please!!!"

And on and on this went for several weeks. My sister finally had the surgery Friday, and not only was everything super duper hunky dory, she was wheeled out of the operating room with TWO ovaries and the assurance that she can try for her baby in four weeks.

That is why I invited You all to shout Hallelujah with me. For you see, the very same Lord Who took care of my sister, the biggest Chonga east of the Mississippi, is the very same Lord Who takes care of you and me.

Do you think it's possible to hide your feelings from Him? Do you think it's ever possible for Him not to know what's really going on inside your head? Can you pretend that everything is ok and get away with it? NO!

How aware is our Lord of every single detail of your life?

Psalm 139:2-4 You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand what I am thinking when I am distant from You. You discern my going out and my lying down;You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.

Based on that passage I think it's safe to say that God is intimately aware of every last little bit of our existence. Let's get real for a moment. Are you even aware of how many times you have already stood up and sat down today? Are you keeping track of how often you go out or lie down?

I have tried, more than once, to keep track of my kids, but it was exhausting. It has been much easier to leave them in the care of the One Who is going to be doing it anyway.

Each of you precious folks is important to me, but not to the point that I need you to check in and let me know every second of every day what you are up to. And yet, our Lord cares about it all--even the mundane.

Which brings me back to the whole point of this DEVO. Before you even say it, when you are just thinking it, God already knows it. It is futile to hide your feelings from God, so share share share. He really wants to hear it, and more importantly, He wants to do something about it.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, You are amazing. You know what we are thinking, so we may as well be honest and let You know how we feel. There is nothing we could ever pray about that You aren't already aware of, so our sharing is not for Your benefit but for ours. Spending time with You strengthens our faith and increases our joy. Thank You for knowing our hearts but for also inviting us to spend time with You because that is where we receive Your goodness. In Jesus' name, AMEN~